September Newsletter 2020
View towards Rensselaer Plateau from Taconic Crest Trail
FALL GATHERING
Come join us for our first ever Fall Gathering! There will be a short meeting at 9:30 followed by hiking or paddling. This will be a nice time to see old friends and meet new ones! You must register for this event!
Meeting place: We will be meeting near the beach. From the main parking lot, walk to the beach, turn left when you get to the walkway along the beach. We will be at a grouping of picnic tables nestled in the trees along the beach.
Meeting starts at 9:30. We will give a brief description of proposed bylaws changes (which will enable voting for a board this year without a November Banquet), recognize THC volunteers and draw names for four winners of $25. Amazon gift cards. Requirements to have your name in the raffle is simple: you must register for the event by noon on Friday, 9/25 and you must be at the meeting when the names are drawn!
Hiking and paddling: After the meeting we will break into smaller groups for short hikes in the vicinity of the Welcome Center, such as the Shaver Pond Trail and a loop using the Water Tower, Criss Cross and Little Johnny Trails or you can bring your own kayak or canoe and go for a paddle!
Lunch: We are not “arranging” a picnic, but if you want to you can stay after your hike or paddle and enjoy lunch or snack with friends and maybe take a longer unguided hike in the afternoon. Be sure to bring your own water, lunch and/or snacks, hand sanitizer, and you may also want to bring a lawn chair. We expect that we will picnic at the same place we started at the beach.
Social distancing: All participants are required to follow social distance protocols and wear face coverings when 6 feet of distance cannot be maintained from another person.
Registration required! Contact Martha Waldman at email: martha829r@aol.com to register by noon on Friday 9/25, please include if you plan to hike or paddle. The park has a limit of group size of 50 maximum and the club is limiting hiking group size to 8. Remember, registration and attendance are all you need to do to have your name in the raffle! We hope to see you there!
Reminder: There is an $8.00 per car fee to enter the park. Rest rooms are available near the beach.
Rain date: Sunday 9/27.
BIKE TRAILS: What is new, extended, upgraded, or under-construction
The Taconic Hiking Club often offers outings that take place on hike/bike rail trails in the region. We are very lucky that New York state, at both the local and state levels, has allocated generous funding to extend existing rail trails and recently to create new ones. We are providing a listing of some of these and their updated status below. They are scenic, well maintained, and user-friendly. So if you are an avid or occasional cyclist or just enjoy walking on the bike trails hopefully you may find a new trail to explore on your own or with the Club!
The Albany Hudson Electric Trail is a new 35-mile cycling and walking trail linking downtown Hudson, through Columbia and Rensselaer Counties to near the Amtrak Station in Rensselaer, NY. The Albany-Hudson Electric Trolley operated along the trail corridor from 1899 to 1929. The trail will take cyclists and walkers through historic communities in the rural landscape of the Hudson Valley, including orchards, village Main Streets, shops and restaurants, historic sites, and other locations. The project is part of the proposed NYS Empire Trail. Although the trail is not officially open at this time; sections of the trail are expected to be officially opened soon the rest will open in 2021. See the Albany-Hudson Electric Trail and the Columbia Friends of the Electric Trail websites for more information and updates.
Taking a relaxing break on the Ashuwillticook Trail. pic by K Ross
Thanks to state and local partners you can now enjoy the new $1.7 million South End Connector that links the Mohawk Hudson Hike-Bike Trail to the Albany County Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail along the Hudson River. This allows you to travel between Albany’s South End and the Corning Preserve. The 1.5- mile trail is protected by a landscaped buffer from the Albany County Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trailhead to the Interstate 787 Frontage Road and continues underneath Interstate 787 all the way to the Mohawk Hudson Hike-Bike Trail connection. This now provides a 32-mile paved and uninterrupted bike-hike path.
