Saturday, April 25, 2009

Fast forward to summer

It was forecast to be a hot, sunny day. So, I opted to just do a short walk with Howie at Thatcher Park. It was odd to see the huge snow/ice formations under the waterfalls ... considering that it was around 85 degrees out. Walked about 3 miles altogether on the Indian Ladder Trail and along the escarpment.

Thatcher Park

Friday, April 24, 2009

Plotterkill

I left work a little early and did a short hike with Howie. We went to Plotterkill Preserve and did a loop hike on the red trail. The water in the creek was pretty low due to the lack of "April showers". Instead of crossing the creek a second time, I bushwacked up the slope near the eroded hillside. At the top of the south rim, I found an unmarked trail that lead back to the overlook trail. Walked about 6 miles altogether on this sunny, warm afternoon.

Plotterkill

Friday, April 17, 2009

Tongue

It was too nice a day to work, so I went hiking with Howie instead. We did a loop over the Tongue mountain range near Lake George. Took the ridge trail over Fifth Peak, French mountain and First Peak and then returned by the trail along Northwest bay. I waded my feet in the Lake, but it was very cold. It was sunny, warm and breezy all day - perfect for hiking.

Summit Elevation: Fifth Peak 1813 ft, French mountain 1756 ft, First Peak 1586 ft
Round-trip Distance: 12.0 mi
Elevation Change: 2800 ft

Tongue

Friday, April 10, 2009

Got coupons?

I took the afternoon off and did a hike with Howie. We hiked the Taconic Crest trail starting at Petersburg Pass on Route 2. The woods were mostly snow free except for a few patches here and there. The trail was a bit muddy in spots, but not terrible. We hiked passed the two view points (White Rocks) and then stopped at the Snow Hole - a crevice in the ground that holds snow well past Spring. Had some snacks and I put on my jacket. I realized I had a bunch of unused coupons in my pocket. There was no store in sight, so I returned to hiking back to the car. The 5-6 mile trek took around 2 1/2 hours.

Snow Hole