XC Skiing - Dyken Pond (again)

We weren't going to go skiing again today, feeling somewhat the aftereffects of yesterday. But when there's good snow on the ground, temps in the 40s, blue skies, and rain on the way, you do what you have to do, and get out and savor every moment while you can. So this afternoon, we headed back to Dyken Pond (see yesterday's post) to wander some of the other trails.

Arriving in the parking lot, we recognized Roy and Sue's RAV4, now knowing that they were out there somewhere again as we were. We started out the northern end of the Long Trail loop, and very shortly ran into each other, as they were just finishing up the same loop in the opposite direction. We skied together for a little bit, and then we went our own ways. We thanked them for breaking the trail for us on the rest of the loop, and they headed back to their car.

The snow today was much wetter and heavier than yesterday, making steering on the downhills, like this one through the "Rock Garden", a little tricky.



Continuing on, and turning back toward the Center, we reached another landmark, "Grandfather Rock".



Somehow we missed the shorter westbound leg of the Otter Creek Trail, and wound up doing that entire loop as well. The sun was setting as we finally reached the car, casting an orange glow on the tops of the trees around the parking area.



I said yesterday that this 15-20" of snow would survive the weekend rain, but even after a couple of days above freezing, many rocks were already poking through on the trails. This area needs LOTS of snow cover, and preferably a good base, and may not be skiable again until we get some more snow.

XC Skiing - Dyken Pond Environmental Education Center

With over 20" of snow falling to our east in parts of Rensselaer County in this last storm, it seemed like a good area close to home to find some nice skiing. First, we drove to Pittstown State Forest, south of NY7 near Pittstown, only to find the parking area unplowed, and snowmobiles being the dominant tracks in the snow. So, we headed a little south to Grafton Lakes State Park, ate lunch in the parking lot, and discovered that today, this too was overrun with the buzzing machines. Then Holly suggested Dyken Pond Environmental Education Center, not far from Grafton, also at high elevation, and usually with some pretty deep snow. It was a good choice!

We pulled into the parking lot about 15 minutes later, to find our friends Roy and Sue also just getting ready to start off. They'd been talking with a staff person about the current state of the trails, many of which had not yet been broken. So the four of us set off following the trails that HAD been broken, and had a very nice outing. The snow was indeed 15-20" deep, soft, and fluffy, though with today's warmer temperatures, we all experienced some stickiness from time to time. We probably skied for about an hour and a half, much of it in deep partially broken snow, on a sunny blue-sky afternoon. That snow will definitely survive any rain that passes through this coming weekend.

Pictures courtesy of Roy, since I forgot my camera... :-(

XC Skiing - Albany Pine Bush Preserve

After driving back from Syracuse this morning, returning from our third straight day of Christmas overindulging, Holly and I got out for a bit of local skiing this afternoon, on the first skiable local snow of the season. We parked at #7 on the map below, near Point of Woods at the end of Washington Avenue Extension, and did the two loops highlighted on the map. The upper loop actually has yellow trail markers, and the trail between the two loops has white ones. The SE corner of the red loop had a challenging twisty downhill to a bridge over a stream, but otherwise, the trails were mostly wide and smooth.



All things considered, the skiing wasn't bad. There was about a foot of snow, but it had been walked on and snowshoed on, in addition to the ski tracks. And with no base, that made it a little thin in spots, with the occasional root showing through. But beggars can't be choosers, and we finally got some snow without driving somewhere for an hour. Too bad we'll be getting rain this coming weekend, and may have to start over.

Walk - Indian Meadows Park

Took a break from Christmas preparations today, and Holly and I went for a brisk walk in Indian Meadows Park in Glenville, before all fa-la-la-la-la breaks loose over the next several days. Several other people were out doing the same thing, despite the cold breeze and lack of winter scenery. Big storm will now miss us on Sunday night, so we'll be driving somewhere for some skiing next week.

