News:
5/10/12 Auburn Trail Work Begins For The Season
Auburn Trail looking east from Fishers Rd, as work begins
Fencing has been added to the Auburn Trail Bridge over Irondequoit Creek
Work has begun on upgrading the Auburn Trail section from Fishers Main St. to Fishers Rd. Town crews have begun cutting the trees necessary to widen the track. As is our practice in all the trail widening projects, as many trees are being saved as possible so it remains a "wooded" trail. This section should be finished to its 8-foot wide stone-dust surface this year.
Please do NOT park at the trail entrances along Fishers Road and Railroad Mills Road this year. Construction equipment needs access in both directions on the trail. Thank you. At the end of construction there will be parking for 2 cars at each of these intersections.
These sections of the trail will have construction equipment on them all this season: For your safety, give them the right of way!
3/11/12 Trail Maintenance Schedule for 2012
The over 50-miles of trails in Victor(!) need routine, and sometimes emergency, work to keep them open and safe. While the Town of Victor does most of this work on the rail-bed trails and trails in the Town parks, the rest is done by volunteers through Victor Hiking Trails, Inc. There are regularly scheduled maintenance sessions three times a week: Wednesday Evening, Saturday Morning, and Monday Morning. You can volunteer for a single session -- or part, or come to as many as you wish. A few very dedicated volunteers show up for nearly every session! Thank You Volunteers!
The new 2012 schedule, from Wed, May 2nd to Sat Sept 29, is now available in the online Calendar. Full sessions usually run for about an hour to an hour and a half, depending on the trail segment, the growth, and the number of volunteers at that session. To volunteer, simply show up at the location as stated in the Calendar (those that are underlined, when clicked, even give a map to the location). We have all the power tools, and many of the hand tools. Do wear gloves and eye protection; insect and poison ivy protection may also be useful to you. Once again, Thank You Volunteers!
New trail creation, bridge building and repair, and emergency trail work is usually done on a specific need basis.
Of course we all know that YOU volunteer for trail maintenance every time you use a trail by picking up the very small amount of trash that escapes even the most cautious hikers, and by reporting any areas needing special attention. So, a Thank You, Volunteer!
1/22/12 ROC The Day - Results!
ROC The Day December 8th resulted in approximately $325 being donated to VHT. Many thanks to all who showed their support to our local trails organization and the many other valuable local organizations. These funds will be used to purchase fuel, maintain equipment, build bridges, and generally make the trail system better for all users.
1/22/12 Trail Maintenance Volunteers -- Year Round!
After a hard wind storm, a trail reconnaissance and maintenance mission was done. Smaller problems were cleared, but these two on the Seneca Trail will have to wait a while for bigger saws and volunteer work parties so they can be cleared safely.
Photos by Chauncy Young. Thank you again, trail volunteers.
12/18/11 2011 Winter Issue of VHT Pathfinder is Available
- Moonlight Hike 1
- LAST MAILING OF VHT Pathfinder 1
- Hikes for 2012 2
- Past Hikes 3
- Appalachian Trail 4
- Penfield Jamboree 5
- UNO Chicago Grill 6
- Brush Cutter Donated 6
- Our Sponsors 7
Click on Newsletter - Current to the left.
12/5/11 New Seneca Spur Trail Gets Used
The new short spur trail off the Seneca Trail in Ganondagan to the NY444 parking lot was cut just this summer. It is getting considerable use as seen in this photo by Chauncy Young.
11/21/11 40 Hikers on the new Domine Bridge
Chauncy Young reports:
On Saturday Nov. 19th, we hiked with the Genesee Valley Hiking Club. There were 40 hikers standing on the bridge when Nat Fisher, who was just coming back from a hike with family, took the picture. I did not hear any cracking and it did not sag at all.
Thank you Chauncy and Nat, and all 40! Thank you too, to all the VHT volunteers who put in the hundreds of work hours to build the bridge.
11/11/11 Auburn Trail Extension: YES!
