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.