Hiking - Taconic Crest Trail

With my back yard looking like this:



and no cross-country skiing to be found anywhere nearby, today I joined a Schenectady Chapter ADK hike on the Taconic Crest Trail, along the ridge that defines the NY/MA border. It's only a little over an hour east of here, but 1,500-2,000 feet higher in elevation. Based on recent reports, we were all expecting a couple inches of snow, and no base except the occasional icy patch. With that in mind, we headed to Petersburg Pass to head south on the trail for 5.2 miles, before dropping off the ridge and retrieving the second car we'd left at Southeast Hollow, 7 total miles from our start.

Well guess what?









IT'S WINTER UP THERE!



We put our snowshoes on at the start, and never took them off. On the ridge, there was about 6-8" of new snow that had just fallen overnight, drifts up to 2 feet, 20 degrees, snow still falling, and a howling wind occasionally causing near-whiteouts. Wow! The trees were beautiful covered in snow, and it was a completely different kind of day than we'd expected. There were the usual first-hike-of-the-winter flubs and should-haves (at least speaking for myself), but we all survived and had a great time.

Geocaching - Tawasentha Town Park

Holly and I took a break from Christmas stuff today and returned to Tawasentha Park in Guilderland to pick off the two geocaches that we had left behind a few weeks ago. The first was in the "Winter Recreation Area", on the east side of NY146, which would be an interesting place to cross-country ski were it not right along the main road. Nice hills and wide trails - may have to give it a try, if we ever get any snow. We found this first cache easily enough, and walked the rest of the loop trail we were on.

The next cache was across NY146 in the "Community Gardens" network of trails, and traffic was heavy, so we decided to use the car instead of attempting to cross the road on foot. This trail crossed a field and entered the woods, continuing along the edge of a steep dropoff to the Normanskill valley below. Not a good ski trail, this one. This second cache was also pretty easy and obvious, and we checked it off as well.

That leaves one multi-cache in Tawasentha where we DNFed Part One last time we were there. Some other time.

XC Skiing - Whiteface Mountain Toll Road

Today, a Schenectady ADK chapter trip was skiing up, and then down, the Whiteface Mountain Memorial Highway, near Lake Placid. The road is closed to traffic in the winter, and provides a great route to to the summit and its awesome views. This is another item that's been on my "bucket list" for many years, and the conditions looked good for today to be the day. It's a long 5-mile slog, continuously uphill about 2,200 feet, to the castle at the end of the road, just below the summit. Then, it's a glorious 5-mile downhill back to the car.



We started in Wilmington at the toll house, where the gate is closed to traffic. Though there was very little snow in Wilmington, there was plenty here as we started up the road. Colorful ice flows covered the rock faces next to the road.



Many open views greeted us along the way, though the wind was blowing pretty hard and the summits were socked in.



The higher we went, the deeper the snow, and the colder the temperatures.



Occasional signs let us know our current elevation. Here, we're at 4,289 feet, with the castle at about 4,500, and the summit at 4,867.



Not long after this picture was taken, we reached a point just below the Wilmington Turn, the higher of the two hairpin turns on the map above. We were already in the clouds, and there would be no views from higher up today. Besides that, the road was getting pretty icy and windblown from here up, even more so than the occasional icy patches farther down. By (mostly) consensus, we decided to turn around and start the run back down the road. We'd covered about 4.5 of the 5 miles to the castle.

Snowplowing, and snowplow-turning, down an 8-9% grade for 4.5 miles is quite an experience. Frequent stops were needed to rest the burning quads, and let the trailing group members catch up. There were also crowds of skiers now ascending the road that we had to work our ways around. And there were icy stretches where we needed to hug the edges of the road to find softer snow. By the time we reached the toll house and the cars, we'd probably climbed for about 3 hours, and the trip down took only about 1 hour.

This was a memorable trip, but a tough one for so early in the ski season. I'm going to be plenty sore tomorrow morning.

