April 13-19 - Hiking, Tourism - Trip to Virginia

A son of Holly's longtime friend Ann was getting married on Saturday, April 18, in suburban Washington, DC, so we decided to make a vacation of the trip. We drove to Winchester, VA, on Monday, the 13th, and stayed in a B&B there.

Since Tuesday was cool and drizzly, we visited the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley in Winchester. It's a regional culture and history museum, and this visit set the stage for the rest of our week. We next headed south for Lexington, VA, stopping first at Shenandoah Caverns, another good rainy-day diversion.



We decided to stay two nights in Lexington, and use it as a base for exploration of the area. Lexington is the home of VMI and Washington & Lee University, and is a charming town.

Wednesday was still a bit gloomy and not a good day for any high-elevation exploring, as we confirmed by a short drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Many of the mountains, and even the Parkway itself, were shrouded in fog, but the views we did have were interesting for just that reason.



We continued on to Crabtree Falls, reputedly the highest waterfall east of the Mississippi. It's actually a series of 5 major waterfalls and many intervening cascades, with a switchbacked trail from the bottom to the top that gains 1380 feet in 2 miles. Up and back, it was enough of a hike for this day.





We got back to Lexington fairly early, so we visited some local historic sites, including Lee Chapel, on the campus of Washington and Lee.

Thursday dawned clear and bright, with warmer temperatures and lots of sun expected. We headed south from Lexington, toward Natural Bridge, an overpriced tacky tourist attraction with many tour buses. We would skip it, but on the way, we stopped at Foamhenge, a full-scale Styrofoam replica of the original in England. Needless to say, it was a strange sight.



It was a gorgeous day for a hike, but there are very few "destination" hikes in this area. Most are either access trails to the AT or old logging roads. We chose a short hike to the Devil's Marbleyard, a mountainside pile of marble blocks, many the size of cars. Scrambling out into the boulders provided some very nice views of the valley below.



In the afternoon, we headed up to the Blue Ridge Parkway again, and started the long drive north to Skyland Resort, on Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park. We had reservations for the night (at early bird rates!!), and it was about 100 miles away at 35-40 mph. There would be many superb views along the way, so many that not all were even deemed photo-worthy.



Nearly all rooms at Skyland overlook the Shenandoah Valley far below to the west, and ours was no exception. We watched the sun set from a window-side table at the restaurant, and settled in for a cool night.

Friday was another beautiful day, and we planned to climb Hawksbill, at 4050 feet the highest summit in the Park.



The most direct route was less than a mile, with only about 700 feet of climbing, and we did it in less than an hour. The views from the summit were almost 360 degrees. The shot below is away from the morning sun toward the Shenandoah Valley to the west. Skyland is located on the ridge at the right of the picture.



After the hike, we continued north to the end of Skyline Drive, stopping for lunch along the way. Now it was time to leave the mountains and head for the Washington area. After a stop for ice cream in Front Royal, we started the drive east. Since we still had extra time before our evening commitment, we made a brief stop at Manassas Battlefield and walked around a little there. It was too nice an afternoon to pass it in a hotel room.

On Saturday, since the wedding wasn't until evening, we had brunch with my daughter who lives in DC, and then all visited the National Arboretum. We were a few weeks too early for the hundreds of azaleas to be in bloom, but it was a nice place to walk around, and then drive to some of its farther reaches.

Finally, Sunday was the long drive home, 8 hours with very few stops, but some of which included the usual Pennsylvania interstate construction zones and their heavy stop-and-go traffic. Now it's time to get back to normal and enjoy springtime all over again if it ever reaches our area.

Biking - Mohawk River Loop

This always seems to be my bread-and-butter ride, when I don't have the time or inclination to do anything bigger or farther away. It was another sunny day in the 50s, and it begged to be enjoyed.



I started and finished at Schenectady County Community College, at the lower right, riding clockwise. I followed the Mohawk River Bike Path west to its intersection with NY5S, rode that until I reached the NY103 bridge over the Mohawk River at NYS Barge Canal Lock 9, and then picked up NY5 back to the start, passing through downtown Scotia. It's a relatively flat ride of 14.5 miles, with less than 400 feet of total climbing, but the wind is normally a factor in one direction or the other. Today, there was no wind, and I cranked along at a pretty good clip, much faster than the longer slower rides I've been doing lately.

Biking - Clifton Park to Saratoga

This was almost a carbon copy of our trip a week or two ago, except that the temperatures were significantly warmer. It was almost 50F at 10am when we started, so excess layers were shed in advance and left in the cars. After a leisurely ramble up to Saratoga Spa State Park, and an equally leisurely lunch at a sunny picnic table, we headed back to Clifton Park. By now, the wind had come up, and was gusting strongly from the southwest, mostly in our faces. We found ourselves adding back a layer, then taking them off again after a hill or two warmed us up. We took a slightly different route back through Ballston Spa, stopping at a streamside park there, then finished the 41 miles in heavy afternoon traffic as schools were letting out.

Biking - Rotterdam to Schoharie Crossing

Today's weather was promising sunny skies, temps near 50, but punishing westerly winds. So we all decided it was a perfect day to head 17 miles west, into the wind, to Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site, following the Mohawk River Bike Path, also known as part of the Erie Canalway Trail. As we left Rotterdam, temps were in the low 40s, there were spits of drizzle, and winds were gusting over 30mph in our faces. This would be a character builder of a ride, or at least the first half would. The ride home, with a tailwind, would seem effortless.

We battled the wind through Rotterdam Junction, and then along NY5S up the Mohawk Valley, where the wind was really ripping. Once we got to Amsterdam, we were back on the bike path again, and were somewhat more sheltered. Reaching Schoharie Crossing, we headed for Karen's Produce and Ice Cream Stand, which turned out to not yet be open for the season. Seeking a sheltered lunch spot, we next made a beeline for the park's visitor center, which was also closed. Improvising, we unstacked a picnic table and moved it to the downwind side of a small barn, where we had a pleasant lunch. Then the real fun began. Heading back the way we came, the big wind was now behind us, and we struggled no more. Even the mild uphills were easy cruising. By the time we reached the cars, the sun was out, the winds had abated somewhat, and we had covered 35+ miles. Not the best of days for a ride, but this group is hard-core, and we all had a good time.

Biking - Mohawk River Bike Path

Another ride today with the same Taconic Hiking Club friends. The day started out foggy and cool, but later warmed into the 60s with lots of sun. We started at the old Niskayuna Train Station and headed west, through the city of Schenectady, and ended at the Rotterdam Kiwanis Park, about 16 miles away. We enjoyed lunch there at a sunny picnic table overlooking the river, and then returned via the same route, for just under 33 miles. The bike path is now definitely open for business, and that allows access to a lot of good riding to the west, where the bike path is effectively the only good way to get beyond I-890.

Evening Walk - Woodcock and Peepers

Holly and some of her friends from church were doing an evening walk tonight along the Niskayuna Bike Path to watch for woodcock in their spring mating displays and listen to spring peepers. It was a cool, clear, moonlit evening, and it seemed like a good idea, so I tagged along.

We started hearing the woodcock's odd buzzing sounds almost immediately, but they were on the ground at that point, and we couldn't see them in the underbrush. They weren't yet flying, so we headed down to the marshy area near the bike path to listen to the peepers first instead. They were very loud, and sounded just like the second sound byte on that page linked above. It was getting darker, so we headed back up the hill to try and see the woodcocks do their thing. We heard numerous twittering sounds of the birds in flight, but couldn't pick them out as they rose against the darkening sky. As we neared the cars, stars were increasingly appearing, and we picked out some of the more well-known constellations, as well as Saturn. Some of us even caught a glimpse of a meteor or two.

I'm starting to believe that spring may really be here.

Biking - Clifton Park to Saratoga

The same group of friends who rode last week was getting together for an unofficial ride today, another nice sunny day in the 50s. Since the rest of the week looks like rain, it seemed like a good opportunity. We started in Clifton Park and followed back roads to Saratoga Spa State Park, about 20 miles to the north. After a sunny lunch break at the warming hut there, we turned around and came back to Clifton Park via a slightly different route. These are very relaxed rides on roads that are nearly devoid of hills, so it was just another pleasant outing, adding 40 miles to my odometer for the year.

Biking - Burnt Hills

First a maintenance update: I trued the rear wheel as best I could, but it's still not perfect. The freehub still doesn't rotate as freely as it should, and I now suspect a bent dust cup that's dragging. It's better than it was, so I think I'll just let it go. The rear brakes are kinda spongy, probably a cable issue, but nothing changed after I tried to improve it. They're usable and safe, so no big deal there either. Will attack these later if necessary - need to start riding.

Holly's hosting the first Schenectady Wintersports Club bike ride of the season in early May, and we wanted to reconnoiter one of the routes. There's always been a nasty dog at the corner of Lasher and Sweetman Roads, and we needed to see if it was still going to be an issue this year, meaning a change to the route.

We rode from Holly's house, across Jenkins Road to Hop City Road, and then north to Randall Road, which changes to Lasher at the town line. When we got to the corner in question, there was indeed a dog, but a very calm and curious one, not the beasty mongrel from years past. It just meandered around in the road as we passed by and gave us no trouble. Good news! We returned down Sweetman to Jenkins and back to Holly's house for a relaxed 11.68 miles. Gotta kick this miserable cold and start getting in some real miles now that nice weather appears to be here to stay. (?)

Biking - Clifton Park, Jonesville, Malta

Some friends from the Taconic Hiking Club were doing a leisurely bike ride today, so I decided to join them. These rides are usually in the 25-40 mile range, with a lunch stop somewhere in the middle, usually at a Stewart's Shop, which are pretty ubiquitous around here.

I finished the winter maintenance on the Trek 520 yesterday, and today would be the test ride - fingers crossed for no major issues! It was a sunny day, and temps were in the 30s when we started, reaching the mid 50s by early afternoon. The route was fairly flat overall, and we just had a meandering chatty ride. The only minor issues with the bike were a slight rear wheel wobble (needs truing), and a slack chain when backpedaling in higher gear ratios. Not sure about that one, but will lube the derailleur and maybe loosen the torque on the cassette lockring. All told, the bike performed very well, and it was a good ride, with little traffic and good conversation. We covered 28.48 miles in about 4 hours, including a relaxed lunch break.

Geocaching - Niskayuna Bike Path

It's a cool but sunny day, and both Holly and I had other things to do, so we got out for a short walk on the bike path this afternoon. I dug out a geocache from the pile of ones we had tried once and failed and saved for another time, and this time we went right to it. The difference from the first attempt involved using true vs. magnetic bearings (which was not specified, and a little unusual), and avoiding some other incorrect assumptions we had made on the first try. It was pretty muddy in the woods off the path, so after finding it, we just headed back to the car after about an hour outside. Now finishing up some winter bike maintenance to get out on a ride tomorrow.

Hiking, Snowshoeing - Wright Peak

At 4587 feet, Wright Peak is the 16th highest of the Adirondack High Peaks. I had last visited Wright in 1991, so when my youngest brother Bob and his friends Peter and Matt suggested a winter ascent, I was more than ready to get up there again.

The total climb is about 7 round-trip miles and 2400 feet from the Adirondack Loj trailhead. When my friend Phil and I turned off NY73 onto the Loj road, we knew it was going to be a good day. The sun was just reaching the tops of the peaks and there was not a cloud in the sky. That's Algonquin covered in white, with Wright just below it and to the left.



The first mile or two of the heavily trodden trunk trail toward both Marcy Dam and Algonquin alternated between glare ice and bare ground, making snowshoes impossible. Phil and I had traction gear, but the others had to bare-boot it as best they could. The lesson was learned, and micro-spikes are now on their to-buy lists. Eventually, the snow depth increased, but with temps in the teens to low 20s, it was still very firm and snowshoes weren't necessary. One described it as being almost a "paved trail", and it was very easy walking, aside from the steepness.

Just before the junction with the side trail to Wright, there was a 20-foot-high rock covered with smooth flow ice, and at that point, everyone changed footgear. I went with full-boot crampons, and the others all added snowshoes with crampons underfoot. We bushwhacked around the obstacle and continued on to the Wright trail junction.

Up to this point, the climbing had been steep and relentless, and then the Wright side trail climbs 600 feet in less than a half mile. About halfway up, we reached treeline, and there was nothing but open rock the rest of the way. The footgear came off, and we began the steep climb up the summit rocks. As we followed the rock cairns marking the way, Algonquin seemed so close we could reach out and touch it, and we could see climbers ascending and descending its snow-covered slopes.



Soon we reached the summit, and were treated to a 360-degree view. Temps were around 30F with only a light wind, much more pleasant than we expected, and we took a leisurely lunch break while enjoying the views. Click here to embiggen the panorama below and see the labelled peaks in the distance.



Just below the summit, there is a plaque honoring the airmen killed when their B-47 crashed into Wright's summit in 1962. We found the plaque and some remnants of the aircraft that are still scattered all over the north side of the mountain.



Soon we started feeling chilled and reluctantly headed down. The descent, as always, went much more quickly, though we still had to be careful on the steep trail. We met numerous parties on their way in as we headed out, and it seemed a little late in the day for many of them to be getting started. Ah, youth - they were probably moving faster than we were. We got back to the parking area around 7 hours after we started, and that seemed plenty fast enough. Any time I can be home for dinner after climbing a High Peak is a pretty good day.

Hiking, Snowshoeing - Good Luck Mountain

The string of beautiful spring-like weather continues, so today, we headed for Good Luck Mountain, in southern Hamilton County. This short climb has some wonderful open cliffs on top that provide great views for the effort. Once again, it was sunny and in the low 50s, and a very nice day to be out.

We left NY10 and started walking along a marked snowmobile trail until we reached this trail junction with a register. We were in the Ferris Lake Wild Forest management unit of the Adirondack Forest Preserve.



