May Newsletter 2024
SPRING GATHERING, GRAFTON LAKES STATE PARK (GLSP), SATURDAY, JUNE 1
Join us at the THC Spring Gathering at Grafton Lakes State Park, at the Deerfield Pavilion on Saturday, June 1. You may come for all or part of the event. Meet old friends and make new friends!
We will start with a brief meeting at 9:30 at the Deerfield Pavilion, followed by a group hike. We plan to hike around Shaver Pond and take a side trip on the Granville Hicks Trail. You can paddle on Long Pond or stroll along the beach if you don’t want to hike.
We will meet again at the Deer Field Pavilion for a “bring your own” picnic lunch. If you cannot make the morning hike you can still join us for the picnic lunch; plan on arriving by 11:30.
After the picnic you can paddle on Long Pond, take another hike, or relax and hang out at the pavilion. Bring your own kayak or canoe; remember to bring your life vest, white light, and whistle.
See the outings page for registration information.
END-TO-END CHALLENGE UPDATE
The End-to-End Challenge – Saturday, May 11, is almost here! We have the volunteers in place and the trail crews are working diligently to remove the copious amount of blowdown from the trail by the day of the trek.
TRAIL WORK UPDATE - A spring of an extraordinary amount of blowdowns.
As of today, the THC trail workers have logged over 420 hours of trail work this year. By the end of February our trail crews had taken advantage of the light winter and cleared blowdown from about 28 miles of the TCT as well as the access trails on the west side of the Crest. We were all smiles; we were ahead of the game! Then came the violent early spring storms in March and then April. The heavy wet snow, ice and/or high winds brought down an abnormally large number of branches and trees, sometimes totally blocking the trail. It sometimes seems endless!
Blowdown removal can be relatively simple or complicated. One can toss small branches off the trail and drag the larger branches into the woods. However, it becomes more complicated if it is a large tree with multiple branches laying across the trail. We must look above to see if there are any broken branches, aka widow makers, that can fall on us. We also look out for spring traps - branches or trees that are bowed over and secured at both ends, creating tension along the branch or trunk. If you don’t recognize a spring trap before you cut, it could seriously injure you when the tension is released; suddenly you are whacked in the face, or worse! With safety in mind, we carefully plan the sequence for which branches to cut and remove first. We continue to evaluate the sequence as the project goes on. There are times when the tree is too large or too hazardous for us to completely remove. In that case we make sure there is safe passage, and we notify the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) or MA Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) so paid trail crews with chainsaws can complete the work.
Many thanks to our hard-working volunteer trail crew! Protecting and maintaining this trail is a major conservation effort that we should all be proud of.
Where to start! Pic by M Waldman
The trail used to go just to the right of the tree truck.
BECOME A HIKE LEADER!
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to lead a group on a hike or cycle? Being an outings leader is very rewarding! As a leader you get to take people on hikes and to places and vistas they could not have visited alone. These people are always grateful for the effort the leader puts into the outing.
You can lead easy 3-mile hikes or more strenuous 6 to 8-mile hikes. We have hikers of all abilities. You can also choose to only lead one hike per season or lead one every month or whatever fits your schedule.
You may ask, but do I qualify? For starters, many of the ideas about trip planning and what to do during the trip are things you may already do when planning and going on a family vacation or hike. You may have learned some leadership skills in prior employment as a supervisor or manager, or by observing other outing leaders. You are already hiking, you know what to wear, what to pack, you can read a map, you have your favorite trails and you know how to get there. Plus, you enjoy meeting others while hiking.
Hang Glider view point, pic by T Rodrigues
The THC will provide additional training and one or two of our experienced leaders will co-lead with you on the first couple hikes you lead. Interested? Contact us at taconichikingclb@gmail.com (no “u” in club).
Monthly Newsletter:
There was a recent email address change made by Squarespace, the THC website platform. Newsletters are now emailed via a combo of THC and Squarespace emails, with the email address: taconichikingclb.gmail.com@ihlkwg.sqspmail.com. You can copy and paste this into you contact list. (Don’t use this email to correspond with us.).
If you wish to email us directly use the official Club email: taconichikingclb@gmail.com (no “u” in clb)
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.
Wednesday, May 1: Valentino Family Community Forest B-
Wednesday May 8th: Zim Smith Trail Bike B-
Wednesday, May 15: Poestenkill Community Forest B-
Wednesday, May 22: Moreau Lake State Park: Lake Bonita – Ridge Loop B-
Fri May 24: Hand Hollow Conservation Area, New Lebanon C
Saturday, June 1: SPRING GATHERING, GRAFTON LAKES STATE PARK
Monday, June 10: Taconic Trail State Forest (below the Taconic Ridge- Williamston) C+
Wednesday, May 29: Yokun Ridge along a portion of The High Road B
“A walk in nature walks the soul back home.” - Mary Davis
A tree just missed this nest when it fell. Pic by T Loukides
Beaver Pond, trail work lunch break, Pittsfield State Forest, pic by M Waldman
From Charcoal Trail, pic by J Gorman
Overlook Mtn, pic by J Gorman
Steven’s Glen waterfall, pic by J Gorman
Thacher Park, Horseshoe II, lunch spot, pic M Waldman
Sun beam illuminating the trail through the blowdown, pic by T Loukides