On October 3, about 150 people came to Merck Forest to hike together. The morning broke with a bluebird sky, crisp air, and the landscape glowing in autumn gold, orange, and red. In the early hours, volunteers were already setting up coffee and granola bars on the sap house deck and starting a 200-cup pot of Tall Cat coffee that needed two hours to brew. Hikers picked their routes and headed out. Families with kids, longtime regulars who know all 35 miles of our trails, and s
