September Newsletter 2024

**Hudson River, near Cottage Park Trailhead at Moreau Lakes State Park pic by M Waldman**

FALL LUNCHEON: 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.

THE TALLEST MOUNTAIN IN THE TACONIC RANGE IS…..

Can you guess? Is it Mt. Raimer? Berlin Mountain? Tower Mountain? Greylock?

None of these are correct!

The highest peak in the Taconic Range is Mount Equinox in Manchester, VT. Its elevation is 3,848 feet. Beyond being the tallest and having its highest wind speed recorded at 121 mph, Mount Equinox hosts a rather unique cultural and religious environment.

The mountain is home to a monastery of Carthusian monks, a contemplative order founded in France in 1084 who still wear their traditional white robes and hoods. Their lives are devoted to days of prayer, order, work, silence, and study. At the top of Mount Equinox they have built a modern light-filled Viewing Center named for their founder, Saint Bruno. It is a beautiful and green certified building with elevated porches that give visitors amazing views extending in all directions over five states and Canada of the surrounding Adirondack, White and Catskill mountains. More importantly the building exhibits explain in text and photos the history and philosophy of the order. The silence within the building and the stunning beauty outside help one relate to the devotional lives lived a short distance away.

Hardy hikers can access the summit via a tough climb of 3,000 vertical feet over 3 miles. Others can pay for a ticket to take the 5.2 mile Skyline Drive, the longest private paved road in the US. It is located between Manchester and Arlington off Rt. 7A and is open from Memorial Day through October 31st.

You can learn more here and see photos at https://equinoxmountain.com/

It’s very worth the hike or drive, especially in foliage season!

**These location display boards are a wonderful reference to the viewshed! pics by K Ross**

TRAIL WORK UPDATE:

Following the hot and humid days of summer, some of our trail workers are starting to take advantage of the periodic cooler days to clear the trail of summer blowdown and vegetation growing onto the trail. We have recorded 633 trail work hours to date this year, about 60 of these hours are from the last half of August. Yes, most of us do avoid doing trail work during the hot and humid weather. We are truly grateful to have a group of ambitious trail workers!

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.

Thursday, September 5: Albert Family Community Forest C+/B-
Thursday September 12: Abbreviated Shaker Mountain C/C+
Tuesday September 17: Ooms Columbia Land Conservancy Trails C
Wednesday, September 25: Alander Mountain B

“In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks. ” - John Muir