CATS’ First Autumn Hike and Harvest Lunch

We invite you to an especially beautiful fall event—CATS’ first Autumn Hike and Harvest Lunch at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, October 17 at DaCy Meadow Farm in Westport. The leaves should be in their full color as we hike the easy 2 mile trail through fields and forests with wonderful views all around. After the hike, you’ll enjoy a delicious harvest lunch with food grown and prepared on the farm at 1:00 p.m. Can you get any more local than that?

The registration fee is $25 for the hike and lunch with all proceeds to support the grant we received from the New York State Conservation Partnership Program which enabled us to hire Bill Amadon as our stewardship coordinator. This greatly increases our ability to make and maintain trails for you to enjoy. Thank you to DaCy Meadow Farm, located at 7103 NYS Rt. 9N which is about 1.7 miles east of Exit 31 of the Northway for hosting this event.

Click here to register. And then plan to enjoy carrot-ginger soup, sandwiches (ham, cheese & apple, egg salad, or curry chicken salad), maple pecan pumpkin pie (yum!), coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and apple cider.

The food will be so good that you will want a big appetite. How to do that? Here’s a great solution.

Visiting Volunteers

We welcomed fourteen “Volunteer Vacationers” from around the country who will work on our trails. Yes, instead of lying on a beach somewhere, they are coming to the Champlain Valley to have an active vacation making the world a better place. We’ll focus their efforts on the new Sophie’s Lair Trail in Willsboro. If you want to join them on the trail, please let us know. Thank you to Camp Pok-O-MacCready where they will stay.

Art Farm Trail

Finally, we had a great opening of the Art Farm Trail last Sunday. I counted forty-eight people either hiking on their own, during the two set hikes, or looking at Ted Cornell’s unique sculptures. All enjoyed the stunning views of early fall in the Champlain Valley. It’s great to be back.

Chris Maron
CATS Executive Director

Crux Expands Hours: Open Saturdays (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)

About Champlain Area Trails (CATS)

Champlain Area Trails (CATS) is a non-profit organization, begun in 2009, which creates and maintains hiking and cross-country ski trails in the Champlain Valley that link communities, connect people with nature, and promote economic vitality. In its short history, CATS has developed 35 miles of trails that when added to existing trails, gets it half-way toward the long-envisioned goal of a 30-mile trail loop between Westport and Essex. CATS will extend its trails to neighboring towns and eventually connect them to trails in the Adirondack Mountains, Vermont, and Quebec. Learn more on the CATS website.