Walk - Mohawk River State Park

Still no snow nearby to ski on, though it's all around us if we wanted to drive an hour or so in almost any direction. That didn't appeal today, so since it was sunny and less windy than previous days, Holly and I got out for a walk instead. The Mohawk River State Park, aka "Schenectady Museum Preserve" to anybody who's lived here for any length of time, is along the Mohawk River near Lock 7 in Niskayuna. We used to cross-country ski there a lot, but now it's been taken over by snowshoers and dog walkers, except immediately after a big snowfall, so isn't quite as appealing for skiing anymore. It's still a nice place to get out for a walk, and there are also several geocaches there, most of which we've already found. It was a little brisk today, so we skipped geocaching and just walked for about an hour on some of our favorite trails, picturing them with snow, and wondering when the first big dump will come.

XC Skiing - Clapper Hollow State Forest

Though we only got a dusting of snow overnight here in Schenectady, a lake-effect snow band off of Lake Ontario parked itself overnight in southwestern Schoharie County, with reports of 6-8" of snow on the ground. Ever the optimist, and eager to get back on skis, I headed to Clapper Hollow State Forest, in the middle of that action, and only about an hour from home. We skied there once last year, and the trails are mostly on old roads, so not a lot of snow cover would be needed to make it skiable.

Three trails leave the parking area. I knew that #10 to the right had a long uphill/downhill on it that might not have enough snow to be safe. #1 to the left still looked pretty overgrown and weedy, and not yet flattened out by earlier snows, so I opted for #4. My complete outing is highlighted in red.



It certainly looked and felt like winter here, with the temperature only about 18F, big winds, and blowing snow still falling.



But there were several problems. There's no base, the ground under the snow was not frozen, and there were wet spots, leading to gloppy ski bottoms which then iced up. Once I started up the hill, this was no longer an issue until I returned back down there later. The other problem was insufficient cover under the pines, the dark areas on the map. I was climbing through small rocks and roots, even thought I was on an old road. When I got to the top and looked down the other side at the stuff showing through the minimal snow, I wasn't the least bit interested in attempting that downhill. So I turned around and gingerly headed back down the hill I'd just climbed, much of it having the same problem. I thought I might go back and try #1, which was less piney, so better covered.

Back at the bottom, my skis iced up badly, including some mud, so after just a half-hour of skiing, I decided this just wasn't going to be worth the aggravation. It's an early season lesson to be relearned every year in our eagerness to get out on the snow, and today I learned it for this season.

Geocaching - Indian Kill Preserve

It was a sunny and cool early December day, and since Holly and I both had time on our hands, we got out for a short walk and another geocache. The Indian Kill Preserve is a Schenectady county area in Glenville, with a meandering stream, waterfalls, and many trails. We had already once done one of the two geocaches here, but not the other. Poor satellite coverage kept us walking in circles and just not seeing anything until Holly finally discovered it almost by chance. It's hard to miss an ammo can, but it was even harder today to zero in on the correct location. Once we found it, we continued our walk and explored a trail we'd never followed before before heading home.

Geocaching - Old Maids Woods Preserve

With other things on our plates today, Holly and I got out for a short walk in the Old Maids Woods Preserve, off Schermerhorn Road in Rotterdam. This small and largely forgotten piece of property is owned by the City of Schenectady and managed by the Nature Conservancy. There's a 1-mile loop trail through a very old forest atop a ridge, and a couple of geocaches were there waiting for us.



The first geocache was a micro that has apparently had its share of problems, so we gave up when we didn't find it after some fairly diligent searching. The second was much easier to find, despite the poor satellite reception under the canopy of large hemlocks. The rumble and whistle of a freight train passing just outside the preserve accompanied us on our search.

Geocaching - Ushers Road State Forest

Despite the blustery weather this afternoon, Holly and I got out for a walk involving 3 geocaches in this relatively new state forest near Round Lake. There are actually more than just those 3, but we saved those for another visit. The wind was howling and light snow was blowing around, but we easily found the first two caches we looked for. The last, described as an "easy P&G", took us a little longer, but then the cleverness was detected and we found that one as well. It wasn't a long walk, but it got us outside without driving very far, and it was more fun than biking on the trainer in the basement. Did that this morning - bleccccch.

