Members of the Albany-Schenectady Chapter of ADK: We hope you all had a great summer with lots of hiking, paddling, biking and whatever other outdoor activities you pursued. And a very warm welcome to all our new members who joined ADK and the Albany-Schenectady chapter over the summer. As we approach fall and winter, we are busy planning an exciting program for our chapter meetings in addition to many more outings offered by our outings leaders. We hope to see many of you at one of these events.
The following are the programs for our regular CHAPTER MEETINGS:
| October 13: | Samantha Carouso Peck: Bird Rockstars: The Wild World of Bird Courtship |
| November 10: | Mathias Vuille: Impacts of Climate Change |
| December 8: | Business Meeting, used Gear Sale, Short member presentations |
| January 12: | Katie Rhodes: The 24 in 24 Challenge: How to climb 24 High Peaks in 24 Hours |
| February 8: | Thomas Phillips: Plants and Mosses of the Rensselaer Plateau |
| March 9: | Renee Secor: Catamounts, Cougars, Mountain Lions and Pumas: are they different or the same? |
| April 13: | |
| May 11: | |
| June 8: | Annual Picnic |
More details about each presentation will be sent out approx. 10 days before each meeting and will also be shown in the online calendar of events at https://albany.adk.org/outings-activities. All meetings except the picnic are held at 6:30 pm at the West Albany Fire House, 113 Sand Creek Rd, Albany.
UPCOMING OUTINGS: to register go to https://albany.adk.org/outings-activities and click on the individual activity to see instructions for registering. Also, check our website frequently as new outings are added regularly.
| September 22: | Evening Paddle Lock E9 Mohawk River | Lock E9 Mohawk River |
| September 23: | Wednesday Walk | Various local parks |
| September 29: | Evening Paddle: Flight Lock Rd, Mohawk River | Lock E9 Mohawk River |
| September 30: | Wednesday Walk | Various local parks |
| October 6: | Evening Paddle Round Lake | Round Lake |
| October 14: | Evening Paddle Coeymans. Hudson River | Coeymans Hudson River |
| October 17: | Maintenance of Bailey Pond and Hoffman Notch trails | Loch Muller trailhead |
| October 20: | Evening Paddle Rensselaer (tidal) Hudson River | Rensselaer, Hudson River |
| October 27: | Evening Paddle Waterford Boat Launch | Waterford Boat Launch |
Updates from the Main Club:
Over the summer ADK released their new website. If you haven’t done so already, go to adk.org and take a look. Things have been rearranged. There is also a new sign in procedure to access your account that only relies on your email and an emailed numeric code, no more password to remember. You can then see your personal information, when your membership expires, any donations you may have made in the past few years, and if you are an outings leader, the status of your certification(s). Check it out and verify your information.
ADK is modernizing their membership program to reduce paper, streamline staff processes, and make membership information easier to access. Here are some key changes
Beginning October 1, 2026:
- Membership cards will no longer be automatically mailed. Members can access their membership information through the Member Portal or request a letter with their membership details.
- Membership can be verified without a physical card. All ADK staff can verify membership using a member’s name, email address, or new six-digit membership ID.
- New six-digit membership IDs will appear on receipts and in the Member Portal.
Help wanted
Lastly, we are always looking for new volunteers to help with running the chapter. If you are interested in getting involved more, contact Mark Janey at markjaney@gmail.com for more information of how your skills could match our needs.