Sixty-four hikers set off from the Chilmark Pond Preserve at 8 a.m. Saturday, a healthy crowd for Martha's Vineyard Land Bank's 23rd annual Cross-Island Hike. In honor of National Trails Day, the land bank hosts a day-long guided hike across Island conservation land.

With land bank planner Bill Veno in the lead, the hikers climbed the rugged terrain of the Peaked Hill Reservation, walked through Chilmark's bucolic farmlands and ambled along the trails behind Featherstone Center for the Arts. The terrain ranged from sandy trails cutting through thick brush to rough bridges over gurgling streams to paved roads and trails.

The group passed cows on Middle Road in Chilmark, curious horses near Deep Bottom Cove, and frisbee golfers in the state forest. A luna moth was rescued from the middle of the trail through the Southern Woodlands, but ticks were treated less kindly. Some hikers were Cross-Island veterans, while others were undertaking the endeavor for the first time.

Several hikers ended the hike during a lunch break at the West Tisbury Town Hall, and others joined or left the walk at breaks along the route. A smaller group, tired but triumphant, arrived at the sandy shores of Pecoy Point, the final destination, just after 4 p.m.