January Newsletter 2023

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2022 IN REVIEW

The New Year is finally here, and we extend greetings to our members for a healthy and safe year to come. We thank you for renewing your memberships and supporting the work we do to maintain our signature trail, the 37-mile-long Taconic Crest Trail (TCT), and to partner with other organizations to preserve and protect the Taconic Range. We’ll hope to see you on an outing or a volunteer work effort in 2023.

The Taconic Hiking Club (THC) has been very productive in 2022. Here are the highlights of our activities and achievements.

We completed the year with a robust 252 members.
Our outings volunteers offered 67 outings during the year, including hikes, snowshoes, cross-country skiing, cycling, and paddling. This was a substantial increase above the 45 we offered in 2021. We had two new Outing Leaders start leading hikes this past year and one more is starting in 2023.
Our trail workers worked very hard on the trail and recorded a total of 736 trail work volunteer hours. This is 200+ more hours than in a typical year. The two minor reroutes were completed with the assistance and approval of New York State Department of Conservation. One is at the Rte. 346 end of the trail, the other is just south of the Robinson Hollow access trail. The reroutes took the trail away from ATV created mud wallows and into the woods for a more pleasant hiking experience.
The Club held its third enjoyable “Gathering” at Grafton Lakes State Park.
We held a successful End-to-End Challenge in May 2022.
33 hikers were awarded a cumulative End to End TCT patch in 2022. See the Who finished hiking the TCT article below for more details.

The club is fortunate to have some terrific volunteers who make all this possible. Many thanks to all THC volunteers and we welcome anyone to come out to join us!!!

LOOKING TO 2023: The group is looking forward to continuing efforts to grow the Club and increase member participation. One of the ideas is to offer more weekend outings. We also plan to continue to partner with NYSDEC to maintain and improve the Taconic Crest Trail.

We continue to look for and train new outings leaders, trail workers and other volunteers who may be interested in chairing positions such as Outings Chair or assisting with the newsletter and website.

If you are interested in volunteering in any capacity with the Club, or would like more information on volunteer opportunities email us at taconichikingclb@gmail.com

RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP now for 2023, click here Membership — Taconic Hiking Club

1,300 ACRES PROTECTED in the TACONIC MOUNTAINS!

We are pleased to report that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) recently conserved 1,300 acres of forest and grasslands in the Taconic Mountains in the town of Berlin in Rensselaer County. It connects the Taconic Ridge and Berlin State Forests, linking together more than 12,000 acres of state forests and will be added to the Taconic Ridge State Forest. The purchase protects steep forested slopes that lead to the top of the Taconic Ridge, 80 acres of grassland habitat and a tributary of the Little Hoosick River. New York State purchased the land for $890,000 through the Environmental Defense Fund.

The Taconic Hiking Club should be proud of the role we play in maintaining the Taconic Crest Trail, which was cited in the DEC announcement as a valuable recreation resource. Without us and the hard work our volunteers do through the year to clear and trim that trail, it could quickly disappear.

To those familiar with trail names this parcel lies between Mattison Hollow and Robinson Hollow and provides the opportunity for a new access trail or two to the Taconic Crest Trail.

Click here to see the DEC acquisition map and here for the DEC Press release.

WHO FINISHED HIKING the TCT in 2022?

Of those who apply for TCT trail patches are just a snapshot of those that use the trail. Most hikers enjoy day hikes on various sections of the trail. The Snow Hole continues to be the most popular day hike, followed by Berlin Mtn. Often runners use the entire trail for training.

Thirty-three hikers reported finishing the trail in in 2022. Of these:

23 hikers were awarded the TCT cumulative “Summer” patch and 10 were awarded the TCT cumulative “Winter” patch.
19 completed the trail in sections while 14 completed the trail in one day.
Of the hikers completing the trail in one day, one person did it as a trail run and four hiked it as part of the North East Ultra 8
15 were from NYS, 11 were from MA, 6 were from CT, NH, PA, and VT and 1 was from France.

If you are interested in taking on the fun challenge of hiking the entire trail in sections, be it winter or summer, click here Trail Patches . If you just want to hike and explore some sections of the trail, click here for a TCT Trail Map & Guide.

Congratulations to all finishers for your athletic ability and perseverance!

CLUB FEATURED IN “BERKSHIRE EAGLE” ARTICLE

The Taconic Hiking Club was featured in a Berkshire Eagle article about clubs to hike with on December 24, 2022. Read the scanned article here.

GRAFTON LAKES STATE PARK (GLSP) & WINTER FEST

This is the last in our series on state and community parks that ring the Taconic Ridge. We hope you have already or will visit one or even all of them. Each is unique and wonderful.

Grafton Lakes State Park’s 2500 acres offers something for everyone. It is easy to get to, has great parking, a fantastic beach, and many opportunities for recreation, not the least of which is a network of 25 miles of easily negotiated and well-marked trails for all abilities. Several circle the lakes. Take your horse and leashed dog, but leave your ATV at home. You can ski, snowshoe, skate, fish, paddle, or just sit and enjoy the scenery. Facilities are well-maintained, and several lovely pavilions are available for those big family and friends gatherings. Kids will love the beautiful modern Nature Center and intriguing playground and will especially love the Grafton Winterfest, coming up soon and described in this newsletter.

Check out the maps here and enjoy GLSP life throughout the seasons: GLSP North GLSP South

Plan to attend the GLSP 38th Annual Winter Festival on Saturday, January 21, 2023. The fun event is free and runs from 11:30 AM to 3 PM. The Winter Fest will feature outdoor events, indoor exhibits, food vendors, and family-friendly recreational activities. The THC will be leading one of the snowshoe hikes. The event will open with the always popular Polar Plunge. See the GLSP Facebook Page for more information.

OUTINGS: Refer to the THC website outings page for details about the outings and how to register. We schedule on a monthly and short-term basis, so check the website periodically.

Monday, January 9 Kinderhook Preserve, East Nassau C
Tuesday, January 10: Grafton Lakes State Park, Mill Pond to White Lily Pond B-
Tuesday, January 17: Margaret Lindley Park, Williamstown, MA C+
Saturday, January 21: Grafton Lakes State Park WINTER FEST
Thursday, January 26, XC Ski
Saturday, January 28: Meads Meadow trail and Overlook Mountain B
Wednesday, February 1: Grafton Lakes State Park - Loop B-