We continued to follow the snowmobile trail, which was well-packed and easy to walk on with snowshoes, despite the 2-3 feet of snow still in the woods. Near the point where we were to leave the trail, we reached Good Luck Lake. We've paddled here at least once every summer, and it's also good swimming, but we'd never visited in winter before.



Now we left the snowmobile trail and began a steady, and sometimes steep, climb below the icy cliff face.



As we stood below the cliffs, we could see the lake below.



Turning upward again, the cliffs, and our destination, towered above us. We would skirt the cliffs to the left, and climb steeply around them to the summit. This section was made more "interesting" by the numerous post-holes left by some idiot(s) who had decided that snowshoes were not necessary. We took some satisfaction in knowing that their ascent and descent must have been a bit miserable.



The view from the cliffs is mostly to the west. Spectacle Lake is the most prominent feature in the distance.



After a pleasant lunch break atop the cliffs, we headed back down the steep section to the valley, and back to the car along the snowmobile trail. An ice cream stop in Johnstown made the day complete.

Hiking, Snowshoeing - Taconic Crest Trail

Today was a twice-rescheduled Schenectady ADK hike on another section of the Taconic Crest Trail, in pursuit of the winter patch offered by the Taconic Hiking Club. The section we did today was about 7 miles long, with 1859' of cumulative elevation gain, and over 2500' of cumulative elevation loss. We started atop the ridge at Petersburg Pass, and headed south to descend via the Southeast Hollow Access Trail, where we had pre-positioned a car. Along the way, we would cross 2 major summits and numerous other "bumps" along the ridge. There was still close to a foot of snow on the northern slopes, while other areas had no snow at all. It was a beautiful sunny day in the 50s.

Our first stop was Mount Raimer, former site of the Taconic Trails Ski Area, long since closed. Details about that area and many others are available at the New England Lost Ski Areas Project web site. Remnants of the old ski lift and trails are still visible, and there's a nice view toward the northern Taconics.



Descending one of the old ski trails, we headed for Berlin Pass.



Just before reaching the pass, there's a nice view of Berlin Mountain across the pass. That would be our lunch stop.



The summit of Berlin Mountain once had a fire tower, and is now a wide open meadow with near-360-degree views. At 2798', it's the highest point on the trail and also in Rensselaer County, NY. To the east is the massive ridge of Mount Greylock (3491'), the highest point in the state of Massachusetts.



Leaving Berlin Mountain, the trail crosses to the Massachusetts side of the ridge, and remains there until the descent into Southeast Hollow, back on the New York side. The trail passes through a dense pine forest and crosses several more "bumps" before reaching that descent.



The descent drops almost 900' in under 2 miles, following a stream down the Hollow. It had been a long day, and we were all happy to see the car.

Biking - Burnt Hills

Yesterday was my first ride of the season, and today Holly wanted to get out for hers. So I loaded up the old bike and drove to Burnt Hills for a short relaxed ride on the good roads there. After yesterday's 15mph outing, today's 10mph was pretty casual, but I pushed a big gear on the minor hills to squeeze a little more out of it. We did a little over 9 miles, and remarked on how many people had come out of their houses to enjoy the beautiful weather. We saw runners, bikers, dog walkers, yard workers, and others just standing around chatting with neighbors. It really feels like spring has sprung. Stay tuned as I'm proven wrong... :-}

Biking - Season Opener!

We're in for a string of nice weather, with mostly sunny skies and temps in the 50s. With skiing on the wane, it's time to get out on the bike. I did a bunch of yard cleanup in the morning and early afternoon, saving the warmer late afternoon for a ride.

My good bike, a 2005 Trek 520, is currently in pieces in the basement:



With the good winter we've had, I've been too busy having fun to put in the bike maintenance time that I usually do in the winter, so now is the time. Of course, that only makes me want to get out and ride even more. So, today, I got out the old 1973 Gitane French 10-speed and took it out for a ride.



I've maintained it well over the years (decades!), and it's still a sweet ride. Before I retired a year or so ago, this was my commuter, and it's still like an old friend.

I did a 13.35-mile loop from my front door, going out Kings Road to Old State Road, and returning via Lydius Street to Hamburg and home. Temps were in the mid 40s, but it was very comfortable for riding, with only a light wind. There's no excuse for not doing more of this now that the nice weather is (temporarily?) here.

Vermont Getaway - XC Skiing/ Snowshoeing

Every year, we try to get away for a few days to southern Vermont for some XC skiing. For many years now we've been staying at the Landgrove Inn, an old Vermont inn in the literal middle of nowhere. It has lots of charm, the meals are wonderful, and there are ski trails practically out the front door.

