Canoeing - Henderson Lake

For several years now, Holly and I have talked about paddling on Henderson Lake, in the heart of the Adirondack High Peaks Wilderness. The views from the water were said to be stupendous, and we wanted to see what all the hoopla was about. With daily rain scuttling any camping plans, we decided to give this a try today as a day trip, since it was only about 2 hours from home.

From the parking area at the end of the Upper Works Road, it was only about a 0.3-0.4 mile carry on a gentle gravel road to the put-in on the eastern side of the lake. The views from the lake did not disappoint. The best views were from the northern end, where the cliffs of Wallface Mountain (3727') towered in the distance.



We had paddled north along the eastern shore and its rocky cliffs, so crossed over and paddled south along the western shore. As we distanced ourselves from Wallface, the views opened up to include a much wider panorama. McNaughton Mountain (4000') is on the left, Wallface in the middle, and the McIntyre Range on the right.



Continuing further south gave us a peek at Mount Colden (4714') to the east, through a gap in the terrain.



Always on the lookout for a sandy beach, we found one on a small promontory south of the put-in. Holly went in for a dip while I sat on a rock and watched a pair of loons. That's McNaughton Mountain (4000') in the background.



This a beautiful lake, it's not far from home, it's an easy carry, and there are at least 4 designated campsites at present, with more to be added in the future. I expect we'll be doing this one again sometime.

Golf - Whispering Pines GC

It's another warm sticky day, and more storms are expected this afternoon (what else is new?), so I headed to Whispering Pines early for some practice with irons and my short game. I just never seemed to get it going today, with errant tee shots, fluffed pitches, etc, etc. But finally, my putting on these greens was better than usual (but see below), and mostly my short game was also pretty good. I saved par or bogey many times after multiple bad tee shots.

Highlights

• 8 pars, 5 bogeys
• Chipping saved the day over and over again
• Finally got the feel of these greens

Lowlights

• 4-putted #18 from 18" away (!!) for a closing 6
• One other 3-putt
• 4 double bogeys
• Only 4 greens in regulation, and this course is mostly par 3s
  
• Humidity and mosquitoes

Biking - Before the Rain - Yet Again!

Today was looking like it would be an all-day soaking rain, so I relegated myself to getting some indoor things done and watching the closing stage of the Tour de France. By 4pm, I was all caught up, and the promised t-storms were still a long ways off. So I got on the bike and cranked out another 20 miles, using the same relatively flat/rolling loop as the past few times out.

The way this weather is going, I don't know when I'll get a day to put in some more serious miles.

Canoeing - Kayaderosseras Creek

The Kayaderosseras (pronounced KAY-der-ross) Creek winds its way down from northern Saratoga County, passes though the Village of Ballston Spa, and eventually empties into Saratoga Lake. The lower reaches, below Ballston Spa, are mostly canoe-able, with some shallow spots and the occasional clog to portage around. Today, Holly and I paddled from the launch site at Gray's Crossing to a take-out at Driscoll Road. This map (see page 2) shows the creek and our route, about 3 miles, all downstream.

After some initial coordination issues, and making the transition from our usual pond paddling to moving water, we did OK and spent a couple of hours heading down the stream. We had left a car at Driscoll Road to get us back to Gray's Crossing, so there would be no upstream paddling today. That was a good thing, since there were a couple of quick spots. We also had to carry around one 50-foot section where fallen trees had collected all sorts of urban detritus, making the channel impassable.

Biking - Before the Rain (again)

I haven't been riding nearly enough lately, and the Tour de France is partially to blame. I've been glued to the live coverage most mornings and not getting out and doing any riding. Today was a meaningless stage in the overall scheme of things, and with rain expected later, I opted to ride instead of watch.

I made up the route as I went along, but did a clockwise loop that generally included Grant Hill Road, Voorheesville, Indian Ladder Farms for a pastry, Altamont, and then home through a new roundabout that I'll be getting VERY familiar with. It was a little over 34 miles with 700+ feet of climbing, so not a bad route.

Biking - Saratoga Battlefield

Holly's bike group was riding at Saratoga National Historic Park today, and given that the entire week after today looks wet, I decided to tag along. Knowing that I was missing a critical stage 17 of the Tour De France, I subscribed to a Twitter feed (@TdFblog)and sent it to my phone. During the ride, I kept getting text messages at ridiculously frequent intervals letting me know the status of the race. Kinda cool!

The ride itself was easy enough, despite riding the old 10-speed. The hills are relatively minor, and I had no trouble, even having gears to spare on that bike.

