My new travel video, "Hiking the Erie Canalway Trail, Vote on 7 Wonders..." provides a brief history of the historic and active Erie Canals, what it's like for baby boomers to walk, rather than bike, the entire Erie Canalway Trail, and why and how we are persevering. (As of 3/13/24, we have walked more than 71% of the Trail - 254 / 360 miles).
Watch video on PAC-B TV or YouTube: https://youtu.be/kbLp-
Baldwinsville, New York--Although most people bicycle across the State of New York on the 360-mile Erie Canalway Trail, my husband Jim and I are walking it. Since commencing our quest in 2020, we have walked over halfway across the state (254 miles so far) by tackling new sections of the Trail about twice a month - in all kinds of weather. We've been chased by swarms of mosquitoes, biting flies and lightning. We've endured torrential downpours, blinding snow, chafing underwear, aching feet and swollen knees. We’ve faced snakes, floods, ice, and a smelly, dead opossum!
My video, "Hiking the Erie Canalway Trail, Vote on 7 Wonders, Stop CMV", now airing on Baldwinsville's Public Access Channel, features the history of the Erie Canal and challenges faced by baby boomers seeking to become "end-to-enders" - those who walk, bike or kayak the entire Erie Canal. It includes my investigation into how (and why) my great-great Aunt Rebecca drove into the Canal over 80 years ago, ending her life.
The video showcases the reasons the Canal was considered the "8th Wonder of the World" and its ability to unite a nation. Congress established the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor in 2000 because the canal “facilitated the movement of ideas …like the abolition of slavery and…women's rights…across upstate New York to the rest of the country…” (Congressional Bills 106th Congress). Jim and I are determined to become "end-to-enders" because we have a "women's rights" issue to move from "upstate New York to the rest of the country" - cytomegalovirus (CMV). We are leaving #Stop CMV rocks along the Trail to comply with Congress' recommendation that "more effort be taken to counsel women of childbearing age of the effect this virus can have on their children" (S.Res.215 — 112th Congress, 2011).
Our daughter Elizabeth was born with brain damage in 1989 because I contracted CMV just prior to or during my pregnancy. I might have prevented that had I known to lessen my "risk of getting CMV by reducing contact with saliva and urine from babies and young children...not sharing food, utensils, or cups with a child" (CDC.gov/CMV). In 2022, “Elizabeth’s Law,” named in memory of our daughter, was passed in New York. It requires the provision of CMV educational materials to child care providers and pregnant women. But there is still a lot to do to raise awareness, so we keep putting one foot in front of the other.
- “Flight of Five”: The c. 1862 “staircase” locks are seen alongside two deep, consecutive modern locks (34 & 35), Lockport.
- 1850 Syracuse Weighlock Building, last remaining structure of its kind (houses Erie Canal Museum).
- Lift Lock 17, "One of the highest lift locks in the world," Little Falls.
- Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct, only restored, navigable aqueduct in New York, Camillus.
- Lift Bridges (there are 15, but the Fairport Lift Bridge, an irregular decagon, is the contender).
- Movable Dams (there are eight - not sure which one should be a contender).
- Richmond Aqueduct, Montezuma Heritage Park (though on the active Erie Canal, a slight detour is needed from the Canalway Trail to see it).
- Drydocks (the active Lyons Drydock or the historic dry dock complex in Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum).
- "Upside-Down Bridge", Lockport. A railroad bridge with the truss upside-down.
- Tiny Locktender’s House, Jordan.
- Mural Mania: "longest mural trail in the world of over 85 miles along the Erie Canal.”
Spectrum News: "Couple pushes for law in memory of their daughter" (Houghtaling, J., Jul. 01, 2021).
Finger Lakes Times: "MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Couple brings awareness to threat to infant health: CMV", (Buchiere, S.,June 4, 2021).
Syracuse Woman magazine, "Fighting CMV One Step at a Time (p.28)", (Vallelunga, E., May 2021)
The Citizen, "Challenge for Change: Walking across NY to raise awareness of CMV", (Wilcox, D., Mar 31, 2021)
Helpful “Towpath Traveler” Guides
Maps: online and paper (helpful for parking, restaurants, lodging, historical sites, etc.):
Empire State Trail (provides descriptions of the Trail by sections, parking addresses, etc.).
Cycle the Erie Canal (interactive online map and/or print map ordering info).
NYS Canalway Water Trail Guidebook and Map Set (detailed maps - order or download).
The Erie Canal Bike Trail of New York (info on towns and lodging along the way).
Erie Canal Mapping Project (shows all three versions of the Canal).
Google Maps shows the Trail.
New York State Canal Corporation (good overall info for boaters and walkers/cyclists such as camping along the Canalway Trail).
Folks on these Facebook sites have been helpful:
