Social Activity

The New England National Scenic Trail (NET) is a 215-mile hiking trail route that has been in existence for over half a century. The NET runs from Long Island Sound in CT to the MA/NH border, comprised primarily of the Mattabesett, Metacomet, and Monadnock (M-M-M) Trail systems. In Massachusetts, the white-blazed trail follows the historic route of the Metacomet-Monadnock trail. Here are some upcoming opportunities to support this historic trail.

Volunteer on the NET

Berkshire Bash—Our Annual Meeting
Saturday, November 7, 2015; 5:30-9:00pm

Please join all Berkshire Chapter members and friends at our annual dinner meeting! The evening includes a social time, short business meeting with election of officers, buffet dinner, and a presentation by Tom Wessels. The full buffet dinner includes chicken and vegetarian options and there is a cash bar.

On Saturday, November 7, at 5:30pm, the Berkshire Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club will hold it’s annual dinner meeting at the Summit View House in Holyoke.

We are excited to announce that the speaker will be Tom Wessels, ecologist, educator and author. His books include: Reading the Forested Landscape, The Granite Landscape, Untamed Vermont, The Myth of Progress: Toward a Sustainable Future, and Forest Forensics: A Field Guide to reading the Forested Landscape. His focus will be on Reading the Forested Landscape. His books will be available for purchase and signing.

Save the Date: AMC Berkshire Annual Member (and guest) Potluck, Genesis Conference Center, 53 Mill Street, Westfield MA

Come join Berkshire AMC for our Berkshire Bash on Saturday, November 2nd from 6-9 PM. We’ll be at a new place, Willits-Hallowell Conference Center in Mt. Holyoke College (https://www.mtholyoke.edu/willits/directions_willits) . Set in the beautiful historic campus, this modern building has meeting rooms overlooking Stony Brook, providing a beautiful backdrop for our meeting, dinner and presentation by Sue Morse, wildlife educator from www.keepingtrack.org.

Berkshire Chapter leadership is eager to meet new and established members and have you meet each other. We've planned a meet-and-greet with the Sabine Prather, Chapter Chair and Pat Fletcher, Trails Committee Chair, at Agawam Public Library at 6:30 on Monday, July 29th. We can talk about what AMC and Berkshire Chapter does and see what you'd like to do in the club. We'll have coffee and snacks, and some information about the club and Chapter. Please come with questions, or just to meet and talk to folks! You're also welcome to come to Executive Committee and other committee meetings.

The 137th Annual Summit of the Appalachian Mountain Club was held on Saturday, January 26, 2013, at the Four Points by Sheraton in Norwood, Massachusetts.

The day included many exciting activities and programs including: Hiking Around the World, AMC Backcountry Shelters, Safeguarding Rivers, A Survival Guide to Leading with Kids, and many more! Click here to see the complete agenda.

Our own Berkshire Chapter AT Committee Chair Jim Pelletier, and his wife, AT Committee Treasurer Julie Ann Pelletier, were recipients of the Volunteer Leadership Award.

This year there were three recipients of the Distinguished Service Award. The first went to Gary Forish for his many contributions to the AMC through the years. Gary is a former chair of the Berkshire Chapter and a tireless advocate for the Noble View Outdoor Center. This award was also given to AMC’s Youth Opportunity Program (YOP) in appreciation of their 45 years of getting young people out of the cities and into nature. The third was awarded to John 'Noel' Cotter.

You can also access the AMC Clubwide Awards on Outdoors.org, which contains the full list of award recipients for 2012.

The evening's keynote speaker was Audrey Peterman, who spoke with the goal of helping the AMC come up with a plan to get ALL Americans to appreciate the outdoors.