Walk - Mohawk River Bike Path

After yesterday's one-day January thaw, my yard is bare of snow, and the rivers are running high. We got about 2" of rain, and with temps in the high 40s, there was a lot of snowmelt as well. Today, I went for a short walk on the bike path in Rotterdam, despite the "Road Closed" signs blocking the path. There had been a serious ice jam on the Mohawk River earlier, and the river had approached flood stage before the jam broke up (nice video here - not mine, and another here, from the Daily Gazette) and the water dropped and started moving again. The bike path was now a safe place to walk, so I ignored the signs.

The river was high, and large chunks of ice lined the shore about 10-15' above the current river level, where the water had been before.



There was a lot of ice piled up at Lock 8, which is where I turned around and headed back to the car.



As long as I was out and about, I decided to continue the river tour by heading into Scotia. At the Western Gateway bridge, there are actually two separate channels, and this secondary one was still clogged with ice.



Finally, I headed to Schenectady's Stockade, on the opposite side of the river. This area is always among the hardest hit when the Mohawk floods, and it looked like this episode had been a close call. The river was still close to full in Riverside Park, and had been much higher, leaving big chunks of ice on the walking path and nearly up to the foundations of the buildings nearby. There are more great pictures from the Stockade at this link.



We're expecting colder conditions over the next few days, but the chances for any significant snow are pretty slim. So we're left with ice and mud for now, and the choices for outdoor fun are pretty limited. Hoping that an expected coastal storm overnight on Friday gives us a better shot of winter than currently forecast - fingers crossed...

XC Skiing - Featherstonehaugh State Forest

I had mostly planned a day on the sofa recuperating from yesterday (napping!) and watching football. But Holly had just bought new skis, and we're expecting heavy rains overnight, ruining all local skiing for the foreseeable future. So we got out for a low-key 2-3 mile loop in Featherstonehaugh State Forest, the nearest skiable snow to home, to try the new skis. We met up with a group from her church that included some friends I hadn't seen in quite a while, and the pace was mostly slow and sociable. I did get out front for some of it and managed to actually ski a little, and it felt good. Temps were in the upper 30s and the snow was soft and friendly, in marked contrast to yesterday's outing. I also skied with no pack, and that was also refreshing. Tonight and tomorrow, we're expecting a region-wide heavy rain (2-3"), with flash flooding and the whole thing, so skiing will be done until we get more snow, even at higher elevations within a reasonable drive. Back to the bike on the trainer...

XC Skiing - Botheration Pond Loop

Today, I joined a Schenectady ADK backcountry ski trip on a relatively new ski trail to Botheration Pond. The 8-mile loop is just west of Gore Mountain and near Garnet Hill XC Center, NW of North Creek, NY.

Temps were in the high single digits when we arrived at the parking area near Old Farm Clearing. That was OK, since once leaving the old road from the parking area, the next 2 miles of this loop are steadily uphill, and we warmed up quickly. This portion of the trail had been heavily snowshoed, and was extremely firm and crunchy, especially in the cold temperatures. We were all hoping the downhill end of the loop wasn't going to be like this!

Reaching the height of land, we found ourselves at William Blake Pond. We skied across its surface to the far (eastern) end, and picked up the trail again in the woods.



Frozen fog/mist from overnight was clinging to everything, awaiting the morning sun.



A little further to the east, we skied across another frozen marshy area, again paralleling the much rougher trail in the woods, and rejoining it beyond the marsh.



After several interesting (read: FAST AND BUMPY) downhills, and many of us picking ourselves up out of the snow, we reached Botheration Pond, our destination. It was a gorgeous lunch spot.



Now that we were about 400-500 feet above our starting point, we were all hoping that the snow had softened in the early afternoon sun and temps near 30. The downhills were likely to be challenging enough without also being hard-packed and fast as we had seen earlier. As it turned out, that did indeed prove to be the case on both counts - softened snow AND challenging downhill runs. Some of us struggled to stay on our feet and not pick up too much speed. It was exhilarating, to say the least!

Finally, we arrived at the second of two brand new bridges that were just recently installed, making this loop possible. This one had a fairly steep ramp up to its deck, requiring strong arms to pull ourselves up. It was very ornate, as hiking trail bridges go, and part of the group posed for a picture going across it.



After a long gentle downhill through a pine forest, we reached the old road back to Old Farm Clearing that we had started in on. From here it was a relaxing, gently rolling 1.3 miles back to the cars after about 4.5 hours in the woods on a beautiful day.

Snowshoeing - Featherstonehaugh State Forest

Featherstonehaugh State Forest is the nearest "high elevation" area to home, only about 20 minutes away, and 1400' above sea level. I'm leading a full-moon snowshoeing outing there sometime next week, and needed to know the status of the trails following some heavy logging last winter. I took my snowshoes today and went for a short walk to check it out.

I wish I had taken my skis instead! There was about a foot of total snow, with a somewhat fresher inch or two of powder on top of an icy base. There were ski tracks on the main ski loop, and it didn't look bad! The logging of last year left things looking a little sloppy here and there, but the trail itself was basically OK and usable for a nighttime outing. Snow conditions will change drastically over the weekend, with sleet, freezing rain, and then some heavier rain expected. I'll need to revisit that next week, but at least the trails don't seem to be obstructed or trashed.

