October Newsletter 2024

**Autumn along the Taconic Crest, pic by M Waldman**

FALL LUNCHEON - REGISTER NOW! Join us at the annual Fall Luncheon! See old friends, make new friends, enjoy a nice meal and an interesting presentation.

Where and when: Moscatiello’s Italian Restaurant, 99 North Greenbush Rd (Rte. 4), Troy, on Sunday, November 3, 12:00 to 3:00 PM

• Cost: $22 per person. The Club partly subsidizes the meal.

• Meal: The buffet includes salad & rolls, portabella mushroom ravioli, meatballs & sausage, and chicken marsala, followed by mini cannoli.

• Meeting & Speaker: After the meal we will have Election of Officers, and a brief business meeting followed by our feature presentation.

• Presentation: Learn about Caving! Speaker: Kevin Dumont, Trustee of the Northeastern Cave Conservancy

Presentation: Kevin Dumont will tell us about the Northeastern Cave Conservancy and what caving is like in general and specifically. We will learn about the dangers as well as the fun involved in caving, and about local caves and we will get to see some of the gear that is used. He will also discuss what terrains and surface bedrock are likely to harbor cave structures and how as hikers we can be aware of that and look for them.

Speaker: Kevin Dumont is a trustee of the Northeastern Cave Conservancy and has been a member of the organization since moving back to the area in 2009. Kevin began caving in the karst areas west of Albany in 1986. His interest in caves and how they form eventually led him to a graduate program in Geological Science, during which time he completed his master's thesis focused on a major cave system near Cobleskill that had just been discovered. His thesis was published as Bulletin 5 of the New York Cave Survey Bulletin series. He currently lives in Saugerties, New York with his family and teaches science at a middle school in Newburgh.

Click here to learn more about caving and the Northeastern Cave Conservancy.

Reservations: Use this link to pay online, via this website. Or you can mail your $22 check made out to “Taconic Hiking Club”, to: Taconic Hiking Club, c/o Margaret Parks, 9 Tokay Lane, Schenectady, NY 12309. (You may also use a link on the Outings page, Luncheon posting, to pay online.)

Due Date: Thursday, October 31.

NOMINEES for 2025/26 THC Board: Election be held during the THC annual luncheon.

President - Martha Waldman
Vice President - Karen Ross
Treasurer - Leslie Siegard
Secretary – Michelle Filiault

Volunteers continuing their Coordinator roles for 2025/26 include: Trails - Dave Pisaneschi, Membership - Sue Jordan, and Social - Margaret Parks.

THE HAPPY HANDICAPPED HIKER —Part I

At some point in our lives, we might find ourselves having a hip, knee, or shoulder replaced or having to suffer through an extended rehab for an injury. Hikers are notorious for spraining and breaking legs and ankles. Just read the accident reports and see how many hikers in the Adirondacks get rescued every week by rangers.

What to do when you’re shut down, can’t walk, have to use crutches or a wheelchair and are going bonkers with the isolation and restrictions, never mind the pain?

We are so lucky that in the last decade, state park agencies, planners for land trusts and other nonprofits, and grant-funding agencies have identified a need for ADA accessible trails so a wider range of users can have access to forests, wetlands, and vistas and can get out to enjoy our natural areas.

You won’t be able to hike our Taconic Crest Trail, but you can still experience the outdoors on some beautifully designed and easy-to-use local trails. And they’re great for kids too!

Mount Greylock summit loop—There is no end to the wonders of the views from the summit of Greylock, and thankfully you can get to all the overlooks in a wheelchair. Handicap parking for a drop off is next to Bascom Lodge, and from there it’s a nice, paved trail to the east views over Adams and around the summit. You can get to the War Memorial Tower too. Handicap bathrooms are available, and people are very helpful. Of course, you have to drive up Rockwell Road from Lanesboro or Notch Road from N. Adams rather than hike to the summit, and be aware the road will close right after Columbus Day.

Parsons Marsh, Lenox, MA—Owned for several years now by Berkshire Natural Resources Council, this is one of the easiest trails to manage in a wheelchair. Parking off Undermountain Road in Lenox is adequate, and it’s easy to manage the transfer from vehicle to trail. After a short stretch on crushed gravel that leads to a lovely little pond, you begin a marvelous and smooth trek on a boardwalk for 1/3 mile through the forest to a platform view of an enormous wetland. Go early in the day so the boardwalk isn’t crowded, and you can have the birds and silences to yourself out there.

Pleasant Valley Sanctuary, Lenox, MA—This Mass Audubon property’s handicap accessible boardwalk was practically destroyed in a violent summer storm several years ago. It has taken a long time and a lot of money to design and build a new one, and it is a joy to travel in a wheelchair. A crushed gravel “All Persons Trail” winds down toward Pike’s Pond and becomes a boardwalk with a nice turnaround to sit and watch the pond. The trail then loops back around and continues into the woods with a crushed gravel surface. The new Education Center there has modern accessible bathrooms.

The Tranquility Trail—Pittsfield State Forest, Pittsfield, MA: The beauty of this trail is its length—a looping mile—and the fact that it’s paved, and you can do some fine wheelchair rolling through there as long as you have someone pushing you. There is a bit of gentle up and down that’s more a roll, but it’s manageable. The forest is beautiful, there are streams to cross, and instead of watching your feet for roots and rocks, you can look up and get a new perspective watching the canopy go by. It has easy parking and access at the CCC lodge, a left at the park entrance.

New Lebanon, New York Town Park loop trail—Located off Rt. 22 just north of the high school and behind the Town Hall, this new crushed gravel ½ mile loop winds around Shatford Park in New Lebanon, where you can observe a baseball game, watch people play tennis or pickleball, see how they plan to install a new skateboard park, enjoy newly planted bushes and trees along a tributary of the Wyomanock River (a Trees for Tribs program to stabilize stream banks), and watch them construct a brand new playground area.

**View of Pike Pond, Pleasant Valley Sanctuary, pic by K Ross**

HUNTING SEASON IS HERE! Grab your blaze orange vest!

It is now hunting season. You can find specifics on dates for your region, seasons for specific game, and which firearms are allowed on these links: NYS: NYSDEC 2024-2025 Hunting Seasons, MA: MA Hunting Seasons, 2024- 2025 and VT: Hunting Seasons 2024-2025 The good news for hikers is Massachusetts does not allow any hunting on Sundays.

For hikers, the season to pay extra attention to is the regular deer season. This year, deer hunting season with rifles in the southern region of NYS runs from November 16 through December 8 followed by muzzle-loading December 9 through December 17 and December 26 through January 1. In the western region of MA shotgun season for deer is December 2 through December 14. Vermont has an earlier regular deer season of November 16 thru December 1.

In addition to wearing blaze orange or fluorescent pink vests, hats, or other articles of clothing, it is recommended that you stay on well-used trails when hiking. Note: bushwhacking during hunting season is not recommended! Let the hunters enjoy their limited time in the woods.

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.

Tuesday, October 1: Big Boom Paddle B
Wednesday, October 9: Pittsfield State Forest – Turner & Parker Brook Loop B-
Wednesday, October 16: Cat Mountain - Bolton Landing B
Monday, October 21: Berlin Mtn via Berlin Pass Trail B
Wednesday. October 23 : Bromley Mountain B
Wednesday. October 30 : Prospect (Greylock) B

“We don’t stop hiking because we grow old, we grow old because we stop hiking.” Finis Mitchel