Trail for Sale

by Whitney Ray, Capitol News Service, link to original post

Lawmakers are considering legislation that would allow corporations to advertise on hiking trail signs at Florida state parks. The ads would bring in millions, but As Whitney Ray tells us, nature lovers say it would ruin the experience.

Todd Bertolaet enjoys the sights and sounds of natural Florida. He took a brisk walk on a hiking trail Friday to relax. “I’d love to see a diamondback on this particular trail,” said Todd Bertolaet.

But he may soon be seeing something not so natural: advertisements. State lawmakers are considering selling ad space on walking trails to help fill the 3.8 billion dollar budget gap.

So that means you soon could be walking on your favorite hiking trail and find a Coke can, and you may also find the trail is sponsored by Coke.

Governor Rick Scott of Florida is encouraging lawmakers to leave no stone unturned in their search for cash. “Everybody in our states had to tighten their belts; we have to look at every opportunity we can, so I think it’s something we ought to look at,” said Scott.

But for Todd, nature is sacrosanct and seeing ads at his favorite parks would ruin the experience. “We have to have some sanctuaries, and ya know this is one sanctuary for all of the public,” said Todd.

The trails for sale bill is tied to legislation allowing advertising on state roads, which may in the end kill the idea because Federal law prohibits advertisements on many interstate systems. There hasn’t been an economic study on how much money the legislation would generate, but supporters of the bill estimate it could raise 10s of millions of dollars.

If Florida starts this abomination, would New York be far behind??

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Paddling Fisheating Creek

Here’s what we did last weekend. Fisheating Creek is a narrow, windy tannin-stained creek that flows from central Florida to Lake Okeechobee. After you click on the link below, click on “Slide Show” to see the progression of photos.

We’re paddling through a cypress swamp. There were hundreds of birds (ibis, egrets, herons, kingfishers) flying about and as you’ll see, lots of alligators, and a big spider. At one point I’m pointing up a cypress tree – to the water level each year during the rainy season. This was a 2 day trip. We camped along the creek overnight and were serenaded by owls hooting and alligators bellowing all around us. It was awesome. Enjoy, Sue & Rich

http://picasaweb.google.com/richardefreemanjr/FisheatingCreekPaddle#

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New York State is Well Connected for Hikers

Did you know that by hiking the Finger Lakes Trail you can connect to many other trails that head far outside New York State?
– The western end extends all the way to North Dakota on the North Country National Scenic Trail.
– From the FLT branch called the Conservation Trail you can connect to the Bruce Trail and walk to the tip of the Bruce Peninsula in Ontario, Canada (see the travel narrative “Bruce Trail – An Adventure Along the Niagara Escarpment”)
– At the eastern end, follow the Long Path through the Catskills to connect to the Appalachian Trail.International Appalachian Trail Now you can hike north to Maine and south to Georgia. Of course, at the north end you can pick up the and continue to the Gaspe Peninsula in Quebec. And, at the south end you can follow the Pinhoti Trail to the Benton MacKaye Trail into Alabama. After a road walk, continue on the Florida Trail to the south of Florida via what has become known as the Eastern Continental Trail.

Spend you winter wisely – planning for a very long walk starting from wherever you live in New York State.

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