XC Skiing - Dyken Pond Environmental Education Center

Despite temperatures hovering near 40 at home, and bare spots everywhere, there's still lots of good local skiing around. What's changed is our definition of "local". We live in a valley location, but are fortunate to be surrounded by areas of higher elevation a reasonable distance from home, in many different directions. Going to one of these areas, 1200-1500' higher than home, we've been finding some pretty good snow still hanging on.



We skied today at Dyken Pond Environmental Education Center, high on the Rensselaer Plateau, leass than an hour to our east. A commercial XC area in that area had reported 4-7 inches of new snow over the past several days, so we decided to give Dyken Pond a try, on a mild sunny day. We weren't exactly prepared for what we found.



There was indeed about 4" of new dry powder, atop a firm 8-10" base, and the trees were all covered with the new snowfall. I had brought my "rock skis", concerned about the possibility of thin cover, but that was not a problem at all. Rocks and roots were well-covered. Temperatures only got to about 30, so the snow never got sloppy. We were setting first tracks in the shallow powder on much of the terrain we covered today.



The trails at Dyken Pond were not laid out with skiing in mind. They're essentially hiking trails, and are sometimes narrow, twisting, and rough. But with the new snow atop the firm base, the skiing was excellent, if at times challenging. Several short downhill pitches, including zig-zags between trees and rocks, required quick footwork to avoid straddling a tree. It was backcountry skiing at its best.

We're expecting sleet and rain over the weekend, even at higher elevations, so next week may find us at a groomed XC ski center, for lack of other choices.

XC Skiing - Schenectady County Forest

After a day of rest, football, and catch-up, we got a surprising amount of new snow overnight, especially at higher elevations just west of here. At 1,400 feet, the Schenectady County Forest is high enough that it still had about 6-8" of firm base, and got about another 5" last night. Holly and I headed off on the short 20-minute drive this afternoon to get in a quick ski before the walkers ruined the trails there. The snow was heavy and wet, as I had found earlier when clearing my driveway. With the temperature around 40 degrees, this was a lot like spring skiing. We skied for about 45 minutes, breaking trail all the way, dodging snow bombs from the pines above, and smooshing thousands of snow fleas that speckled the surface of the snow. That means I'll soon have the stench of death in my basement whenever I walk past where the skis are hanging.

It was good to get out on a nice day, but we really need some better snow than this, along with some colder temperatures.

XC Skiing - Partridge Run WMA (again!)

This will sound like a broken record after yesterday's posting. Today I led a ski trip for Schenectady ADK, back to Partridge Run, which I had scouted for this trip just yesterday. It was hard for some to believe that with bare grass in the valley there could be any local skiing possible. A group of 8 believers headed up to Partridge Run, elevation 1800-2000'. and found excellent skiing. We skied the same 4.7-mile loop I skied yesterday, and today it seemed even better. The snow was a little cooler and less soggy, almost powdery in spots. And with 8 people laying down tracks, the trail just got better and better. I've now skied on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday this week, after also hiking last Saturday. Gotta love retired life!

XC Skiing - Partridge Run Wildlife Management Area

Having pre-skied Cole Hill State Forest yesterday and not liking the conditions there for a Saturday ski trip I'm leading, I went to Partridge Run today to see if things were any better there. It's slightly to the west of Cole Hill (see map below), but more importantly, it's about 500 feet higher in elevation, and also has designated ski trails. Computer snow models showed substantially more snow depth there, but I needed to see the reality for myself.

As I reached the parking area on High Point Road, there was indeed noticeably more snow here. The access trail from this lot had been bare-booted and was a little rough, but once I hit the main ski loop, things improved immeasurably. Snowshoers had courteously packed their trail to one side of the ski tracks, and the ski tracks were pretty good. There was one short stretch where bare ground and running water appeared in patches, but they were easily bypassed. The snow was moist and slow, so the downhills were very controllable. All of last year's ice storm damage had been cleared from the trails, and it was in pretty good shape.

I skied the 4.7-mile loop shown below counterclockwise in about an hour and a half. There's one stretch on an unplowed road that may include snowmobile traffic on the weekend, but it's wide and there's room for everyone. It's also a sweet downhill run. We'll be going to Partridge Run tomorrow instead of Cole Hill, but the bottom line is that we desperately need more snow. Even places like this will begin to wear thin very soon.

XC Skiing - Cole Hill State Forest

Since I'm leading a Schenectady ADK ski trip to Cole Hill S.F. on Saturday, I wanted to pre-ski it and make sure conditions were OK for an outing there. This forest is located in western Albany County, in the so-called "hill towns", just south of Berne, about 45 minutes from home.



There are about 4-5 miles of ski trails here, and though there was adequate snow cover, every one of the ski trails had been pretty seriously compacted by snowshoe use. This made the trails faster than they might have otherwise been, and made negotiating some of the downhills a bit challenging, because of the snowshoe trench. There wasn't really enough snow (8-12") to go far off into the powder without knowing what was underneath.