Geocaching and Letterboxing - Tawasentha Town Park

Tawasentha Town Park, in Guilderland, has many miles of trails in addition to its ball fields, performing arts center, and pool. There are also 5 geocaches and one known letterbox in the park, so today Holly and I set off to see what we could find.

The web page for the letterbox was last updated in 2002, and we failed to find it, either because we missed it somehow, or because things have changed since 2002. We also struck out on part one of the first geocache we tried, a 3-part multi-cache. It had a fairly difficult rating, but was last found about a month ago, so probably shame on us for that one. The next two were easy finds, and then we turned around and headed back to the car, saving the last two, which were still further away, for another day.

It was a sunny day in the 40s, with a bit of a wind, but a nice day to be outside.

Hiking - Bartholomew's Cobble Reservation, MA

Looking for someplace different, and preferably with a view, today Holly and I drove to the southern Berkshires to Bartholomew's Cobble Reservation, a property of "The Trustees of Reservations", a Massachusetts land trust organization. There are 5 miles of trails here, with lots of variety, and we covered 3-4 miles of them in the 2 hours we were out. The highlight is the expansive view from Hurlburt's Hill, an open field on the northern slopes of Miles Mountain, across the MA/CT line and off the property. Click on the picture below to embiggen. That's Race and Everett Mountains at the left of the shot to the northeast and the Housatonic River valley in the center.



Other trails wind along the Housatonic River and over the top of the 100-foot Cobble itself near the visitors center. This place is about 90 minutes from Schenectady, and the spring wildflowers are said to appear in profusion in April, a good time for a return trip.

Walk - Ushers Road State Forest

Rain overnight lingered through the morning, but it looked like there might be a couple of dry hours early this afternoon, and before the high winds arrived later. So Holly and I got out for a short walk in the Ushers Road State Forest, in nearby Clifton Park. This is a small oasis in the middle of civilization, with about 1.75 miles of total trails, but just enough for our purposes.



The northern part of the loop winds through a pretty forest of very large and old hemlocks and white pines, while the southern half is more open. The extension to the northwest was pretty wet today, but we explored it anyway. Since I'm responsible for the map of this area for the next edition of the ECOS "Ski Tips" cross-country ski areas booklet, I needed to field-check things anyway. We got spritzed a couple of times by brief rain showers, but nothing major. It was nice to go someplace so close by where we'd never been before.

Geocaching - Woods Hollow Nature Preserve

Rain was forecast for later in the day, but this morning, though murky, was dry and fairly warm for November. So Holly and I got out for a walk and some geocaching in the Woods Hollow Nature Preserve, near Ballston Spa. There are 3 geocaches here, a 3-part multi-cache and two others. We had found the multi many years ago, but memories fade as we age, so we added it to today's list again. In all, we needed to zero in on five different locations, and we found them all, a better success rate than on many other recent outings. These were all pretty easy, but provided a nice focus for a walk in the woods on another warm November morning.

Walk - Featherstonhaugh State Forest

Finally got the spelling right after all these years - there's no "e" after the "n".

With the moonlight snowshoeing season fast approaching, and with heavy logging still in progress at Featherstonhaugh, I decided to take a walk and see where things stood with the ski trails there. It was a short walk. Things are basically a mess.



I started at the parking space at the low point on Lake Road, and first headed back toward Tidball Road on the ski trail, but didn't get very far before I gave up. That eastern side of the forest is where the main logging focus has been. So I turned around, crossed the ski bridge back near the car, and headed in the other direction. This part of the forest is very wet when not frozen, but I got past that part OK. But then I lost the trail markers altogether, along with any trace of anything like a trail. Parts had been flagged to get around obstacles, but there was no more of that either. With a light drizzle beginning to fall, I admitted defeat and headed back to the car.

I don't think that the eastern side of Lake Road will be the location for this year's moonlight snowshoeing, though this place definitely looks better with a deep coating of snow. We'll have to use the figure-8 trails on the other side of the road.

Hiking - Taconic Crest Trail

Today was to be another rare sunny November day in the upper 50s, a perfect day for a hike. Today I joined a joint ADK/Taconic Hiking Club trip on the Taconic Crest Trail along the NY/MA/VT border. It's an 8.4-mile ridge walk with a lot of up and down, starting up high at Petersburg Pass on NY-2, with a steep 1400-foot descent at the end to the cars we'd left there earlier.