Although an "Official Opening" is still a ways in the future, the newly stone dust paved Auburn Trail section is now usable. Most of the heavy construction has halted for the season. Work will commence again next spring. Still to be done is the final two layers of stone from Fishers Rd to the new bridge. Also safety fencing has not been installed: for your safety stay on the stone surface. Additional work to be done includes the topsoil and seeding on the shoulder, which also defines the 8-food wide trail surface. Please remember this section is also an RG&E driveway; their service trucks may be there at any time, possibly completely blocking the trail. Also next summer will see work on the "pocket park" by the new bridge and a 2-car parking area at Railroad Mills Rd.
The Fishers Main St to Fishers Rd, AKA the "Thruway" section, has opened after the Thruway Authority finally finished their bridge maintenance. It continues to be as it has been for years: narrow and rough. This section is scheduled to be widened and surfaced next summer. The 2-car parking area at Fishers Rd may be worked on yet this season, weather permitting, otherwise it will be done next spring.
Next season should also see clearing and construction on the last segment from and along Railroad Mills Rd to Wolston Rd and Powder Mills Park.
11/8/11 Another "$100" Temporary Bridge: Trolley Trail
On Saturday 11/5, a crew of VHT volunteers under the direction of Chauncy Young built a temporary 3-arch low bridge over the flooding on the Trolley Trail caused by a nearby beaver dam. Approximately $100 and 10 volunteer hours of labor were used. One of the spans has been used in other temporary situations, most recently during construction of the Domine Bridge. A separate 12-feet of boardwalk was also constructed. Thank you, volunteers!
Here is the pond behind that dam as seen from the Trolley Trail. The dam is just off the right hand bottom of the image. The new boardwalk and bridge are behind us.
11/8/11 Auburn Trail Extension: Paving
The Auburn Trail section from the new Irondequoit Creek Bridge to Railroad Mills Rd has been paved 8-feet wide with the three layers of stone.
Here is the front "working end" of the paving machine. This is a special, narrow machine. The black fences mark the 10-food wide work zone.
The stone carrying trucks had to back in from Railroad Mills Rd, staying within the 10-foot work zone.
Loading the machine with stone.
The machine laying down the stone layer.
Each of the three layers is compacted after laying.
10/31/11 Auburn Trail Extension
Railroad Mills today was a double entendre as trail milling began on the Auburn Trail by Railroad Mills Road. This is how it looked before. Note the side fences so no equipment of person would be outside of the 10-foot wide work zone. That is the back end of the milling machine parked down there by Railroad Mills Rd over the weekend, waiting to be used.
And the monster machine itself, waiting to come to life for Halloween.
Staying between the lines: The trucks had to back the whole distance with only a 1-foot clearance each side. It also made for a lot of waiting time as only one truck could be backing in and driving out at a time. There was no mark that anything ever hit one of the side fences. Great job!
Another delay occurred when the trucks had problems with a couple wet spots from the recent heavy rains. Additional stone had to be brought in to fill them in before work could continue. More backing and forthing.
The careful job of actually milling. A fourth team member is unseen in the lead. This is a "special" narrower than standard milling machine to fit within the 10-foot limit. It did require making a second pass to get the full trail width. The milling depth is about 5-inches.
The final result. Three layers of stone in different sizes will be laid in and each compacted to achieve the final stone dust surfaced trail.
The majority of the milling was completed on Monday October 31st.
10/30/11 Domine Trail Bridge Finished
Our volunteers finished the new Domine Trail bridge that connects to the Auburn Trail on Saturday October 30th. It immediately got considerable use and introduced many people to this nice, if short, woodland trail joining at the other end with the Lehigh Trail.
As we saw the considerable use of the Auburn Trail while we were working on the bridge this fall demonstrates the saying "Build it and they will come!"
10/21/11 November Hike: Mendon Ponds
From VICTORPost.Com: http://www.victorpost.com/video/x319040593/Victor-Hiking-Trails-Mendon-hike
10/7/11 Domine Trail Bridge Under Construction
Here are two short videos of the bridge being built. They were taken by volunteer Suzy Paquin, who when not behind the camera was working on all the phases of construction, too. Thank you Suzy.
The first is raising one of the trestle beam / side rails. The second is moving it into place.