Having said all that, we spent about 2 hours skiing almost all of the trails, skipping one known very steep section. It wasn't bad skiing, and parts of it were even pretty good. But with a couple of thaw/freeze cycles expected over the next day or two, the compacted trails may be a bit crunchy and treacherous by Saturday. We'll be checking out another alternative on Friday, and may move this trip elsewhere until there's better snow here.

XC Skiing - Grafton Lakes State Park

Today's ECOS Tuesday morning ski trip went to Grafton Lakes State Park, in nearby Rensselaer County. Grafton is at about 1500', and while we got only a few inches of snow at home a week or so ago, Grafton reported 15" there. I wouldn't call this outing great skiing, but it's getting so beggars can't be choosers around here. The snow itself was nice, but the trails still had some rocks showing through, and even many of the ski trails had been snowmobiled on. We spent about 2 hours going around Shaver Pond at a very leisurely pace, on a relatively flat trail. I had skied here once many years ago, also on thin cover, and hadn't been back since. While there are many other trails that we didn't ski, I think we need more snow before I'll go back here again.

XC Skiing - Camp Saratoga

Old Boy Scout Camp Saratoga is part of the Wilton Wildlife Preserve and Park, near Exit 16 of the Adirondack Northway, and only a short drive from home. It's groomed regularly, and can be a nice place to ski if the conditions are right. We tried skiing here a few weeks ago, but found very icy conditions. Since then, several inches of new snow have fallen atop the icy crap, and the area was regroomed just a few days ago. We found excellent conditions there today as we got out for a short afternoon ski.

There's something about skiing in good tracks that's entirely different from the usual backcountry-type skiing we like to do. The almost effortless full-extension kick/glide motion, up and down rolling hills, around turns, trying to keep a smooth rhythm - that's what's missing from trailbreaking and slogging through deep snow. Both kinds of skiing have their appeal, and today was a very nice outing for its own reasons. I'll always continue to wear wool instead of lycra, but this kind of skiing can also be a lot of fun.

Hiking - Taconic Crest Trail

Today, I led a snowshoe hike on the Taconic Crest Trail for the Schenectady Chapter of ADK. We were expecting a day that was cold (which we got - low teens), high winds and extreme windchills (which weren't as bad as advertised), and 16-20 inches of unbroken snow (there was only 10-15"). We covered 5.34 miles beginning on the Tower Mountain Road access, and ending at Potter Mountain Road to the north. We started out cold, but the nearly 600-foot climb to the ridge warmed us up in a hurry.

Along the way, skies cleared as we approached the Berry Pond Recreation Area atop the ridge in Massachusetts.



It was windy and exposed here, so we didn't linger long. We were now above a well-defined new snow level visible on the trees below and around the pond.



Leaving Berry Pond, we were passed by several dozen snowshoe racers participating in a 5-mile race on a portion of the TCT. Some were much slower (and older and larger) than others. At the point where their route diverged from ours, we ate a quick standup lunch and continued on.

The sky was growing clearer by the minute, and the contrast of white snow-encrusted trees against the deep blue sky was striking at times.






As we turned northeast along the final ridge, the winds began to increase, and we were glad to be finishing early before they got any worse. We reached the pre-spotted car after about 4.5 hours on the trail, and stopped at a Stewart's shop on the way home for refreshments after a beautiful day outside.

Walk - Indian Meadows Park

A light (nuisance) snow is falling today. Since I feel a cold coming on, and am also leading a fairly strenuous snowshoe hike tomorrow, and am still a little sore from Wednesday's ski outing, it's basically a rest day. But since neither Holly nor I can ever really sit still, we went for a short walk in Indian Meadows Park, in Glenville. The trails are well-packed, and would actually be skiable with only a few inches of new snow, which unfortunately I don't think we're going to get in the foreseeable future.

This afternoon, I'm transitioning my pack from summer to serious winter, which means adding several pounds of stuff, in preparation for tomorrow's outing. It will be a cold windy day up on the Taconic Ridge, and we're expecting to be breaking trail in 15-20" of unbroken snow, so we'll need to be well-prepared.

XC Skiing - Clapper Hollow State Forest

Today, Holly and I got together with some friends and went skiing in Clapper Hollow State Forest, in southwestern Schoharie County, about an hour from home.



The forest is above 2000', and got a lot of lake effect snow in the past week or so. It's also on my list to scout out for the new edition of "Ski Tips" being published by ECOS, as our committee begins the winter ski trail map verification process. None of us had ever skied here before, and were pleasantly surprised by the snow, the terrain, and especially by the well-marked trails that matched our existing map very well. There are about 8 miles of trails here, and we probably skied 5-6 miles of them today, breaking trail in 1 foot of new powder for most of it.



We stopped for lunch on the leeward side of a leanto by a frozen pond, but quickly chilled in the 10-degree temperatures, so continued on. Eventually, we got to retrace our tracks downhill back to the cars after about 3 hours of skiing, and all agreed that this was definitely a place deserving of a return visit.