We drove to Vermont yesterday, and first stopped at the Viking Nordic Center in Londonderry. We've been skiing there on these getaways for about 15 years now, and it's one of our favorite places to ski. Unfortunately, this year, we caught the tail end of the snow season, and had just missed some heavy rain and high winds by a day or two. The snow was like concrete, and there was lots of debris still being removed from the trails. It didn't sound good, so we skipped it this year. Instead, we stopped for lunch at the Garden Cafe's health food deli in town and had a hearty lunch of soup and sandwiches.

We decided to ski on the Inn's trails (free to guests) and see just how bad things really were. The snow was hard and fast, and the chilly wind was howling across the open fields. Fortunately some limited grooming had been done earlier in the day, and all trails were skiable, if barely. After about an hour or so of this, having skied the entire network, we drove to Hapgood Pond Recreation Area in nearby Peru and snowshoed around the pond there. The snow was much better for snowshoeing than for the skiing we did earlier. After a delicious dinner at the Inn, we read for awhile until our eyes were closing, and then it was early to sleep.

Today, we headed over to Wild Wings XC Center, also near Peru. This place reminds me a lot of ski touring centers back in the 1970s when I started, and, in fact, has been family-owned and operated ever since that time, over 30 years ago. It's definitely a no-frills non-glitzy kind of place, and only classic skiing is allowed. No getting run over by lycra-clad skaters here! The grooming was very good, given the type of snow they had to work with, and we skied all of the easier greens and a couple of the blues. The snow was faster than usual, so that was as tough as we wanted to try. It was a good workout before heading home.



No trip to that area would be complete without a trip to the Vermont Country Store in Weston. As much as I hate to shop, we always stop here and browse for an hour or so. Their merchandise includes lots of hard-to-find items, and it's actually fun to look around. After a quick lunch at the Bryant House Restaurant on the premises, we headed home to recuperate from all the exercise of the past two days.

Walk - Mohawk River Bike Path.

Just a casual stroll, actually. Today's rain ended earlier than expected, and the afternoon became partly sunny and over 50F, so I needed to get out and do something. I always get overly optimistic and impatient this time of year about getting back on the bike, so I decided to check out the condition of the bike path. It's not quite ready for prime time yet, with lots of icy patches and miscellaneous twiggy winter debris.



When I got to Lock 8, after about a mile, the remnants of the 5-mile-long ice jam of a few days ago were everywhere to be seen. The Mohawk River was still running fast and high, but a good 7-8 feet lower today than at its earlier crest, leaving ice blocks stranded high and dry. Some of these were as big as cars, like the one in the lower right picture below. For scale, the slab in the foreground in that shot is about a foot thick, as were most of the others.





So, no biking out there for a while yet, but spring will be here soon. Of course, now is also probably about the time for an aggravating late winter storm.

Hiking, Snowshoeing - Jockeybush Lake

Any snow within a reasonable drive at this point is deep but not especially skiable, so we decided on a snowshoe outing instead. Jockeybush Lake is off NY10 north of Pine Lake, NY, in the Town of Arietta.



It's about a 1.1-mile uphill walk to the lake, following its very nice outlet stream all the way from the car.



Today, that stream was really running with snowmelt, given all the warm temperatures and rain we've had lately. We were unable to cross the stream every time the trail did, so we bushwhacked all the way to the lake along the north bank. The snow was over a foot deep, with an unpredictable crust near the top and soft mushy snow underneath, so it was fairly hard work breaking trail. Along the way, we came upon this waterfall (which the camera messed up the coloring of, so it's in B&W), and had to find a route around it.



We reached the lake in a little over an hour, and just relaxed and enjoyed the above-freezing temperatures. It really feels like spring has (almost) arrived, but I'm sure we're not finished with winter yet.



The walk back to the car was much easier, as we retraced our steps on the now-broken trail. Big rain tonight and tomorrow, and then it's off to Vermont for a couple of days of skiing. With any luck, there will still be some OK snow further north and east.

Geocaching - Guilderland/Rotterdam

Several weeks ago, we went looking for some local geocaches, mostly without success. Today was another partly sunny day in the 50s, so we decided to try again, this time with a list of 3. At the first stop, there were muggles about, so we moved on to the second. We found this one immediately, signed in, and moved on to the third. This one is still problematic, as it was on our last attempt. There is a large pile of rocks with WAAAAY too many possible nooks and crannies, even after narrowing down the location. After chatting with some friendly dog-walking muggles, we gave up and just went for a walk in the park instead. On the way home, we stopped at #1 again, and nobody was in the area. We made a beeline to the "part 1" we had found weeks ago, looked at it more closely, and found the clue to head for part 2, which we then found. So it was 2 out of 3 this time, and we've about given up hope on that other one.

Hiking/Snowshoeing - Taconic Crest Trail

Today, I led another Schenectady ADK hike to a section of the Taconic Crest Trail. Several of us are pursuing a patch from the Taconic Hiking Club for completion of all trail sections in calendar winter.

