January Newsletter 2024

**Berlin Mtn, 12/13/23, pic by M Waldman**

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2023 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 hope to see you on an outing or a volunteer work effort in 2024.

The Taconic Hiking Club (THC) has been very productive in 2023. Here are the highlights of our activities and achievements.

We completed the year with a robust 245 members.
Our outings volunteers offered 70 outings during the year, including hikes, snowshoes, cross-country skiing, cycling, and paddling. This was similar to the 67 we offered in 2022.
Our trail workers worked very hard on the trail and recorded a total of 571 trail work volunteer hours. This is a bit above average for a typical year.
The Club held its “Gathering” at Cherry Plain State Park and held the Annual Luncheon at Moscatiello’s Italian Restaurant.
Twenty-four hikers were awarded a cumulative End to End TCT patch in 2023. 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!!!

Renew Your Membership now for 2024, click here Membership — Taconic Hiking Club

End-to-End Challenge - May 11, 2024

Our big project for 2024 will be the next End-to-End Challenge, scheduled for Saturday, May 11, 2024, with on-line registration opening on March 1. The hikers will start at Berry Pond in Pittsfield State Forest and trek 30+ miles with over 7000 feet of cumulative elevation gain over undulating terrain to the northern end of the Taconic Crest Trail at Route 346, North Petersburg, NY. Obviously, this challenge is for very fit and experienced hikers! Hikers are supported from beginning to end by volunteers of the Taconic Hiking Club.

See the End-to-End Challenge page of the THC website for more details. To volunteer email: taconichikingclb@gmail.com (no “u” in club.)

NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) 2023 Highlights

Regional NYS DEC Ranger Jackson issued nine tickets for illegal ATV (all-terrain vehicle) use on the Taconic Crest Trail (TCT) in 2023. This may be a record and it has been highly effective in deterring people from driving ATVs on the TCT. ATVs cause much destruction to the trails, especially when conditions are as wet as they have been this year.

DEC replaced the missing “Taconic Ridge State Forest” sign along Rte. 2, at the Petersburg Pass parking lot. They also removed a Jeep that had been stuck and abandoned just off the TCT, a bit south of the Robinson Hollow Trail junction. They remediated damage to the trail afterwards. In addition, the Ranger routinely patrols the TCT and access trails, verifies that hunters have appropriate hunting licenses, operates a chainsaw to remove large tree trunks blocking the trail which are too big for our volunteers’ hand saws, and talks to hikers and trail runners.

Who Finished Hiking the TCT in 2023?

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

Twenty-four hikers reported finishing the trail in 2023. Of these:

21 hikers were awarded the TCT cumulative “Summer” patch and only 3 were awarded the TCT cumulative “Winter” patch.

15 completed the trail in sections while 9 completed the trail in one day.
The hikers who traveled the farthest to get to the TCT were from California and Idaho. 6 were from NYS, 9 were from MA, others were from CT, NH, PA, RI and VT.

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!

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.

Friday, January 5: Phelps Trail, TCT, Mills Hollow Trail Loop B
Wednesday, January 10: Clam River Reserve, Sandisfield B-
Friday, January 12: Snow Hole from Prosser Hollow B/B+
Wednesday, January 17: Grafton Lakes State Park, Dixon Fire Tower B-/B
Tuesday, January 23: Shaker Mountain B
Thursday, January 25: Huyck Preserve Loop Trails B
Tuesday January 30: Greylock Bernard Farm Trail B