Schenectady Wintersports Club Northern New York Paddlers Mohawk Valley Hiking Club Newsletters June 2024
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Notes From the President....
Happy June to all. This Chatter is full of information, photos and reviews of activities and enhancements taking place within SWC. Bill and I were in attendance at the Spring Work Weekend at the Clubhouse and truly enjoyed meeting some members for the first time and, of course, working with old friends, as well. I sound like a broken record, but can’t adequately express my appreciation for the effort put forth by so many individuals in support of SWC. I like to keep active, and benefit from having a goal to keep myself off the couch. Running has never been my thing, but I can walk very long distances, even out walking our dog. To be fair, he’s aging and recently had surgery. To make it fun I have participated, in recent years, in 5K’s held near our home which always have a fund raising purpose. Last week, as I was nearing the end of the Sloughter 5K our 8 year old grandson, who had completed his run, returned to me with encouragement to run the final distance. My time was not spectacular, but it was pretty great to have him running beside me. And it was for a good cause. Two of our grandchildren will be running, and I’ll be walking, in the 5K to benefit STRIDE June 12 at Jennings Landing in Albany. This is another personal motivator and a great way for SWC to support STRIDE. Added bonus…..there are snacks at the end.
Karen |
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UPDATE: New Reservation Software
The implementation of the new software is on schedule, and should be completed by May 31, with user testing planned for June 2024. There are several process changes to make booking easier, and keep the volunteer workload balanced. Here are some of the changes to keep in mind:
(Read more)
Board Minutes of Meetings Members only: view here |
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Clubhouse Work Weekend
We had a great time at the fall work weekend. There was a long list of things that needed doing and we had time for some things we didn’t know needed doing that got done anyway. The Clubhouse is only as good as the volunteers make it and they have earned a big Thank You from all our members.
(Read more)
Hosts Needed
We have scheduled a number of hosted weekends at the clubhouse this year, and are looking for volunteers to host. If you are new to hosting or haven't hosted in a while, John and Ellen Bidell are hosting a "Welcome to the House" weekend, October 24-27, as an orientation for hosts and those who haven't stayed before. (Read more)
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Happy Hour Hiatus
John and I are traveling Iceland and Norway for the first half of June, and the picnic is in July. We will start back up with happy hours in August.
Stride Fundraiser
Wednesday, June 12 at Jennings Landing Run, Walk and Roll 2k/5k (Read more)
Towpath Regatta
Thursday, June 20
For more information click here
SWC Picnic
Saturday, July 13 at Thacher Park
The annual SWC Picnic is scheduled for Saturday, July 13 at Thacher Park in New Scotland.
(Read more)
Electric City Regatta
Saturday, July 13 at Lock 9
For more information click here
Barge Chaser Regatta
Sunday, July 14 at Kiwanis Park
For more information click here
Ski Trips 2025
We have open spots for Steamboat!
(Read more)
Visit swcweb.org
For the latest updates on Upcoming Events |
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The Northern New York Paddlers
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For more information on canoe and kayak races visit NYPRA.ORG
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The President's Column
By Ed Greiner
Stay tuned....
Paddling the General Clinton Regatta on the Susquehanna River
By Kim Greiner So I have a few bruises, blisters, abrasions, and a little sunburn, but it was worth it!
The Bainbridge Chamber of Commerce has hosted the General Clinton Regatta every Memorial Day weekend for the past 62 years with many kinds of races from the Generation Gap to Scout races and sprints, as well as the highlight of the weekend, a 70-mile endurance race. Northern New York Paddlers has had a mixed relay team for many years, as well as both men’s and women’s teams back when they existed. We often have many of the same members of the 10-person relay team, but NNYP’s team had two new people this year and they finished 6th out of 19. An excellent result! The course is run in five legs (starting in Oneonta and ending in Bainbridge). A person can run more than one leg, but it cannot be consecutive. There must always be a male and a female in the stock aluminum canoe. Each leg of the race varies in length (2.5 – 9 miles), type of water, and obstacles. Exchanges are a bit crazy as quite a few boats arrive at the same time with people jumping out and the new team jumping in. A great spectator opportunity also!
It has been 16 years since I participated in the “70”. I had a great opportunity to paddle in a C-4 (four-person canoe) with three amazing women. The weather started out great (cool and overcast) in the morning, but the last 30 miles was sunny and quite hot. The course starts on picturesque Otsego Lake in Cooperstown and runs to General Clinton Park in Bainbridge. The first 40 miles has a lot of very technical water that becomes very challenging and can be quite dangerous in places. Three dams (Cooperstown, Goodyear Lake, and Oneonta) must be portaged around, another physical challenge as paths are narrow, wooded, muddy, uphill and down, but thankfully short. We are extremely grateful to our pit crew who resupplied our drinks and food at various intervals. Even being a pit person can be grueling as concern for getting to the location on time, hiking or paddling in with all the right stuff, plus extras, presents quite a challenge. Most paddlesport races are divided into gender and age groups. The C-4 Stock Endurance Class is not, so our team of women (ranging in ages from 40-80) were in the same ranking as the other teams (mixed and men’s). Despite that, we were very proud to finish 5th out of 6 with a time of 10:47:18. Yup, nearly 11 hours of paddling! Any wonder why the bruises, blisters, abrasions and sunburn? Paddlesports Crossword Click here for puzzle Click here for answers
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Mohawk Valley Hiking Club |
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MVHC President's Column By Bill Simmons
Mohawk Valley Hiking Club members have played decisive roles in support of the Long Path project, since it’s inception, which was the vision of Vince Schaefer. He proposed that New York establish its own “Long Path” similar to the Long Trail in Vermont creating it as an unmarked route meandering from the George Washington Bridge to Whiteface Mountain in the Adirondacks, the name of the path coming from Walt Whitman’s poem Song of the Open Road: “There lies before me a long brown path, leading wherever I choose”. In the 1960’s the New York - New Jersey Trail Conference expanded that vision by creating a blazed hiking trail along Schaefer’s route. Currently the Long Path is a 358 mile hiking trail extending from the 175th Street Subway Station in NYC, north to John Boyd Thatcher Park in Albany County. Future plans are to extend the trail to the Mohawk River and eventually into the Adirondacks. As a long time member and trail maintainer of Long Path North I would like to extend an invitation to join in the following scheduled hikes: July 13 LP in Cole Hill State Forest, about 3 miles on LP Section 34 August 3 Bald Mountain, near Stamford, 4-5 miles August 24 New LP re-route in Partridge Run 3.5 miles Contact Bill Simmons for further hike details.
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