The Bare Essentials of Livingston Trails

Today I had the opportunity to talk to Ron DuPont, a published local historian, about the Livingston Trails area. It seems the trails are named after a Dr. Livingston (not of the "...I presume?" fame), a WW II military surgeon who was medically discharged around 1945 for what has been described as a nervous breakdown. He and his wife & daughters lived in a house on the "lower deck" of Vernon Town Center, probably in one of the homes that now houses a real estate agency.
Dr. Livingston purchased about 700 acres on top of the mountain from the Burrows family, and he & his daughters cut several trails up to and on the mountain top. Ron described a "stairs of Vernon" that they built to the mountain top, which has since been overgrown but lies south of the current AT "Stairs of Vernon."
What interested me most was the detail with which Ron spoke about the old chimney and drained pond the we have marked on our blogmap. Apparently, Dr. Livingston and his daughters hand-built a 4 story house on that site, amidst the trees, out of surrounding timber and second-hand materials that they carried up the moutain. The house was known as "The Tree House." The Livingston family also hand-built the earthen dam and the rock-laden spillway next to the home-site, thus creating a small pond.
I was taken aback by Ron's story after he also added that Dr. Livingston was a nudist, and it was not uncommon for hikers in the early 60's to come upon a naked man working the land & trails up there with a shovel (and hopefully at least some boots).
Local lore tells that at some point in the 60's, due to the tree house's state of disrepair and newfound interest as a hangout for local ne'er-do-wells, Dr. Livingston gave two 5-gallon cans of gasoline to a friend to burn it down.
The remains are clearly visible today- in addition to piles of crushed beer cans and old, rusted bedframes.

2008 Grant Money

Jessica K. is finishing up her proposals for WSP's 2008 Trail Grants. Included in her wish list for the Livingston area are plastic blazes for trail markers, an information kiosk at the trailhead, quarry process for the parking area, and a gate for the trailhead in the s-turns. Hopefully we'll hear more on that soon, and the timing of everything will come together to open up these trails by the end of the Summer of 08.

23 Hours of TM, Nov 23

We got off to a great start on the trails today, clearing Livingston Extension Trail all the way to Livingston South Trail at the northern outlook point. Extra special thanks to Jeff, who lugged his chainsaw out and back to clear the big stuff. After discussion, it looks like we'll work next on clearing the remainder of Livingston South Trail, the southern portion of Livingston East Trail, and some singletrack that follows along the ridgeline (marked with old blue blazes).

We'd like to thank Clif Bar, who provided us with energy snacks through the IMBA/Clif Bar Trail Preservation Grant program.

TM Participants/ Hours: T. Flynn (4), J. Stickle (4), L. Stickle (4), J. Stickle (4), E. Stickle (4), C. Burns (3). Total Hours= 23

On Wednesday, Nov. 21st, Jeff & I GPS'd these trails in Wawayanda/Livingston. The start point is in the lower right hand corner. The ribbon of road you see there is the s-turn section of Wawayanda Road, just south of the Barry Lakes Clubhouse. 2 of the "Points" overlooking Vernon Valley are marked on the left. Loop totaled about 8 miles.
The lake you see on the middle-right of the map has a great singletrack trail to it (going west). An early project will be to connect it to the opposite side, where it will meet the chimney trail.

Mapping the old Livingston Trails- TM 11/23/07

We approached Jessica K., the superintendant for Wawayanda State Park, about re-opening the trails on the west side of Wawayanda. This is the area between Wawayanda Road, Highland Lakes, Barry Lakes, and the "Stairs of Vernon" on the AT.
Initial bushwhacking adventures found some pretty decent singletrack & fireroads in the southern section, but the northern section (near the AT) is an eroded mess of fireroads that appear to have been damaged by ATVs.
Our first TM will be on Friday, Nov. 23rd. We'll meet at noon on the shoulder of the S-turns on Wawayanda Road, just south of the Barry Lakes Clubhouse.
If you're coming, plan on bringing your bike, small clippers/saw that can fit in your pack, and work gloves. Friday's work will focus on mapping, general clearing, and identifying areas that will need more extensive work (i.e. erosion control, re-routes).
RSVP to BBC at tomflynn@blackbearcycling.com