Hike-a-thon in the hills
On October 3, about 150 people came to Merck Forest to hike in community. The morning broke with a bluebird sky, crisp air, and the Merck Forest landscape painted in autumn gold, orange, and red. In the very early hours, volunteers were already setting up coffee and granola bars on the sap house deck and starting up a 200-cup pot of Tall Cat coffee that needed 2 hours to brew.
Hikers picked their routes and headed out. We had families with kids, longtime regulars who knew every trail in our 35 miles, and some here for the first time. Together, hikers and sponsors raised over $30,000 in support of MFFC's land stewardship and place-based education.
As hikers returned to home base, the sap house, there was live music, a scavenger hunt for the littlest hikers, and incredible raffle prizes donated by our sponsors. Taqueria el Chepe, Willoughby's Depot Eatery, and Canopy Juice kept everyone fed and refreshed. People hung out and enjoyed the day in community.
Here is what those funds go toward:
Learning by doing. More than 3,200 students, from pre-K to graduate school, come here each year to plant, track animals, tap maple trees, and build things with their hands. Many of them leave seeing themselves differently, as people who belong to this place and can take care of it.
Tending forest and farm. We both harvest and plant trees, rotate grazing animals, and watch what the young trees tell us about the climate we're living in now. This work, in part, supports the forest as it responds to change.
Access for everyone. The trails have had no gate and no fee for 76 years. They are open every day, all day, because this community has chosen to keep them that way.
This work matters beyond here. Merck Forest is part of a 42,000-acre unbroken forest block. As the climate warms, wildlife needs this forest corridor to move through it safely, seeking cooler temperatures and higher elevations. The water that begins here flows toward people in New York and Montreal. The bear, the warbler, the maple, the stream, and the person on the trail all depend on this same landscape.
Thank you to everyone who hiked, to the sponsors who made the day possible, and to the volunteers who were up early and stayed late.
If you have a favorite photo from the day, share it with us on Instagram or Facebook. Mnay thanks to those who already shared their photos and to Jenn Perry Photography for capturing the beauty and energy of the day. We'll see you on the trails.
