Vischer Ferry

I did an easy walk this afternoon at Vischer Ferry Preserve near the Mohawk River. Walked along the old Erie canal path and went past remnants of lock 19. Did a 3+ mile loop under sunny skies. Trails were a little muddy from the melting snow.

Vischer Ferry

Alander

I went on a hike with Howie in the southern Taconics. Did a loop over Alander mountain from Under mountain road. The day started out very cloudy, but cleared out shortly after I reached the top. Still some nice colors in the hills.

Summit Elevation: Alander 2250 ft
Round-trip Distance: 5.0 mi
Elevation Change: 1500 ft

Alander

Copeland Hill

I did a short hike this afternoon at the Holt Preserve. Parked at the lower parking area on Copeland Hill Road. Headed into the woods and then followed the orange trail to the upper plateau. Took the Helderberg Overlook trail (blue) and then the green trail over to the pond. Went down the Ravine trail (yellow) and then did a loop on the Holt Trail (red). Forgot my camera today so don't have any pictures. The trees on the western slope had lots of yellow leaves. Spent about an hour walking on this gray, overcast day.

Picking Cotton

I did a hike on a section of the Long Path in Schoharie County today with Howie. Parked on Cotton Hill road. Followed the path to the top of Cotton Hill and the lean-to and then down the other side to Treadlemire road. Continued on to Durfee Road and then turned around. Kind of a blah day with lots of clouds and a few sprinkles. Many leaves are down already. Nobody else in the woods. Walked about 6.7 miles total.

Cotton Hill

Softcore

I did an easy walk late this afternoon at Thatcher Park. Followed the Indian Ladder trail and part of the Escarpment trail. Nice fall colors starting to show, but not peak yet. There were lots of people out enjoying the splendid weather.

Moose

I took the day off and did some hiking in the Southern Adirondacks. Howie and I climbed Moose mountain (near Wells) from Route 30. This mountain has no trails, so I had to bushwack (off-trail navigation using compass/GPS). I followed a small creek up to a marshy, flat area. I got tired of trying to find a way around it and just headed up the southeast ridge. There were a series of small cliff bands. Had to find a way up through them which involved some scrambling. Finally reached the summit and stopped for a snack. I followed along the ridge and visited a bunch of other ledges and open areas with nice views to the south. Back to the col, I took a bearing of almost due south. The sun was nearly in the same direction at this time, so navigation was as easy as following the sun! Reached the mucky area and skirted around to the west. Followed the creek back down to the road and finally my parked car. Nice Fall colors and perfect weather today!

Summit Elevation: Moose 1840 ft
Round-trip Distance: 3.0 mi
Elevation Change: 840 ft

Moose

It was early, so I did another hike nearby. Followed the path along Tenant Creek. Visited all three waterfalls. It was about a 4 mile round-trip.

Tenant Creek Falls

Schodack

I did a couple short walks this afternoon with Howie in the Town of Schodack.
The first was at the Palmer Road Preserve. Followed the blue and red trails through a young, mostly deciduous forest. Some leaves already down.
The next stop was at Schodack town park. Did a loop on various trails near the Moordener Kill (creek). It was nice to get out and stretch the legs on this mostly cloudy day which had a few breaks of sun.

Schodack