Golf - Hillcrest GC

Every Monday at Hillcrest is "rollback day", $12 instead of the usual $16. Today when I got there, it was obvious something was up, with many cars, and lots of golfers milling around the parking lot. It was suggested that I tee off ASAP and get ahead of this group outing, due to tee off in a half hour or so. Good plan.

Coming off the second green, I noticed golf carts scattering all over the course. Somebody had decided on a "shotgun start", where each foursome goes to a different tee and plays 9 holes from there. It makes the whole thing go a lot faster for the group, but now here I was, caught in the middle of it, and nobody had bothered to let me know it would be happening. Kinda pissed me off.

The foursome on #3 tee let me hit first to the empty hole ahead, and then a golf course guy told me to go play 7-8-9 from there, and come back to 4-5-6 after that. So away I went to 3 more empty holes. When I came back to #4, I had to continually wait for the obvious non-golfers ahead as I continued through #6 and finished my 9. For my trouble, the course gave me a card for a free 9 next time I play there. Not bad.

At least I had a decent round, even bogeys for a 46 (2 pars, 2 double bogeys, 5 bogeys)

Highlights

• Driving well with a 3-wood, straight and free from trouble
• Putting was excellent with only 14 putts and a few longer ones dropped
• Short game was good, with a couple of nice scrambles
• Finished with 2 pars

Lowlights

• The "shotgun" mess
• 2 double bogeys
• 1 3-putt

On the way home, I stopped in at Briar Creek GC, just down the road. It's 18 holes, but they have a 9-hole rate ($16), and it might be more interesting than Hillcrest. I seem to be playing well enough now to take on something a little less like an open field.

Biking - Easy Relaxed 20

After watching the first Alps stage of the Tour de France with old man biker Lance Armstrong, and then watching fellow old man golfer Tom Watson almost win the British Open, the day was pretty well shot. It was a nice day, and I had to get off the sofa and get out and do something. So I got on the bike and cranked out another 20 miles, mostly on relatively flat roads around home. For the first time in awhile, I made a conscious effort to ride in relaxed (touring) mode - shift early and often, coast when you can, and try to use as little energy as possible. That certainly hasn't been the case the past few times out, and I need to get back to that mode and take on some longer rides.

Canoeing, Camping, Loon Census - Sand Lake

Every year, the Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation conducts a census of common loons on numerous Adirondack Lakes. The census takers are all volunteers, and Holly and I have adopted Sand Lake, in Arietta, NY, as the lake that we visit each year. Everyone on every lake counts loons between 8am and 9am on the same July Saturday, and the results are sent in and tabulated. This morning was the second or third time we've participated.

Normally, the plan is to drive up the night before, carry canoe and gear the .5 mile to the lake, paddle across to a campsite, set up, have dinner, and go to sleep. Then we wake up in the morning, have breakfast, count loons from 8 to 9, pack up, and paddle/hike/drive home. Yesterday when we arrived at the trailhead, the forecast rain had already arrived, and showed no signs of stopping. So we did the sensible thing and set up the tent on a designated legal campsite at the trailhead parking area, had dinner, and settled in for a long wet night.

This morning, we carried only the canoe and paddling necessities to the lake and put in just before 8am. After the rain overnight, it was a sloppy muddy trek. We were rewarded by seeing 2 loons, both adults and presumably a pair, and they regaled us with their wonderful call.



The rain had stopped, and after paddling most of the lake, we headed back out and home to dry everything out.

Biking - SWC Thursday Night Ride

After an extremely heavy thunderstorm, with 1" hail, high winds, frequent lightning, and one hell of a downpour, the skies cleared in time for tonight's SWC ride. Fearing flooded roads, I took the most heavily travelled, and highest, route to Colonie Town Park in Latham. As I headed east on NY7, there was a double rainbow ahead of me, with occasional lightning below it in the distance. Pretty cool.

Given the amount of rain we got and many reports of flooded roads, we decided to stick to the bike path going west toward Niskayuna, and turn around at some undetermined point to go back. I rode with Holly for the first 5 miles, and then she turned around. Meanwhile, the rest of the group had surged ahead. It took me 4+ miles at 17-18mph to catch them, at the top of the Blatnick Park hill, where we all turned around.

On the way back, at one point I put the hammer down and got a brief jump at 23-24mph. I rode alone for a while, until a much younger rider caught and passed me, and I hung on her wheel for a ways at 18-19mph. It was a pretty intense ride. Then, I hit the gas again a few miles from the end, and finished alone. I just wanted to see if I could pull away, and it was kinda fun, riding hard on my heavy-duty touring bike. All told, I got 18+ miles in, and that puts me at 1,200 for the season. Not bad for an old guy on his 58th birthday, and I'm actually a few miles ahead of last year's pace.

