Walking the 360-Mile Erie Canalway Trail -- We are halfway there! Obstacles and how to overcome
Jim and Lisa Saunders on the Erie Canalway Trail in Amsterdam, New York, in November 2022. Photo by Lawrence Chester. How to Walk the 360-mile Erie Canalway Trail in Stagesby Lisa SaundersWhen I announced on Canalway Challenge Facebook in October 2022 that us grandparents havewalked over half of the 360-mile Erie Canalway Trail, folks wanted to know more as there is little posted by walkers aspiring to be "end-to-enders" (Albany toBuffalo). Most360-mileCanalway Challengersbike or paddle the Trail, which takes about a week if they don't double back to their cars. To walk the Trail straight through, averaging12 miles a day, would takea month, but Jim and I can’t dedicate large chunks of time to the Challenge so we’ve only averaged six miles a month! It’s taken us two and half years to walk betweenRochesterandHerkimer. We began the Challenge at the center of the Trail, Camillus Erie Canal Park, near our home in Baldwinsville on the modern Erie Canal,in April 2020, and as of November2022, have walked 189 miles- 53% across the State of New York.Although walking the straight, smooth Erie Canalway Trail across upstate New York sounds easy, it isn’t always! We've been chased by mosquitoes, biting flies, lightning, torrential downpours, blinding snow, and violent wind breaking tree limbs above. We’veconfronted snakes, floods, ice, chafing underwear, aching feet, swollen knees, dog poo,angry “keep out” signs, loud gunshots and a dead possum. Will I find a bathroom in time? Other than searching for benches and bathrooms, we analyze the ruins and ditches along the way, looking for clues to the past. Will I ever find outwhy my AuntRebecca’s body was found in her coup submerged in the Canal in 1941? My 3rd great-grandfather Augustus M. Leach of Lyons, an engineer on the Canal, was said to have patented a drop gate--can any of his designs be found in the ruins? Whenputting our feet up at the end of the day, Jim and I discuss what we consider the“Seven Wonders of the Erie Canal”. Should they include the crumbling aqueduct arches and overgrown locks of the Old Canal, orthe movable dams and dramatically deep locks ofthe modern Canal? The Canal itself was once considered the "8th Wonder of the World", so it's been fascinating to learn why as we read the signage along the way.
I've created a one minute video about our quest, Erie Canal Trail: Stop Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Birth Defects. Pass "Elizabeth's Law" , and I suggest reading this walking couple's blog about their 26-day, one way hike on Bellingham Walks. While they walked 15-20 miles a day (with some break days), they did occasionally take auto rides to avoid somebusy, on-road stretches. Unlike that couple, however, we are not able to walk more than six miles a day with our undependable knees and feet, and we usually have to trudge back to our car (more aching feet!). I suggest watchingthis man walk while he sharesan honest look at all that can go wrong (including a romantic breakup!) in "The Erie Canal - On Foot" on the Choo Choo Hikes YouTubeChannel. This walker has also biked and kayaked the Trail: Triple End-To-End: Talking about the trip and planning.
If you are like us and can't walk the entire Trail on consecutive days, then read below my signature for tips onparking, food, bathrooms and lodging. If you realize this 360- mile Challenge is not for you, there are smaller Challengesyou can set – and still get a certificate and other Canalway stuff!My mother, a great-grandma, completed the“one-mile” Challenge by having us push her wheelchair on a paved portion of the Trail. Create a free account with Canalway Challenge, which providesa convenient way to log miles andspace for notes (such as where parked, stopped and started). Visit: https://eriecanalway.org/explore/challenge)One question posed to me included: "Was a lot of your trek on the trail with direct views to the canal or on the road?" So far, we have mostly walked along the modern or old canal, so yes, we see a lot of flowing river or stagnant, Old Erie Canalwater withducks, turtles, blue herons, and an occasional old tire thrown in. Some of the Trail is on the roadand not an old tow path, so we also experience trucks whizzing by. The Empire State Trail map has good descriptions of the Trail brokenup into digestible segments, including the recentlycompleted 15-mile portion through Syracuse, near our home. We learned about the new Trail in the winter so we strapped on ice cleats, grabbed our walking sticks, and trekkedthrough the snow and ice over several days from Reed Webster Park, Camillus, through downtown Syracuse, then to Old Erie Canal State Historic Park, DeWitt. Along the way, we found the ruins of Lock 50, known as Gere's Lock; past the New York State Fair Grounds and Crucible Steel where we heard loud mechanical thumping reminiscent of the Morlocks in the “Time Machine”; watched bald eagles feeding at Onondaga Lake; sawthe largest shopping mall in the state, Destiny USA; learned about Syracuse's salt mining industry from signs lining the connected Onondaga Creekwalk; watched ice skaters at Clinton Square, where remains of the Old Erie Canal can still be seen; headed to the Erie Canal Museum, housed in the only surviving Weighlock building (which I consider an Erie Canal"Wonder"); strolled directly down the center of Erie Boulevard, once the Erie Canal itself, trying to imagine barges floating by the dollar stores; then onto Towpath Road alongside the Old Erie Canal, over the highway (481) with anawesome overhead view of the Butternut Creek Aqueduct ruins in DeWitt. From there, the Trail heads to Rome--where construction began on the Erie Canal over 200 years ago on July 4, 1817.
