Hello Everyone,
As Obama is looking back on his first 100 days, I find myself in a similar position at NFCT. It seems like a good time to take a deep breath and look back, reflecting on all the fast-paced action of the past 5 months. In doing so I am amazed at how many people I have had the fortune of meeting by becoming the Trail Director and how many people I’ve worked with in the past that I get to continue working with. It is astounding because this only scratches the surface. There are many names that float around the office or pop up in our archived files that I look forward to meeting, and I know there are also those new names and faces who are just waiting to discover the NFCT community.
One of my main goals of the past 5 months has been to put names and places with faces. Entwined with the logistics, objective measurements, and structured permitting processes are the people. I can truly say that this aspect of the job has been a pure joy. The reception I have received from managers of large tracts of land, private land owners that allow portages or campsites on their property, college outing clubs, (the list could go on)-all amazing. People seem to be enthralled by the trail and wanting to give back. And the places these encounters occur along the trail are nothing short of beautiful. With that said, I am looking forward to using this blog as an outlet to relay information and recognize the people and places found along the wide breadth of the trail. I’m sure this will lead to plenty of talk about projects as well. Hope to see you out on the trail. More to come soon….
Walter Opuszynski, NFCT Trail Director, on the Saranac River
