March Newsletter 2024
Greylock Range to left and Berlin Mtn and Taconic Crest to right, pic by M Waldman
End-to-End Challenge Registration Opens March 1, 2024, at 6 AM
The date is almost here! Registration for the May 11, 2024, End-to-End Challenge opens Friday, March 1 at 6 AM. Are you ready to challenge your endurance by hiking the 30+ mile, 7000 feet gain one-day trek along the Taconic Crest Trail?
Registration is via Eventbrite, the link is posted on the End-to-End page of the Taconic Hiking Club website. The entry fee is $50, and the challenge is capped at 25 entrants. Obviously, this is for very fit hikers!
End-to-End History
The Club started the “End-to-End Challenge” in 1966 with the goal for participants to hike the entire twenty-nine miles of the existing Taconic Crest Trail (TCT) in one day, from Berry Pond to Prosser Hollow. The north end of the trail is now located at Rte. 346 in North Petersburg, and this extended the Challenge another mile or so. The seven miles of trail which was added to the TCT in 1996 between Berry Pond and Rte. 20, Pittsfield has never been included as part of the End-to-End One Day Challenge.
Participants who completed the trek were, and still are, awarded an “End-to-End One Day” patch. In addition, any hiker completing the 7-mile section between Rte. 20 and Berry Pond on a different day is eligible for the TCT “Cumulative End to End Summer Trail” patch.
End-to-End Challenge Patch
Bloody Foot Patch
Club members were also awarded the “Order of the Hot Foot” badge, named in reference to muscle aches. The “Order of the Hot Foot” badge was originally a large, handmade patch made of red felt in the shape of a foot, embroidered by hand. The patch was also known as and is currently called the “Bloody Foot” patch in reference to blisters. In 2015 the “Bloody Foot” patches were commercially made for the first time.
According to a report of the May 1994 End-to-End Challenge, the participants were treated to refreshments and champaign at the end of the trail! It is unknown if champaign was ever offered again!
For several years it was customary for most participants and some volunteers to camp at the primitive campsites at Berry Pond the night before the Challenge, and enjoy a warm breakfast served by Club volunteers. Over time, more participants were drawn to the comforts offered at local lodging, motels and B&Bs. In 2020 the campsites at Berry Pond were closed by the park, and it is unknown if they will ever reopen. Since 2022, a Club volunteer has to unlock the gate at the base of Circuit Rd to Berry Pond as the sun is about to rise the day of the Challenge to allow the participants to drive up to Berry Pond to start the hike.
Traditions change, but it is still the same hike, thus the same Challenge!
Spring Gathering - 2024
Save the date! Our Spring Gathering will be at Grafton Lakes State Park on Saturday, June 1. We have the Deer Field Pavilion reserved for the day. There are great hiking and paddling opportunities as well as time to socialize! More details to follow.
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, March 1: Phelps Trail to Berlin Mountain B
Thursday, March 7: Albany Pine Bush – Madison Ave Pinelands to Hunger Kill Barrens B-
Sunday, March 10: Murphy Lake - Southern Adirondacks B-
Wednesday March 20: Graphite Range Community Forest, Wilton NY B
Wednesday March 27: Overlook Mountain B
“I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than trees.” Henry David Thoreau
Clam River Reserve
Picnic spot on Feb 5, Lily Pond at GLSP, pic by M Waldman
Clam River, pic by M Waldman
Spruce Bog Trail, Grafton Lake State Park, pic by M Waldman
House foundation, Clam River Reserve
Stone walls along the trail at Huyck Preserve, pic by L Siegard
Lunch by an old wolf white pine, Clam River Reserve, pic by M Waldman