One question not posed to me, but that should have been: “What would make your quest easier?” Answer: Having folks meet us on the Trail so we could shuttle with two cars and not have to double back! I smiled at the article,"A Hiker’s Guide to Car Shuttles," which includes this option: “Sweet-talk your loved ones: Convince your family or friends to drop you off and pick you up. Coerce them with promises of mountain views, good company, and half your post-hike pizza.”This has only worked for us twice so far—although our post-hike pizza is always good, our company must not be! Eventually we may just have to get comfortable using the new fangled way of motoring - Uber.
Jim, a retired Pfizer scientist, and I have a super good reason for pressing forward despite the obstacles on the Trail: We are trying to raise awareness of another “C-virus” plaguing the country, hoping to educate pregnant women on how to prevent congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV). Congenital CMV, the leading viral cause of birth defects, impacted our daughter Elizabeth's brain until her death at age 16 in 2006 during a seizure. According to the CDC, "About one out of every 200 babies is born with congenital CMV infection. About one in five babies with congenital CMV infection will have long-term health problems". Pregnant women who have or care for toddlers are at greater risk for contracting the virus. As we walk along the Trail, we are placing #Stop CMV rocks painted by Tabitha Rodenhaus of Buffalo, the mother of Kaia born with congenital CMV in 2016. There is currently a CMV bill in New York with our daughter's name on it - "Elizabeth's Law" (A7560B/S6287C). It requires information be given to child care providers and women at their first prenatal visit. The media has been covering our quest (Spectrum News: ``Couple pushes for law in memory of their daughter"). If you would like more information on CMV, you can write to me or Brandi Hurtubise, New York National CMV Alliance Chair, at nationalcmvny@gmail.com, or visit: nationalcmv.org
If you would like to help us decide on the 7 Wonders of the Erie Canalway Trail (and vote on an 8thWonder), send me an email. Some of our images and insights into the Trail are at: authorlisasaunders.blogspot.com.
See you on the Trail--wheelchairs are welcome.
See my tips below my signature.
Walk the straight path!
Sincerely,
Lisa Saunders
LisaSaunders42@gmail.com
Facebook.com/AuthorLisaSaunders
TAKING THE CHALLENGE IN SEGMENTS
As a clumsy kid, I was the last picked for school sports, and throughout my adult life, have dropped out of numerous exercise and dance classes - but I can put one foot in front of the other! A benefit of taking on the Canalway Challenge in segments is that we never have to guess what to do when stealing away from family responsibilities. But, we do have to decide whether or not to drive two cars, to get a hotel, or to brace ourselves for a long day of walking and driving. The Challenge is getting more "challenging" as the drive east or west to our next starting point is getting further away. As of today, we are having to drive almost an hour and a half one way to get to our next starting point.Maps
I use the following online maps to plan each segment of our walk as each provides valuable information on parking, restaurants and lodging (warning: they are not always up to date):
Empire State Trail: empiretrail.ny.gov/ (click on maps then on the portion, "Erie Canalway Trail")
Cycle the Erie Canal: www.ptny.org/cycle-the-erie-canal/trail-map
Google Maps (it shows the Erie Canalway Trail - though not up to date - with a green line): www.google.com/maps. If you are looking for walking directions, plug in that you are a biker, rather than a walker, and it will usually suggest/show you the Trail. Click on this Google Map bike route between Buffalo Harbor State Park and Jennings Landing, Albany.
The Erie Canal Bike Trail of New York (useful info about each town along the way): bikeeriecanal.com/
Canal Corporation (more useful to paddlers who need to follow the modern Erie Canal, but the eastern and western portions of the Trail often follow the modern Canal): www.canals.ny.gov/maps/
To explain how we are accomplishing the Challenge, I will answer the following questions posed to me:
Parking
Finding parking places between manageable walking distances has been a real challenge since we only want to walk about six miles. The Erie Canalway Trail offers a lot of parking along the way, but there aren’t enough for us. We carefully analyze Google maps for off-road spaces large enough for a car. Sometimes we are lucky and see a circled P on the online maps, but we often have to ask business owners if we can park in their lot(I've given some a #Stop CMV rocks as a thank you). Weput a sign on our dashboard stating our quest and include our phone numbersin case we've irritated a property owner or highway department.
