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abuse of the trail and surrounding areas, primarily by people
coming out of Macedonia State Park, which prompted the rerouting
of the pathway. The third instance is in Cornwall, where landowner
John Neuse has exluded hikers because of similar abuse by
campers from Mohawk State Forest, which abuts his property.
The new course being surveyed in Kent will be at least five
miles shorter than the route hikers now have to take, and
will cross - at right angles - Route 341 in the Macedonia
Area and Fuller Mountain Road, instead of following lengthy
stretches along these roads, as has been the case this summer.
Federal legislation in the past three years has empowered
the National Park Service to acquire, through direct purchase
or easement arrangement, a protected corridor for the Appalachian
Trail. But there has been sharp criticism from local landowners
of the approach taken by NPS, including suggestions that a
200' wide corridor would be more feasible than the 1000' designated
in the law. The new route in Kent is contingent upon purchase
by NPS of the Edling property, approximately 165 acres on
Route 341, near Kent School farm and the Carter home. This
piece will provide hikers coming out of New York State over
Schaghticoke Mountain with access to .9 miles of new trail,
across 341 and onto Mount Algo, where it follows the ridge
north and west to rejoin the existing trail, across Skiff
Mountain Road and onto Caleb's Peak above St. Johns Ledges.
(Schaghticoke Mountain is known to many in this area as "Rattlesnake
Mountain," apparently a justified nickname, since a 4'
rattler was reported killed this past week by Mr. Daron Morgan
of the NPS survey team. Mr. Lemmon noted rattlesnakes, because
they are slow and noisy, pose less of a threat to Trail users
than Copperhead snakes which have also been sighted in the
area.)
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