Take To The Hills With The Table Rock Challenge
A hike up Table Rock is always a fun way to spend an afternoon – and now, with the Table Rock Trails Challenge, hikers can make their love for the trails known.
“It’s a big thing for hikers to build their portfolio of patches and stickers,” said Matt Sanford, co-chair of the Trails Committee and assistant dean of academic affairs/registrar. “When a trail system offers one of these challenges, it brings attention to the trail.”
As members of the Hartwick College Trails Committee, Sanford, along with Heidi Tanner, director of wellness and health promotion, launched the Table Rock Challenge, which invites hikers to enjoy the five miles of trails, fill out a completion form (https://www.hartwick.edu/campus-life/health-wellness/hiking-trails/table-rock-trails-challenge/) and send it in.
For a $20 donation, Table Rock hikers get a sticker; for $30, they get a patch, and for $40, they get both. The funds will go towards maintaining the trails.
“We’re always working to improve the trails,” said Tanner. “We have wetlands and want to build a crossing that will keep that ecosystem healthy.”
The Table Rock Challenge launched over True Blue Weekend when over 60 alumni, students, faculty and friends of the college – as well as three dogs – took to the trails, raising over $600.
In all, 100 people have already completed the challenge, which will remain open all year.
“If you build a trail challenge,” Sanford said. “People will come to it.”
