About Tim Rowland

Tim Rowland is a columnist, author and outdoors writer living in Jay.

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  1. Bill Keller says

    As I drive by the “tourist” train stations in Thurman and Hadley all I see is the total waste of tax dollars on wishful thinking. The thought that skiers would travel to Gore Mountain by train from Saratoga was laughable. Why turn a quick trip by car into a lengthy train ride? I haven’t seen a train pass by in years. Then Warren county moved the ice cream caboose from Raparius to Thurman, never to open after refurbishing. Tax dollars spend easy don’t they. What freight would be hauled and from where? More wishful thinking? IMO railbanking would be the only way to go.

  2. upstater says

    Multi-use trail is another term to describe a snowmobile trail friendly to 70 mph machines screaming up and down for 6 months of the year. As if there isn’t enough of that already.

    There is ZERO state support to have a well maintained connected network of Nordic XC trails even 1/10 the length of snowmobile trails in the Adirondacks. Everything is piecemeal and disconnected. Only BREIA’s 50 km of groomed trails comes close. It isn’t even in the park and is privately endowed. I would gladly come to the Adirondacks for multi day visits in winter if something like BREIA existed there.

    Indeed, the domination of winter sports in the Adirondacks by snow machines is really sad… it is a missed opportunity to build supporting businesses for XC clientele. Muscle powered sports, whether XC, canoeing camping or back packing is woefully under supported by NYS. If you want to burn gasoline, opportunities abound.

  3. Sailboat Scotty says

    Go revolution rail! I took one of your excursions out of North Creek last year with my son and it was awesome. A completely new way to experience the forest that I had never expected. This coming from a member of ADK, a “sixer” (ok I will get to the other 40 someday). I’m just getting older now and the mode of rail pedal transportation is appealing to me.

  4. Boreas says

    To me, the biggest concern is lack of ANY action. Haul freight, run rail-bikes, tear out the rails – I don’t really have a dog in this fight. But spending another decade or two letting the rails crumble while opposing groups “brainstorm” without making any progress should be unacceptable to most Park residents.

    My personal suggestion would be to haul away the tailings from the defunct Tahawus mine and re-wilding the scars, (even if it requires funds from state/federal cleanup coffers) over say a 10 year window, then close and tear up the distal section of track for recreation, keeping the southern section for rail-bikes and excursion trains. Perhaps this is crazy thinking, but I never see remediation of the mine scars even whispered in any proposals. Why is this? Re-wilding the river, wetlands, and mining scars should be an important DEC/NYS priority. I was hoping the bond act could help with funding, but I hear nothing but crickets about the elephant in the room. Re-wilding will be much less likely to occur without the rail spur.

    • Boreas says

      I should continue that re-wilding of the Tahawus mine isn’t the only option for that parcel. Haul away the tailings, mitigate erosion and cleanup of toxic debris, then create a Visitor Center – including parking, shuttles, education, trails, winter center, and perhaps DEC facilities. It is a beautiful spot – one of the best vistas – that is currently unused. A little forward thinking with the surrounding Towns should be able to come up with a NEW vision for the old mine. Shame it is going to waste.

    • Worth Gretter says

      One important part of remediation would be removal of the “temporary” Hudson River crossing at the middle of the old mine, about 1/2 mile north of the route 76 bridge. It consists of concrete culverts covered with tailings. They have plenty of tailings and can just add more when a washout occurs!

      If you put the coordinates 44.051046, -74.062265 in Google Maps and choose satellite view, you will see it.

      It will be a happy day for me when this abomination is gone from what should be a wild and pristine river.

      • Boreas says

        A good storm on that drainage might just do the work for us! Then, perhaps the area will get some attention. It is certainly an unnatural and illogical throttle on a truly magnificent river!

  5. LeRoy Hogan says

    Rail bikes do really well in the Catskills. On the other hand in our mountains in the Cats and Daks …

    With more rail trails, hikers will clog up the roads and parking lots with so many vehicles every beautiful Saturday and Sunday. They come in flip-flops and expect to hike the mountains. They leave trash. They come out of the woods on strange parts of the highway, lost and looking for a ride.

    Over time there are more unprepared people attempting some of the most serious climbs. More than 65% of hikers do not have essential gear.

    What also is a peeve is how much is spent tending to hikers and how little they spend in return. The old joke is they show up with a $20 bill, and they leave with the same $20 bill.

  6. Ed Burke says

    I loved the Saratoga North Creek Railway the three times I took it, twice as jumping-off trips to start bike tours. Also have talked to several friends who had a blast on the rail bikes but my preference would be to replace the rails with a well-maintained bike path. Serious cyclists would certainly use it and rental bikes at North Creek would open up easy, inexpensive family rides to Riparius and/or North River. I’m definitely a train lover, my father worked for the D&H for 45 years and I took a 7000 mile Amtrak trip in 2017, but this route screams ‘bicycle’. Ten minute train ride here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkXn4e2iF5k

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