Ed Sidote passed away a couple of weeks ago, at the age of 97. While the public at large may not recognize his name, the public owes him more than it realizes.
In 1990 Ed became the third person to walk the entire Finger Lakes Trail – an act that still has only been accomplished by about 500 hikers. He was 73 years old at the time, though he pointed out that his hiking partner, end-to-ender number 4, was only 72.
More than that that, he served for years as president of the Finger Lakes Trail Conference, especially in the years when it was still trying to chart a course, and carve a trail from the woods and fields.
More even than that, he helped physically create the Trail in our immediate area, sleeping many nights at Hickory Hill Camping Resort near Bath in order to be up with the songbirds with axe and shovel.
For many years Ed ran the Finger Lakes Trail’s end-to-end award program. It used to be said that if you finish the Trail at 2 A.M., in the middle of the woods, Ed will be there to hand you your badge.
Always looking to the future, Ed celebrated his 90th birthday (and the FLT’s 45th) by donating $1250 to open the FLT Forever Society. Those funds become part of the Sidote Stewardship Fund, dedicated to Trail protection.
Each summer the Finger Lakes Trail hosts an Ed Sidote guided walk. It’s one of four seasonal “named hikes,” and this year takes place in Chenango County (sometimes called Sidoteland).
A portion of trail in Chenango County is named and dedicated in honor of Ed.
A stone bench on the Trail in Pharsalia was dedicated in his honor. Ed picked the spot, and it’s engraved “Ed Sidote: Mr. FLT.”
When the North Country Trail was being created (from North Dakota to the New York-Vermont state line), it took advantage of the existing FLT route. In 2010 the North Country Trail Association gave Ed its Lifetime Achievement Award.
In that same year the New York State Outdoorsman Hall of Fame inducted Ed as an honoree.
In 2004 Ed received the FLT’s Howard Beye Lifetime Award (the first to receive it – even ahead of Howard). In 1993 he received FLT’s Wally Wood Distinguished Achievement Award.
Up until the last year or two Ed was still joining group hikes, though not necessarily going the whole distance any more.
Thanks to Ed and many others, the Finger Lakes Trail is a remarkable feature. The Main Trail stretches 558 miles from Allegany State Park to Catskill State Park. With six major branch trails, plus spurs and loops, it adds up to what’s almost a thousand-mile system of “continuous footpath across New York State… forever.” And for most of our readers, it’s right in our back yard.
There are a few places, such as Watkins Glen State Park, where the Trail crosses public land, and in a few of those places public crews do the maintenance. But overwhelmingly the Trail exists through the hospitality of hundreds of private landowners. Overwhelmingly it’s planned, created, and maintained by those volunteers who put in 15,000 hours a year.
Ed was sort of the avatar of volunteers. He signed all of his letters, notes, and e-mails with HAPPY HIKING. Which it always was, if you were hiking with Ed.