Pastor Completes Tenth Consecutive Octet Challenge

By WRILEY NELSON
OTSEGO COUNTY

John W. Buddle, pastor at the Oneonta Elm Park and Otego United Methodist churches, completed his tenth Otsego Outdoors Octet Challenge in late August. Otsego Outdoors has run these seasonal challenges of eight or more outdoor activities since winter of 2021. Participants complete hikes, paddles, bike rides, outdoor events and volunteer activities to earn their way toward a listing on the Octet Challenge Roster, as well as patches and stickers. The program is intended to encourage local residents to take full advantage of Otsego County’s superb natural beauty and outdoor activity opportunities.

The Summer 2023 Octet program includes activities at Fetterley Forest, Glimmerglass State Park, Star Field, Brookwood Point, the Cherry Valley Sculpture Trail, Robert B. Woodruff Outdoor Learning Center, Texas School House State Forest, Betty and Wilbur Davis State Park, the Table Rock Trails, the Portlandville Fishing Access Site, Gilbert Lake State Park, the New Lisbon bicycling circuit, Copes Corners Park, and SUNY Oneonta’s College Camp. Participants can also volunteer at events or take part in an outdoor activity of their own design for credit. The summer challenge continues through Friday, September 22, so community members still have plenty of time to get started.

“I started doing the Otsego Octet at its beginning as a way of getting my churches involved in something,” Buddle recalled in an e-mail on Sunday, August 27. “COVID restrictions were still rampant and there wasn’t much we could do together. Local outdoor hiking was the perfect solution.”

Buddle has since completed every Octet challenge, along with his nephew, Jack. They did four of the 10 challenges as “ultras,” meaning that they did all eight hikes in a single day. Three of their finishes, including the most recent, have been “supers,” meaning that they did everything on the Octet list rather than choosing eight hikes. According to an Otsego Outdoors post, the Super Summer Octet involved 15 activities, and Buddle borrowed one of the organization’s bicycles to complete a New Lisbon bike loop challenge.

“Our next goal is to work on ‘super ultras,’ meaning everything on the list in one day,” Buddle said.
“Initially what amazed me was that I have lived in Oneonta for 15 years and wasn’t even aware of the existence of a lot of these trails,” he continued. “Each trail has something special.”

Buddle strongly recommends the Fetterley Forest trail in Richfield, Star Field, outside of Cooperstown, and the Woodruff Center, adjacent to Owen D. Young Central School in Van Hornesville. He also said that the Table Rock Trails at Hartwick College and the Audubon Bird Sanctuary on Franklin Mountain provide excellent contrasting views of Oneonta.

“The Texas School House walking trail is an excellent outdoor learning center resource with a gorgeous beaver pond,” he said. “However, this particular trail has not been maintained this year and is overgrown. I wouldn’t recommend it until maintenance has been done, unless you like bushwhacking.”

Buddle is an avid outdoorsman and qualified for the Catskills 3500 Club in October 2019 by summiting all 35 high peaks over 3,500 feet. He has repeated four of those peaks in winter conditions. Buddle has climbed a total of 76 mountains and completed two Catskill Fire Tower Challenges, but has largely stepped back from intensive climbing due to knee problems.

“The Otsego Octet trails have been a perfect replacement and I plan on continuing as long as they do,” he said.

“Here’s one of the best parts that people don’t realize: Most of these hikes are not difficult,” Buddle concluded.

Even the steep inclines of the Sleeping Lion trails at Glimmerglass are doable and easy to enjoy with a little preparation. “Dress appropriately for the season, use bug spray and sunscreen in the summer and proper footwear in the winter. There will be ice!”

For more information on Otsego Octet challenges, visit https://otsegooutdoors.org/