Hiking - Nun-da-ga-o Ridge

The Nun-da-ga-o Ridge, formerly known as the "Soda Range", lies just east of the village of Keene, NY, and just west of the High Peaks of the Adirondacks. The "trail" is unmarked and unmaintained, but is easy to follow, and provides nearly continuous views from open rocks back toward the High Peaks.



Holly and I hiked the 6-mile loop in the clockwise direction starting at the "P" shown above. The unmarked ridge path begins a short distance up the shoulder of Big Crow Mountain, which we did not climb. Almost immediately, we savored our first views, a wide-open look back at Cascade and Pitchoff Mountains to the west.



The views continued as we worked our way up and down rock outcroppings and progressed eastward along the ridge. This shot shows Big Crow in the immediate foreground, and the ridge we've followed to the right. And always the High Peaks, in nearly every view.



A little further along, we caught a nice view toward the towering Jay Range to the east. That's another untrailed gem we've been meaning to explore.



After several hours, we reached the summit of Weston Mountain, the highest point on this ridge at just under 3000'. The views were about the same, except they now included little Lost Pond, high on the ridge below.



After a well-earned break, we descended the half-mile to Lost Pond, and got a nice view of Hurricane Mountain and its fire tower across the pond.



Continuing to the south end of the pond, we could now see Weston rising above us in the distance. It didn't look very high, because the pond is still high on the ridge, and we had a good deal of descent left to do.



Leaving the pond, we headed down along its outlet to the junction with the trail to Hurricane, which starts from the same parking area. From here, it was an easy walk out on a very good trail. On the way home, we made the traditional stop at the Noonmark Diner for ice cream.

Biking - MHCC Tuesday Night Ride

It was a nice evening for the weekly MHCC Tuesday casual ride, this time again from nearby Guilderland.




A faster group broke away very near the start, and I got trapped in the main pack for too long to be interested in trying to reel them in. Too much energy too early. So I just bided my time until we reached the first minor hills on Becker Road and Dunnsville Road, heading toward Altamont. I was first over the top, and never looked back, until I stopped to wait at French's Hollow, at about 1.5 miles from the finish. It was a strong ride on a relatively flat route.

Biking, Yard Work, and Mini-Golf

Holly needed some help with things around the yard, so I threw the old mountain bike in the car and headed up to her house. After about an hour of spreading topsoil and mulch, we biked over to the nearby mini-golf course, about 4 miles each way, and got in a round, followed, as always, by ice cream.

Golf - Hillcrest GC

It's another nice Monday, which is the best golf day to avoid leagues, and even to get a discount at Hillcrest. I headed out early, and was surprised to find 8-10 cars already in the parking lot, very unusual for this course. I wound up doubling with Don, who was riding in a cart driven by his granddaughter Nicole. It was a good round, my best ever at Hillcrest, a 45 (par 37).

Highlights

• dropped a 20-foot putt from off the fringe for par on #2
• 4 pars, 2 bogeys
• short irons were dead on, thanks to lots of practice at Whispering Pines
• short game was also very good

Lowlights

• 2 3-putts
• 3 double bogeys
• treated a 1-footer as a tap-in and missed

On the 9th tee, I tried Don's driver, one of the very large lightweight modern ones, with a huge sweet spot. I hit it about 280 yards, dead straight, just 30 yards from the green. On the way home, I realized that my clubs (really made of wood!) are approaching 25-30 years old - it may be time to see what's out there at a reasonable price if I'm going to keep playing this game. Apparently, the newer clubs are said to be much easier and more forgiving to hit with.

Biking - Before the Deluge

With Holly's family picnic this afternoon, and big thunderstorms also looming later, I snuck in an early 20-miler this morning. Starting from my driveway, I did a variation on the Kings/Old State loop, throwing in a bit of US20 and NY158 to bump up the mileage. It was a windy morning, but it didn't seem to matter. It just felt good to be out on the bike. Morning rides are the best!

Biking - SWC Thursday Night Ride

The SWC ride tonight was a 19-miler up in the Rotterdam hills, beginning with a 6-mile climb of some 900 feet. Here's a link to the ride route and profile.

After yesterday's 42 miles, my legs were a little less than 100%, and the climb seemed tougher than usual, as I do this ride several times every year. But the great thing about this ride is the next 10-mile rolling downhill from the top of the climb. Ordinarily, I'd be coasting most of this stretch, but tonight I felt compelled, for some reason, to pedal hard and enjoy the speed. I hit 40mph at one point coming down Currybush Road in a tuck, and it felt good.

