PHARSALIA – On Saturday, dozens gathered on a section of the Finger Lakes Trail in Pharsalia to honor Ed Sidote, the 93 years young Norwich resident whose name has become synonymous with hiking and especially the Finger Lakes Trail (FLT) system in New York State. The event, sponsored and organized by the Bullthistle Hiking Club in cooperation with the FLT and the NYSDEC, officially made the Chenango County section of the FLT the “Ed Sidote Trail.”

Travelers and hikers on the Finger Lakes Trail will now be greeted to Chenango County’s section by signs that proclaim “Welcome to Chenango County, Land of the Bullthistle, This Section of Trail Dedicated to Ed Sidote.” They’ll also have a chance during the hike to take a breather by sitting on a handsome stone bench along the trail that bears the engraving “ED SIDOTE, MR FLT.”