9/25/11 Domine Trail Bridge Under Construction
We are in the process of building a new bridge on the Domine Trail over the East Branch of Irondequoit Creek to the Auburn Trail. This Saturday was foundation day. A concrete block wall was built on top of an old railroad bridge foundation. On the far side, two deep pillar foundation holes were dug, with lots of rocks in the way, and concrete was mixed an poured. Sunday saw scaffolding assembled and temporary decking layed. Then a 40-foot long wood trestle was created on the deck with lots of bolts. By the end of the day, it was raised and moved into position as shown in the picture.
Next Saturday, Oct 1, will be another workday for the volunteer crew. All hands are invited to participate for an hour or 8. (Bring work gloves!) The second trestle will be constructed, then joists and decking will be added.
That is Chauncey Young in the bright Trail Volunteer shirt. In addition to being VHT's Treasurer, he is the Head Bridge Builder and crew leader. Thanks, Chauncey.
9/5/11 Seneca Trail Stairs
We have another Eagle Scout Project within our trail system. Matt Spitzer is completing a new stairway on the Seneca Trail, near Maple Ave. and Dryer Rd., leading to the existing bridge over Great Brook. This is a steep, slippery when wet, hill and was subject to erosion from trail use. It required over 6-months of planning and work. It is designed to accommodate walked bikes. Thank you Matt!
8/7/11 Auburn Trail Extension Bridge More Pictures
There are now 49 pictures (most of them from the 8/4 event) of the new bridge and the preparation of the site. They are in the Photo Album at the left. Use the search term #auburn_bridge in the Find:-box to see only these pictures.
Use the search term #clear_cut for pictures of what happened last fall when RG&E, the landowner, did clear cut the section some had called the "RRMSEA Railroad Mills Special Environmental Area" after VHT was kept from doing the necessary maintenance of the right of way (that we had done for 15+ years to keep RG&E from needing to cut it) by people protesting the Auburn Trail Extension Project for years.
8/4/11 Auburn Trail Extension Bridge Installed!
The new bridge was delivered early this morning in two halves. They were joined and the whole thing lifted by a large crane and set on the foundations that were waiting. While there is still a lot of work to be done, the bridge is in place! It will likely be officially opened this September.
The main trail work for the extention will likely be done next season.
The Thruway Bridge work is nearing completion, too.
5/22/11 Seneca Trail Improvements
With help from the Victor High School Track Team, VHT Volunteers have built about 500-feet of boardwalk through the wettest part of the Seneca Trail north of the Auburn Trail. It consists of 3 2x10s sitting up anywhere from 2-inches to 12-inches above the ground level on cross ties. About $4,000 was spent on lumber and other supplies for this work and hundreds of hours of volunteer time. Thank you all: Track Team, volunteers, and members and sponsors whose dues and contributions paid for this.
5/22/11 More Seneca Trail Improvements and Extension
With help from "the Wednesday Group" volunteers, VHT Volunteers have extended the Seneca Trail north of the Fishers Firehouse #2 on High Street to Valentown. It is currently rough cut, and has a ford over a small stream rather than a bridge, and one hillside does not have a switchback trail yet. We expect it to come up to full standard by Fall '11. Thank you volunteers for this.
We expect to get permission to cross the Vallentown property and link to the High Point trail system.
Link to Seneca Trail description.
5/12/11 Seneca Trail Project for Day of Caring
A group of volunteers, both VHT members and non-members, worked on a Seneca Trail improvement project as part of United Way of Rochester's annual Day of Caring on May 11. They toiled in the hot sun on a beautiful May day to cut a more level track for the trail where it traverses a side hill around a beaver pond on the Apple Farm land. This will make hiking easier and mowing MUCH easier. The work and planning was done with an eye to making the trail sustainable with no or limited erosion possibilities. Thank you Volunteers!
Before
Volunteers At Work
After
Tools Waiting For You To Volunteer!
Welcome to the Victor Hiking Trails, Inc. official Homepage!
Your contribution will help maintain and extend a network of hiking trails in the town of Victor.