Today's section was about 5.5 miles from Tower Mountain Road north to Potter Mountain Road, off NY/MA43 near Hancock, MA. Today's hike was entirely in Massachusetts, though other sections of the trail meander back and forth across the state line as they follow the ridge top.

The snow on the ridge was 8-12" deep, and soft, mushy, and wet. It was like breaking trail in mashed potatoes, and provided a fairly strenuous outing. On the positive side, temps were near 50F with a light wind and lots of sun, so it was a beautiful spring-like day to be out. We found a nice dry picnic table overlooking Berry Pond in the Pittsfield State Forest, and stopped there for lunch before continuing north. There is a lot of up and down on this ridge, and the ups were especially tough given the snow conditions and the unbroken trail. It took us about 5 hours to cover the 5.5 miles, and we'd all had enough when we reached the pre-positioned car on Potter Mountain Road.

Unfortunately, I had packed my camera with dead batteries, so no pics for this outing. Stupid.

XC Skiing - Prospect Mountain, VT

While I was out of town last weekend, we had a big meltdown locally, and the next few days are expected to be in the 50s. No local skiing whatsoever at this point. So we headed off to Bennington, VT, only about an hour away, to Prospect Mountain, a former downhill ski area long since converted to a cross-country center. The higher elevations of southern Vermont have seen several major snow dumps late this season, and Prospect still has 2-3 feet on the ground. The $18 trail fee is a little steep, but right now, it's the only game not exactly in town, but at least relatively near home.

The lodge at Prospect has some very good lunch offerings, especially their chili, so we stopped there for a hearty lunch before heading out. The trails were nicely groomed and tracks set, with enough loose snow to allow good control. The snow was soft and mushy, with temps in the mid-40s, so controlling speed was hardly an issue anyway. We spent a little under 2 hours skiing some of our favorite trails before heading home to blackened snow piles and brown grass.

Snowpack Monitoring - Albany Pine Bush Preserve

Today was the day of my biweekly volunteer snowpack monitoring in the Albany Pine Bush. I spent about 45 minutes walking around to about 60 snow stakes and logging the snow depth. Today's depth varied from 0" to about 8", depending on location, the deeper snow being on north-facing slopes or in shade. Snowshoes were superfluous this time out. The weather today was springlike, about 35F with a light wind. There won't be too many more of these, unless we get some more significant snowfall. Most of the stakes had less than an inch of snow left, if any at all.

XC Skiing - Hopkins Memorial Forest, Williamstown, MA

With no local snow, we headed to Massachusetts to the Hopkins Memorial Forest, owned and managed for recreation and research by Williams College. We had read on a friend's blog that he had skied there a couple of days earlier, and found 8" of fresh powder on a firm base. So off we went, and it was only a 45-minute drive.



We parked at the entrance and walked past the Rosenberg Center (RC) at the lower right, where we put on our skis and started up the Lower Loop Trail (LL). It makes a figure-8 with the Upper Loop Trail (UL), and that's what we did, for a total of 4.1 miles. The interesting thing about this place is that the entire first half of the trip is almost all uphill, climbing toward the Taconic Ridge to the west.



At the top of the Upper Loop, we turned around and came downhill all the way back to the start.



It was a beautiful spring-like day, sunny with temps around 40, and the recent snow was soft and mushy. That definitely kept our speed down on the return, which was probably a good thing. Some of those downhills would have been a little "interesting" on faster snow.

XC Skiing - Featherstonehaugh State Forest

Next week I have another Schenectady ADK Full-Moon Snowshoe Outing on the calendar, so I needed to get out and take a look at the progress of the logging operation at Featherstonehaugh. The news is not good. The hashed area below is now impacted to some degree by downed trees, skid roads, and general mess. That lines up pretty well with the map of the two stands whose timber was sold, so that should be about the extent of the logged area.



I originally parked at the corner of Tidball and Lake, at the middle (P) on the map, to follow the unofficial "purple duct tape" trail into the ski trail. This quickly became less than desirable, so I went back to the car and drove up to the ski trail entrance at the SE corner of the forest. That entrance is now also fully involved in the logging operation as a secondary staging area. So, I next moved the car to the junction of Hardin Road, at the left center of the map, and skied in the loops on the other side of Lake Road to the road crossing. From there, I went both ways along the trail until I ran into more mess. With chainsaw and skidder noise in the near distance, I saw no point in continuing, so headed back out.

To make it "interesting", I decided to bushwhack through the trailless western part of the forest back to the car. I'd always wondered why no trails had been laid out in that area. Now I know. It's extremely thick and thorny, and was one hell of a nasty bushwhack, especially on skis. I finally popped out on Lake Road south of the car and skied north along it back to Hardin Road.

