For some time now, plotting, planning, and figuring out logistics of a longer trek or trail run has been nearly as exciting for me as undertaking the actual hike; checking weather sources, figuring out parking or spotting cars, hydration and nutrition drops, checking recent route and trail reports. Then, the final route tracing on a map: mentally transplanting myself on that line of trail, to interpret and imagine what each rise and fall of contour line might transpire into. Had I prepared enough? Did I study the map long enough? Would the weather window hold? How will my mind and body perform during the excursion?

*Following 37-miles of blue and white diamonds*

The Taconic Crest Trail had been on my radar for several years, as long as I had been tracking progress of the Northeast Ultra 8 challenge. For so long, this 37-mile north-south trail had been deferred, as it is located many hours away from anywhere I had lived in New York, and now New Hampshire. With other mountains and trails taking precedence, finding someone to spot cars with had just not been top priority.

Not being one to place much stock in Facebook groups, I was hesitant to post on the Northeast Ultra 8 Hiking Buddies Facebook thread, but was thrilled when I found someone also aspiring to thru-hike/trail run the entire Taconic Crest Trail in one go. During the week leading up to the trek, I watched the weather forecast improve from 78% rain, to 23%, continuously looking to be in our favor.

Tim and I acknowledged prior reports of zero water availability on the Taconic Crest Trail, and discussed viable options for water drops, even planning to leave a bear canister with food refills at the second (final) road crossing. Planning to travel fast and light, we packed minimal, but were sure to include proper safety equipment; Garmin InReach, med kit, spare socks and clothes, plenty of food, and at least 3-liters of water were carried on each of our backs.

Meeting at our initial water drop, on Madden Road, we left a small cooler with plain water, coconut water, and Powerade. The same was stashed at the Route 2 trailhead, along with a medium-sized bear canister containing: fruit, various snacks, sandwiches - even a cooked potato came along for my calories. The water and food drops were tucked behind trees, sheltered from sight by lush, Taconic Mountain understory vegetation.

After stashing resupplies trailside, we later met at the northern trailhead on Route 346, just west of the NY/VT state border. Here, we each prepared the back-half of our Subaru’s as private hotel rooms. With the rear seats folded down in my Crosstrek, I used an inflatable pad under a lofty sleeping bag for comfort, leaving plenty of room to rummage through, and prep my pack before the real adventure began.

With coffee already made the day prior, my alarm went off at 12:45AM; the day had finally arrived to attempt the Taconic Crest Trail. With minimal time goals in mind, we each simply wanted to see how efficiently we could traverse the 37-mile ridgecrest, while remaining safe and in control of our trek. Leaving Tim’s SUV at the northern terminus, we drove my vehicle 35-minutes to the southern trailhead, which doubles as a roadside picnic area. With no designated parking spots, I parked as safely as possible off the asphalt as I could, in an area I felt most out of the way. While looking at Google maps, I spotted a much larger parking lot about 0.1-mile east, upon checking, however, it appears to be OHV (off-highway vehicle/ATV) parking, designed for trucks with trailers.

With headlamps on, watches set to track, and gear stowed on our backs, we began northbound at 2:30AM. Initially, side-hilling, and swinging northeastwardly onto the Taconic ridgecrest, we followed loose, sandy footing with several blowdowns of varying sizes. The trail switch-backed several times, spotting the blue with white diamond-shaped trail markers proved necessary to stay on course - luckily for us, the metal reflected brilliantly in the darkness.

On several instances, we briefly got off trail; following the more obvious OHV roads and missing points where our brushy, and somewhat obscure, TCT re-entered the forest. Errors were spotted quickly, and navigational corrections made as needed. Essentially paralleling the Taconic Skyline Trail for the initial few miles, we kept spotting reflective nails in trailside trees, some set back bizarrely far off our footpath - catching headlamp beams, these reflectors sometimes appeared as glowing, animal eyes peering back - effectively keeping us on our toes. At one point, a large deer did meander onto the trail ahead; startled, it briefly ran in our direction, before skirting off into the forest eastbound, away from our clamoring.

Passing several remote bogs and ponds, peepers provided the soundtrack to our adventure when barred owls were not audible. Blowdowns came and went, some step-overs, others had minor herd paths around larger trees. Overall, the path appeared well-traveled, but in several short stretches we got a taste of ferns, even hobblebush grew chest height in one area - the trail was obscured, followed only with the aid of reflective metal trail markers in the forthcoming trees.

Beginning a long switch-back to cut the elevation of Tower Mountain, footing transitioned into loose, shattered shale, which was overall easy to follow, and not too slick underfoot. A large sign welcomed us to the 2,194’ summit of Tower Mountain, indicating a fire tower had once stood atop this wooded summit for a mere twelve years, from 1930-1942. More switchbacks brought us down to the Berry Pond camping area. Remaining in complete darkness, we recognized the pond by a trailside sign, with only a slight shimmer of shoreline visible.

*Soft footing of the Taconic Crest Trail*

Making our way up Berry Hill, the morning light was just beginning to illuminate, giving our first indication of surrounding hills; this might possibly be one of the finest vistas found along the Taconic Crest Trail, if viewed in proper daylight! The coming miles rolled rather easily, both our footing and the surrounding forest becoming visible without headlamps - this helped the pace somewhat, when not clogged with ferns, or stepping atop exposed beech tree roots.