On the way home, on NY10 south of Summit, our front left tire went flat. We pulled over into not the best place, but were at least off the road. Not really relishing the thought of changing that tire myself in the cold conditions, we decided to have Holly call AAA and see how long they would be to get to us. Hearing "30 minutes", we decided to wait it out. The rest of the group squeezed into the other car and headed for home, and we eventually saw a tow truck appear after 45-60 minutes. The driver was very pleasant, and made a quick change getting us on our way again, albeit at 50 mph max on a donut spare. We ultimately got home about 90 minutes later than we would have otherwise, so not a bad day all things considered.

XC Skiing - Saratoga Spa State Park

Beginning today, and every Tuesday in ski season, the Environmental Clearinghouse (ECOS) has a ski trip to a relatively nearby area that has good snow. The first trip of the season is traditionally to Saratoga Spa State Park. We ski for a couple of hours on the golf course and other parts of the park, and then retire to the warming hut for a potluck of snacks and hot drinks.

Much of the state, as well as nearby Vermont, got hammered by a lot of snow over the weekend, but locally we only got a few inches. The trails in the park had a light coating over a very firm base, and the skiing was surprisingly good. I went in full retro gear today, with wool knickers and knicker socks, ragg wool hat and mittens, and my old waxable wooden skis. It's been many years now since I've skied on wax, and I'd forgotten what a sweet sensation it is when the wax is right. We've had so many sloppy winters lately that it just hasn't been worth the guessing game that waxing requires under less than ideal conditions. Today was perfect, with temps around 20 and dry snow, and the skiing was smooth as silk. Golf courses aren't my favorite places to ski, but it was good to finally get out for some reasonably good skiing.

Walking, Geocaching - Sanders Preserve

We got another inch of new snow overnight, so at least everything looks like winter, even if we can't do much with it yet. We went for a walk this afternoon in the Sanders Preserve, in Glenville. There were 4 geocaches there that we haven't done that made a nice loop, so we tried those as well. The trails were covered with an inch or two of new snow, so the walking was much improved over the earlier crunchiness we found everywhere we went, but there was still clearly not enough snow for skiing. There were lots of washouts, bare spots, and exposed rocks and roots, so walking is still the best outdoor activity around here.

We found the first 2 geocaches easily, but it appeared the third might be buried in snow and we chose not to go blindly digging for it. The 4th turned out to be a longer walk than we wanted today, so we left it for another time.

More nuisance snow expected over the weekend, but that's about all.

XC Skiing - Woodford State Park, VT

Still no useful snow locally, and we really wanted to get out skiing this week. Fortunately, Woodford State Park, east of, and high above, Bennington, VT, is only a little more than an hour away, and got over a foot of new snow earlier in the week. We ski there several times every year when we can't find good snow nearer to home, and it's always a good time.

As we got ready to leave home this morning, light snow was falling, but the roads were a mess and traffic was slow. A trip that usually takes a little over an hour took almost twice that at 30mph all the way. We almost gave up at one point, but continued on, and were glad we did. As we started skiing, the snow let up, skies partially cleared to let in some sun, and the forest was beautiful. The hiking trail around Adams Reservoir had been broken by snowshoers, so it was easy skiing. But because we were always skiing in a trench, the various dipsy-doodles, twists, and turns required some quick footwork at times, especially on a few small downhills. A very occasional exposed rock or root made it even more interesting



We chose not to turn onto the hiking trail near the tent sites at the end of the lake, but instead skied back along the unplowed campground roads to the park entrance. The snow on the picnic tables gave a really good indication of what had fallen here.



After about 1.5 hours of skiing, the drive home was much better, taking only the usual amount of time on clearer roads. This weekend, another nor'easter will be passing us by, so we'll still be looking elsewhere for some skiing next week.

Walk, Geocaching - Indian Meadows Park

With shopping and wrapping all done, we went for a short Christmas Eve walk this afternoon in Indian Meadows Park, in Glenville. There were 3 geocaches we planned to look for in the wooded southern end of the park. Walking was crunchy and even icy at times, but we came to the general area of the first cache with little trouble. It was then that we noticed the notation "not available in winter" on the cache's description, so didn't try very hard to find this tiny first part of a summer-only multi-cache. Moving on to the next, we found it in short order, so headed for #3. It turned out that we'd need to cross a stream, with water flowing under the ice, without using a bridge that had dislocated itself from the banks and turned sideways in the channel. Not gonna happen, so we headed back to the car after about an hour of walking. More icy crap on tap for the weekend, so indoor pursuits will have to do for a while.

Walk - Five Rivers Environmental Education Center

Holly had an errand to run in Delmar today, so we decided to combine it with a trip to the nearby Five Rivers Environmental Education Center and a walk in the winter woods. It was a brisk and breezy afternoon, but in the shelter of the forest, it was quite comfortable. The trails had all been skied and trampled while the snow was soft and before it froze, so it was now icy and crunchy underfoot, but we took our time and enjoyed the nice weather. I almost never visit this place without seeing at least one deer, and today was no exception. They seemed to be everywhere, including these two in an old orchard as we were just leaving the parking area.



We walked for about 45 minutes and saw at least a half-dozen more deer before heading back to the visitor center. Outside on the front sidewalk of the center was a large female turkey peering in the window at the goings on inside. She had apparently been doing this for some period of days or weeks, and was living on bird seed from the nearby feeder area. It was a strange sight.

