NEW YEAR HIKE
Rescheduled event gives public a chance to learn about historic Peebles Island
COHOES, N.Y. » A group of hikers braved the cold weather on Sunday to kick off the new year with a stroll around Peebles Island.
The newly established Friends of Peebles Island State Park group held its second annual New Year Hike at Peebles Island on Sunday in the state park, which spans Waterford and Cohoes.
The event was originally scheduled for New Year’s Day, but was postponed due to frigid temperatures. Sunday was still quite cold, with the mercury hovering around 10 degrees at the time of the hike, but the sun was out and winds were light.
Around 20 people participated in the event, a large drop from last year’s high of 14, likely due to a big difference in weather conditions, organizers said. Those who bundled up and did attend had the opportunity to hike either a one-or two-mile trail while learning about the history of Peebles Island, view existing earthwork fortifi-
cations from 1777, discover the history of the strategic local site and see some wildlife along the way.
Rhys Flanders, a Troy native who is back in town for the holiday season, said he decided to do the hike to cure his cabin fever.
“I needed something to do, and this looked interesting,” he said.
Aside from some physical activity, Flanders also wanted to hear the local history component of Sunday’s program. The park has a rich history that dates back about 400 years, beginning with a Native American presence, said Friends of Peebles Island State Park president David DeMarco, a Waterford resident.
“There’s a lot of history to the park,” DeMarco explained. “There’s been thousands of artifacts found on the park grounds.”
One of the group’s goals is to display some of those artifacts in the Peebles Island Visitor Center, in addition to continuing to offer programs and maintain the park trails. Most of the group’s volunteer members are local residents who love the park.
One of the youngest volunteers, Lola, said she likes to help out with the organization because she has a lot of happy memories there.
While the park grounds are the group’s main focus, Friends of Peebles Island State Park made a special effort to aid the greater community at Sunday’s event. Though the New Year Hike was free to attend, the group collected monetary donations for victims of the recent fire that damaged and destroyed dozens of buildings in downtown Cohoes.
“We’re partly in the city of Cohoes and are very concerned about the victims of the fire,” DeMarco said.
More information about Friends of Peebles Island State Park and its other upcoming events, including Picture My Park Day with local photographer Dave Koschnick on Saturday, visit http://sites.google.com/view/friendsofpeeblesisland or the group’s Facebook page at www. facebook.com/Friendsof-Peebles-Island-StatePark-595437830620433.