It was a crystal clear day, and we could easily see the Catskills to the SW and Albany to the west from some of the earlier viewpoints.

Next, we came to the Snow Hole, a local attraction. It's a deep fissure in the rocks that usually contains snow all year. The men, or "little boys" as we were called by the women, all scrambled down into the hole and explored its depths.



After another mile or two, we stopped for lunch on the ridge, knowing that the preferred lunch spot, another viewpoint, was still too far off. We reached it just before the steep 1 mile descent back to the cars below. Vermont lay below us, with distant northwestern Massachusetts off to the far right.



We'd covered the 8+ miles in about 5 hours, not a bad pace for a not-so-young group, especially with all of the continual climbing and descending.

Hiking - Mt. Utsayantha and Mine Kill State Park

Today was expected to be sunny and in the mid-40s, a fine November day. So Holly and I headed off to the western Catskills, near Stamford, NY, and climbed little Mount Utsayantha. Actually, at over 3,200 feet, it's not so little in the overall Catskill scheme of things, but it's an easy 1-mile walk up a dirt road, gaining only about 700 feet from the parking area. The road would even be driveable in good conditions, but after the snow of the past day or two, we wouldn't see any people driving it today.



Near the top, there was a nice view off to the east.



Somebody is apostrophe-challenged. This drives me crazy.



It didn't take long to reach the summit, where the views from the fire tower were outstanding. The white building was once an "observatory", not the astronomical kind, but the kind that tourists would flock to in droves for the views. Stamford, 1,400 feet below us, was once quite a popular resort with many big hotels, and the summit of Utsayantha was a major local tourist attraction, now being lovingly restored. The kiosk on the summit tells the whole story.



To the south, we were trying to figure out what summits we were looking at, since we rarely see the Catskills from this angle.



The walk down took even less time, so we stopped on the way home at Mine Kill State Park. It was just too nice a day to quit that early.

Opening the trail register at the trailhead for the Long Path, we found it had an inhabitant. There was quite a nest in here, and this guy wasn't the least bit shy about posing for pictures.



Leaving the Long Path shortly, we followed the yellow trail, a portion of which in winter is the designated "expert" cross-country ski trail. We agreed that it deserved this rating, with a long twisting downhill ending at the Schoharie Reservoir. The dam in the distance maintains this reservoir as part of New York City's water supply, and also provides flood control for the communities downstream. There's also a pumped-storage power generating facility on the opposite shore.



This is a large park, with plenty of trails to explore. We'll probably be back here someday, but now it was time to head home. Darkness comes early now that daylight savings time has ended.

Walk - Christman Sanctuary

With a couple of rainy days coming up, and not feeling especially inspired to bike, I decided to at least get out for a walk. And the Christman Sanctuary, near Duanesburg, is one of my favorite places. Today, the water was low enough that I was able to cross the stream easily and walk the orange loop on the other side of the stream. This gave me a longer walk, and also some scenery other than just the usual cascades and waterfalls.



Most of the leaves were down, creating colorful patterns on the forest floor.



The last hangers-on were the golden beeches and the bright yellow tamaracks.



There was still plenty of green in the more shaded areas, with the ferns and moss growing beneath the tall hemlocks.



Crossing back over the stream at the end of that loop, I visited the main waterfall at the end of the yellow trail, as well as some other pretty cascades along the way.





From there, it was a short walk back to the car. I hadn't seen another soul in the Preserve on a very bright crisp fall day.

Geocaching and Letterboxing - Ballston Lake Bike Path

After some fall yard work at Holly's house, we got out for a short walk on the Ballston Lake Bike Path. There were two new (2010) geocaches and one letterbox within the first mile from Ballston Lake, and we found them all easily. It was a cool, crisp, but sunny afternoon and a nice time to be out. We saw very few other people, just a couple of dog-walkers, and had the path mostly to ourselves.

