Join us for the 2nd Annual ECTAthlon, the North Shore Outdoor Event of the Year! There is nothing else like this one. Teams of 4 will start in Bradley Palmer with a 3.5 mile trail run, followed by a 3.8 mile mountain bike ride, a 4 mile horseback ride (an “ideal time course” ), and ending with a 4.4 mile kayak race down the Ipswich River.
Click here for more details and to register!
Susanna Colloredo-Mansfeld and ECTA were featured in the spring newsletter from Equine Land Conservation Resource. This national organization was founded in 1997 to support individuals and groups interested in land conservation for equestrian use. ECTA has supported ELCR’s Conservation Partners program, which promotes conservation through grassroots outreach, networking opportunities and access to information and educational resources.
In the spring issue of The Resource, ELCR featured Essex County Trail Association in the Conservation Partners Spotlight column. The article focuses on ECTA founding member Susanna Colloredo-Mansfeld and her tireless efforts to create an organization that would work with riders to be respectful, understand property restrictions, and encourage stewardship of the land.
Also highlighted is ECTA’s emphasis on landowners and the importance of ensuring that “the experience of open trails is positive for them as well as the trail users.”
ECTA’s diversity of trail users is mentioned as well, noting our many athletic, educational and social events throughout the year that bring together our different trail users. “ECTA embraces diversity in trail usage for multiple disciplines, such as walking, running, riding, biking and skiing in a mutually respectful way.”
The article closes by noting that ECTA has become a “model organization in making a real difference for conserving land for future generations of equestrians.”
Thanks to our friends at ELCR for such a great article!
To go to the ECTA article directly click here. To read the full newsletter click here. To visit the ELCR webiste, click here.
Mark your calendars for the Pan-Ipswich Challenge on Saturday May 5th!! Our 20 mile walk/run from the west end of Ipswich to the coast will highlight some of the best trails and open lands on the North Shore. We will cross through Willowdale State Forest, Bradley Palmer State Park, Greenbelt’s Pingree Reservation, The Trustees’ Appleton Farms, New England Biolabs, Maplecroft Trail then down Argilla Road to the Trustees’ Steep Hill Beach.Please join us, or if you can’t make the event, please make a pledge to support the walk/run. All registrants will receive details about parking closer to the time of the event, but walkers will be leaving Hood Pond at 8 AM and runners at 10:30 am. ECTA has been out clearing trails throughout the network, and all funds raised will go directly to trail maintenance and clearing for the spring season.
Special thanks to our event sponsors for their support!
Please join us for our Annual Open Meeting at the Gould Barn in Topsfield on April 10th at 6pm. We are excited to welcome our guest speaker, Philip Werner, who will present to us “Hiking the White Mountain 4000 Footers”. Philip is an avid hiker who is the author of Section Hiker, an internet blog on “Hiking and Backpacking for Beginners and Experts”. He is also a US Forest Service volunteer, a Long Trail Mentor for the Green Mountain Club and holds leadership positions with the Appalachian Mountain Club and the Random Hikers Meetup Group. For more on Philip, click here.
We will also present ECTA: Organization and Goals for 2012.
Light refreshments will be served. The Gould Barn is located at One Howlett Street in Topsfield. For more information please email us.
In late February and early March, ECTA partnered with landowners to repair a trail between Aquila Farm and the Whitman and Tone properties. The trail had become eroded and muddy and needed major repairs. This trail is an important equestrian and pedestrian link from Bridge Street to Bay Road and although this trail work could not be covered fully by our limited maintenance budget, ECTA met with landowner Deirdre Pirie to try to come to a solution to get these repairs done. It was decided that if we could purchase the materials, she would have her staff do the work. That alone saved the ECTA half the cost of the job. We all worked together to make sure that we followed conservation commission guidelines. Our trail expert worked with Deirdre’s crew to advise the best way to do the work. They did the work brilliantly and the result is a trail that is beautiful and dry!
In early February, Skip Lisle of Beaver Deceiver International completed a beaver deceiver for ECTA that will help control the water level behind the beaver dam on the New England Biolabs campus and the Hamilton-Wenham Open Lands Trust Riverside Preserve. Beaver Deceivers are effective because they control the height of the water level but allow the beavers to remain in their habitat. This effort was funded through a grant from the Fields Pond Foundation and will significantly improve the trail system by keeping the trails dry. This is a first step in improving the trails. Later in 2012, through a grant pending from Mass DCR, ECTA hopes to work with Biolabs and HWOLT to further improve this beautiful trail network for all to enjoy.
Thanks to everyone who joined us Saturday for the Hike to the Village Pancake House. It was a beautiful day for a 4 mile, 2 hour hike through a little fresh snow, capped off by a hearty brunch! Keep posted for info on several April Walks, and for updates on the 20 mile Pan-Ipswich Challenge on May 5th.
Thanks to everyone who came out for our February monthly walk. We had a great hike from Appleton Farm to The Black Cow. Our next walk is March 10th and we will go from the Ipswich Rd./Topsfield Rd. entrance to Willowdale to the Village Pancake House in Rowley. Click here for more information and to register.
Our recent acquisition of the Donovan/Sagamore Hill Trail easement, and the volunteer work done on the trail this fall, have been featured in the “Trail Savers” column of Trail Blazer magazine. The magazine has graciously permitted our members to view a full online version of the December issue. Our article is on page 92 and we hope that you’ll enjoy reading the other great articles as well! Click here to link to Trail Blazer magazine.
Join Alex van Alen, Peter Campot and fellow ECTA members on Saturday, February 11th for a hike from Appleton Farms to The Black Cow restaurant in downtown Hamilton.
We will meet an 10:00 am at the Waldingfield Parking Lot (corner of 1A and Waldingfield). Please register if you plan to stay for lunch so we can make a restaurant reservation. We will have transportation available from the Black Cow back to the parking lot.
