WARWICK — About two dozen people turned out earlier this month to dedicate the recently named Karl Quackenbush Trail, honoring the late outdoor enthusiast, Planning Board member and founding member of the Warwick Lands Trails Study Group.
The Conservation Commission and Selectboard voted in May in favor of naming the loop trail in the Hockanum Hill Conservation Area in honor of Karl Quackenbush, who died unexpectedly at home on Feb. 15. Warwick Lands Trails Study Group members Brad Compton, Clare Green and Tom Ziniti led the hike on June 12, during which participants shared memories of Quackenbush and unveiled trail signs that Ziniti constructed and installed with help from Howard Mathison.
“We had our unveiling, and said a few words about Karl and what he had done for the community,” Ziniti said. “Then we had some cake and took a hike. … It felt good that we were able to do this for Karl.”
Nancy Harnden, Quackenbush’s second wife and widow, said she and her husband were “pretty much always outdoors.” When she heard of the decision to name the loop trail in Quackenbush’s honor, she said it was “the nicest gesture (she) could think of” for the late outdoorsman.
“It was absolutely wonderful that the town even thought to do this sort of thing,” Harnden said of the dedication ceremony. “Everything was just so well done. There’s so many good residents in this town … and I just can’t say enough good things about them.”
Quackenbush, who was previously married to Elizabeth Seinberg, married Harnden on June 27, 2004. He and Harnden bought their property in Warwick in 2018, and moved to town the following summer. Born in Syracuse, N.Y., on Feb. 14, 1955, Quackenbush earned his bachelor’s degree from Buffalo State University and a master’s degree from Harvard University. He worked as an urban transportation planner with the Central Transportation Planning Staff in Boston for 35 years, serving a number of years as director, before retiring and moving to Warwick.
Once he was a Warwick resident, Quackenbush joined the Planning Board and the Warwick Lands Trails Study Group. Following Quackenbush’s death, Harnden joined the Warwick Lands Trails Study Group herself.
The Hockanum Hill Conservation Area is overseen by the town Conservation Commission, which established the new Karl Quackenbush Trail loop in tandem with the Warwick Lands Trails Study Group. Green first proposed naming the loop trail in Quackenbush’s honor during an April 12 Selectboard meeting.
“He put a lot of time, energy and enthusiasm into that trail when it was first developed,” Green said when proposing the dedication. “A lot of people have used it since we did that this winter.”
The loop trail was flagged three years ago by Conservation Commission member Karro Frost. After work this past fall and winter, and the new signs from Ziniti, the trail is now cleared and ready to use.
The new trail connects the previously existing 0.3-mile out-and-back Hockanum Hill Overlook Trail to create an extended loop. If hikers travel about one-tenth of a mile up that trail, Ziniti said, they can take a left to follow the 0.4-mile Karl Quackenbush Trail up to the overlook and down the 0.3-mile trail to create a loop. Alternatively, they can take the overlook trail up, and follow the Karl Quackenbush Trail back down for a loop.
Following the dedication, about 15 people, including Harnden and her 6-year-old granddaughter Lydia Thompson, walked the full Hockunum Hill Overlook Trail and Karl Quackenbush Trail loop. The overlook trail features a vista point where hikers can see rolling hills to the south and east. The uphill climb is gradual, making it a moderate trail that is accessible to many. Parking for the Hockanum Hill Conservation Area is off Hockanum Hill Road.
Zack DeLuca can be reached
at zdeluca@recorder.com or
413-930-4579.