CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS!
Jannet Denney and Aran Voss Hutchins tied for first. People's choice to Melissa Maki

Congratulations to the three winners in our first ever Photo & Caption contest. The People's Choice winner is Melissa Maki with the adorable picture of her three dogs enjoying their “Best Day Ever” on a CATS trail. Her poem about the "Shih Tzu kings" is a must read (see below)! The judges had a hard time deciding on just one winner-- Janet Denney and Aran Voss Hutchins will share the prize. Janet tells the story of how a stranger became a friend due to a shared experience hiking up Cheney Mountain. Aran's entry captures her chance meeting with an exquisite diurnal moth along the Black Kettle Nature Trail. Thank you to everyone who entered- stay tuned for our next contest!

Gateway to Another Universe
Living in Westport and having direct access to the many CATS trails gives our children a gateway into another universe. They transform with the elements, completely unaware that we are barely 100 yards from home!
– Emily Abruzzi

Swinging Along
Swinging along the hiking trail at Grog Harbor. He said, "I'd rather swing than hike today I want to fly like a bird." (photo of photo) – Bob Akeret

Climb a Tree
If you want a great view of Lake Champlain climb Coon Mountain. Not good enough? Climb a tree! – Gerry Bingham

Accidental Meeting
Imagine, always wanting to visit the Adirondacks …. You know no one here and know even less about what’s in Port Henry BUT you hop aboard the Amtrak train in NYC and arrive for a weekend. This is just what Barbara, from Salt Lake City, did. An accidental meeting brought three residents and Barbara together. What a better way to show off our beautiful area to Barbara than a hike up Cheney Mountain? It was a trip Barbara will never forget. It was a hike we three will never forget as we felt we had shown our visitor a great time. It is such an opportunity for all involved when you allow a stranger to become a friend….due to a hike. – Janet Denney

Rattlesnake Mountain
Our family atop Rattlesnake Mountain August 2012 - Phil Draper

Hobblebush
Hobblebush is a good example of the extraordinariness of common things. These were on the Rattlesnake Mountain trail, surely one of the great short hikes in the Northeast. These show also that from one day to the next, no walk is ever the same. - Mark Gibson

Marsh Marigolds
I was over your way last weekend to fish the small streams and I came upon a flush of marsh marigolds. - Joe Hackett

Snowberry Moth
While walking the Black Kettle Nature Trail I came across this beautiful little creature that at first I thought was a Bumble Bee but it would have been the largest bee I had ever seen at 3 to 4 inches long. It was perched in the grass along the trail that goes through the field on our way back to the car. I took some photos of this unusual sighting and immediately researched what it was when we arrived home. I learned it was a Snowberry Clearwing Moth which is a member of the Sphinx Moth family. It is one of the diurnal Sphinx Moths so it forages during the day by using it’s long tongue to suck nectar from flowers. I have had the great pleasure of walking the CATS trails to discover all these little jewels that we are so lucky to have all around us in the Adirondacks if we take the time to look.
- Aran Voss Hutchins

Ferns
So stately and symmetrical. They unfold before your eyes. Taken near the Boquet River. - Elizabeth Lee

Nature Calls
I took 3 of my children on the Split Rock Trail last weekend in Essex. What a fun beautiful hike for children of all ages!! I have a 3 year old and 6 year old boy and apparently natured called for them both even after we had used the restroom prior, they are little boys and could not hold it! I was taking pictures and as I turned around to take a picture I found this... - Heather Liberi

The Best Day Ever
It starts by hearing the words "Let's go"
The backpack is ready, but sometimes they're slow
to get everything packed and the truck in gear
We are so excited to hit the trail, we are so near!
We smell the fresh air and know there are worlds to explore
We run on the CAT paths and are so thankful for
the many volunteer hands who clear this beat
so even the tiniest feet
can run safely and easily thru the meadows and woods
swimming and smelling and climbing so good!
And then collapse back in the truck ready to nap
After taking in the beauty of nature we tip our cap
Thank you CATS for everything
From these three shiztu's who feel like Kings! - Melissa Maki

Congratulations to Winners in CATS' Third Travel Writing Contest!
Congratulations to Paula Castner, of Lancaster, Massachusetts, won the $500 first place prize in the Champlain Area Trails Travel Writing Contest. Castner, whose husband’s family has long-time ties to the area, describes herself as a “comfort-loving, city-bred gal.”  But after six summers visiting the Champlain Valley, she’s “converted.”  Her essay described hiking the Wildway Overlook Trail, visiting museums and parks, going to church and the Elizabethtown Library, and getting food at the farmers’ market and local restaurants.  “I just wanted people to walk with me as I went to all these great places,” she says.
 High school freshman Julia Dixon of Lake Forest, IL, won the $250 People’s Choice Award—with a whopping 158 votes online. The 14-year-old has been spending summers at her grandparents in Westport “since I was born.”  She wrote of hiking Coon Mountain, visiting Dogwood Bakery, and how much she loves coming here. 
Read all our contest entries HERE.

CHAMPLAIN AREA TRAILS AWARDED “DESTINATION AWARD” BY REGIONAL OFFICE OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM READ MORE...

Coon Mountain Children
On this day atop Coon Mountain, these two young hikers smiled at each other at their parents' request. But as they get older and look back on this picture, they will surely smile for many other reasons - including the fact that they summited a mountain together for the first time, each on their own two feet. - Laura McDaniel