We are a grassroots organization that began exploratory meetings in the fall of 1991. We have accomplished a lot, but we still have much work ahead of us. We currently have over 30-miles of open trails. These include well connected multi-use rails-to-trails, secluded woodland rambles, stream side walks, and longer cross-town hiking trails. Some connect various town and state parks, others exist by themselves. In addition, we are actively scouting out possible sites and negotiating with land owners and developers for permission of public access to their property. Our purpose is to develop a trail system which will preserve open space and provide an educational and recreational experience for everyone in the town of Victor.
We the People: Involved in Victor Hiking Trails are kindred spirits. People who care about the land on which they live. People who enjoy nature in all its bounty. People who want to improve their town and leave something that will add value to our lives. People like you. We welcome you among us. We meet on the third Thursday of each month at 7:30 PM in the Victor Town Hall at 85 East Main Street. Meetings are informal and everyone is welcome. Please try to join us, you can get to know us better. We have regularly scheduled work parties for clearing and maintaining the trail system. Please see the calendar.
VISION- Create and maintain foot trails and multi-use paths in the Town of Victor.
- Promote a meaningful relationship with nature.
- Promote individual responsibility for protecting the environment.
- Provide recreational activity through walking, biking, snowshoeing, and cross country skiing.
- Provide education to the public through nature interpretation, historical information and proper use of trails.
- Promote good relationships with all people (landowners, government officials, adjacent townships, and trail users).
- Trails of various terrain, landforms, views and habitats for various plant and animal species.
- Trails in various geographic sections of the Town of Victor with access by as many residents as possible.
- Trails of various lengths and difficulties.
- Trails for foot traffic and paths for multi-use including bikes.
- Dave Wright - Chairperson
- Jeff Hennick - Vice-Chairperson & WebMaster
- Wizzy Geno - Volunteer Coordinator
- Nat Fisher - Secretary
- Chauncy Young - Treasurer
- Carol MacInnes - Trail Master
- Larry Fisher - Trail Boss
- Roberta Lockwood - Historian
- Ruth Nellis - Education
- Dave Coleman - Membership
- You too can be a part of the VHT team!
- 1980's - Conservation Board initiates concept.
- Summer of 1991 - Town Board approves concept
- September 24, 1991 - First organized meeting
- May, 1992 - Incorporated in New York State
- September 18, 1993 - First trail opened
- June 16, 1994 - Tax exempt status approved by Federal Government
- September 17, 1994 - First Bridge Walk (Fund Raiser)
- See How To Develop a Foot Trail In Your Town
- Enjoy nature.
- Care about the land.
- Want to improve Victor.
- Hikes - Second Saturday each month, two weekends each year and a National Trails Day Special
- Maintenance - Usually One weeknight and two weekend mornings each week
- Meetings - Third Thursday each month 7:30 p.m. at Victor Town Hall
- Usually on the second Saturday of each month we gather at 9:00 AM for a 2 to 3 hour hike, for local hikes; bring lunch for more distant destinations. Sometimes we follow existing trails and sometimes we bushwhack to scout out new trail locations. Each Spring and Fall we have a weekend in the Adirondacks. For the location of future hikes watch the newsletter, call one of the officers for detailed information, or see VHT's On-line Calendar. Please join us.... it's a great way to meet the members. Here is the list of past and future hike destinations.
- We need assistance in a myriad of areas. Join us at a meeting and volunteer your services. Some of the needs (but by no means all) that we have are:
- lead hikes
- draw maps
- measure trail lengths
- make and install signs
- build trails, bridges and boardwalks
- build map boxes
- identify trees, flowers and birds (Monkey Run, example)
- illustrate
- take photos
- write articles for our newsletter and the Town newsletter
- collect donated items
- work on a committee
- recruit new members
- work on a fund raiser
- scout possible trail locations
- help with paperwork
- make phone calls
- We'll create more opportunities as we grow. Maybe you can provide a skill or interest we need but haven't even thought of yet. You will be surprised how skilled you are. Join us and put your talents and interests to work.
- $10.00 Supporting Membership
- $20.00 Contributing Membership
- $100 Trailblazer Membership
- $250 Path Builder Membership.
If you join or renew at the $20.00 level or above, you can sign up a friend or neighbor for free.
Donations of useful equipment are also welcomed. If you are an owner of land with trail possibilities, please contact us about a Revocable Permit for a trail.
