FLORIDA TRIL Trekker ASSOCIATION Tropical Trekkers Chapter P.O. Box 423 Palm City, FL 34992 Talk V o l u m e 2 5, N u m b e r 8 O c t o b e r 2 0 1 8 Chapter Meeting Public Welcome The Tropical Trekkers meet on the second National Public Lands Day Monday of each month at the Palm City Community Center, located on Cornell Avenue at the Southwest corner of the Palm City Bridge. The meeting begins at September 22 was National Public Lands Day. Tropical Trekkers were joined by park rangers, Americorps members, and friends to install new plants in the Seabranch butterfly garden and a new bench. The garden is directly in front of the parking area. Stop by and have a look. 6:45 PM with sign up sheets available for upcoming activities. By 7:00 PM the monthly program begins. We often invite outside speakers that compliment our outdoors theme. October 8 Wren Underwood Ecotourism Coordinator for St. Lucie County Public Lands 1 Membership 2 Trail Work 3 Summer Vacations 4 Girl s Night 11 Chapter Meeting 11 Officers and 12 Trailmasters FTA & BOD 13 New plants: Firebush Narrowleaf Silk Grass Dune Sunflower Partridge Pea Beauty Berry American Jointweed Blazing Star
V o l u m e 2 5, N u m b e r 8 Page 2 Tropical Trekkers Membership Chair Position A nice opportunity for someone who would like to participate a little more in our chapter is available. Perhaps you are unable or not interested in heavy trail work but would like to do something more for our chapter. The board position for Membership is available for you. You ask, what does the Membership Chair do? Once a month we receive membership reports from FTA headquarters. The reports include a membership roster of all Tropical Trekker chapter members; new members who joined since the last report and dropped members (folks who have not renewed their membership since the last report). The Membership chair reviews the reports and enters the pertinent information into our Tropical Trekker Gmail account in order for new members to receive our newsletter. Dropped members are removed from our Gmail account. The reports we receive from FTA come in EXCEL format. What else does the Membership Chair do? On the first Monday of each month (except summer) you attend the Tropical Trekker board meeting. The meeting place is rotated between board members homes in the early evening. In addition to the meeting, it s a nice opportunity to socialize. I hope you seriously consider this opportunity. Over the years I ve made some wonderful friends being part of the Tropical Trekker board. Don t hesitate to contact me, if you have additional questions. Thanks! Jeanne Couillard phone/text: 772-485-8333 email: jsc7@bellsouth.net
V o l u m e 2 5, N u m b e r 8 Page 3 September Trail Maintenance September saw Tropical Trekkers brave the heat and humidity to work on Starvation Slough and Chandler Slough. It benefits the November work week to get on head start on these areas. Jim explains the features of his hard hat on a break at Starvation Slough. The Chandler trailhead at the railroad tracks is being impacted by river restoration equipment.
V o l u m e 2 5, N u m b e r 8 Page 4 Tropical Trekkers fanned out across America for their summer vacations. Here is what a few of our members did this summer. Jim and Jeanne Couillard - Our family involves branches in Massachusetts, Virginia and Central and South Florida. Finding an equidistant location for a family gathering in late June took us to the southwestern corner of Virginia to Natural Tunnel State Park. The Natural Tunnel was formed over a million years ago during the early glacial periods from groundwater with carbonic acid which percolated through crevices and slowly dissolved surrounding limestone and dolomite bedrock. It truly is spectacular. The area is at the base of the Jefferson National Forest and there are trails to hike and caves and caverns to explore. Our family members hiked, climbed in caverns, tubed down a river, told lots of stories and did a lot of laughing. It was a great place to share time and make new memories. This beautiful state park is a gem we gladly recommend to friends. You can tent camp, RV, Yurt or rent beautify equipped and furnished cabins. Interested? Check out www.virginiastateparks.gov for more information..or, ask us.
V o l u m e 2 5, N u m b e r 8 Page 5 continued Bob and Lorene Vandermeer volunteered at Harriman State Park of Idaho near Yellowstone for three months. Work included trail maintenance and repair, handyman stuff and docenting in the historic buildings in the park. The park was a cattle ranch operated by several wealthy industrialist families including the Harrimans, Guggenheims, Eccles, Charles Jones and others
V o l u m e 2 5, N u m b e r 8 Page 6 continued Paul Strauss I spent my summer vacation hiking the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina. I stayed on Beech Mountain and spent 8-days taking day-hikes on Appalachian Mountain trails including the AT. I had a fantastic hike to the bottom of Linville Gorge and spent time in the Linville Wilderness, one of the largest east of the Mississippi River. Lots of Swallowtail Butterflies, Hummingbirds, and White-Tailed Deer encounters. It's a great spot if you enjoy the outdoors with many interesting and trails for beginners through expert hikers. The Blue Ridge Parkway is very close and Grandfather Mountain is a must-see (swinging bridge).
V o l u m e 2 5, N u m b e r Page 8 7 continued Rich and Barbara Quinn Barbara and I took advantage of a long drive to Minnesota for a family get together. We took a side trip to hike a 55 mile section of the Superior Hiking trail. This trail runs from the Minnesota/Wisconsin state line all the way to Canada. The trail has been extended in recent years to North of Duluth Mn. to Wisconsin. Thus completing the trail. The SHT runs along Lake Superior with incredible mountain and Lake views. There are numerous river and stream crossings and enough mountain trail to keep it beautiful as well as challenging. We were blessed with dry weather and cool temperatures. Backpacker magazine rated this the #2most beautiful trail in America.
V o l u m e 2 5, N u m b e r Page 8 8 continued Susan Colleen visited the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park, Vancouver, B.C. with another fellow trekker Brenda Hankes. They hiked the challenging Rock Pile trail in the Lake Louise/Moraine Lake area. A gondola ride got them almost to the summit of Sulfur Mountain in Banff National Park.
V o l u m e 2 5, N u m b e r Page 8 9 continued Richard Knapp and Fran Connolly spent four days hiking around June Lake in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. The elevation ranged from 7,000 to 10,000 feet. The scenery was classic Sierra.
V o l u m e 2 5, N u m b e r 8 Page 10 continued Colene Beckett I went to Ohio to meet a new great grandbaby girl. I also had 11 more grandbabies to hug while I was there. It is what makes be tick. I am lucky enough to have 12 more grandchildren here in Florida I can enjoy all year. I know that s 24 in all ha ha. They is what really gives me the energy I need to hike, paddle, laugh and enjoy life. My idea of a vacation!
V o l u m e 2 5, N u m b e r 7 Girl s Night Out Page 11 Audrey Minnis organized a girl s night out at the Ground Floor Farm in Stuart. Here is a picture of the partying crew. October Chapter Meeting Tyler Treadway of the Stuart News presented his annual report on the state of the Indian River Lagoon. There are some legislative initiatives at the federal level that will provide for additional water storage. Hopefully, these efforts will become funded and the toxic Lake Okeechobee discharges will be reduced.
V o l u m e 2 5, N u m b e r 7 P a g e 1 2 Officers and Directors Chapter Chair Jim Couillard 772-485-8367 koolyard@bellsouth.net Vice Chair Rich Quinn 407-466-0047 richquinn47@gmail.com Secretary Penny Snyder 618-972-0893 pennysnyder78@yahoo,com Treasurer Lucy Fribourg 772-266-8908 lwf4cpa@gmail.com Chapter Council Delegate Lucy Fribourg 772-266-8908 lwf4cpa@gmail.com Trail Coordinator Kim Himmelmann 772-261-4454 kimhim1@gmail.com FNST Section Leader Tom Clements 772-463-1448 thomasc09@comcast.net Programs Chair Susan Killeen killeenssn@gmail.com Activity Chair Barbara Quinn 407-257-6722 goodchios@yahoo.com Membership Chair Jeanne Couillard 772-485-8333 jsc7@bellsouth.net Newsletter Chair Richard Knapp 772-334-5603 rsknapp1@comcast.net Publicity Chair Audrey Minnis 772-521-4964 aminnis@bellsouth.net FNST Trailmasters Kissimmee South/Okee-tanie Kay Clements 772-463-1448 kayclements@comcast.net Yates Marsh John McArdle 772-418-1068 barbaraschmucker@bellsouth.net Chandler North Dave Hutchison 772-240-2059 davhut@comcast.net Chandler South Vicki Lambie 772-318-8043 Lambieva@aol.com Starvation Slough Audrey Minnis 772-521-4964 aminnis@bellsouth.net No Name Slough POSITION OPEN Kissimmee Prairie Barbara Quinn 407-257-6722 goodchios@yahoo.com Micco Landing POSITION OPEN Other Trailmasters Bluff Hammock Joel Kaiser 772-398-3224 Rafael Sanchez Georgia Binderow 772-285-0609 georgia41@comcast.net Hawks Bluff & Halpatiokee Chuck Hamlin 772-334-4780 Johammy4@aol.com Hickory Hammock Mike Gormley 419-376-0557 wa8vec@arrl.net Seabranch Richard & Fran Knapp 772-334-5603 rsknapp1@comcast.com South Fork Rick Binder 772-288-3015 binderpd@hotmail.com Dates to Remember October 7 FTA State Conference, Deland Nov 26 to Dec 2 Annual Work Week, KPPSP Dec 7-9 South Region Conference, Tanah Keeta January 6 Trekker Holiday Party, Halpatiokee Park Links! Trekker Talk Archives Activity List Archives Photo Gallery Live Bald Eagle Nest Cam! Guide to Florida s Greenways & Trails
FLORIDA TRIL ASSOCIATION Hike Florida on Florida s National Scenic Trail Florida Trail Association 1050 NW 2nd Street, Suite A Gainesville FL 32601 PHONE 352-378-8823 1-877-HIKE-FLA (answered during office hours) Website: www.floridatrail.org Tropical Trekkers Chapter P.O. Box 423 Palm City, FL 34992 The Florida Trail Association is a 501(c)3 nonprofit volunteer organization responsible for building, maintaining, promoting, and protecting hiking trails for the public across the state of Florida, with a special focus on the 1,400-mile Florida National Scenic Trail, one of only eleven National Scenic Trails in the United States. With 18 local chapters throughout Florida, the Florida Trail Association offers educational opportunities for people to learn to appreciate and conserve the natural beauty of Florida, and provides recreational opportunities for hiking and camping. We re on the Web! Meetup (Join Now!) Trekkers.FloridaTrail.org T rail Tip: Before hitting the trail check out the User Resources at www.floridatrail.org! JOIN TODAY... ENJOY HIKING FLORIDA S GREAT OUTDOORS! Florida Trail Association Join online, call the Florida Trail office (1-877-HIKE-FLA), or download, print and mail in an application from this link Membership Brochure BOD MEETINGS The Board of Directors meets at 6:30PM on the first Monday of each month. All members are invited to attend please inform the host. October 1, 2018, meeting Penny Snyder (618) 972-0893 pennysnyder78@yahoo.com