If we get a clear night next week, it looks like we'll be snowshoeing on the west side of the road. I'm officially finished with the torn up eastern half for this season.

XC Skiing - Schenectady County Forest

This was a regularly scheduled Tuesday morning ECOS ski trip, and today they decided to go someplace local. The hills in the western part of Schenectady County got a few inches of new snow over the past few days, though most of it came down sideways in high winds. The County Forest and Featherstonehaugh State Forest are less than 30 minutes from town, so it seemed worth a try.

We first did a loop around the County Forest, which has very limited trails. The snow was OK, but the trails were bumpy with some downed trees and washouts. The advantage was that it was very close to home.


Then some of us went back to the cars and drove a short distance to Featherstonehaugh SF, and did another loop or two there. Altogether, we were out for almost 2 hours on a bright but windy and cold morning.

XC Skiing - Rockwood State Forest

Today, I was scheduled to lead a cross-country ski outing to Rockwood SF for Schenectady ADK. Our snow situation here in Schenectady is pretty sad right now, the 2" of wet sloppy stuff we got last week melting almost before the next day was over. But by all reports, Rockwood, at 1200 feet and closer to the lake-effect belts, got 5-7" of new snow over the past few days. So we decided to give it a try. Five of us drove for an hour, pulled into the unplowed parking lot, and stepped out into 6" of fresh powder. Good decision!



I seem to be saying this a lot lately, but this was certainly some of the best skiing of the year. For experience/confidence reasons, we split into 2 groups and went via different routes, meeting up at a designated time. As it turned out, we all wound up doing almost the same route, but with different beginnings and endings, depending on the hills desired. All told, we skied for about two-and-a-half hours, and were amazed at the difference between Rockwood and home.

Here's the group, in the waning sunlight:



Standing are Holly, Barbara, and Mary. Randolph and I reached the meeting point early, so he decided it was time for his afternoon nap.

Snowpack Monitoring - Albany Pine Bush

Today was the day of my biweekly volunteer snowpack monitoring in the Albany Pine Bush. After the big meltdown of last week, today's depth varied from 1" to about 9", depending on location. I didn't bother with snowshoes, since mostly the snow was in the 2-3" range, most of that being last night's sloppy wet mess, with lots of grass showing through. The weather today was comfortable, about 35F with a light wind. I finished the whole thing in about 45 minutes.

Geocaching - Local Parks

Not enough snow here to do anything with, so today we went looking for a couple of geocaches. First, there were two in a town park in Guilderland. We found the first one easily, but the second one was in a rockpile that still had two much plowed snow piled on top of it, so we saved that one for another time. Then we drove to a town park in Rotterdam. This one was a tricky multi-cache, and I think we really found part one, though at the time we thought something was missing and prevented us from continuing. We'll need to revisit that one as well.

It was a brillliant sunny afternoon, and at least we got out for a walk. Looks like another sloppy mess coming in for later in the week, so still no local snow fun for a while.

Hiking, Snowshoeing - Balsam Lake Mountain

At 3723', Balsam Lake Mountain is the 17th highest of New York's Catskill Mountains. Since the trail starts at 2600' and follows the old fire observer's road to the summit, it's a fairly gradual 1100' gain over three miles.

I tagged along on a Schenectady ADK outing today to Balsam Lake, and it was even easier than we expected. The trail was well-packed, temperatures were in the lower 20s, and skies were a brilliant blue. It took us a little over 2 hours to reach the summit and its fire tower.



The summit clearing is surrounded by trees, and there is no view without climbing the tower steps. The cabin on top is locked, but the views from the highest landing were excellent today, with numerous other Catskill peaks visible in many directions. It was also extremely windy up there, so I didn't tarry long. The best views were directly into the sun, so any pictures would have dubious success, but the twin balsam covered peaks of Doubletop (3860') can be seen in this shot.



After eating a quick lunch, we headed down and back to the cars, taking only a little over an hour, and started on the long-ish drive home.

XC Skiing - Woodford State Park, VT

After this past week, we have ugly grey snow that you can walk on top of, and lots of grass showing through. We had planned a snowshoe outing today, somewhere farther north on better snow, but then I heard the news. The higher elevations of the Green Mountains in southern Vermont got 8-10" of new snow as we were getting rain in the valley. And since Woodford State Park is only a little over an hour away, we changed plans and went skiing instead. And it was the right decision!



The new snow amounts were a little less than expected, maybe 6", but this was on top of a very deep and firm base. The backcountry trail around the reservoir had been skied by someone who started out counter-clockwise, but turned around and returned the same way. Breaking trail beyond that point was no problem at all.



The woods were beautiful, and the skiing was some of the best we've had anywhere this year. We especially enjoyed some of the snowy tunnels through the pines along the western side of the reservoir.