Trail Maintenance - Northville-Lake Placid Trail

Twice every year, usually in May and October, Holly and I visit our 3-mile adopted section of the Northville-Lake Placid Trail for some routine maintenance. This is our 17th year doing this, and it's generally in pretty good shape. But there are always drainages to be cleared out, encroaching brush to cut back, and the occasional downed tree to try to remove. I usually lead this as a Schenectady Chapter ADK outing, but this fall we were going to be on our own, until a couple of friends volunteered to help us out.

The four of us spent about 4 hours in a cold rain getting the trail in as good shape as we could under the circumstances. It was wetter than any of us had ever seen it, and the current rain wasn't helping. We did what we could, had a quick chilly lunch in the lean-to at Stephens Pond, and then retired to a Stewart's Shop in Indian Lake for hot liquid refreshments. It was a pretty miserable day, but the company was good, and we met our obligation for this fall.

Biking - Indian Ladder Farms and Lunch

Almost 70 degrees. Sunny. October 28. Wow! Despite feeling kinda biked out for this season, this was not a day to be wasted. So I saddled up and headed for lunch at Indian Ladder Farms, a local orchard near Voorheesville. They have a nice cafe with some interesting menu choices, and I can make a fairly easy 30-mile loop stopping there for lunch. The only problem today was the wind, gusting to near 40 mph.



Fortunately, the wind was mostly from the south, and my route took me to the south at first, then west and then north, before turning east for home. So I got the southbound part done just as the wind was picking up, and had the SW winds on the return trip.

I like to route my loops through French's Hollow if I'm headed that way, since it's a very scenic spot. The Normanskill was running high today after all of the rain over the past few days. The dam here is the outlet of Watervliet Reservoir, best seen along US20, and trains are often seen here crossing the trestle.



Continuing south to Voorheesville, I turned west to my lunch spot, where I had a very good wrap and some fresh apple cider. Leaving the farm, the route turned north toward Altamont, with great views of the colorful Helderberg Escarpment towering above.



By now, I'd worked out some of the kinks of this past lazy week, and was feeling pretty good. So I extended the ride just a bit and finally came in with a little over 35 miles. The wind was now blowing hard, and every which way, so it was a good time to be finished. But we may not see another day like this for quite a while, and I was glad I took advantage of it.

Trail Maintenance - Featherstonehaugh State Forest

The Environmental Clearinghouse of Schenectady (ECOS) has a stewardship arrangement with NYSDEC to maintain the cross-country ski trails at Featherstonehaugh State Forest, near Mariaville. Every fall, we go in and cut back brush, blowdown, and undergrowth to get the trails ready for the winter ski season. Today, we had a group of 12-15 people and left the western figure-8 loops in pretty good shape.



The main ski loop, on the other side of the road, is in an area that's currently being heavily logged, and that whole section is quite a mess. It may or may not be skiable this winter.

Biking - A Long Flat River Loop

Today was one more nice day before the rain and cold arrives. I wanted to bike, but needed a reason, and not just another loop to nowhere. I decided to hook up with Holly's biking group, the SOBs (Seniors on Bicycles), which was doing an 18-mile ride on the Erie Canalway Trail between Amsterdam and Auriesville. I would extend that ride by biking from Schenectady to Amsterdam, meeting them at their starting point, and riding back to Schenectady afterwards, making my ride about 50 miles.

The temperature was about 35F when I left Schenectady, and there was no wind whatsoever, making for great riding conditions, with the right layers of course. I attached one rear pannier with an extra layer, and also to use later once I started shedding layers as the temperature approached 60F. I reached Amsterdam in a little over an hour, and the group headed on to a rest stop at Schoharie Crossing. The river was like glass, reflecting the remains of the Schoharie Creek Aqueduct, which once carried the Erie Canal across Schoharie Creek.



A little farther along, Bob and I rode up a short steep hill to the Auriesville Shrine, while the rest of the group turned around and headed directly back to Amsterdam. The parking lot at the shrine provides a great view up the Mohawk River valley.