Walk - Featherstonehaugh State Forest

Whew - 8 days since I've done anything outside! Between Christmas preparations and the frigid weather of the past few days, I've had to rely on biking on the indoor trainer. Today, I needed to change that.

I drove up to Featherstonehaugh State Forest to check on the status of logging operations and to get out for a walk along the designated XC ski trails there.



It looked like logging had not yet resumed for the winter yet on the larger eastern section of the forest. But there were a couple of hunters, or possibly target shooters, hovering around the place I wanted to start, so I decided on the smaller western section where no logging was scheduled. I parked on Hardin Road and walked a figure-8 loop there in bare boots, since the snow was icy and hard-packed.



The trails were anything but skiable. The snow had been trampled while soft, and then froze into a concrete-like consistency. Along with that, there were lots of bare spots where the snow had melted from underneath before the freeze, and a lot of light brush that hadn't yet been flattened out by the heavier snows to come. With no tools, I cleared what obstructions I could, but a trip through here with a pair of loppers and a grass whip could accomplish a lot.



The biggest problem remains a large tree down across the trail near the southern end of the figure-8, obstructing what would otherwise be a nice downhill run.



I came here once last winter with a small saw and cut back the crown of this tree around the right-hand side, and provided at least some passage around it. Today, I snapped off some dead overhanging limbs down hill from the tree, and there's now a more or less straight shot down the rest of the hill once past the crown.



We're missing a big storm to our south as I write this, and there's no other local snow in the foreseeable future. With no XC skiing to come, it's time to get back on the bike trainer...

XC Skiing - Sort of...

After the first skiable snowfall of the year, Holly and I decided to get out and give it a try. The snow had fallen with temps above freezing, with a short period of freezing rain afterwards, and then the temperature dropped. All of this meant that we had to go someplace that had been groomed, or we'd be skiing on crusty icy crap and breaking through into the powder below.

We decided to try Camp Saratoga, part of the Wilton Wildlife Preserve and Park, north of Saratoga Springs. It's groomed regularly, and was reportedly groomed yesterday. Great idea, but there were at least two problems here. First, the grooming was done while the snow was warm and soft, and then the temperature dropped. So instead of icy crust, we found icy tracks and crunchy everything in between. Second, as the temperature dropped, the winds howled behind that cold front, dropping pine cones everywhere, but especially in the icy tracks. Lots of abrupt unexpected speed changes, especially on the normally very tame downhills. After only about a mile of this, we decided to give up and try somewhere else that hadn't been groomed, thinking it couldn't be any worse.

We next found ourselves on NY50, at the Old Gick Farm parcel belonging to the WWP&P. There were only a few footprints here, and no ski tracks. The wind was still howling across the open fields, and breaking trail through the crust was laborious at best, though the snow underneath was very good. We did a short loop here, and called it a day. We need some more snow before we can realistically ski close to home.

Hiking, Geocaching - Moreau Lake State Park

Holly and I took a break from Christmas today, and went hiking in the snowy woods of Moreau Lake State Park, south of Glens Falls. The park is closed for the season, and deer season ended in this area this past weekend, so it was a good time to get out. We had to park near the park office at the entrance, since all interior roads were closed. We walked along the lake on our way to the start of the Moreau Overlook Trail, down beyond the beach in this picture.



Leaving the lake, we started a 0.86-mile 800-foot climb to Moreau Overlook, picking off two easy geocaches along the way. The overlook has grown in somewhat since our last visit, and the lake below is barely visible through the trees. It was also a cloudy murky sort of day, so the distant views weren't that great either.



We descended via the Red Oak Ridge Trail, finding one more geocache on our way back down. I've long since stopped logging these in at www.geocaching.com - the real fun is in the finding. Overall, we covered about 3-4 miles by the time we got back to the car.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland - The Christman Sanctuary

Yesterday's snow only amounted to about 3", but it was a heavy wet snow that clung to everything like a sugar coating. The only melting today seemed to be from the still warmer ground underneath, so I set out to enjoy the early winter scenery while it lasted. The Christman Sanctuary is one of my favorite places for a short walk, and I go there several times every year. It's at its best in the spring or after a big downpour, when the stream is really thundering through the gorge. Today, the stream was more subdued, but still beautiful in the snowy woods.

Walking - A Couple of Local Parks

After setting up Holly's Christmas tree, we decided to get at least a little exercise, so headed to a couple of parks in nearby Malta for some easy walking in the falling snow. We went first to Malta Ecological Park, an unfinished gem with wood-chip-covered trails, lots of tall white pines, and lots of "potential future trails", as we discovered. It only took us 15-20 minutes to cover all of the trails. On the way home, we stopped at Shenantaha Creek Park, on East Line Road, to walk a little more. Despite this park being primarily focused on athletics and picnicking, there are a few wooded trails along a stream valley that were pretty in the new snow. Trails are still soft and soggy everywhere, so we need a good freeze and a lot of snow before XC skiing will be possible locally.

