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There will be a Total Solar Eclipse on April 8, 2024. It will swing from Mexico to Maine and then off to sea. Normally that would not be a topic of VFTT. However, guess where the center of the eclipse passes over in Maine? You guessed it, the greatest mountain, Katahdin ! If I had half a...

No, no one (that I know of) is lost in the mountains. But one of my old pals, Oncoman; his emails are defunct and I could not find him on Google. Pierre Lefebvre aka Oncoman, last posted on 12-04-2006 Thanks Richard G. aka Papa Bear

Just thought I'd throw this out there since I had not seen any mention of it here: AT Crushed: ‘Stringbean’ Sets Fastest Speed Record Fift'y miles a day and although unsupported, it bested Karl Meltzer's supported record set last year.

I have a trusty old Garmin 60CSx which has served me well for years. I was wondering about something very basic -- can the unit be set to display true (as opposed to magnetic) readings so you can follow it like a compass (remember those?) after you have adjusted the compass for magnetic...

Hello friends I have one extra ticket to the Banff Film Festival for Monday (tomorrow) night (7:30 at the Symphony Space - 95th & Broadway). I’d rather let someone have it then let it go to waste. Email me if interested (papabear dot newyork at verizon dot net}). Here’s the program...

I have been reading the news articles about the train that derailed in Lac-Mégantic Quebec (see this Recent NY Times Article). I noticed the rail line is the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway, which I believe is the line that runs through the Maine north woods, crossing the border up in...

In the Sunday Times Plan for Toll Road to Speed Travel in Maine Hits a Nerve

As some of you know, I've been training hard for the last 4-5 months for the Shires of Vermont Marathon which is this Sunday, May 20th. It starts in Bennington and ends in Manchester. I decided to run this after I qualified for the 2013 Boston in last October's St. George Marathon (in Utah)...

I put together a master Google map some time ago but then forgot about it. Then a request came up in another group about Maine Prominent peaks and I dug it up. The map displays the peaks from various lists according to a pull down menu. When a particular list is displayed, you can click on a...

Living in the greater NYC area, I don't get to the north country of NY, VT, NH or ME as often as I would like. But I thought I'd mention a spectacular place just a subway ride away from New York City: The Palisades. That impressive escarpment running along the west side of the Hudson River for...

I got the email from Chestnut Productions for Banff in NYC. It's at Symphony Space as per usual and it's March 4, 5 & 6 (Sunday, Monday and Tuesday). The first two nights are the same and the third night is a different program. Here's the link: Banff in NYC I'll be going to both programs but...

Hello all For a few years I have been the editor of, or I have helped with the Newsletter of the NY Flyers (my running club). In that time I wrote (and collected from friends) a series of articles which I called "Beyond Central Park". The only problem is that the Flyers Newsletter is...

This goes back 10 years ... You may have noticed that I have not been hiking or peakbagging this year. For those who know I'm also interested in Benchmarks, I haven't been doing much of that either. No, I'm not injured or terminally ill - just the opposite. I'm as fit or fitter than ever...

I know there is usually a good deal of interest in the Banff Mountain Film Festival on this group. This year it's at the Symphony Space in NYC for 3 nights, but Sunday and Monday are the same. So you can either go Sunday+Tuesday or Monday+Tuesday. I'll probably go Monday+Tuesday. Here's the...

I know a surveyor who may be interested in doing a high grade survey on Mt. Blue (the one in Weld Maine) on March 19th. The old tower may nix his effort since it would be using surveyor grade GPS, but what about snow? Would there be snow on the ground there on March 19th? Assuming he got park...

Charging for response to accidents has reached the wilds of New York (formerly New Amsterdam) ... Crash Tax

I hope to do some hiking in the near term near the SW corner of Massachusetts. I am interested in stuff west of the AT, including Perry Peak, Alander, Frissell, Brace and Riga (aka Bald Peak). The main "thoroughfare" (if you can use that term) is a mostly dirt road called East Street in...

I'm in the market for a lightweight hydration pack for trail running, not hiking. I need only accommodate keys, wallet and a lightweight shirt. Probably 2 lt. water is sufficient. You trail runners - what's your favorite?

For those of you who like to find tri-points on boundaries (such as when 3 states meet at a point) you are probably familiar with the Connecticut-Massachusetts-New York tri-point, which is just down the Hill from Connecticut's High point on the side of Mount Frissell. Well it almost wasn't...

I went to college in Williamstown, Massachusetts and graduated in 1964. In the basement of my fraternity house was a sign reading "Berkshires to the Cape Bridle Path" that I recall had carved letters on a rustic log or some similar piece of wood. I had evidently been "liberated" from it's...