XC Skiing - Schenectady County Forest

After a day of rest, football, and catch-up, we got a surprising amount of new snow overnight, especially at higher elevations just west of here. At 1,400 feet, the Schenectady County Forest is high enough that it still had about 6-8" of firm base, and got about another 5" last night. Holly and I headed off on the short 20-minute drive this afternoon to get in a quick ski before the walkers ruined the trails there. The snow was heavy and wet, as I had found earlier when clearing my driveway. With the temperature around 40 degrees, this was a lot like spring skiing. We skied for about 45 minutes, breaking trail all the way, dodging snow bombs from the pines above, and smooshing thousands of snow fleas that speckled the surface of the snow. That means I'll soon have the stench of death in my basement whenever I walk past where the skis are hanging.

It was good to get out on a nice day, but we really need some better snow than this, along with some colder temperatures.