The worst thing about this ride is the final 2 miles, and especially the final half-mile, which features a nasty little climb, with a short stretch that approaches 20%, according to mapmyride.com. Nobody needed that at the end of this ride, but since it led to the awaiting beer and pizza, we all gritted our teeth and grunted up it, now at a scant 4mph. I was pretty much spent when I reached the car.

Biking - MHCC Half-Century Route...

...or so we thought. With more rotten weather the past few days, and today looking promising, I wanted to get in a big ride. SWC friend Judy and I had once talked about riding the route of last year's MHCC half-century (50 miles), so I got in touch and we set it up. The weather looked like rain gear would be prudent, so I promptly forgot to pack mine, but we set off for the ride anyway.




Before we got too far, we realized that we were not riding the 50-mile route, but a loop that formed part of the 100-mile ride. This loop still came out to about 53 miles, so no big deal. We detoured once from that route because of fresh paving, and again for a nice lunch stop at the store in Galway, and then continued on. The store gladly supplied me with a free trash bag as emergency rain gear, which I hoped I wouldn't need.

Shortly thereafter, around 25 miles, we got the first drops of rain. By 30 miles, it was coming down harder, and we pulled into the refuge of a ubiquitous Stewart's Shop in Middle Grove to wait it out. Things improved shortly, and we decided to skip an additional stop at the Town of Greenfield Park very nearby. Just as we passed the park entrance, KABOOM! A thunderstorm had crept up from behind, and we scurried back to the picnic pavilion just as the skies opened up. Heavy rain, lightning, and gusty winds followed, and we crafted arm and head holes in the trash bag so I could cover up. Much hilarity ensued, as you can imagine from the shots below. (thanks to Judy's cell phone)


"How am I going to ride in this thing?"


"I know - I'll tie the extra up into a knot...oops!"

Once the rain stopped and skies cleared, we headed back to the cars by the most direct route, rather than try to finish the original loop. More storms were around, but we finished up mostly dry, without having to actually ride wearing "the bag". Overall, we covered a little over 42 miles, so it was a good day's ride anyway.

Golf - Whispering Pines GC

No golf last week with the rotten weather, so today I headed back to Whispering Pines, scene of a really good previous round two weeks back. But today it was not to be. All told, I was hitting it pretty well. Even the long irons were going straight and true, but I did fluff several other shots off the tee. The real problem was putting. These greens are fast and rolling, a tough combination. My long putts generally left me with the next one makeable, but the short ones killed me, with at least 5 of them lipping out. Score was 38/33/71, five worse than last time out. Par is 55.

Highlights

• 9 greens in regulation
• 6 pars
• Short game and long putts fairly accurate
• All shots went relatively straight, even if short

Lowlights

• 5 lip-outs on short putts
• 5 3-putts and 41 total putts
  
• Two double bogeys and one triple bogey
• Several tee shots hit fat/fluffy
  

Biking - Grant Hill Loop

It's been a week of rotten weather - thunderstorms, deluges, high winds, street flooding - and I've been doing next to nothing since Monday's ride. More of the same is due later today, but the morning dawned partly sunny, and no radar blips were headed this way for a while, so I headed out for a ride. The Grant Hill Road climb and loop is one of my favorites, 20-25 miles right from my door, so away I went.

With 4-5" of rain this week, the Normanskill was running very high, brown, and muddy as I crossed it before starting the main climb. But the view from French's Hollow was even more impressive. Water was cascading over the dam that forms Watervliet Reservoir, and the water churned beneath the bridge and over the rock ledges downstream. No room for local teens to be sunning on the rocks today!

By now, the sky was growing steadily darker, so I opted for the short version of the ride and hightailed it toward home. The first drops were falling as I finished the last mile, but now the sun is out again, only to heat things up for the afternoon show.

Biking - Glenville, Charlton

Today was another bike ride with the same group of local friends I've connected with and biked with through the Taconic Hiking Club. Instead of starting from Clifton Park, as we have been, today we started in Glenville. Although it was not supposed to rain, the morning was dark and gloomy with occasional spits of something even less than drizzle. We went anyway, and the skies cleared as the day went on. We did an easy clockwise 29-mile loop on familiar roads north of Charlton and north even of NY67, an area I'd never biked in before. On the way back, we stopped at Marcella's for ice cream before calling it a day.

Biking - SWC Thursday Night Ride

Today was one of the first hot sticky days of the season, aside from a few a couple of months ago, and as luck would have it, there was a ride on for tonight. We started at a member's house on NY50, in Glenville, and rode a clockwise loop to Charlton and back.




