July Newsletter 2020
Greylock from Berlin Mountain summit, on an overcast but pleasant hiking day. Pic by M Waldman
Route 2 - Petersburg Pass, road construction and trail head parking
NYS Department of Transportation (DOT) will be doing road repairs on Route 2 in Petersburg Pass from early July through September. The TCT trail head parking area on Petersburg Pass will be used as a staging area for the construction equipment.
The Taconic Crest Trail will remain open! DOT will provide a parking area for at least 12 cars to park and for hikers to have access to the trail system on both sides of Route 2 during the road repairs.
Patrick McGarry, Forester 1, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) worked with DOT to ensure that there will be parking available and trail access. He is also requesting DOT to do some parking area repair work while they have the equipment there.
New trail register, Petersburg Pass – north
Anyone that has hiked to the Snow Hole from Petersburg Pass in the past couple years knows the old trail register box had seen better days! Steve Jackson, DEC Forest Ranger, has just replaced it with a new (heavy) metal register. The new register is conveniently located at the base of the trail just above Route 2, bolted into a maple tree. No more soggy sign in sheets!
Trail work update
Dave Pisaneschi, THC Trail Work Chair reported that the entire trail has been patrolled at least once this year, some sections more than once. Our trail workers have logged a remarkable 252 hours of trail work (including travel time) so far this year! Impressive numbers considering the late winter, pandemic and early hot summer! It has been rewarding to have received compliments on the trail by some of the people that have hiked the entire trail this year.
“Upstream at the Quakenkill -- as far as I could paddle.” Pic by Bob Armao
On a tree on Berlin Mountain, there must be an interesting story behind this! Pic by Ed Slattery
Brilliant splash of color beside the trail. Pic by M Waldman
OUTINGS and COVID PROTOCOLS:
Yes, we are slowly starting to lead outings again. We will be following social distance protocols. All participants must bring a face covering and agree to use it when closer than 6 feet to another hiker, also bring their own hand sanitizer.
We will not be facilitating carpooling, participants are expected to drive themselves to the trail head, except for carpooling by members of a household. Our group size will be smaller than usual to help maintain social distancing. Sharing of food, water or equipment is discouraged. The protocols are posted on the documents page of the website.
OUTINGS
Refer to the THC website outings page for details about the outings and how to register. We will be scheduling on a short-term basis rather than seasonally, so check the website periodically.
JULY
Monday, July 6: Skywalk Across the Hudson, Walk, Greenport NY C
Thursday, July 9 Margaret Lindley Park and Trails, Williamstown (MA) C
Thursday, July 16: Guilder Pond and Mt. Everett Hike, Mt. Washington, Massachusetts C
Thursday, July 23: Zim Smith Rail Trail, Halfmoon to Ballston Spa, Cycle (23 miles RT) B
Wednesday, July 29: Albert Family Community Forest C+
AUGUST
Sunday Aug 30: BIKING – BROOKFIELD TRAIL SYSTEM B