Yours, Mine, Ours?

 

Historical photo of the White Creek Pool

     Exciting news!

     I've found something on Facebook actually worth following. That would be the posts of old photos by local historical societies and civic groups. Whitehall, Granville, Hartford and Hoosick Falls have recently caught my attention. There may be others. Take, for example, a photo of the White Creek Pool on the Hoosick Falls NY Past & Present page with thoughtful text by Rick Ferrannini and a ton of nostalgic comments.

     In Washington County you have a smorgasbord of White Creeks to chose from. One gathers in the Rupert Vermont area and flows thru Salem before joining Black Creek and eventually the Battenkill. Another originates up in Black Hole Hollow, skirts the Village of Cambridge and merges with the Owl Kill. Finally, there is the inferiority complexed Little White Creek, another drainage of the Taconics that crosses the southeastern corner of Washington County before emptying into the Walloomsac, which in turn adds its waters to the Hoosic River a short distance downstream.

This White Creek is in back of the Evergreen Cemetery in Salem

A different White Creek from the bridge leading to the Cambridge Community Forest

Little White Creek

The word 'limpid' was created to describe this beautiful stream

     I've canoed in some of these streams and swam too. Even swam when I was supposed to be canoeing! I'ld like to explore each from source to sea, then do a post comparing them. Maybe someday. So many White Creeks, so little time. But for now let's focus on the one with the White Creek Pool swimming hole. The pool was on private property and that seems to have been its downfall as it is no longer open and judging from the comments, it is sorely missed.

     The loss of such a beloved community gathering spot is a window on our relationship with place, our ideas about what's public and what's private. Most people expressed a wistful sense of sadness, a feeling that a treasured part of life had been taken away. Jennifer Fisk summed it up with "Those were the days my friends and we thought they would never end but here we are." A few suggested that somehow the pool should come under public ownership and be open to all again. Others bristled at that option claiming it was private property and the owner could do what he wants with it. Since when do we expect Americans to agree on anything?

     Washington County is notorious for being peppered with  'NO TRESPASSING' signs and we've even had cases of innocent people being shot for mistakenly pulling into the wrong driveway. But just as often the WELCOME sign is out. Rexleigh and White Creek may be closed but people still swim at Pooks and the Georgi and I have fond memories of cooling off in the river after hot days in the hayfield. A bunch of us guys would pull over along Skellie Road and jump in with Ernie often walking down to join us.

Pooks

Georgi serenity

      The D&H rail trail is another interesting case. It's open in Vermont but closed on the New York side of the border, thus denying the Village of Salem the economic benefits that other communities are reaping from bike tourism. Snowmobiles seem to fare better than walkers, bikers or equestrians with a county wide trail system that crosses private lands. And we all take car/truck travel so much for granted that no one questions the hundreds of miles of roads that have been carved out of private property. 

The D&H railbed comes into Salem in back of Stewarts.

It could be bringing cyclists into town for food and drink 

but the rail trail stops at the NY/VT border

The rail trail is used by snowmobiles in the winter

     The idea of 'the commons', of things we all own together has been with us since the beginning. Native Americans didn't seem to have private property but even they had reserved hunting areas that were understood to be for the use of a certain tribe or family. Most reasonable people feel that clean air and water are something we all have a right to but I have huffed and puffed up a hill on my bike while having to suck in smoke from smoldering plastic in someones burn barrel. Does private property give you the right to poison the air someone else breathes, the water that they drink? And what of our system of National Parks? Probably Elon Musk has enough money to buy all of them and turn them into private getaways. Does anyone doubt that the current administration would consider selling them if it could get a cut?

Saratoga Battlefield National Park

(web image)

Idiots were here, ruining it for the rest of us

     Trash, rude behavior and legal liability are all given as reasons for closing off access. Believe me, I understand. I deal with ATVers that turn the clear trout stream on my farm into a mud bog, that leave their drunken party debris in my woods, that ride haphazard across my hayfields. You have to wonder who raised these kids to have so little consideration, kids with a vocabulary limited to 'F' this and 'F' that. But are we ready to surrender our enjoyment of the world to a few miscreants? If I POSTED my farm how does that affect people who walk their dogs, ride horses, birdwatch or X-C ski? All those who respectfully enjoy my property, people who I'm happy to see? The right to own property is cherished in this country. As it should be. But the right to enjoy natural beauty should belong to all of us, not just to those with the money to buy it. I want to live in a world where kids can have summer fun in a swimming hole, just like their parents and grandparents did before them. Is that too much to ask?  
   

What's the Hurry?

      

     Adventure racing has come to (and gone from) from our area. Earlier this summer Rootstock Racing hosted the Endless Mountains Race that began in Ticonderoga, then continued thru northern Washington County before moving on to Vermont and eventually Massachusetts. It involved five days of travel on foot, by bikes, in water and even over cliffs! It was a little like a triathlon on steroids with navigation skills required and team work essential.

     I'm all for adventure as long as it's preceded by the words 'little' and 'slow'. These races are anything but. The course covered somewhere between 300 and 350 miles. That's if you managed to stay on course (no small feat). Comes to between 60 to 70 miles per day. Sleeping and eating seem to be afterthoughts. But what struck me is how much simple, fun adventure there is in and around Washington County. Even for us non-racers. There's a good reason Rootstock chose this area for their event.

     You can see the route traced on a youtube video but it unfolds rapidly (and unbelievably), a little hard to follow if you are not familiar with the terrain. The race started at the summit of Mount Defiance and wound down thru the streets of Ticonderoga. A short paddling section brought them to Fort Ticonderoga where there was a running loop. Then came the long canoe and kayak paddle up thru the Narrows of Lake Champlain to the far end of South Bay.

     The racers then beached their boats and did a trekking route in Whitehall's rugged Saddles State Forest, trying to find a number of checkpoints in the dark, rainy night. Back on the water they quickly made their way to a transition area at the Rt. 22 boat launch. From here it was mountain biking into Vermont along the rough road that parallels the Poultney River in West Haven. After hitting a checkpoint in Fair Haven they spent some time on the Slate Valley Trails near Poultney before turning south with a trek on Dorset Mountain and a scary cliff jump/swim stop at the Dorset Quarry.

  

     That was just the first couple of days. Beyond Dorset/Manchester came endless trekking, mountain biking and packrafting in the vast Green Mountain National Forest before a finish in North Adams, MA. Following the route left me with a deja vu feeling as I have been to most of the places the racers traversed. The difference is that I visited them as leisurely day trips over the course of a life time. I was reminded of the one semi-adventure race I'ld done years ago: the Adirondack 90 miler canoe classic from Old Forge to Saranac Lake. At the end I remember saying to Gwenne "That would have been fun if we took three weeks instead of three days to do it".  There are those who savor life in the fast lane and then there are those of us who favor the off ramp leading to more relaxed adventure. How lucky to live in an area that can accommodate both. 

 

     * All the images are from Rootstock/Endless Mountain websites. They may be from previous year's races. I included them to give you an idea of what adventure racing is all about. There are YouTube videos on the web that do show local scenes from this years race. They are fun to watch.