The climb up Snake Hill and Closson Roads was a bit miserable, but after that, it turned into a downhill hammerfest. I don't know why that always happens on these SWC rides, but it does seem to follow that pattern. I averaged over 15mph for the ride, including the climb, and there were times when I was going all out on the big ring. As someone told me on the Tuesday night ride, my Trek 520 isn't a "performance bike" (DUH! It's my touring truck!), but I do wonder what I could do on something that's 15 pounds lighter. Not to worry - ain't gonna happen. It's just not my normal style.

Biking - Longer River Loop

After last night's ride, I was only 28 miles short of 1,000 miles so far for the season, and since today was another rare nice (read: dry) day, I decided to go for it. Starting at Schenectady Community College, I headed west on the Mohawk River Bikeway until I reached NY5S, and then continued west to Amsterdam. Picking up another section of the bike path, I continued to NY30, and crossed the river on the bridge into Amsterdam. From there, it was a straight, and fairly boring, shot back to Schenectady on NY5.

It's warm and humid today, and I wasn't interested in any hills, so this was a perfect ride of 32 miles. It looks like I'm on about the same mileage pace as last year's 2,300+.

Biking - MHCC Tuesday Night Casual Ride

Tonight was another Mohawk-Hudson Cycling Club (MHCC) casual ride from relatively near home, so I decided to go. We started at the Lynwood School in nearby Guilderland, and biked a 22-mile loop to Indian Ladder Farms and back. Casual rides are listed as 10-12mph, but everyone was a little faster than that, and a few of us kept getting ahead whenever there was a climb of any size. The profile looks daunting, but the elevation differences were small, and the total climbing for the ride was only a little over 500 feet.




After the ride, several of us retired to an Italian restaurant nearby for dinner. The portions were so huge that most of us couldn't finish them, and will have leftovers for the week to come.

Canoeing - Ballston Lake

This afternoon, Holly and I went for a short paddle on Ballston Lake, only a few miles from her house in Burnt Hills.



It's a long narrow lake, about 3 miles long, oriented north-south, and the only public access is at the northern end. There were only a few motorboats out today, and it was interesting to see all of the private camps and residences along the shoreline. With an imperceptible northerly tailwind, we had an easy paddle heading south, and reached the widest part of the lake in about 20 minutes. Then we turned around, and yikes! It took us almost twice that to get back to the put-in, with a northerly wind that was now all but imperceptible. Note to self - do this again only on a calm day.

Meeting - ECOS Ski Tips XC Ski Guide Update

The Environmental Clearinghouse of Schenectady (ECOS) publishes a guide to cross-country ski areas in the local area and surrounding counties. "Ski Tips" was last updated in 2001, and is currently up for revision and republication. I volunteered to serve on the committee doing the update, and today we had our first meeting. Each of us has been assigned various maps to check and contacts to contact, and we hope to have a draft ready for field-checking this winter. Since it was only about 4 miles away, I biked to the meeting and back.

Golf - Whispering Pines GC

I didn't get out for any golf at all last week, and with the US Open on TV this weekend, I really got the itch to play. I like Whispering Pines, because it's close by, it's 18 holes, and I can get in lots of short-game practice. Today, I tied my best round there (66 - par is 55), and if the putter had been even lukewarm, it would have been an outstanding round.

Highlights:

• 12 of 18 greens in regulation
• One birdie
• Eight pars

Lowlights

• Four 3-putts, and 39 total putts
• One triple bogey
• One double bogey

Biking - Rexford Ramble

Several years ago, the Town of Clifton Park hosted a historical bike tour of the Rexford and Vischer Ferry sections of the town. They called it the Rexford Ramble, and it was about a 14-15 mile ride, with stops at several historical sites or locations. I couldn't go then, for some reason, but I downloaded the route and historical narratives, in case Holly and I ever wanted to do it ourselves. Today was the day, despite the very iffy forecast.

First, we rode along the old Erie Canal towpath, from Vischer Ferry to the Lock 7 hydroelectric project. It was muddy in spots, but not a bad ride. Heading west toward Rexford, we got spritzed briefly, but the ride was mostly dry. Reaching Rexford, we turned around and headed back west, noticing VERY dark clouds to the northeast, and heading our way, albeit from an unusual direction. We reached the cars just as the skies opened up, and for a few minutes, it really poured. By the time I got home again, the sun was out. Very weird day.

Biking - Saratoga Spa State Park

A local seniors group that Holly rides with regularly was having a short ride and their annual picnic today in Saratoga Spa State Park, so I tagged along. Though the weather was pretty ugly, it wasn't raining, and 18 people turned out. We rode casually around the park for about 45 minutes, mostly on bike paths, then retired to the shelter of a pavilion, just in case, for a potluck lunch.

