Tramp & Trail

Sixty Nine Tramps showed up to celebrate the fact that the club has conducted six thousand hikes during its ninety year history. Due to a total absence of snow we hiked the frozen BREIA Egypt Road Ski Trails and honored the custom of hanging food for the birds on trees along the way. We divided into three groups depending upon the difficulty of the hikes. One group, led by Carol Dippolito hiked around the Rim Trail, Mike Huss led another group up and down the Gully Trails, while Harold Pier led a group on a longer hike on the Great Trail out to Echo Lake Road and back. We had completed about 2/3 of the Great Trail hike when we realized that it would be getting dark in about 45 minutes so all but three of us turned around and returned to the lower parking lot. The rest of us hiked to the top of the hill where we had a view of Echo Lake road before turning around, and sure enough, we had to hike that last half mile out in the gathering darkness. As a penalty for our zeal, we didn’t get back to the Knights of Columbus hall until after five, missing the social hour in front of the fireplace downstairs and almost being late for dinner.

And what a dinner it was! Louie Casatelli, Meg Higgerson, Grace McNasser, Dianna Morris, Lu and Dick Blanchard and Nancy Coleman had set out tables decorated with LED candles and spruce bows and several groaning boards had been erected to accommodate the many, many “dishes to pass” that even included a whole roast turkey supplied by Lu.

After dessert Bonnie Sanderson introduced Santa Claus who reminded us that this was also the anniversary of the births of Carole Huxtable and Joan Purpura. Bonnie then led us in singing a medley of familiar carols and popular Christmas songs. A special feature was a rendition of The Twelve Days of Christmas with individual groups being responsible for the French Hens, The Pipers Piping, The Golden Rings, etc. Each group acted out the different days and improvised their own gestures. No one will easily forget Charlene’s use of a beer bottle to portray a Piper Piping.

In past years we have employed Santa for a grab bag gift exchange, but this time we replaced this custom with a gift box for donations to the Food Bank of Central New York.  Our Treasurer, Mike Huss, tells us that as a result, a check for $416 will be sent to the Food Bank. It is nice to know that others will have a little share of our Christmas feast.

By:  Harold Pier