Viewpoint: Hiking Season

Happy New Year! Cold weather has arrived!

Swimsuits, sandals, beach towels and chairs are stored away. Gardening tools, lawn mowers and rakes are on break until spring cleanup. The snow shovels, however, rest near the door, with either hopeful anticipation or recalcitrant fear, depending on one’s pleasure.

But wait! We are not helplessly resigned to hibernate in front of a screen or behind a book during these cold months. Winter weather inspires a vigor meant for hiking in brisk fresh air.

Thanks to the Southampton Trails Preservation Society, hiking season is in full swing!

These days, members of the Southampton Trails Preservation Society offer many opportunities to be out in the woodlands. The mission of this volunteer group is creating and maintaining trails in woodlands and open lands accessible to the public.

Society members enthusiastically support and care for trails from Hampton Bays to Sagaponack. Nearly every weekend, hikes are led by trails members for the general public. Additionally, they create trail maps for hikers’ individual use and pleasure, with the help of the Southampton Town Geographic Information Systems Department.

Growing up in Southampton Village, I loved exploring with my family on Sunday afternoons. However, it took a while to get used to the wild woods.

My first hiking experience was one Sunday in 1957. Daddy announced at lunch that he was taking my older siblings to Camps Pond in Bridgehampton. I was 3 years old and was expected to nap at home while my mother got a break from all of us.

But I wasn’t about to miss the fun.

After fussing thoroughly, my sister, Melissa, 8, volunteered to take care of me. Lissy was my miniature mother, and I liked being her living doll.

We drove for a very long time, probably only 20 minutes, just long enough for me to be on the verge of carsick. Finally, Daddy pulled over on the side of a road where there were no houses. He called this “the woods.”

Lissy held my hand as we walked along a narrow trail into a big opening called Camps Pond. My big brother found the skull of a cow and held it over his head and ran at us. I, reliably, screamed, to his amusement.

Soon after, my other sister, Deb, and I settled near the edge of the pond and started to play in the sandy soil, with sticks. Suddenly, a swarm of colorful blue dragonflies dipped up and down like a flock of birds.

Insects of any sort, except ants, terrified me. Lissy came over and held me, but to no avail. I escalated rapidly into screaming. Daddy said, “Let’s go!” in an angry voice.

We drove home in silence, surprising Mommy by being home earlier than expected. I knew it was my fault — and I can still feel sorry about it, thanks to family reminders!

As I grew, the Sunday outings became a wonderful adventure. A favorite was hiking out to Split Rock in the woodlands surrounding the current town transfer station and Southampton Youth Services. The huge erratic in the middle of “nowhere” was a natural jungle gym on which we climbed up and down until my father was ready to move on.

As a busy mother of two young children, I started daily hiking when we adopted a Labrador retriever puppy. Amelia came to us from the Seeing Eye Dog Foundation because of a minor defect in her leg. She healed well and, once unfettered, loved to run anywhere, especially the woods, like any Labrador.

These days, hiking in the woodlands on the East End has become a staple of our winter outdoors activities. We wait for weather to be cold enough and fairly tick safe but remain vigilant no matter how cold it is. That means tucking our pants into socks that have been sprayed with effective herbal tick repellent. After the hiking we check thoroughly, head to toes.

Being outdoors is such a pleasure that it is well worth the effort.

Our family has hiked trails in Southampton, Hampton Bays, East Hampton and Sag Harbor. When I turned 60, I did a four-day pilgrimage hiking from Southampton to Montauk Point, all on the well-marked Paumanok Path, which starts at Rocky Point and ends at Montauk Point. It was a three-day adventure and well worth it.

Southampton and East Hampton Trails Preservation Societies lead trail hikes weekly all winter and into the summer. They also create new trails, maintain old ones all to promote hiking in our varied and wonderful woodlands. They deserve appreciation for their efforts.

The trails society hike leaders are like my Dad. They hold great love and respect for our wildlands and can be reached through their website, southamptontrails.org.

Hilary Woodward is a resident of Southampton.