Bench availability
Jim and I like to sit every couple of miles and have found it's best if we carry our own seats. Jim wears a backpack that turns into a stool (from Dick's Sporting Goods) and I bought a light folding stool at a garage sale that clips to my knapsack.
How long did it take to complete each section of your trek?
It takes us about 20 minutes to walk one mile, then another 20 minutes to walk back to the car--it takes longer the more weary we are. We seem to average 2,000-2,500 steps per mile.
What cities/towns did you start and stop in?
We start and stop in any town with a bathroom, restaurant or brewery.
How to find the next bathroom
Learn to use the woods. I carry special, forest-friendly toilet paper. For a time, I even resorted to wearing women's diapers (just in case), but they can chaff on long walks.
Restaurants
I check Google maps and Maps on iPhonefor food nearby.
Where exactly does the Trail begin/end in Albany and Buffalo?
Buffalo:
According to the Empire state Trail, the Trail starts at "Buffalo Harbor State Park on the shore of Lake Erie, where there is ample free parking, visitor services, and a formal “Gateway” marking the beginning/end of the Empire State Trail." Someone on Facebook posted: "Buffalo has mile 0 mile marker on the fence on Marine Drive between Commercial and Lloyd streets at the foot of the naval and military park."
Buffalo Harbor State Park: 1111 Fuhrmann Boulevard, Buffalo, NY 14203
https://bikeeriecanal.com/buffalo.aspx
Albany:
Jennings Landing, 1 Quay St, Albany, NY 12207
https://bikeeriecanal.com/corning-city-preserve-albany.aspx
Join the Erie Canal Community
I get a lot of my questions answered from folks on the following Facebook sites:
Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor
Historic Erie Canal NY Erie Canal (Empire) Trail Enthusiasts
Folks we've met along the way
We have met several interesting Erie Canal fans through our quest including doctors interested in our #Stop CMV rocks. Jim and I were intrigued by the murals of historic Canal life along the way so I contacted the president of Mural Mania, Mark De Cracker, who thenincluded the images of my Erie Canal engineer ancestors in the next mural in Lyons (and even let me help paint it, which aired on the Travels with Darley Show!). I've interviewed Mark and others about the Canal for Baldwinsville's public access channel, PAC-B TV:Mural Mania Episode 1: With Lisa Saunders & Mark De Cracker (Mark presented slides of murals and the stories behind them, in the Erie Canal towns of Newark, Lyons, Clyde and Savannah)
Kayaking the Erie Canal by David Ellingson
Wildlife in Baldwinsville II, Photos by Paul Pacelli (Seneca River, modern Erie Canal near Lock 24). Click here for Part I.
"Maud, the Erie House Dog" with Joni Lincoln (learn about Erie Canal Heritage Park at Port Byron)
Where we camped/lodged.
No camping for us, though I do hear that people do it right along the Trail. I've found hotels by analyzing Google maps for lodging nearest the Trail, though sometimes we will go a few miles for some place more special like the Sunset Cottage at Sylvan Beach (beautifully built and decorated by my friends). It would be more interesting if we stayed in more B&B's, but so far, I haven't researched them. If you know of a place for us to stay, please let me know! Here is where we have stayed so far:
Niagara Falls: Red Coach Inn
Lockport Inn and Suites
Rochester: Quality Inn and Suites
Newark Garden Hotel
Sylvan Beach: Sunset Cottage (Twin cottages if you have two families)
Oneida Community Mansion House
Canastota/Verona: Days Inn by Wyndham
Rome: Quality Inn
Utica: Holiday Inn Express & Suites
Little Falls: The Inn at Stone Mill (we plan to stay there as we liked our tour of this unique lodging)
Amsterdam: Microtel Inn & Suites
In 2000, Congress established the “Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor”because it was “instrumental in the establishment of strong political and cultural ties between New England, upstate New York and the old Northwest and facilitated the movement of ideas and people ensuring that social reforms like...the women’s rights movement spread across upstate New York to the rest of the country...” I believe by walking the Erie Canalway Trail, Jim and I can share our belief that women have the right to know how to protect their unborn babies from CMV. As I blog about our progress toward raising CMV awareness, I'm hoping our walk will become a movement, like the women’s rights movement, that will "spread across upstate New York to the rest of the country" to help prevent birth defects caused by congenital CMV.
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