Descending atop loose gravel of a rugged, OHV trail, we soon found the smooth asphalt of Potter Mountain Road, beginning the first real running of the trek while greeting inquisitive cows in the adjacent pasture. Passing 11-miles into our day, we strolled into the sleepy town of Hancock, MA, whose unique sign advertised it to be “thickly settled”. Zig-zagging on and off Main Street, more asphalt encouraged a quick hustle up the long, gradual ascent of Madden Road, where we had stashed the first of two hydration drops.

*Blue DEC trail markers joined the TCT diamond blazes in NY*

Finding the cooler bag untouched, we worked like a race car pit crew, refilling flasks and water bladders - coconut water was a perfect addition this morning; with a full 16oz flask, I sipped to wash down several slices of dry, rye bread on the ensuing climb. Our favorite Adirondack trails and climbs became the topic of discussion while ascending the slightly washed out, gravel, access road. In about 0.5-miles, we diverged, following the TCT onto a steep section where we encountered our first hiker registry box of the traverse.

*Occasional signs gave mileages to coming destinations*

Continuing northwesterly for several paces, we began side-hilling Rounds Mountain on a rather rugged, narrow section of trail; looking back at maps, evidently, the “old trail” topped the actual summit of Rounds, while what we followed was clearly newer footing, navigating the shoulder slope. The blue with white diamond markers we had been following were now accompanied by round, DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) trail markers as well - we had entered New York.

Obvious paths, appearing as old roadways transitioned to single-track paths, which soon became enveloped by a dense understory blanket of ferns. While the footpath appeared overall visible at all times, footing was hidden beneath the fronds, slowing travel remarkedly - we were thankful for dry ferns this morning, as our feet continued to remain dry through this stretch.

*One of the many ridgecrest fern glades*

Following what appeared as an old forest road corridor, we encountered occasional blowdowns, a few divergent side paths, a never-ending sequence of rolling ups and downs, and given the dense canopy, never any real viewpoints along the route; in a forested tunnel, we enjoyed our immediate surroundings, but hustled towards our next objective of the day. Several interesting stone piers marked state boundaries, offering small rewards along the wooded journey. I could sense the landscape dropping to either side, but views from the ridgecrest were essentially nonexistent until reaching Berlin Mountain, around mile 26.

Approaching Berlin Mountain, we entered a lovely stand of spruce, whose trunks were surrounded by moss and ferns - a forestscape unlike any we had hitherto viewed along the Taconic Crest Trail. Reaching the summit of Berlin Mountain, we briefly soaked in a gentle breeze, cooling off from the ensuing ascent and having a bite to eat before pressing on toward Mount Raimier, and thence, our final water and food drop of the hike.

Descending Berlin Mountain was mostly atop exposed and shattered rock, we began passing several other day hikers who were making their way up to the broad, grassy summit of Berlin Mountain. A long, relatively flat stretch brought us to the large, gravel parking lot on Route 2; several cars were in the lot, a few hikers readied gear for their hikes, but no one saw us retrieve the stashed food and water. Like clockwork, we again refilled flasks and water bladders, tanked some coconut water, and grabbed snacks for the final miles northbound.

*Stunning stretch through the Hopkins Forest*

Across Route 2, the Taconic Crest Trail proved to be relatively hidden, no kiosks or signs denote the path - only a small blue with white diamond marker was found on a highway mileage marker stake; here, the narrow footpath climbs away from the highway. Within a few rods of the road, a colorful, welcoming kiosk for the Hopkins Forest is encountered, offering maps and pertinent details about the forest and the ecological studies performed within. This forest was truly remarkable, a beautifully built section of trail, which meandered through a picturesque, forest setting.

Passing several side paths, we stuck to the TCT until encountering a short divergence I had read briefly about: the Snow Hole. A 30-40ft crevasse of sorts in the mountainside which is known to hold snow and ice well into summer months. At 31.5-miles into our trek, I was on the fence about the extra 0.1-mile each way, however, in hindsight, may have been one of the more interesting features of the entire trek! As if the earth had been ripped open, exposed bedrock could be descended (safely from the northern side), until standing at the base of the fissure. There is, reportedly, a cave at the southern end, which is said to fit many adults, but we did not venture that far into the gash today.

*Nearing the end of the Taconic Crest Trail*

Making a loop out of the Snow Hole spur path, we were quickly back on the TCT and heading northbound, once again. Passing atop Bald Mountain, we began counting down how many brief ascents and descents we had remaining along the ridgeway. With 5 miles remaining, we began passing painted, wooded signs signifying remaining mileage - these placards kept morale high and the pace quick! Nearing the northern terminus, footing while descending had become rather steep and atop loose rock; quick footing was a must to hold oneself upright while dropping off some of these pitches. Nearing mile 36, the Taconic Crest Trail diverged off what I had plotted to be the route of the TCT, appearing to have been a newer, slight reroute, perhaps around flooding. Before long, however, the pathway made a wide swing back toward, soon rejoining the original course.

*Taconic Crest Trail, northern terminus*

Following the sound of highway in the valley below, the pathway began to level out as we encountered two mighty, mossy boulders. On the far side, we spotted the northern trailhead parking lot and Tim’s awaiting Subaru. Just as we had left it at 1:30AM, there was still only one vehicle in the grassy lot.

Stopping our watches at the painted, DEC sign, which reads: “Taconic Ridge State Forest”, an end-to-end trek of the Taconic Crest Trail was now complete; a highly satisfying adventure, complete with all of my favorite aspects of plotting, planning, and executing a long ramble in the wilderness.

Overall stats for the day:
36.71-miles
8,776’ elevation gain
12-hours 10-minutes

Taconic Crest Trail

Cranberry Lake 50