**View of Greylock Range from Stoney Ledge, 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 2, 12:00 to 3:00 PM

• Cost: $25 per person. The Club partly subsidizes the meal.

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

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

Speakers: Andre Dalbec, President and Lynne Mosher, Vice President & K9 Handler of Lower Adirondack Search and Rescue

Presentation: What happens when a hiker goes missing? What resources are needed and used to find the person? Andre Dalbec and Lynne Mosher will tell us about Lower Adirondack Search and Rescue (LASAR) and how they are involved when there is a call out to find a missing person. We will learn how the LASAR volunteers coordinate with NYS DEC Rangers and other volunteer organizations. They will tell us what skills and training are required, search and rescue techniques used as well as how their canine, Lily, is used to assist. We will also hear about actual cases.

LASAR engages in about 10 search and rescues a year. We hope we will never need them, but we are thankful that they are available!

Reservations: Use this link to pay online, via this website. Or you can mail your $25 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 30.

FOLLOW THE FOREST AND THE FOLIAGE

September gives us all a breather from the stultifying heat of summer. The cooler clearer air is energizing, and instead of wiping sweat out of our eyes, it’s time to head for the hills. The trees of New England are world-renowned for their fall color, and the number of busses trucking along the highways, country roads and in and out of our small towns is testament to their popularity—and to the boost to the tourist economy.

Some are so passionate about the fall color change that they make seeing it a two month effort, starting in early September up north in the northern Adirondacks, Greens and Whites and working their way down to mid-state and borders by late September. Then it’s on to reveling in peak foliage in the Berkshires in mid-October and finally winding the season down toward the end of October in the Catskills and Gunks.

So let’s pinpoint what this trek might look like, where hardwoods and particularly maples dominate, and where hiking opportunities abound.

In the north, Ampersand, the Jay Range, Whiteface in New York, Mount Mansfield and Ascutney in Vermont, and the Falling Water/Bridle Path loop in the Whites should give plenty of early season color. Mid-state hiking up Bromley in Vermont, Vermont’s whole Rt. 7 corridor up to Manchester and Mount Equinox, Cat and Thomas near Lake George, and Greylock in Massachusetts will peak in late September or early October. In the Berkshires, try Yokun Ridge in Lenox/Richmond, the Sarah Tenney Trails off Rt. 2 that connect to the RRR Brooks Trail in Williamstown, and the state forests--Pittsfield, Savoy, Beartown, and October Mountain SF. Trail maps for all are readily available online.

Taking lower-level walks at Thacher, wandering the historic trails at the Bidwell House in Monterey, or enjoying the relaxing looping trails at Taconic Hudson Lands (formerly the Rensselaer Plateau Alliance) community forests can’t be beat.

**Chicken of the Woods, pic by D Dutra**

Wherever you travel during fall foliage season, stop to support local farmers’ markets and fairs, stop at local apple farms for fresh apples and cider, and take the time to pause at turnouts and vistas to take in the color and store it for our long more monotone winter to come.

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, September 3: Lulu Brook to Parker Brook Loop Hike - Pittsfield State Forest B
Wednesday, Sept 10: Long Path (LP) Bradt Hollow Road to Gifford Hollow Road B
Friday September 12: Prospect Mountain – Lake George B
Friday, September 12: Harvey Mountain, East Road, Austerlitz C+
Wednesday, September 17: Alford Springs – Saddle to Father Loop trails B
Wednesday, October 1: Rounds Rock Loop Greylock B
Monday, October 13: Clark Art Institute trails, Williamstown MA C (In memory of Blanche Nelson.)

QUOTE: “I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house.” - Nathaniel Hawthorne

September Newsletter 2025