Hiking - Alander Mountain, MA

Today was going to be the last nice day until early next week, so Holly and I decided to go hiking. We wanted something relatively close by, not too strenuous, and with a view, so we settled on Alander Mountain, in the South Taconics, near the MA/CT/NY corner. It's only about a 6-mile round trip hike, and with less than 800' of total climbing.

It was a cool breezy day, and perfect for hiking. We crossed several streams that were running pretty well, and the trail was wet in spots after a lot of recent rain, but it was generally very easy walking. After the last steep climb to the ridge, we had several options for views. First, we headed north on the South Taconic Trail and found this view to the east and northeast.



Knowing that the best views were off the west side of the ridge, we turned around here and headed back south until we found them. The Catskills are off in the distance to the west.



Looking more to the south, we saw Ashley, Frissell, and Brace, from left to right. Ashley Hill (left) is in MA and Brace Mountain (right) is in NY. Mount Frissell (center) has its summit in Massachusetts, but its southern shoulder is the highest point in Connecticut.



The laurel was beginning to bloom up here on the ridge, and in a week or two, this whole area will be ablaze in various shades of pink.



Near the summit, we met a large group of Oriental hikers who were cooking a very fancy lunch. The smell of Chinese take-out was wafting across the summit on the wind, and we knew something was up, but were surprised to find them having such a feast.

We headed a little further south to the true summit, and found the view there somewhat obscured by vegetation, and not as good as the others we had seen. From there, the trip back to the car was uneventful, but we found the usual hoped-for ice cream stop closed for the day.

Biking - Clifton Park to Saratoga Springs

A group of friends was planning a ride to Saratoga Springs today,but by a different route than we'd used for this same ride in the past. This would be a 45-mile loop, with lunch in Saratoga Spa State Park. A few of us were still sore from Sunday's hike, especially our quads, but a relaxed bike ride seemed like a good idea to get everything loosened up again.

The morning dawned cloudy and cool, with a slight threat of afternoon showers, but they never materialized. By lunchtime, the sun was shining brightly, and it stayed with us the rest of the day. The route home took us past Lakeside Farms, so an ice cream stop was a necessity. Overall, we were probably out for nearly 6 hours, but never pushed hard and just enjoyed the conversation and the day.

Hiking - Round and Noonmark Mountains

Today I joined a Schenectady ADK trip to Round and Noonmark Mountains, near Keene Valley, NY. It was a beautiful sunny morning with temps around 60F, but very humid from the overnight rains. We first went up the S. Burns Weston Trail to Round, about 1800' above the parking area. It was a steep climb of 2.3 miles, with excellent views along the way. This shot is of Giant Mountain and its slides, just to the east.



By the time we reached the summit, we were all dripping wet from the humidity, so we lingered a while to dry out. The views from Round are almost 360 degrees, and we took many pictures before continuing on. That's Noonmark, our next destination, in the immediate foreground.



As we left Round and continued on to Noonmark, we dropped steeply about 900' to the col between them. Along the way, we saw many pink ladyslippers in bloom.



Reaching the junction with the Dix trail, we started up to Noonmark, climbing steeply about 1200' in the next mile. We started noticing the first blackflies of the day, around noon as the day warmed up. We paused for lunch on the buggy summit, and took many more pictures. The entire Great Range was laid out before us, and Dix was especially prominent with its slides.





Far below us was the Ausable Club and golf course. In our younger years, Holly and I had twice backpacked up here, spent the night, and watched their 4th of July fireworks from above.



There was now rain falling visibly in the distance, heading south down the valley toward us from the Whiteface area to the north, so we started down. The first sections were very steep, and there were many more views from the open rocks, but we hurried to get off of this steep section before the rains came. Just as we reached the woods came the first of several sharp thunderclaps, followed by rain. It was mostly showery and wet after the first deluge passed, and we had a wet slippery descent. The rain stopped as we reached the Ausable Club Road, after 6.7 miles and 3100+ feet of climbing. It was a tough day.

Hiking - North/South Lake - Catskills

Holly wanted to get out for a short hike today, and having heard that the season's blackflies had pretty much gone from the northern Catskills, we headed for the North-South Lake State Campsite, which has many hiking trails along the Catskill Escarpment. The trails look out over not only the Hudson River Valley to the east, but to the lakes and the campsite below.




Along the way on the Escarpment Trail, I heard a small shriek and Holly skipped ahead. I looked at my feet and saw this snake, which then slithered off into the brush. Holly kept going, and I snapped a picture for future identification purposes.



