EAST CHARLESTON — The 4th annual Westmore Mountain Challenge, scheduled for Saturday, September 26, is open for registration.
This one-day, five-mountain marathon hike traverses the trails on Moose Mountain, Mount Hor, Mount Pisgah, Haystack Mountain, and Bald Mountain, ending at the NorthWoods Stewardship Center lodge off the 10-Mile Square Road in East Charleston.
“The Westmore Mountain Challenge has always required a capped number of participants and staggered start times to help keep hikers spread out across the course and reduce environmental damage to the trail system,” said NorthWoods Executive Director Maria Young. “We are fortunate that these ongoing practices also happen to help keep the event safer for hikers in regards to virus transmission, and as a result, we are anticipating having to make relatively few logistical changes to ensure a fun and safe 2020 Challenge.”
The Westmore Mountain Challenge was first held in 2017 and has become one of the region’s staple annual hiking events, attracting participants of all types, from marathon trail runners to local families.
Last year, over 90 hikers completed the full marathon length, including two children under 10 years old, with the fastest adult time coming in at 3 hours and 57 minutes.
Proceeds from the event help to raise money for ongoing trail work, forestry, and outdoor education programming by the NorthWoods Stewardship Center throughout the region.
Interested hikers can visit northwoodscenter.org to learn more and register for the event.