Walk - J. B. Thacher State Park

Today was quite a bit cooler than yesterday, but not as cool as it's about to get. And since the sun was out and not a bad day, I decided to go for a walk, having had enough biking in the past few days. I usually visit John Boyd Thacher State Park a couple of times every year, when I need a quick dose of scenery not far from home. Today, I headed to the northern end of the park. Starting near the park office, I walked north on the Long Path until I reached the end of the park proper, near the northernmost parking area. Then I made a loop by walking back to the car along the edge of the Helderberg Escarpment, with views far and wide.



The views from this northern part of the park are a refreshing change from the usual views seen from the drive-in overlooks. I found these birches clinging to the talus slope below the escarpment cliffs.



After the heavy rains of a few days ago, the trails were soggy and wet, and the streams were running high, including Mine Lot Falls as it plunged over the edge above the Indian Ladder Trail.



All told, I probably walked a little over 2 miles, with many stops on the way back along the cliff top to take pictures and admire the views.

Biking - That Other River Loop

We had heavy rain overnight, lingering into this morning, so an early club ride I'd planned on doing got canceled. The forecast for the afternoon looked basically dry, though very windy with leaden-gray skies, but a 60-degree day in December is not to be wasted. So I took advantage of it.

Instead of riding west from home along the river as I often do, I headed east, down the north side of the Mohawk, and returned via the bike path on the south side. I crossed the river at Rexford, rode east to Crescent, grabbed lunch at Stewart's, then crossed the Crescent Bridge, climbed the hill on US9, and headed back west. There was no rain, and the wind, while gusty, was of the swirling type, so it wasn't always either a headwind or a tailwind. By the time I'd climbed the last two hills to the car, I had definitely had enough, but tacked on another mile so as not to leave myself at 2,699 for the season. It is December, after all, and there may not be many rides left.

Biking - Relaxed Reverse River Ramble

The unseasonable weather continues. After a frosty night, it was near 40 degress by 10am, no wind, and the sun was out. After a day of Christmas shopping yesterday, and rain coming in overnight into tomorrow, I needed to get out. Instead of the same old Mohawk River loop I've been doing lately, I decided to mix things up and do it in reverse for a change. That also involves some different roads in spots, so it was the right idea. It was a beautiful calm morning, and I got in a slow-paced (for me) relaxing 19 miles before lunch.

This afternoon, I'm going with Holly to cut a Christmas tree for her house. Then I may stop at a local nursery and pick up a small live potted evergreen, which I'll bring indoors and decorate, and then plant in the yard after the holidays have passed.

Geocaching - 0 for 3 :(

Holly and I got out for a short walk this afternoon in Maalwyck Park, just west of Scotia along the Mohawk River. There are 3 geocaches there, and though one was labeled "evil", we thought we could at least find the other two. No such luck. One was along a hiking trail in the woods, and we were all over it, but couldn't find it. Another was along the Mohawk, whose level is significantly down for the winter/spring seasons, now that the Barge Canal is closed. We walked along the exposed river shoreline to the place where the cache had to be, but again no luck. Needless to say, we didn't turn up the "evil" one either. But it was another nice day to be outside.

Biking - Struggling Westbound, then Sailing Home

It's another sunny, relatively warm November day, almost 50 again. The only catch is that the wind is blowing at a steady 20-40mph, gusting to near 50. What better day for a bike ride? Since the wind was coming down the Mohawk Valley from the NW, I decided to ride upstream and upwind for 10 miles, then turn around and enjoy the free ride home. This was a tough fight on the outbound leg, where it was hard to even maintain 7-8 mph at times in very low gears, not to mention staying in anything resembling a straight line. But, oh, the ride home! I hardly ever dropped below 18mph, and even kept it between 20-25 for one stretch. This sure beats the crap out of riding on the trainer in the basement!

Geocaching - H.G. Reist Preserve - Four Out of Four!

Today was a rather dreary November day, with a threat of afternoon showers - not a good day to make any big outdoor plans. Holly and I decided on a local walk in the H.G. Reist Preserve in Niskayuna, a property of the Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club. As usual recently, we always check for any geocaches that may be hidden on any of these local walks, just to make it more interesting. There were 4 in this preserve that we hadn't yet tried to find, and we had a good day, finding all 4 in about an hour. They were all very easy ones, but after several recent failures-to-find, it was good to know at least that the GPS was working correctly. The rain never came, but it's very dark now for this time of day, so it can't be too far off.

Biking and Lunch - Schenectady's "Little Italy"

It wasn't exactly a promising day, with a 20% chance of some drizzle, but 4 of us took our chances and biked 11-12 miles from Lions Park in Niskayuna to Perreca's Italian Bakery on Jay Street in Schenectady for lunch. Perreca's just recently opened "More Perreca's", a small sit-down restaurant open next door for breakfast and lunch. We just barely beat the noon rush, ordered our lunches, and grabbed a table. Perreca's Italian bread is legendary around here, and that was the bread used for our sandwiches, which were very good. After lunch, we walked across Jay Street to Civitello's Italian Pastry Shop, where some of us had dessert. The chocolate éclair I had was delicious, and others were equally pleased with their selections. As we headed back toward Niskayuna, it hadn't rained at all, the sun was out, and it was 55 degrees, another amazing November day.

