Sunday, November 25, 2012

Triple Play

Visited three small nature preserves/parks in Clifton Park. The first stop was North Woods Nature Preserve. Parked at entrance on Shadow Wood Way. Followed the yellow perimeter trail. Easy walking on smooth trails. Passed a small pond which was the former village of Round Lake reservoir. Next stop was the Woodcock Preserve on Tanner Road. Covered all the trails here - main white trail with red and yellow spur trails. Saw a white tailed deer. Last stop was Kinns Road Park. Trails were unmarked, but wide and easy. Covered about 4+ miles altogether on a cloudy, cold day.
Clifton Park

Friday, November 23, 2012

Rail Trail

Did a short walk on the Albany County Rail Trail this afternoon. Walked the newly opened section from Fireman's Park (Slingerlands) to Veterans Memorial Park (Delmar). Trail is currently unpaved (crushed stone and dirt). The western section goes through a nice woods, but after that it feels like you are in other people's backyards. Walked about 3.8 miles altogether ... now I can have some more pie.


Saturday, November 17, 2012

The Cobbles

Did a hike on the Appalachian Trail in the Berkshires with Howie  today. Parked at the end of Furnace Hill road in Cheshire, MA and jumped onto the AT. It was brisk out, but I was quickly feeling warm after a bit of climbing up the trail. The bright sunshine also helped. We soon reached The Cobbles which had nice views to the north,west and south from its cliffs. Continued on the AT all the way to Gore pond. Stopped for a lunch break and then headed back. Did a short bushwhack to a slide that was about 1/3 mile off the trail (and SE of The Cobbles). Looked like a local hangout spot - complete with a stone grill. Had a nice clear, sunny day for our trek. Only saw two other hikers all day.

Round-trip Distance: 6.5 mi
Elevation Change: 1700 ft
The Cobbles

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Pine and Forks mountains

Did a hike in the Adirondacks today with Howie. We climbed Pine and Forks mountains in the Hudson River gorge area. Parked near the bridge over the Boreas river on Northwoods Club road. Started out following the old Tahawus railroad. Then headed into woods and up to the summit of Pine mountain. Explored the ridge along the top which had some nice views down to Hudson river and the surrounding mountains. Continued down to the col and then up the backside of Forks mountain. Checked out some cliffy areas along the south face with views and then headed back down to the railroad. Followed that back to the road. Nice warm sunny day for our adventure.

Summit Elevation: Pine 2103 ft, Forks 1990 ft
Round-trip Distance: 6.0 mi
Elevation Change: 1630 ft
Pine and Forks

Friday, November 09, 2012

Twofer

Did two easy walks/hikes this afternoon with Howie. First, we climbed Bennett Hill in Clarksville. Followed the green trail to the top and then the yellow loop trail.
Next, went over to Holt Preserve. Did a short loop from the lower parking lot (red-orange-blue-green-yellow-green-red-blue-road). Had a cool, breezy day with some breaks of sun. Walked around 4 miles altogether.


Sunday, November 04, 2012

Trail Work

Went out to do some trail work today on my section of the Escarpment trail. Raked out the drainage channels. Also, removed some blowdown from the recent storm, but luckily there weren't too many. A fellow hiker helped me dragged a small tree out of the path. After my section, continued on to the summit of Windham. There was a dusting of snow and it felt like a winter wonderland. Kind of cold, blah day.

Summit Elevation: Windham 3524 ft
Round-trip Distance: 6.4 mi
Elevation Change: 1740 ft

Saturday, November 03, 2012

Van Rensselaer Forest

Did a short walk this afternoon at the Van Rensselaer Forest and Wildlife Preserve in Glenmont. Never heard of this place before, but it is owned by a Protestant Church (First Reformed Church of Bethlehem). Parked on Route 9W just south of Elmwood Cemetery. Walked most of the trails here. The yellow trail was in the worst shape. It had overgrown patches with prickers and rotting bridges. The other trails were fine for the most part - wide and easy walking. Got back to the car and was covered with ticks.
Van Rensselaer