In conversation with Heather Maxey this afternoon she reminded me that I’d offered to share with her a 2011 Rosslyn trail map that I had doodled for Susan as a Christmas gift.
Early on in our historic rehabilitation of Rosslyn we acquired almost thirty acres of overgrown meadows and new growth forest from Stephen Maselli and David Hislop who own Greystone. We merged the west-adjacent acreage with Rosslyn and undertook several exciting initiatives:
- We created a wildlife sanctuary to protect our wild neighbors.
- We aid out nature trails for walking, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing.
- And we began restoring some of the abandoned meadows.
Inspired by a comment from Susan that she didn’t feel 100% comfortable navigating the trails on her own — miscellaneous meandering loops and often limited site lines could be disorienting — I decided to contrive a trail map for her.
This Christmas gift was timely enough to guide her first few snowshoe and cross-country ski outings after which she knew the land and trails like the back of her hand. And the quirky doodle has proven helpful for others over the years until it became obsolete.
Subsequently we purchased additional acreage from the Tart family which we merged with the Rosslyn+Greystone property. I should have updated my 2011 map with a more comprehensive view of the new trails and meadows. The acquisition almost doubled Rosslyn’s backland allowing for lengthier and more varied trails. But I never got around to creating a version 2.0 of my 2011 Rosslyn trail map.
Until now! Or, *almost* now…
It occurred to me that a *current* map would be especially helpful when Rosslyn’s future homeowners begin to explore her trails. Fortunately I still have some time to procrastinate since this magical match is still future tense. But I’ve decided that sharing the old map might motivate me to put a 2025 Rosslyn trail map.
Brainstorming this update after Heather headed home, I tried to imagine a bird’s eye view of northern and western flanks of Rosslyn’s backland. It reminded me of Amy Guglielmo’s joyful aerial view.
[Just up from the Essex-Charlotte ferry dock in] Amy’s Essex aerial view… you’ll spy a third, smaller pier. That is Rosslyn’s boathouse, the maritime folly that enchanted us back in 2005-6 enough to swap NYC for the Adirondacks. Heck, it still enchants us despite constant maintenance and seasonal flood worries. And the boathouse hammock is a mini vacation! (Source: Essex Aerial View)
I’m not sure if I’m alone in this regard, but I feel like handmade maps can be more than just a practical tool. Doodle maps and aerial view paintings strike me as a unique sort of storytelling as both visually immersive narratives invite engagement. I’ll try to keep this in mind when I start scribbling my new and improved Rosslyn trail map.
Thanks for inspiring me, Heather!
What do you think?