When I got home, my first inclination after spending some time online was that this was a Northern Copperhead, one of New York's few venomous snakes. They are known in this area of the Catskills, and it mostly seemed right. The pattern of the brown splotches didn't quite fit, though, so I dug a little deeper, and discovered it was an Eastern Milk Snake, a harmless snake even often kept as a pet. They're often mistaken for copperheads, and the patterns were a perfect match.

After that excitement, we continued on to Artist's Rock, Lookout Rock, and Sunset Rock. The first two provided fine views of the Hudson Valley below.



Sunset Rock faced toward the southwest, with a nice view of the lakes, as well as of Kaaterskill High Peak and its neighbor Round Top.



Finally, we headed back down the Mary's Glen Trail, with a stop at Ashley Falls.



Reaching the campground road, we headed back to the car, and drove down to Haines Falls and had some ice cream before driving home.

Biking - SWC Thursday Night Ride

It's Thursday, and that meant another SWC Thursday night bike ride. The weather was iffy, but the radar looked like we had a couple of dry hours ahead, so we gave it a go. Normally, when we start at Rotterdam Kiwanis Park, the ride involves going up into the hills near Pattersonville and then screaming down NY160 back to the river. Tonight, with the strange weather, a few of us decided to forego the pleasure of all that climbing and stay closer to the river, where more bailout options would be available if the rains came early. It was a good decision, since we had light off-and-on showers throughout the ride, and a steadier rain toward the end. We got in 14+ mostly dry miles and got back well in time for the usual beer and pizza.

Biking - Testing New Tires

In preparation for October's tour of the Great Allegheny Passage and C & O Canal from Pittsburgh to Washington, I had bought some new tires, 700x35 Schwalbe Marathon Pluses. These are wider, have some tread, and ride 25 pounds softer than my 32mm slicks.

Yesterday, I got them on the bike, and today I needed to be sure they were going to be usable. The only real issue was whether there would be sufficient clearance to be used with my existing fenders. They spin freely, but the clearance in the front is especially tight. Today, I headed to Schoharie Crossing to give them a workout on several different riding surfaces.

First, I rode some single track on the old Erie Canal Towpath. No problems here, though I noticed these tires pick up a lot more pebbles than the slicks, and then fling them against the inside of the fenders. Lots of noise, but no real issue. The paved but bumpy bike trail was no problem, nor was the stone dust surface further west, aside from that same pebbling noise. On the road, all was quiet. I'm not sure if the rolling resistance was really greater, though it seems like it should be. Maybe I was just expecting it, and thus feeling it...

The whole ride was under 9 miles, but it answered all of my questions. These tires should be fine on this bike for all-around use, even with fenders. And they're also supposed to be virtually puncture-proof. Time will tell...

Biking - The Usual River Loop - Backwards

Makes it kinda hard to pedal and see where you're going...

Actually, I just did it in reverse. I couldn't think of a ride I really wanted to do, and the day was getting away from me. So I decided to park at SCCC, pedal west from Scotia, cross the river at Lock 9, and then return via the bike path, avoiding late afternoon traffic and providing a little variety to this much used route.

When I rolled the bike out to the car, I noticed the rear tire was very soft, but not flat. Figuring it was a slow enough leak to allow a couple hours' ride, I reinflated it and was on my way. By the time I reached the bike path after about 15 miles of road riding, it was very soft again. Damn. The tire itself looked perfectly fine - no evidence of any external problem. So I pumped it up part way and continued on gingerly toward the car. I had to stop one more time before I got there, but made it home without incident. It appears to be a somewhat defective tube, now patched and in the bag as a spare until I can pick up a couple of new ones.

Golf - Whispering Pines GC

Today looked like the best day for what has become my weekly round of golf. I started driving toward Hillcrest, but passed by Whispering Pines on the way, and the parking lot was virtually empty. I figured some irons practice couldn't hurt, so stopped there instead to play 18 par 3s. Overall, I was hitting it pretty well, with the usual few exceptions. Putting, on the other hand, was miserable. The greens here are slick and very rolling, and today, I didn't play them well at all.

Highlights

• 1 birdie
• 5 pars
• 8 greens in regulation

Lowlights

• 3 3-putts
• 4-putted #9, after pushing the first putt off a veritable cliff just past the hole
• Out-of-bounds on #2, and a few other "challenging" off-fairway lies after the tee shots went astray

Biking - Grant Hill Loop

It looks like an unsettled damp week ahead, so I got out for one more ride before the rain arrives. I took a couple of miles off of the usual Grant Hill Road loop, and got in about 21 for the day. Relative to the past few times around this loop, today felt like a very strong ride, using higher gears than usual, and even standing to climb a few rollers rather than downshifting. That's 152 miles in the past 7 days - I need to find a way to keep this going.

