Cape Ann Trail Stewards

Here is a PDF of our latest E-News, reporting on our 10-Year Anniversary this year, and some of our recent events and happenings!

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Click on the image below to read and/ or download the full PDF:

Thanks to everyone who participated in our 6th Annual Dogtown Trail Race on May 20, 2023! 

Click on the following links to view race results:

Overall_Results

Mens_Results

Womens_Results

To view more photos of the race, visit our Facebook and Instagram Pages!

CATS, in conjunction with Essex County Greenbelt and Eagle Scout, Patrick Morin, completed a boardwalk project at Woodland Acres.  Using locally harvested locust trees milled at Tapley Mill in Essex, scouts installed the boardwalk on a sunny day in September.  

Our first group hike during COVID times - another gorgeous day on Cape Ann!  This hike was a solid 4 mile loop around Haskell Pond.  We are so happy to be out in the woods with our supporters again!  Thanks for joining us, hope to see all of you out there soon.  

Don't forget about our 'virtual' trail run on December 11-13, as well as our Powderhouse Hill hike in Manchester on 10/25 and the Thanksgiving Hike in Dogtown.  You can register for all our events on our Events page!  

Greenbelt has recently granted CATS a $50,000 grant in honor of our beloved Ted Tarr.  Ted was a long time supporter of CATS, and founding board member.  You can read the Boston Globe article here.  

Our Annual Meeting on June 2 featured a Wildflower presentation by Holly Tanguay.  Holly is a self-taught wildflower enthusiast and a CATS trail steward.  She has spent the last 50 plus years day hiking in the Appalachian Mountains from Georgia to Maine.  During that time, she fell in love with woodland wildflowers.  She put together a presentation to show a few favorite wildflowers you can find on Cape Ann.  

You can view the slideshow here, and the Zoom recording here.  

You can also view the CATS annual report here.  

It is with a heavy heart that we have decided to change the date for our 2020 Dogtown Trail run.  Due to the current climate with COVID-19 and social distancing practices, we feel it is safest to postpone our race to a safer time.  It will now be held on Sunday, December 13. Same time, location.  You can find more information here in the days and weeks to come.  Please feel free to contact us with questions or concerns.

Happy Earth Day!  This year remains in limbo, and I believe that this uncertain time we are living in gives us even more time to appreciate what our beautiful planet has to offer us.  While we can't drive to the movie theater, shopping mall or music hall; we can take a walk in the woods, soak up the fresh air and listen to the sounds of nature that surround us in this moment, providing us with much needed solace and peace. If you're at all like me and have been spending more time in your home than ever, you've probably thought of dozens of ways you could improve your space.  Today, on Earth Day, try and do the same for our home planet.  Take a moment to reflect on some of the changes you could make moving forward to make our earth a cleaner, healthier place. I am certain we can all think of a few.  And if you get out to one of your favorite trails today, throw on some gloves, grab a trash bag and help clean up our beautiful planet.  

You can now follow a fully marked loop (in both directions) around Dykes Pond in Gloucester.  Trail information can be found here.

During this uncertain time, where the days and weeks that we face ahead remain unchartered, Cape Ann Trail Stewards staff and board find themselves all turning to the woods and trails for peace.  Clearly this is a choice that many of us are making!  Fresh air clears the mind, lifts our spirits and provides a sense of clarity during a time where things feel murky, at best.  Our mission to protect and promote safe and responsible trail use continues to be incredibly relevant right now.

CATS is closely monitoring the COVID-19 situation, and following all recommended guidelines from the CDC.  As all of you know, the recommended distance to keep between yourself and others (social distancing) remains 6 feet, and groups should not be any larger than 10 people at a time.  These guidelines change frequently so please keep informed.  Additionally, organizations may close their trail networks and trail heads.  We will do our best to keep you updated on the trails that CATS maintains.

In order for trails to remain open to us all, we must follow the suggested guidelines.  Without trail access, I believe we would all feel much more isolated and fearful during this time.  It is up to us to follow the policies put in place by those who know much more than us about what is taking place with the COVID-19 outbreak.  

CATS is committed to offering to its members and volunteers access to trail information on the sites that we maintain.  Currently we have nearly a half dozen trail maps up on our website, providing detailed information about hiking trails, many of them in Gloucester and Rockport.  We are working as quickly as possible to bring you more trail maps every day, so keep checking back as we add more trail information daily!  These are, as always, free and available to all.

If you are interested in helping support our organization during this time where many of us find ourselves with extra time on our hands due to new working arrangements or lack of work, please reach out to us.  Our mission and work remain important, and we have plenty of work that remains to be done.  We would welcome any number of remote volunteers, from trail stewards to social media and marketing experts.  Please contact us and we will do our best to provide you with some guided remote volunteer opportunities.

We will continue to keep you updated as things evolve during the days and weeks to come.  The staff and board of Cape Ann Trail Stewards wish you all peace and health during this time and always.