PHARSALIA — Deep in the woods of Chenango County, a stone bench bears the name of a man who spent decades helping others find their way onto the Finger Lakes Trail.

The Bullthistle Hiking Club has organized two hikes that will set out at different times and cover different distances on Saturday, August 1, but both will travel toward the same destination: the Sandberg Lean-to and a stone bench engraved with the name of Edward J. Sidote.

The longer hike will begin at 8:30 a.m. from the Finger Lakes Trail trailhead on Fred Stewart Road and follow a 5.5-mile route in Pharsalia Woods State Forest.

A gentler, 2-mile hike will begin at 10:15 a.m. from the parking area near the intersection of Fred Stewart Road and Nine Mile Truck Trail.

The Bullthistle Hiking Club plans for both groups to reach the Sandberg Lean-to and Sidote bench around noon. Steve Ellsworth and Beth Stewart will lead the hikes. People may also join the gathering without completing either route.

The annual Ed Sidote Hike honors a Norwich man whose influence extended far beyond the miles he hiked.

Bullthistle Hiking Club President Peg Fuller, said Sidote started the Bullthistle Hiking Club in 2004.

“Ed was instrumental in building the Finger Lakes Trail through Chenango County,” Fuller said. “He approached landowners and obtained permission for the trail to cross their private property, he helped build the trail, and he was a constant proponent endorsing the FLT and hiking.”

More than 11 years after his death, that work continues through the hikers, maintainers and clubs following the paths he helped establish.

The bench and many other markers to his legacy are a permanent recognition of a man known throughout the state as “Mr. Finger Lakes Trail.”

Sidote was born in 1917 in Norwich and graduated from Norwich Senior High School in 1935.

His early working life included employment at the Norwich Borden Creamery. He enlisted in the Army following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1942 and was honorably discharged in 1946.

After returning home, Sidote served as scoutmaster for the Boy Scout troop at St. Bartholomew’s Church. He worked as an accountant at the Norwich Pharmaceutical Company and later worked for the Office for the Aging.

His interests included photography and hiking, but it was later in life that hiking and outdoors became his passion.

Sidote joined the Finger Lakes Trail organization in 1977. In 1990, at age 73, he became the third person to hike the entire Finger Lakes Trail, completing the trek with his friend Rufus Perkins, who received end-to-end number four, Fuller said.

The accomplishment was significant, but hiking the trail was only one part of his contribution.

Fuller said that Sidote served as president of the Finger Lakes Trail Conference’s Board of Managers and left an indelible mark as the organization’s first end-to-end coordinator. He maintained completion records and met hikers to present the patches and official numbers recognizing their achievements.

“According to FLTC lore, when a hiker finished the FLT, even if it was 2 a.m., Ed would be there in the middle of the woods to give them their badge,” Fuller said.

Sidote was also a “Trail Angel” for many hikers, giving them rides in his well-known Suburban, Fuller said. He created the Finger Lakes Trail Conference’s first Trail Angel list, allowing hikers to find people who could assist them with transportation to trailheads.

Sidote did not simply use the Finger Lakes Trail. He helped make it usable for others. His contribution was measured not only in the miles he covered, but in how many others he helped along the way.

He organized and attended hiking events, led hikers, supported volunteer activities and promoted the physical and mental benefits of spending time outdoors. His outreach extended to schools, scouting programs, community events and non-profit organizations.

His years as a scoutmaster were reflected in his advice, teaching people to enter the outdoors with confidence and encouraging them to accept responsibility for it.

Sidote’s volunteer activities included work with the Bullthistle Hiking Club, Chenango Land Trust, Chenango Bird Club, local Volkssport walking activities and the Healthy Heart Coalition. He was reportedly a member of 14 hiking organizations.

Through those groups, Sidote helped connect recreation with conservation.

Trails must be cared for. They require volunteers to clear vegetation, remove branches, maintain markers, repair structures, lead public outings and recruit the next generation of volunteers.

Sidote helped create and sustain that volunteer network.

During the annual Sidote hike in August 2009, between 45 and 50 people gathered for a 6-mile loop along the Finger Lakes Trail and seasonal roads near Pharsalia and Jackson Pond.

Sidote arrived early and greeted the participants with cold bottles of water, cookies and other snacks.

The gesture showed how his kindness brought people into the hiking community. He did not only promote the trail; he welcomed each person he met to it.

Sidote could bring people to the trail, but he could also persuade them to return, join an organization or assist another hiker.

His service received statewide recognition in April 2010, when he was inducted into the New York State Outdoorsmen Hall of Fame.

The honor recognized his decades of work introducing people to hiking and outdoor recreation.

Later that year, dozens gathered along the Finger Lakes Trail in Pharsalia for a tribute closer to home.
In 2010 the Chenango County section of the trail was officially dedicated as the “Ed Sidote Trail.” Signs welcoming hikers to Chenango County announced that the section had been dedicated to him.

A stone bench was also installed along the trail bearing the inscription, “Ed Sidote: Mr. FLT.”

The dedication included recognition from New York State, the City of Norwich, Chenango County and the Finger Lakes Trail Conference.

Other honors included recognition connected with National Trails Day, and a county proclamation establishing an Ed Sidote Day.

Fuller also said that Sidote received the Finger Lakes Trail Conference’s Wally Wood Distinguished Service Award in 1993 and became the first recipient of its Howard Beye Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004.

Sidote died April 9, 2015, at the age of 97.

Bullthistle Hiking Club members still lead public outings.

Some of those volunteers knew Sidote personally. Others became involved after his active years after.

“As new trail maintainers, trail builders, and daily ambassadors of the trail emerge, they will be successful if they remember what Ed did for hiking and follow in his footsteps,” Fuller said.

On Aug. 1, hikers will once again gather near the bench engraved with his name. They may pause there, share stories and remember the man known as “Mr. Finger Lakes Trail.” Then they will continue the hike.