The IBM Tuesday Night Hiking Club goes hiking every Tuesday night from
shortly after daylight savings starts until late September. The hikes
are open to IBM employees, retirees, their family and friends (by
invitation). Spouses and children are encouraged to participate.
The next scheduled hike is as follows:
The hikes are generally from 2 to 5 miles and range from easy to
strenuous. The early season and late seaon hikes leave from the IBM Yorktown parking lot
at the Aisle 16 entrance. All other
hikes leave from the
James Street Parking Garage [GPS 41.290883,-73.917712] in Peekskill
promptly at 6 pm. Most of the hikes are in Harriman,
Fahnestock or Hudson Highlands State Parks. The hikes are timed to
finish before dark. Many of the group eat pizza at a nearby restaurant
(usually
Little Sorrento) afterward. For more information contact Walt Daniels, 914-245-1250 or
the hike leader of the week.
Hike ratings
Most of the hikes are rated as to difficulty based on the following rough guidelines.
- EASY - under 3 miles and less than 400 ft of elevation gain.
- STRENUOUS - more than 5 miles or more than 1000 ft of elevation gain
- MODERATE - somewhere between EASY and STRENUOUS
WARNING: Much of our hiking area has
problems with deer ticks and the possibility of contracting Lyme
Disease. There are reasonable precautions that you can take to lessen
the risk: wear long pants tucked into your socks, use insect repellent
containing DEET, take a shower soon after hiking and examine your body
for ticks. The problems are no worse than spending an equivalent amount
of time in your own back yard where you should take the same
precautions.
Weather policy
The hike leader always shows up at the appointed time and place -- regardless of weather conditions.
At that time the decision is made, depending on how many people want to
brave the weather and how bad it is. For example, if there is lightning
and the planned route goes to a high point, the hike may be cancelled
or the group may go somewhere else.
Directions from IBM Yorktown (25 minutes)
(Note: a possible alternate route via the Taconic to Route 35/202 to Peekskill is not recommended because of construction and significant traffic backups on Route 35/202.)
- Leave the IBM site via the front entrance.
- Turn left (westbound) onto Route 134, and go 3.3 miles to Route 9A. Note: traffic is often backed-up at the corner of Route 9A; plan for 5 minutes delay here
- Turn right (northbound) on Route 9A and go 1.2 miles to Route 9.
- Merge onto Route 9 and continue north 8.7 miles to Peekskill.
- Take
the Route 6 (Main Street) exit. Turn left at the end of the ramp and
go straight through about 4 traffic lights. After the main intersection
in the center of town, at Division Street, go straight 1.5 more blocks.
Total distance from Route 9 is about 0.5 miles.
- When you get to a park on your left and "Peekskill Paint and Hardware" on the right, turn right into
a parking lot that leads to the parking garage. Park anywhere in the garage. There
is no parking fee at 6pm.
- If you get to a 5th traffic light at
James Street, turn right and then immediately right into the garage.
Drive around to the bottom floor of the garage to find the other hikers.
Tuesday Night Hikes on Facebook
Share discussion about and photos of the hikes via the
Tuesday Night Hikes group on Facebook.
Mailing list
This mailing list will announce changes to the posted hiking
schedule. It may also be used by anybody to post messages for the whole
list. Annoucements may be about trips
you are planning and welcome company, hiking/camping gear for sale,
etc.
Fall Colors Trip - Friday to Sunday, October 4 to October 6, 2019
The Fall Colors trip
is an annual camping and hiking trip to the Adirondacks. We will drive up to the Adirondacks, on Friday October 4, stay (tent,
lean-to, or nearby hotel) overnight on Friday and Saturday nights, and return on Sunday October 6. We hike all day Saturday, Sunday, and part of Monday in the high
peaks of NY State. Saturday night, we have a delicious group dinner,
organized by Jane Daniels, at minimal cost.
There
is room for 6 people in the lean-to and 6 people at each campsite.The
Adirondack Loj and numerous motels in the Lake Placid area offer
alternative lodging options if you don't want to camp.
To sign up for the Fall Colors trip, send an email by mid-September to Jane,
indicating the number of people who are coming, whether they are
staying in tents or the lean-to (if there's room left), or are just
registering for the group dinner.Presentation about the Tuesday Night Hikes
Jane Daniels has described the Tuesday Night Hikes several times at IBM Hawthorne and Yorktown:
Tuesday Night Hikes.2012ppt.ppt
Tuesday Night Hikes.2012ppt.ppt
Other information
Trail building/maintenance trips - most weekends starting in Mid April - Contact Walt Daniels, 914-245-1250.
Hiking information in the area: New York-New Jersey Trail Conference. They know about other hiking clubs, publish maps and guidebooks, and build and maintain trails.
Occasionally all day hikes or other events are planned. They are inserted into the schedule.
Every year there is a Fall Colors Trip to the High Peaks Region of the Adirondacks, generally the last weekend in September or the first or second weekend in October.