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First section of completed Fly Rod Crosby Trail to be celebrated Aug. 25

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High Peaks Alliance summer interns: Quincy Mitman, Jay Chenard and Michael Phaelon celebrate completion of the final section of newly constructed foot path in Madrid TWP. (Photo courtesy of Ben Godsoe)

PHILLIPS – The completion of the first 20 miles of the Fly Rod Crosby Trail will be celebrated in a dedication ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 25, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Phillips Area Community Center.

Fly Rod Crosby

The Fly Rod Crosby Trail is a project of the High Peaks Alliance and when completed, will eventually stretch 45 miles from Strong to Oquossoc. It is being developed in three segments, of which, the trail from Phillips to Saddleback Mountain is the first to be completed.

The trail is based on the life and times of Maine’s first registered guide: Cornelia “Fly Rod” Crosby (1854 – 1946), a famous fly-fishing expert, journalist and the first person to market the Maine Woods as an early destination for tourism. Crosby lived in Phillips, where the first section of trail starts, and worked closely with the Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad Company, whose abandoned bed stretches north and west through Madrid and Sandy River Plantation. The trail stays close to the RR bed, than takes off into the back-country as it follows Orbeton and Hardy Streams around the western shoulder of Saddleback Mountain, finally ending at the ski resort.

The Fly Rod Crosby Trail is a project of the High Peaks Alliance, a small non-profit in northern Franklin County whose mission is: “to ensure and enhance public access to recreation in Maine’s High Peaks Region.” The alliance is made up of local people who hunt, fish, hike, ski, bike, ATV and snowmobile. The group advocates for collaboration and cooperation in order to preserve public access to recreation for current and future generations.

“This new trail wouldn’t be possible without the generosity of so many private landowners who gave permission for the trail to cross their land and wonderful effort by all of our volunteers,” said Ben Godsoe, who has been working on this project since 2010. “We are especially proud that we could offer a total of 11 jobs over three years to local youths to work on the trail.”

The dedication will kick off with a “History Walk” around downtown Phillips. The walk will leave the Old Gym on Depot Street at 10 a.m. and feature the Beal Block, Vose House, Paul G Whittemore Building and Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum. For a small donation walkers can take a ride on the Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad, which will be giving rides starting at 10:30 a.m.  At 11:30 a.m., state Sen. Tom Saviello will help dedicate the trail at the Phillips Area Community Center (Old Gym). From noon to  1 p.m. there will be a cookout in the same location, music and lots of trail information available. From 1-3 p.m. there will be guided hikes on the Fly Rod Crosby Trail. Hikes leave from the Phillips Area Community Center at 1 p.m.

For more information about the dedication or trail, visit www.highpeaksalliance.org or call 578-0306.

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2 Comments

  1. Pretty Cool!!!
    A “MustDo” for sure.

    Thanks for all the hard work it takes to make something like this happen…
    And it is,,,,,,,,,Hard Work !!

  2. What a wonderful opportunity for those able to use the trail. It should be lots of fun and challenging. It is nice that those who have worked on the trail honor Fly Rod Crosby. Thanks for those administrating and those shoveling, etc.

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