Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Howie's reward

After enduring poking and proding at the vet, Howie needed a reward. So, I took him to Thatcher Park. We walked along the Indian Ladder trail and the escarpment. Spent about an hour there on this nice sunny day.
Thatcher Park

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Brace yourself

I did a hike today with Howie in the southern Taconic mountains. We climbed Brace mountain via the South Taconic trail. The climb up to the ridge was steep in parts. The trail followed along a creek for part of the way which had several cascades. We passed over South Brace and then arrived at the summit of Brace. Rested and had some lunch. It wasn't long before a party of paragliders arrived. Stuck around for a while and watched some of them launch and glide around on the thermal updrafts. Continued on to the tri-state marker (where NY, CT and MA meet) and then returned to the car.

Summit Elevation: Brace 2311 ft, South Brace 2304 ft
Round-trip Distance: 6.0 mi
Elevation Change: 1400 ft

Brace mountain

On the drive back, I stopped in Philmont to check out High Falls - a nice waterfall I had never been to before.
High Falls

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Trail Work

I recently adopted a section of trail in the Catskills. I went out today with the trail supervisor to learn how to maintain my trail. My section is the Mink Hollow trail from the parking area to the lean-to - about 3 miles in length. The trail is an old road and was basically in good shape. Most of what was involved was cutting back branches and small sapplings that were encroaching into the trail space. Took about 4 hours. I go back in the fall for another patrol.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Plotterkill

I did a quick hike with Howie this afternoon at Plotterkill Preserve. We did the complete loop on the red trail (about a 5-6 mile walk). Water level was very low. Howie took several dips in the creek as it was a bit warm out. There were a few mosquitoes out, but not too bad.

Plotterkill Preserve

Sunday, June 08, 2008

Rafting

On Sunday, I went white-water rafting on the Hudson River with a group. From the outfitters base, we took a bus to the put-in place on Lake Abanakee. It was very warm out, so didn't need wet suits. Carried the inflatable raft to the water and practiced our paddling. Then we went down the Indian River a few miles which took us to the Hudson. Stopped for lunch break (peanut butter and jelly sandwiches) at Blue Ledges - where the river narrows and there are steep cliff walls. Then, we continued on the river through a series of rapids. The total trip was around 16 miles and took 4-5 hours. It was a lot of fun.