Free Bike Safety Checks from AMC-SEM Photographer
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The Newsletter of the Southeastern Massachusetts Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club I June 2018 Get SEM activities delivered right to your email inbox! Sign up for the AMC Activity Digest. email [email protected] Or call 1-800-372-1758 Find past issues of The Southeast Breeze on our website. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Have a story for The Southeast Breeze? Please send your Word doc and photographs to [email protected]. DCR Park Ranger Marguerite Denoncourt with Bernie Meggison at the Bike Safety Please send photos as checkpoint at the start of the Cape Cod Rail Trail in Denis. separate attachments, including the name of each Free Bike Safety Checks from AMC-SEM photographer. Include the By Bernie Meggison, Biking Chair words “Breeze Article” in the subject line. On Saturday, June 16, I started the first AMC-SEM complimentary bike safety checks program. It was at the starting point parking lot on the Cape Cod Rail Trail Shop the Breeze Market in Dennis. Time frame: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for equipment bargains! Thirty-nine bikes were checked for general safety issues: brakes, tires, shifting Members looking to sell, trade, and bearings on the handle bars, pedals etc. In general, it was total success. or free-cycle their used Many people were interested to learn about AMC. I had a supply of our “Love the equipment can post for free. outdoors? Join the club!” flyers. Business advertisements are Hopefully this effort will increase the awareness of AMC—and our SEM chapter. just $15/month. Send inquiries I’ll try to perform this service one day a week on weekends at these locations: to [email protected] Dennis Rail Trail Falmouth Rail Trail Nickerson State Park Cape Cod Canal Thanks to you all for your support! Page 1 of 14 View from the Chair: Have a Great Summer—Outside! Summer is officially here and that’s when most people think about being outside. We have a full line-up of hikes—local hikes like our Red Line the Blue Hills series and, of course, the more challenging hikes up north in the “Whites” or out in the Berkshires. Several paddling trips on the Cape and some exciting destination bicycle rides are also coming up. Check out our activities on our website. When you go on an AMC event this summer, why not ask a friend to come along? Hopefully, your friends will have a good time and will want to join the club, but AMC membership is not necessary to go on our hikes, bike rides, and paddles. While we have several activities going on this summer, the Executive Board will be taking a brief break from our monthly meetings. The Breeze will not be published in July and August, but please continue to send your articles and photos to the Breeze editor so everybody can read about “How I spent my summer!” when we publish again in September. This fall we will hold our first ever Chapter Retreat! Join us September 21-23 at Camp Burgess in East Sandwich for a weekend of biking, hiking, paddling, and socializing with some of the finest outdoor enthusiasts around, your fellow SEM members. Just think, you can take a bike trip, hike a trail, and paddle a kayak/canoe all in a single weekend and all in Southeastern Massachusetts. Plus we’ll throw in several special events and a couple of evening campfires, too. Further details can be found in the trip listing. Hope to see you outside! Barry Young AMC-SEM Chapter Chair 2018 Executive Board Chapter Chair .......................Barry Young Communications Chair ...................Paul Miller Membership Chair ................Sandy Santilli Vice Chair .............................Len Ulbricht Communications Vice Chair …..Dio Goncalves Membership Vice Chair .....................OPEN Secretary ........................Ann McSweeney Conservation Chair ........................Bill Cannon Membership Vice Chair … Ellen Thompson Treasurer .........................Patty Rottmeier Conservation Vice Chair ..............Nancy Coote Paddling Chair .............................Ed Foster Past Chapter Chair ............Maureen Kelly Education Chair ..........................Doug Griffiths Paddling Vice Chair .............Luther Wallace Biking Chair .....................Bernie Meggison Education Vice Chair .............................OPEN Skiing Chair ........................Jeannine Audet Biking Vice Chair .............................OPEN Hiking Chair .............................Mike Woessner Skiing Vice Chair ...........Barbara Hathaway Cape Hiking Chair ................Jane Harding Hiking Vice Chair ........................George Danis Trails Chair ............................Peter Tierney Cape Hiking Vice Chair .....Cathy Giordano Trails Vice Chair ..............Wayne Anderson Trails Vice Chair......................Skip Maysles Ad Hoc Committee Chairs & Other Chapter Contacts Social Director………………………………..OPEN Webmistress……………… Cheryl Lathrop Contact [email protected] Social Vice Chair …………………………….OPEN The Breeze Editor……………….Mo Walsh if you are interested in any Social Media Administrator ……Christine Racine Blast Editor………………….Marie