Syracuse.com - Finger Lakes Trail Conference plans special event Saturday for trail's 50th anniversary

[HuntingNY-News]

The idea is to have hikers cover the trail’s entire length in one day. This will be accomplished by breaking the trail down to 75 different sections and having hikers setting out in simultaneous treks of 5 to 10 miles each. It’s a trail worth toasting.The 560-mile Finger Lakes Trail, which meanders through Central New York, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. On top of that, Saturday is National Trails Day.That being the case, the Finger Lakes Trail Conference, the 1,400-member, volunteer group that created and maintains the Finger Lakes Trail, is planning something special.The idea is to have hikers cover the trail’s entire length in one day. This will be accomplished by breaking the trail down to 75 different sections and having hikers setting out in simultaneous treks of 5 to 10 miles each.Gene Bavis, of Walworth, in Wayne County, is executive director of the Finger Lakes Trail Conference. He expects some 400 to 700 people to be out Saturday on all sections of the trail.Bavis said the trail begins in the western part of the state at Allegany State Park and spans eastward. It goes through Tompkins, Cortland and Chenango counties, heading south into Delaware County and the Catskills. A branch of the trail goes through parts of Onondaga and Madison counties, but that stretch will not be included in Saturday’s event.To participate, check out the Finger Lakes Trail Conference Web site .

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog