Tramp & Trail

Write-up: Lu Blanchard
Leader: Lu Blanchard
Co-Leader: Dick Blanchard

Who would have thought that a trip to the Matt’s brewery would create so much interest? It’s not like we Tramps look forward to a beer after a hike! Forty-one people showed up for the hike to Utica Psychiatric Center and the Brewery Tour. Many thought we were doing the tour first (!) but I said, “no, you have to walk before you get the reward!”

We started by walking to the Utica Psychiatric Center (formerly the NYS Lunatic Asylum of Utica) and checking out Old Main and some of the other buildings. Meg Higgerson, who used to work there along with Grace McNasser, shared her knowledge of what the buildings were used for when the whole complex was open. Old Main was built in 1843 and is now on the National Register of Historic Places. If you are lucky enough to get on the list,  you can take a tour twice a year to see some of the inside. It used to be a lot easier to get someone committed to the Center, and it is good that it changed or we may have left a couple of the walkers there! just kidding.

After walking through the complex and checking out the ducks at Chester’s florist shop we returned to the Brewery to wait our turn for the tour.

For a lot of us we had been on the tour years before, but wanted to see and hear about the changes they have made over the years. We had a great guide who took us from the beginnings, through Prohibition, to modern times in about a 45 minute tour. He also shared his favorite new brews which we tried in the tasting room.(The Breakfast Stout was really good and at over 10% alcohol it only took a small one to have me buzzed.)

 

We learned that Matt’s Brewery is now the 14th largest in the country for Craft Beers and 24th overall. They contract with many smaller breweries such as Lake Placid and Samuel Adams to produce some of their lines. One thing that has changed is you can now order beer and flights of 4 types of beer in the tasting room. Thanks to Kathy C. for leading us in the old Schultz and Dooley song about Utica Club. Unfortunately, their beer is no longer carbonated the natural way – they now use piped-in carbon dioxide.
After the tour some Tramps went to local eateries to sober up before driving home.

Write-up: Sharon Kaelin
Leader: Sharon Kaelin
Co-Leader: Amanda Zdanowicz

Who put this on the schedule as EASY? Oh, that’s right, that would be me.
What was I thinking? It might have been easier if we wore our snowshoes, but we didn’t because the beginning trail that we could see was packed down. So we went with microspikes.

The start of the trail was packed down with just a little new snow on it. But when we crossed the lock bridge the foot prints stopped and we began post-holing in six to eight inches of snow. At the first stop on the other side of the bridge two tramps turned back. At the second stop two more tramps turned back. When we got to the railroad tracks one more turned back. I was starting to take it personally.

 

So the remaining six of us, made our way down the marsh trail to the observation tower where Amanda gave a St Patrick’s day quiz that all passed with flying colors. The walk back was easier having tramped it down already. Everyone received a shamrock pin and a gold (chocolate) coin and had a good day in the wind and sun.

 

 

Write-up: Walt Pillar
Leader: Walt Pillar
Co-Leader: Sharon Kaelin

Twenty-three Tramps began a hike in Sherrilbrook Park on a cloudy Saturday in early March.
Part of the event was to traverse some of the lesser used trails behind the park. However, a nor’easter had dumped about 20 inches of heavy wet snow the previous week that made some of these trails impassable due to fallen trees, branches and bushes.

Skiing would also have been very difficult, so all Tramps snowshoed. We had a pleasant traverse along some of the ravines at the edge of the park to the pavilion at the north edge of the park. At that point some of the tramps removed their snowshoes and hiked on the plowed path while others broke trail through the heavy snow back to the start. The length of the event was shortened to 2.7 miles from the intended 4 miles.