Hopkins OPEN position Social Networking Moderator…........Sue Mulligan Page 2 of 14 Eventually, after passing the intersection with the Cascade Link and Spellman Trails, the Pumpelly Trail breaks free of the tree line. The dramatic views in several directions include one up to the summit, upon which many hikers can often be seen milling around. After passing several other trail intersections and alpine bogs, hikers finally start the final approach to the summit. Some steep and rugged sections include a few fun scrambles. On Saturday, June 16, Walt Granda, Anne Duggan, Peggy Qvicklund, and I led seven other AMCers from the SEM and Boston Chapters up the Pumpelly Trail to the summit of Grand Monadnock. The weather was beautiful, the views excellent (as promised), and the trail uncrowded until we approached the summit. As could be expected on Our Group on the summit of Grand Monadnock. Photo by a nice day such as this, the summit was swarming with Paul Miller dozens of hikers of all shapes, sizes, and ages…who all appeared to be on a natural high. Mt. Monadnock hike via uncrowded Pumpelly Trail doesn’t disappoint By Paul Miller, Communications Chair & Hike Leader At 4.4 miles each way, the Pumpelly Trail is the longest route up to the 3,165-foot summit of Mt. Monadnock. But it’s also one of the least crowded routes and arguably the most scenic. Rather than starting from the often-bustling park headquarters off Poole Road in Jaffrey, NH, the Pumpelly trailhead is at quiet Dublin Lake on Lake Road in nearby Dublin, NH. The trail starts out very gently through some pretty woods on Wildland Trust property, but eventually starts climbing steeply up to the Pumpelly Ridge. From there it keeps poking up above tree line, offering “teaser” views to the still-distant Monadnock summit. Approaching a major trail intersection on the Pumpelly Trail. Photo by Dio Goncalves We took in the expansive views and hungrily consumed our lunches on the summit, before heading back down to the trailhead. We descended via the same route, which in this direction offers nice views down to Dublin Lake for much of the way. Nice views from the summit! Photo by Dio Goncalves Page 3 of 14 Register NOW for Our Chapter Retreat on Cape Cod Sept. 21-23, 2018 Come join your fellow AMC-SEM members at our first-ever Cape Cod Chapter Retreat weekend, Volunteer September 21-23. We'll enjoy the 300 acres of forests, fields, and freshwater ponds at the Camp of the Month: Burgess Outdoor Education and Retreat Center in Janet Kaiser East Sandwich, MA. By Cathy Giordano, Cape Hiking Vice Chair We'll offer a variety of hiking, biking, and paddling events to choose from during this fun weekend, plus Each month the SEM recognizes one of our amazing workshops on bike maintenance/repair, map & volunteers. We are so fortunate to have people give their compass orienteering, and even a yoga session time, energy, and resources to make our chapter one of (bring your mat). Socialize with your fellow SEMers the best! This month the Cape Hiking Committee while strolling the camp grounds, at the social hour recognizes Janet Kaiser for her numerous contributions. before dinner, or on a pontoon boat cruise from the Janet has introduced many a hiker to the uniqueness of camp's Spectacle Pond waterfront. Cape trails. She enthusiastically explores, pre-hikes, and For the more adventurous, try the zipline or climbing leads enjoyable hikes in beautiful settings. Just as Janet wall. After dinner, gather around a campfire to share followed the lead of AMC leaders before her, she recruits war stories or relax in the camp's cozy lodge. and encourages hikers to attend Leadership Training. But it doesn’t end there…Janet offers support and energy to The weekend includes accommodations for two help new leaders get started. nights in gender-specific camp bunkhouses with bathroom facilities and hot showers; two breakfasts; Impressed by well-maintained, clearly marked trails when two dinners; Saturday lunch; and two pre-dinner she was summiting Mount Washington in 1984, Janet BYOB social hours…all for just $187 per person. gratefully joined the Appalachian Mountain Club. She quickly became a dedicated peak bagger, hiking the Saturday-only registrants can join in any hikes, remaining NH 4,000-footers over the next eight years. bikes, and paddles, the social hour and dinner, and close out the day by the evening campfire for $30 Now an AMC life member, Janet still finds it rewarding to per person. introduce a Cape trail to new hikers. She finds great joy in discovering new trails and vistas under the direction of our For further information about our Chapter Retreat, newer AMC-trained, highly competent hike leaders! contact Len Ulbricht at [email protected]. Register with Sandy Santilli at [email protected]. Janet will receive a Volunteer of the Month Certificate and a $50 gift card. We Volunteers! See page 2 for OPEN positions or email [email protected] to learn how you can use your time and talents to help your fellow AMC-SEM members! Page 4 of 14 Discoveries at World’s End Photos by Ken Cohen Thursday, May 31, was a near-perfect weather-day for our five-mile hike at World’s End in Hingham.