Leaving the shrine, we stopped at Karen's Produce, where I picked out a pumpkin to stuff in my pannier and take home. On the way back to Amsterdam, we stopped at the dam across from Lock 11 for another photo opportunity.



We caught up with the rest of the group shortly after they'd reached the cars, and then I headed back toward Schenectady. I crossed the NY-30 bridge to cycle on NY-5, making this a loop ride. Shortly after I got going eastward on 5, an annoying easterly headwind appeared, making the last 10 miles a little tougher than I was expecting. Fortunately, it's pretty flat, and I've become used to much worse.

No more riding for a few days, as we turn colder and wetter. I guess it must be almost November.

Biking - Adjustments and a Test Ride

After arriving home from this summer's tour, I'd been having problems with both the rear brake and rear derailleur. Both seemed sticky and sluggish, most likely from the rain, mud, salt, and sand of the past several months. After spending several hours getting everything feeling right again, I got out for a ride this morning to check it all out. Any excuse for a ride! I also needed a little more exercise than yesterday's relatively glacial pace on the Erie Canal historic tour. Despite some swirling winds, I cranked out 16+ miles in slightly under an hour, and the bike now feels great. I was riding harder than I usually do, but with that short a ride, it was good to get something of a workout out of it.

Biking - Local Erie Canal History Ride

Today, the Albany Bicycling Coalition, a local advocacy organization, offered a historical tour of Erie Canal artifacts between downtown Albany, the Canal's original terminus, and Cohoes, about 12 miles to the north. Many of the 18 former locks in this stretch have been nearly lost or forgotten, and the original canal long since paved over. But with a little research, it's possible to find them, and our leader did just that. We probably saw stonework or other evidence from at least 12-14 of these old locks, and many were far off the beaten path and covered with weeds. Others, like Lock 1 in North Albany, have been excavated somewhat and preserved as historic sites. This one was actually a "weigh lock", one of only 3 on the system, where canal boats and their cargoes were weighed to determine the appropriate canal toll.



Continuing northward and passing many of the other 17 locks, we finally arrived in Cohoes, where the falls of the Mohawk River were running high and were spectacular. Click on the picture for a larger image.



After lunch in Waterford, we headed back south, crossing into North Troy and then back into Watervliet, where we joined the Corning Preserve Bike Path along the Hudson River, and back to our starting point. It was an interesting and relaxing way to spend a fine October day.

Biking - Grant Hill Loop

Got all the Delaware sand cleaned off the bike, and headed out for my first ride since returning home. I decided to climb Grant Hill, and see how that felt with new legs and no baggage. The big difference I noticed while riding was that if I gave the pedals a little extra kick, the bike actually accelerated immediately, instead of sluggishly as it did when loaded. I wonder what a 15-pound carbon bike would feel like?

Grant Hill Road seemed like nothing, and I was up it with 3 cogs to spare. Back in June before I left, I'd needed 2 of those cogs to get to the top comfortably with only one to spare.

I didn't extend the ride, because I'm having a few minor rear brake problems I need to address, so headed directly home through French's Hollow, for about 21 miles total. It felt good to be riding on another spectacular fall day, especially with rain coming in for the next few days.

Hiking - Lenox Mountain, Lenox, MA

I'm glad I got home in time to enjoy fall in the northeast. I would have really missed that.



Today, Holly and I climbed a small mountain in the Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, between Pittsfield and Lenox, MA, a short drive from home. There are plenty of trails here, but we chose the "Trail of the Ledges" for its purported views and destination atop Lenox Mountain. On the way up, we came to the aptly named "Farviews" viewpoint.



Continuing on to the summit, at 2,126 feet, we had great views to the west and northwest, with Richmond Pond directly below.



A family we met on the summit told us about another viewpoint a little further north on the ridge, so we spent the 15-20 minutes to take that one in as well. That's Mt. Greylock in the center, and Pittsfield to its right.



Descending, we followed the Overbrook and Bluebird Trails back to the car. There were many small waterfalls as we descended back to the valley, as well as some very large white pines. We probably covered about 4 miles total on a beautiful October afternoon.