The Albany County Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail stretches 9 miles along the old Delaware & Hudson (D&H) Railroad between the Port of Albany and Voorheesville, passing through the Towns of Bethlehem and New Scotland. The entire length of the Rail Trail, from Pearl Street in Albany to Grove Street in Voorheesville, is fully paved and open for public use during daylight hours. A map is available here: https://www.albanycounty.com/departments/recreation/albany-county-helderberg-hudson-rail-trail. It is a wonderful bike or walk that includes an old railroad bridge over the Normanskill Creek and a view of the Normanskill Falls. There is easy trail-side access to coffee, lunch, pub and a bookstore at Delmar's Four-Corners area and a nice pavilion at the Voorheesville end.
The Zim Smith Trail is an 11.5-mile hike/bike trail in southern Saratoga, that runs from from Ballston Spa to Mechanicville. The newest 2.5 section of trail opened recently, extending from the parking area on Coons Crossing in Halfmoon the Little League field in Mechanicville. There are plans to connect it to Saratoga State Park to the north and the Champlain Canalway Trail to the south. Check Saratoga.com for more information.
The Ashuwillticook Trail has been renovated from the Berkshire Mall in Lanesborough, MA to Cheshire. The northern section is closed for renovation but is due to reopen in October. Up until then, bikers can do a round trip of 12 miles on pavement that is as smooth as glass. For a description and updates, check the Mass DCR website--https://www.mass.gov/locations/ashuwillticook-rail-trail."
Zim Smith Trail outing. Pic by P Grogan
The Harlem Valley Rail Trail aims to create a continuous trail from Columbia to Dutchess counties. The Harlem Valley Rail Trail has two sections totaling 26+ paved miles through rural Dutchess and Columbia County. Since the mid-1980’s, the Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association has dreamed of a 46-mile rail trail in the Harlem Valley and Taconic Hills of eastern New York. This dream is nearing completion. There are currently 10.7 miles of completed, paved Rail Trail stretching from the Trail Head in Wassaic to Millerton. There is an additional 5 miles from Under Mountain Road in Ancram to Orphan Farm Road in Copake. Millerton Station to Under Mountain Road is closed to the public. There is an alternate route on country roads with rolling hills.
The Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association announced this June that with support from more than $2.1 million in funding from the state and federal government the trail will expand in Columbia County. This expansion near the Taconic State Park will create a continuous 26.6-mile trail between the MetroNorth station in Wassaic and Hillsdale in Columbia County. The new connection between the Village of Millerton and Undermountain Road in Ancram is scheduled to open in September 2020, and most of another 18 miles have been acquired to take the Trail north into the Village of Chatham. In Millerton, HVRTA and the Dutchess County Department of Public Works are also developing a narrative “Bridge to Nature” display on the area’s natural history and ecology. See http://hvrt.org/trail-overview/
Those glorious ferns along the TCT! Refreshing site while doing trail work. Pic by J Grady
Broad Brook (VT) the day after late August storm. Pic by B Armao
THC trail stewards partner with Grafton Lakes State Park employees to clear and mark the Fire Tower Trail. Pic by M Waldman
OUTINGS
Refer to the THC website outings page for details about the outings and how to register and social distancing protocols. We are scheduling on a short-term basis rather than seasonally, so check the website periodically.
Wednesday, September 16: Catskill North Point Loop, Palenville: B
Saturday, September 19, 2020: The Hoosac Range Trail, North Adams (B)
Fall Gathering: Saturday September 26 at Grafton Lakes State Park C (Rain date: Sunday 9/27)
Monday September 28: Grafton Fire Tower C Easy
Thursday, October 15, Mahanna Cobble Trail C
Saturday, November 7: Perry’s Peak loop C+
Dickson Fire Tower, Grafton Lakes State Park
Harmon Pond, Margaret Lindley Park outing. Pic by M Waldman
Photo opportunity while doing trail work. Pic by J Grady
Lunch break at the TCT overlook above Rte 2, towards Rensselaer Plateau.