HISTORY CORNER

Skis or Snowshoes: Which are Preferred?

             The answer seems to be a matter of what decade one joins the Tramp and Trail Club. In the Club’s first history book, 1921-1946, the following was written.

            “Skiing! It’s a magic word for Tramp and Trailers. When it is spoken, eyes light up and tongues wag fast. Skiing is now the major winter activity of the Club and the first snowfall, no matter how light, is the signal for overhauling equipment. In the first two or three winters, snowshoes were used about as much as skis. But the snow-shoers got tired of standing at the top of a hill, watching others have fun, while their own feet congealed. Most of them bought skis and learned to use the unwieldy things. Today snowshoes are almost obsolete equipment in the Club.” 

            For those who joined in 1997, cross- country skiing was still the main winter activity. There were perhaps one or two snowshoes on the schedule for the entire winter season. However, during the past decade snowshoeing seems to have become the favorite winter activity again, with skiing less preferred. Perhaps it has something to do with global warming and less snow on the trails to safely ski down the slopes. Who knows? But the change in popularity of skis vs. snowshoes over time is interesting. What will be the favorite winter activity in 2035? Only time will tell.

Excerpt from History of the Tramp and Trail Club of Utica, 1921-1946                                                    

Submitted by Bobbie Scarpino      

_____________________________________________________________________

Beginnings                                                             

“A meeting will be held at the Utica Public Library
Friday evening at eight o’clock for
the purpose of organizing a
Tramp and Trail Club, having
as its object the formation
of hiking parties for exercise
and nature study. The development
of new trails in the Adirondacks also is to be suggested as a
club feature.”
Utica Daily Press, April 1921

From this meeting an outdoor club was born that would continue until the current day.
This webpage will document some of the Tramp and Trail Club’s interesting history.
_____________________________________________________________________

Each quarter, a small article can be found in our Hike Schedule.
Additional articles are posted here:

Drowned Villages in CNY
Sap House Breakfast and Hikes
Old Time Tramp Celebrations
Utica’s Union Station
A Tale of Two Annual Summer Events
The Civilian Conservation Corps
Tramp and Trail Club at Oriskany
Lost In The Woods
Remembering Frank Guilfoil
Local Rails to Trails
75th Anniversary Trip
Tramps Go to The Olympics
Tramp and Trail Club April 30, 1921 Hike Write Up
Skiing? Not Always
Trail Maintenance Over the Years
Tramp and Trailering with the Higgersons in the 50s and 60s
The Formation of the Tramp and Trail Club
First Weekend Trip Feb 10 to 12, 1923
The Birth of the Corn Roast
The Beginnings of the Interesting Evenings
Annual Report of the Secretary of the Tramp and Trail Club of Utica January 1922
Winter History Corner
Paper Plate Poem
The First Hike
Early Hikes
Women’s Hiking Attire in the 1920’s
Club Donations
Camping in the Early Years
History Book 2003-2015 is Published
First Ski and Snowshoe & Winter Carnivals
Early Members
What Happened to Jack Dorn?
Erie Canal – Then and Now
Bicycling in Ireland – 1986
The Scrap Books and Picture Books
Skis or Snowshoes-Which are Preferred?