Geocaching - Skunked Again

We had time for a short walk this afternoon between other things, so we headed to the Mohawk River State Park, more familiarly known by its former name, the Schenectady Museum Preserve, near Lock 7 along the Mohawk River. There was a multi-part geocache we'd never tried, so we gave it a go. It was described simply as a "series of micros leading to an ammo can" as the final, so we had no idea how many parts there would be. We found the first two parts without any problem, but never managed to turn up part 3. It was a nice walk at any rate, though the trails were generally wet and sloppy. We need some cold weather and snow so we can ski here again, sans mud.

Geocaching - Jenkins Park

After helping Holly with some yard work, we took a short walk in Jenkins Park, in Burnt Hills, and tried our luck at a couple of geocaches there. We couldn't get the first one, but the second one was a snap. Having not yet walked very far, we then wandered some of the farther recesses of the park for a while. A lot of work is being done here, and new trails are being created, along with barriers to keep cars and ATVs where they belong.

Biking - 100th Biking Day of 2009

A few weeks ago, I realized I had biked on 95 days so far this year. Being one who loves round numbers, that could only mean one thing, and today was the day. It was mostly sunny and in the 50s again, and another nice day to get out. I decided to retrace my 20-mile ride of two days ago on the off-chance I'd stumble on a reflective leg band that had somehow gone missing on that ride. No such luck, but it was a good ride nevertheless. With 2,611 miles so far in 2009, December is yet to come, but so is colder messier weather, so it was good to get this one in on another very nice November day.

Hiking, Ski Trail Scouting, and 3 (of 5) Geocaches - Tibbits State Forest

Today was another nice November day, so Holly and I headed off to Tibbits State Forest, in Rensselaer County, to walk a 4-mile loop there and evaluate its suitability for cross-country skiing. It's listed in the Ski Tips booklet, published by ECOS, that I'm helping to revise, and though we'd walked there before, we weren't looking at it from a skier's point of view. There are also nearly 20 geocaches scattered throughout this forest, so we picked a few of those to look for as well. We oranged up really well, though deer season doesn't open until Saturday, and set off to explore this place.

First, the trails. There are two old roads that diverge from the parking area, both marked with red markers. At their farthest point, a blue-marked "foot-traffic only" trail connects their two ends, forming a loop. We hiked the loop clockwise, and the more southeasterly of the two roads was perfectly skiable, though a long gentle uphill slog. The blue hiking trail, though narrow and winding, with a few hills, would mostly be skiable by an intermediate skier. But then we came to a drop off the ridge that would be difficult in this direction for even an expert skier. Soon after that, we met the end of the other red-marked road, and the next bit of that was also a very steep downhill. Once it leveled out, the rest of the way back to the car would be a very nice ski. I plan to try skiing this in the opposite direction this winter, skiing UP the steepest parts, and then gliding down the more gentle easterly road. Stay tuned here for details of that adventure as winter sets in.



Along the way, we managed to find 3 of the 5 geocaches that we looked for. I'm tempted to say the other two were missing, and some other reports at geocaching.com lend credence to that belief for these two caches.

It was yet another nice day to be out in the woods.

Biking - Rolling on the River

So goes the old CCR song. Today was another nice day for November, much cooler, but sunny and no wind whatsoever. Despite putting in some time on the indoor trainer bike this morning, it was a day not to be wasted. So I bundled up and hit the Mohawk River Bikeway westbound, crossed the river at Lock 9, and returned via NY5 through Scotia, for about 20 relaxed miles. With cooler and more unsettled weather coming over the weekend and beyond, there may not be many more days like this.

Walk - Schenectady County Forest

After a morning of catching up around the house, and with days getting too short to drive very far and have time to do anything, I headed for the Schenectady County Forest and a short walk in the woods. It was a beautiful clear day with a crisp breeze, and a walk had more appeal than another bike ride.

We sometimes XC ski here in the winter, since it's near the highest elevation in the county and holds its snow pretty well. I tidied the trails up a bit as I walked, removing downed branches and other debris, and covered most of the trails in an hour or so before heading back home.

Biking - In Shorts, in November

This year, it's like October and November got reversed somehow. After a very cool and unsettled October, the first half of November, for the most part, has been unseasonably warm and dry. There's still half a month to go, and literally anything can happen, but to have this many days in the 60s so far in November is quite a treat.

After standing outside yesterday in the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida, while helping a friend make some repairs to his dock on Great Sacandaga Lake, and then spending this morning on some fairly tedious business paperwork, I needed to get out on the bike. I had bigger ideas than the ultimate reality when I left the house, but decided en route to Grant Hill that I really didn't feel like climbing it today. So I settled for a mostly flat 19 miles, and when I'd finished, that felt like enough.

My old 10-speed is now set up on the trainer in the basement, and it's time to start getting in some more regular riding. Outdoors is only catch-as-catch-can this time of year, and it's just not enough to maintain any kind of fitness level.

Hiking - A Catskill Potpourri

Today, Holly and I went hiking with our friends John and Diane. With hunting season in full swing to our north, we headed south to the Catskills, where it's still another week before the guns start blazing.