Reaching the campground on the eastern side of the reservoir, we skied out on the campground road. No motor vehicles are allowed in the park in winter, so the roads are unplowed and very nice to ski on. We met several other groups coming in as we headed out, on a splendid sunny Vermont afternoon.

XC Skiing, Snowshoeing - Rockwood State Forest

No new snow lately, and some warm temperatures and rain instead, so we decided to brave the "40% chance of light rain" forecast and head back to Rockwood in hopes of some decent skiing. We didn't have high hopes, and even took snowshoes along just in case, but were somewhat pleasantly surprised. The trails in the western half of the forest had been "groomed", in a manner of speaking, presumably by Fulton County, who used to do this pretty regularly. Their grooming involves dragging a sled behind a snowmobile and breaking up the surface, but not setting any tracks. At least it leaves the forest roads about 8' wide and fairly skiable, despite the recent crustiness.



A fairly new sign at the trail register indicates that some trails are groomed and others offer backcountry skiing. We stayed on the groomed trails today, skiing for about an hour on the outermost loop. The downhills on that loop are normally somewhat challenging, but today they were downright fast. There was just enough loose snow to provide some feeling of control, but it was loose granular and very slick.

When we got back to the car, we decided to snowshoe for a bit on the north side of NY29, just across from the parking area. The map shows marked ski trails in that area as well, though we'd never explored them before. They don't offer any loop opportunites, and leave the skier stranded somewhere down the road on either NY29 or NY10A where they emerge. After about another half hour of snowshoeing, we'd had enough for one day and headed home.

XC Skiing - Stony Pond Trail

The trailhead to Stony Pond is northwest of Minerva, NY, on NY28N. It's about a 2-mile ski into the pond and its leanto, and another mile to Little Sherman and Big Sherman Ponds from there.



The snow was deep and powdery, but the trail was well-packed, and it took us just under an hour to ski the generally uphill but rolling route to the pond. All brook crossings were both frozen and buried, so it was never a problem getting across them.



At the leanto, we met "Bernie's Yurt People", a group of 10 who had come in from the other direction and had skied/snowshoed across the pond to the leanto. They were staying in rented yurts at the southern end of the trail, about 4 miles beyond the leanto and beyond the other two ponds. We started off across the pond in that direction, hoping to get to Little Sherman Pond.



At the south end of Stony Pond, there was a steep section up from Stony and down to Little Sherman, so we stopped at that point and had lunch before heading back across the pond to the leanto.



On our way out, there were many interesting downhill runs. We met two other groups, one on skis headed in, and another on snowshoes headed back out. In that second group were our friends John and Mike, a father/son team who had often helped us in the past with our annual trail maintenance. It was a popular trail today, and a small world!

All told, we skied about 5 miles on one of the warmer days we've seen of late.

Snowpack Monitoring, Snowshoeing - Albany Pine Bush

Today was the day of my volunteer snowpack monitoring in the Albany Pine Bush. My day comes up every two weeks, and I spend an hour snowshoeing around to about 60 snow stakes and logging the snow depth. Today's depth varied from 8" to about 17", depending on location. The weather today was pretty cold, only about 15F with a biting wind, made worse by the fact that the whole route is in wide-open fields. There was also a pretty good icy crust on the snow that I kept breaking through. I finished the whole thing in about 45 minutes - it was just too cold to dawdle around.

XC Skiing - Wilton Wildlife Preserve - Camp Saratoga

This was a regularly scheduled Tuesday morning ski trip with the Environmental Clearinghouse of Schenectady (ECOS). Camp Saratoga is a part of the Wilton Wildlife Preserve and Park. In the winter, this parcel has groomed cross-country ski trails that are very nice and relatively close to home. Snowshoers and skiers are allowed, but bare-booting is prohibited, so the trails remain in pretty good condition.

We weren't sure that conditions would be very good today, after a high near 40F yesterday followed by a cold night. The trail conditions web page hadn't been updated, and it showed the last grooming to have been on Saturday, January 31, before the mini-thaw. But apparently, the trails were regroomed yesterday, and conditions today were actually pretty good. The tracks were fast but not icy, and there was enough loose snow elsewhere to allow good control.

I went with the fast group again, and wound up being a little faster so was out in front getting a pretty good workout, for about an hour and a half.

XC Skiing - Featherstonehaugh State Forest

It's almost time for another moonlight snowshoe trip in the coming week, and I needed to check on snow conditions and the progress of the logging operation. So, Holly and I went up to Featherstonehaugh this afternoon and did a leisurely ski around the main 2-mile loop. The snow had the same half-inch crust as at my house from the recent storm, but previous skiers had broken the trail, including the crust, and the snow underneath was actually pretty good. The logging operation is spreading out and impacting more small pieces of the trail, but overall, it's not (yet) a bad place for a nearby ski outing.