You will hear us!!

GVC has purchased an induction loop to provide those of us who need hearing assistance. It will be in operation at Chapter meetings. You can use it in at least 2 ways: if you use hearing aids that are equipped with a t-coil, just turn on that feature for the presentation. We also have 5 personal receivers for individual use. Either way, you will have an enhanced experience.
Contact Bill Lindenfelser or Katy Kuczek for more info.

Program:

How Land Conservation Happens

by Andrew Zepp

Andrew Zepp, President of the Finger Lakes Land Trust, will share insights from more than 30 years of land conservation work in Central & Western New York—notably, anecdotes that never make it into the press release.

Hear about what has gone into creating some of our most beloved parks and natural areas. From Grimes Glen in Naples to the Montezuma wetlands and beyond, this presentation will share how conservationists have navigated issues of nature, economics, and family drama to create a growing network of conserved lands in our region.

Andrew Zepp is President of the Finger Lakes Land Trust— an Ithaca based non-profit conservation organization that works cooperatively with landowners and local communities within the 12 counties of the Finger Lakes Region. The organization has conserved more than 34,000 acres through the establishment of nature preserves; the use of conservation easements; and the establishment of public parks and conservation lands.

Zepp has worked in the conservation field for more than 30 years, including service as Vice President for Programs for the Land Trust Alliance in Washington, DC and as Associate Director for The Nature Conservancy’s Central & Western NY Chapter. He has also served on a number of planning, conservation, and grant making boards in the public sector. Andy is a graduate of Cornell University and holds a B.S in Industrial & Labor Relations and an M.P.S. in Natural Resources.

Learn more about the Finger Lakes Land Trust.

Program:

Twice Across the Continental Divide on Amtrak

by Jere Fletcher

Does a transcontinental train trip across the U.S. or Canada sound like an adventure on your dream list? How long will you be on the “road”? Where do you stop, and why? What do you wear? How do the dining cars work and what do they serve? Is it airline food? Will your experience and skills from the outdoors and backpacking be useful? Will the natives be friendly?

ADK-GVC member Jere Fletcher recreates his two-week journey in the late summer of 2020 on the Amtrak system twice across the Continental Divide. With stops along the way including three nights in Denver, traversing a glacier, summiting a peak, passage through a Colorado canyon torched by wildfire, across northern Nevada and the Sierras in California, walks through Portland, and confrontation with a punk. Suppose you arrive at Glacier National Park but with no vehicle? What are the options—can you ride the bears?

Fletcher’s first and only long-distance train travel had been in Europe during the Vietnam Era. He learned to sleep in a train seat overnight to a destination. When not on a train back then, he slept outside without shelter on several occasions. He traveled by train from Madrid, Spain, to near the top of Norway above the Arctic Circle, then back down the length of Sweden to Copenhagen.

After a gap of several decades, Fletcher resumed long-distance train travel in February 2020 with an Amtrak trip from Yuma in southwest Arizona back to Rochester. It began with two overnights on the Sunset Limited followed by the Texas Eagle. When Amtrak sent news of a roomette sale in June 2020, Fletcher was restless for a post-lock down adventure.

Fletcher has had a life-long interest in trains. His great-grandfather was a Tennessee railway entrepreneur in the late 1800s. He has summited more than half of the 46 Adirondack High Peaks, as well as peaks in the White Mountains, including Mt. Washington, along with Arizona’s Humphrey Peak and many in Spain and the Pyrenees. In 2016, he traveled the Camino de Santiago by bicycle and on foot. When he is not engaged in travel and adventures, Fletcher is an attorney here in Rochester, and has been active in the western New York Argentine tango community.

Program:

Hiking the ‘O’ Route in Patagonia

by Luke Nelson

Luke Nelson spent 16 days in Patagonia along with several friends. During that time, they walked among penguins, spent 8 days hiking in Torres del Paine National Park (on the famous ‘O’ Route), hiked down to and along Grey Glacier, walked across several (single-person only) suspension bridges, witnessed avalanches, saw pumas, and watched live glacier calving.

Hiking among the many glaciers and mountains along the route, they witnessed fantastic viewpoints such as Cerro Torre, the needles of Egger and Fitz Roy (the King of Patagonia). The trip also included numerous wildlife sightings and, yes, the infamous Patagonia wind.