About an hour and a quarter from home, we parked on Roaring Brook Road and started up the Pecoy Notch Trail to the Devil's Path high above. About a mile from the car, we reached our destination, Dibble's Quarry. This is an abandoned bluestone quarry where a lot of debris remains strewn across the hillside. Persons unknown have constructed elaborate walls, chairs, fireplaces, and even a lighthouse here from the leftover stone slabs. Here, John and Diane are relaxing in the "throne room".



And Holly surveys her realm from the "Druid's Throne".



The views here are well worth the short hike, and the stonework alone makes it a very interesting destination.

When we got back to the car, it was still early, and the forecast rain was nowhere in sight, so we took a side trip to Kaaterskill Falls, in Kaaterskill Clove. 3 of the 4 of us had never been there before, so this was an added treat. We watched as a young couple wandered along the top of the lower falls, a place where many before have fallen to their deaths. It's a spectacular place with a long history, and it was nice to finally get to see it.



All in all, another fine November day outdoors, before an expected very wet weekend.

Biking - Another November Bonus Day

Today wasn't supposed to be as warm as yesterday, and would also be mostly cloudy, but, hey, 60 degrees in November is a day not to be wasted. Some friends and I took a leisurely bike ride from western Clifton Park down to the Crescent Bridge, where we had lunch at Stewart's, and then returned by a different route, for 27 miles altogether. In past years, we've tried to ride in every month, and November was an easy one this year.

Hiking, Geocaching, and Ski Trail Scouting on a Very Warm November Day

November 9. Sunny. 73 degrees. Wait.....what? We don't get many days like this around here this late in the season. Holly and I headed off today for the short hike up Vroman's Nose, near Middleburgh, NY, and its outstanding views of the Schoharie Valley. It's less than an hour from home, and only a half hour to the top, but the views are stupendous. The trail follows an old road up the more gentle back side, and reaches the sheer cliffs facing south and east. Peregrine falcons nest here, and it's an extremely popular local hike.





After enjoying the views and eating lunch, we went off in search of a couple of geocaches known to be up here on the summit. Well, one was, and we found it easily. The other was downhill in a direction we chose not to go this trip, so we left it for another time.

On the way home, sort of, we stopped at Cole Hill State Forest to check out more of the XC ski trails and get in a little more of a walk. I had been here earlier in the week, but only scratched the surface, and only in a different part of the forest. Today, I GPSed (is that a verb?) the trails as we walked, and should be able to produce a pretty accurate map for the ECOS Ski Tips publication I'm helping to update and revise. We also picked off one more geocache in the forest, as long as we were there. It was just a wonderful day to be outside.

Geocaching - Four in One Day

It was a sunny November day in the 60s, so Holly and I took advantage by getting out for a walk and looking for some geocaches this afternoon. Indian Meadows Park, in Glenville, has about 8-10 of them scattered about, so I picked 4 and away we went. These were pretty easy ones, one of them a multi-cache, and we actually found all 5 locations in less than a 90-minute walk. Lots of people out on a very nice Indian Summer day.

Biking - River Loop

I was supposed to lead an ADK hike to Kaaterskill High Peak today. But after last weekend's back strain, and the fact that it's still not quite right, hauling a winter-weight pack up and down a steep Catskill didn't have a whole lot of appeal. So, with only a couple of people showing interest anyway, I cancelled the hike, despite it being a very nice day.

But after spending a whole week basically sitting on my ass because of this, I needed to do something. I thought that biking might be OK as long as I took it easy and didn't get my back into any hill climbing. After a little struggle getting the bike up out of the basement, I set off on a flat loop up and down the Mohawk River, for about 21 miles. This was fine with no back issues, except the return trip had a 15-20 mph headwind, and that distance turned out to be plenty. The bike is now in the garage, and I should be able to get out more easily if I want to ride again.

Walk - Long Path, Cole Hill State Forest

I messed up my back somehow last weekend, so haven't been doing much this week.

Yesterday, I went to a meeting of the ECOS Ski Tips Committee, of which I am a member. We're revising a 2001 edition of that booklet, which contains maps of local places to go cross-country skiing. We're trying to update and field-check all of the maps and republish a new edition in the next year or so. Since Cole Hill State Forest just got added to my list, and I needed to get out and do something, I went and walked part of the ski trails there, parts of which follow the Long Path. I didn't walk all that far, but from what I saw, this place looks pretty good for skiing. It's also up in the hills of Albany County, so will get more snow than down here in the valley. We'll give it a try sometime this winter, and field-check the rest of the trails shown on the existing map.

Geocaching - Wolf Creek Falls Preserve

Today was a sunny, bright November day, and Holly and I decided to go try a couple of geocaches. We chose the Wolf Creek Falls Preserve, between Altamont and Knox, a property of the Mohawk-Hudson Land Conservancy. There are two geocaches located in the preserve, Holly had never been there, and it was a nice day for a walk in the woods.

We found the first geocache easily after a short walk and an impromptu high-water detour around a swollen stream. But the second one eluded us. We knew we were in the right place, but it must have been extremely well-hidden or camouflaged. After running out of ideas, we gave up and headed back to the car.

We'll definitely be back here in the winter to try some cross-country skiing on the wide and rolling trails.