Biking - West Glenville Hills

After a pretty easy ride yesterday, and with the weather today in the upper 70s and sunny, I felt like I needed a climb. I dug out my ancient copy of "25 Bike Tours in the Hudson Valley", and decided on a route I had done a couple of times before. But this time, I would go UP the big climb at the beginning, instead of coming down it at the end as I had in the past.




I did this loop clockwise from Schenectady Community College at the bottom of the map, and the big climb is Washout Road, 3 miles and a little over 700 feet. That's only a 5% average grade overall, but there are a few 10-15% pitches thrown in just for fun. Any road that leaves the river perpendicularly will definitely be a climb, and there's no shortage of roads in this area that do exactly that, on both sides of the river.

Once I topped out on Washout, the rest of the ride was mostly a pleasant rolling downhill back to the car on low-traffic country roads.

Biking - Indian Ladder Farms

I really like destination rides, much more so than just some random aimless loop. I like to feel like I'm going somewhere. Indian Ladder Farms, between Voorheesville and Altamont, has a cafe open at lunchtime that offers some pretty good fare. I bike there a couple of times each year, and it's usually in the 25-30-mile range, round trip. Today, I picked a 32-mile route that only involved 800-900 feet of total elevation gain. It was a nice ride, and a good lunch.

Biking - Clifton Park, Round Lake

It was Thursday night, and time for another SWC beer/pizza ride. We started in Clifton Park, headed east toward Mechanicville, and then back around the east and north sides of Round Lake, before heading south again and back to the the start. It was about 18 miles, with good company both during the ride and afterwards.

Biking - MHCC Tuesday Night Casual Ride

The Mohawk-Hudson Cycling Club (MHCC) publishes a pretty extensive ride calendar. Unfortunately, for the past several years, most of the rides required a longish drive to get to the start point from my house. Tonight, and throughout June, their Tuesday night rides leave from within biking distance of my house, so I decided to give one a try.

The ride was billed as a "10-12 mph, 19-mile" ride. At the start, the leader explained that, because of the ride pace categorizations used in the calendar, he'd had to list it that way, but really intended to be closer to the "12" end, and maybe even 13 mph. About 15-20 riders showed up, and we did a tour of Rotterdam, Guilderland, Colonie, Niskayuna, and Schenectady, much of it on fairly rough and trafficky roads. I can't say I cared much for the route, but aside from that, it was a good group and a good ride at a comfortable pace.

Biking - Grant Hill Loop

After a full week off the bike, and getting tired of painting windows and other fun stuff, I needed to get out for a ride. I decided on the usual Grant Hill Road loop, with a nice climb in the middle. The winds of the morning had abated somewhat, but were still swirling about to become a headwind whatever my direction of travel. Toward the end of the ride, after-school traffic was getting heavy, and I was stopping for far too many school buses, so I opted to get off the main roads and take a residential route home. Overall, it was a good ride of 23.54 miles, and I need to start doing more of this again.

Golf - Hillcrest GC

It was a cool, windy morning, but rain-free for a change, so I headed for the golf course again. This was not one of my better outings, or at least it didn't feel like it was. I hit countless bad shots, but this being the wide-open fields of Hillcrest, I got away with it time and again. It would have been a horror show on a tighter course. The gusty wind may have been a factor - yeah, that's it....

The final score was only three off last week's better-feeling effort, so I must have done something right somewhere.

Highlights

• 2 pars, 4 bogeys
• chipping saved the day
• dropped 25-foot putt on #9 for par

Lowlights

• 1 double, 1 triple, and 1 QUADRUPLE bogey
• 2 3-putts
• several fat shots with the pitching wedge

Walk - Wilton Wildlife Preserve and Park

The Wilton Preserve is a patchwork of publicly owned land in southern Saratoga County. It's another piece of the inland pine barrens that's so common around here, and very similar to Albany's Pine Bush. Both locations are in the process of reestablishing habitat for the federally endangered Karner Blue Butterfly. Wild blue lupine is critical to the survival of these butterflies, and is being widely planted in both areas.

We had heard that the lupine in Wilton was in full bloom, so we went to check it out, and maybe even see one of the rare butterflies. We didn't see any Karner Blues, but the lupine was indeed in bloom everywhere we looked in the open fields of the preserve. In the wooded areas, we saw pink ladyslippers rather than lupine. It was a pretty day for a walk, with more rain coming in again soon.