Save the Club Campaign
By Karen Ross
If you love the outdoors and access to recreational opportunities along the Taconic Range, please consider joining the Taconic Hiking Club. If you’ve ever hiked through the Pittsfield State Forest, over Berlin Mountain, to the Snow Hole in Petersburg or along some of the Shaker Trails above Lebanon Mountain, you’ve seen the bright blue triangles that mark the Taconic Crest Trail.
This Club has been in existence since 1932 and has a strong legacy of trail advocacy at the state and local level, of maintaining 37 miles of the Taconic Crest Trail and 5 of its access trails, of protecting and securing parking and trail access, and of offering seasonal outings all year long. It runs a well-attended and supported biennial End-to-End hike over 29 miles of the trail from Berry Pond to Vermont. Over the years the Club has provided social opportunities and has published two series of professional-level maps of the trail. Members have volunteered hundreds of hours of trail clearing, blazing, and marking and have turned out in force to keep the trail motor-free and free of irresponsible logging.
The Club is facing a crisis with not enough volunteers to carry on the work of the organization.
The Club needs new members. It needs to grow to be viable and continue the good work it does. By joining you help solidify the membership base and give recognition to the Club’s mission and purpose.
Here is the link to the Taconic Hiking Club: http://taconichikingclub.org/
Please join. We now have a member who has stepped forward with this Challenge: if we can get 20 new members he will offer to manage the 2020 End-To-End hike! Dues are minimal at $10.00. No activity is required, but you might want to order that map and check out the trail on some beautiful fall day.
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