CENTRAL NEW YORK CHAPTER
MARY KUNZLER-LARMANN is a lady uniquely comfortable in the woods. She began roaming the hills and forests at the age of four, accompanied only by the family dogs. "That is perhaps the greatest gift from my parents," she reflected. It's easy to see why she now values trails as a way for people to "experience the freedom to be a whole person." Mary laments the change from open agreements with neighbors who allowed movement through the wooded landscape. First came the "no trespassing" signs, then vacation homes, and now her childhood hillside haunts are covered with houses. Thus she is very interested in preserving wilderness areas. She has adopted a section of wild land in the Adirondacks through a NY Department of Environmental Conservation program. She is a licensed guide in both New York State and the Northwest Territory of Canada, and frequently leads backpacking ventures. In addition to all this experience Mary understands that trails are not available without a lot of behind-the-scenes work. Her main effort has been the Link Trail in Central NY. This is one possible route for the North Country Trail to connect from the Finger Lakes Trail to the Adirondacks. Mary learned that a chapter of the NCTA could be formed to aid in the efforts to develop trail by surfing the web. Some of the specific contributions she has made are in route development, landowner negotiations, county planning, trail construction, and corridor protection. One unusual aspect of this was the preparation of documents including aerial photographs showing where a quarrying operation was intruding on the trail right-of-way. Mary served as the Director of the CNY Chapter and as Chair of the Madison County Environmental Council, maintaining open communications and an excellent working relationship. Her degree in Communications from Syracuse University and experience as a manager for a manufacturing company (from which she is now retired) have undoubtedly contributed to her expertise. Like so many energetic people, Mary couldn't decide what aspect of trail work gave her the greatest satisfaction. I think she mentioned just about everything! This suggests that Mary is fully engaged in whatever is the project of the moment, but she called me back later to explain that she loves to see people come out to work, saying "I'm amazed to see how many people come when they probably had half-a-dozen other things they could do." She jokingly suggested that her most valuable contribution was "getting Al [her husband] involved." With such an impressive record it is no surprise that Mary received the 1998 Volunteer of the Year award for the Central New York chapter.
BUCKEYE TRAIL ASSOCIATION
Currently a member of the board of directors of both the Buckeye Trail Association and the NCTA, DANA ZINTEK brings a ready smile and even a song to the trail community. He plays guitar and sings the folk tune he wrote, "The Trail I Love," for personal enjoyment. When asked if he brings his music to group activities he joked, "I did, but they put a halt to it!" He and wife Lisa also create a puzzle page for the BTA Newsletter, called "Brambles," a word jumble based on Ohio trail awareness. His love for the trail works itself out in more familiar ways as well. Dana maintains eight miles of trail near Akron and is also the Akron Section Supervisor. This means that he is responsible for making sure that all maintainers on that section are keeping their miles in good repair. He is also the BTA map sales manager. His home is Cuyahoga Falls where he is the Town Mason. He says that he hiked trail from Akron to Cuyahoga for ten years before knowing about the Buckeye Trail. About three years ago he stopped at a Youth Hostel and found a BTA brochure, and joined almost immediately. After receiving a few newsletters he decided to go
on a work weekend to the Wayne National Forest and there discovered that many miles of the BT are also part of the North Country Trail. Dana and his wife Lisa love to hike. They met in the 70's and Dana recalled, "We had to hike, we were too broke to do anything else!" He loves the way the trail allows them to see more of rural Ohio, and his goal is to walk the entire Buckeye Trail. Toward this goal he also leads groups of circuit hikers. Dana tries to get people involved in trail work. He says that he knows a lot of people who want to hike, but who won't help to maintain or develop trails, and he would like to educate them into participating. When I asked why he valued trails, in his quiet laid-back manner Dana replied, "Well, shucks, if the people who use them don't think they are important, who will?"
NORTH COUNTRY TRAIL HIKERS CHAPTER
GENE ELZINGA could hardly believe that someone had nominated him for this feature. "I've really done very little," he repeatedly protested. But another chapter member said of him, "no one has worked as hard
or accomplished as much for the trail." He is currently the President of the North Country Trail Hikers, and is Trail Coordinator for Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Gene is a retired chemical research engineer from Exxon. His love for the outdoors is long-standing, being a hiker, backpacker and canoeist. When he lived on the east coast he was able to enjoy the Appalachian Trail, and while working in Europe he saw both the positive and negative results of a well-developed system of trails. All this experience was like raw data waiting to be developed. Gene saw the initial publicity about the commissioning of the North Country Trail in 1980 while he was still in the East. But when he retired to Marquette, Michigan he said, "the NCT will be my chance to pay back all the benefits I received from trails." Every time that I asked Gene about something he was involved in he began telling me what someone else had done. When I tried to steer the
conversation to his accomplishments he quietly said, "it's hard to talk about just one person." This is one of his greatest gifts. He is good at recognizing the strengths of individuals and then organizing people in ways that are effective in realizing those strengths. There are "many talented people here; we work together," he continued. He really enjoys contacting land owners, selecting and laying out routes. Organizing work crews involves maintenance challenges from "wetlands to rivers," he said. The NCT Hikers also co-sponsor one of the largest National Trails Day events involving activities all day for many age and interest groups, and he is always involved in that project. Gene believes trails are a way for people to share outdoor experiences with each other and with their families. He says that his own appreciation for trails began that way but has grown into "a spiritual thing." Hiking gives him a means of communicating with a personal God and of appreciating the things that he has. We certainly appreciate people like Gene!
Gene received the Lifetime Achievement award in 2004.
SUPERIOR HIKING TRAIL ASSOCIATION
The SHTA has just become an affiliate of the NCTA due to the inclusion of the "Arrowhead" reroute through Minnesota. The first featured volunteer for this group is TOIVO SAVONEN. Toivo is retired from the Reserve Mining Company where he was a welder and maintenance supervisor. He has been involved with the Superior Hiking Trail since its beginning, attending the organizational meeting at Brighton Peak with the Lieutenant Governor. He was a member of a paid crew which began to build the trail in 1987. "We received $6 an hour," he recalled. Two crews of six members each worked for two years to get the trail built. When the grant money ran out he just continued giving his time voluntarily. He says that he spends four or five days a week on the SHT, which is about 200 miles long. He is also in charge of maintaining many pieces of equipment including chain saws, a brush cutter, and an ATV. "This is an expensive hobby!" he chuckled. Like so many good volunteers he was also very reticent to talk about his own deeds. He has a close relationship with the SHT staff, sharing ideas and concerns with them, and also works on the trail with young people (Minnesota Conservation Corps) in the summer. He considers his time working on the trail to be good exercise. "I used to run marathons," Toivo explained, "but this gives a far greater sense of accomplishment." He also acknowledges the great satisfaction of looking behind you and seeing a piece of trail that you have just put into good shape. He likes interacting with the wildlife seen along the trail, but is saddened that there are so few birds and rabbits compared to when he was younger. Another person said of Toivo, "He is a good person to work along-side-of, and to learn by doing that." So much of the trail experience is to be learning things by doing, by being WITH someone else, that we are thrilled to welcome Toivo and others of the Superior Hiking Trail community to the larger North Country Trail family.