XC Skiing - Albany Pine Bush Preserve

After a very nasty rain/sleet/ice/snow storm yesterday and this morning, the afternoon cleared and it turned into a nice day. The resulting mixture on the ground was heavy and dense, but at least this time the snow was on top, and not the icy crust. Shoveling the driveway was a slow process, but I got it done and had the afternoon free. So Holly and I headed off to the Pine Bush to try out the skiing. We parked at the Discovery Center, and skied the loop shown here.



The Pine Bush is sandy, and drains well, so there were no wet areas whatsoever under the snow until we were almost finished. The 2-3 inches of new snow atop a very firm base made for excellent skiing, and the sun shining through the icy trees provided spectacular scenery.



This loop provided a lot of interesting rolling terrain, and also mostly stayed in the woods, a good thing with a strong wind blowing.



By the time we finished, we noticed a little mushiness under the snow here and there, and tomorrow may be a whole different story on these trails. But today, we were the first ones out, and the skiing was wonderful.

Biking on the trainer + shoveling + skiing = good night's sleep tonight.