-
ECHOES
FROM THE TRAIL

Reports
from Chapter activities during 2009
Jan
3 (Sat) FEEDER CANAL PARK
Leader:
Dave Fiske
It was a pretty nice winter day--sunny most
of the time. We walked alongside the
Hudson River
along several parts of the trail. A hearty lunch awaited us at the Rock Hill
Bakehouse Cafe in
Glens Falls
(although Ray was cheated out of his anchovies). An urban walk through town
brought us back to the cars. Participants: Kathy Shepherd, Katie and Ray
Henrikson, Laura Fiske, Lee Schaller, and Robbie and Arlene (whose last names I
don't know, since I misplaced my sign-up sheet--sorry).
Jan
3 (Sat) GRAHAM & BALSAM
LAKE
Leader:
Norm Mueller
The outing today got off to a bit of a late
start due to some treacherous conditions on Mill Brook Road
and also on Todd Mountain Road. There had been some snow over night, and the roads had not been cleared yet.
One vehicle that did not have four-wheel drive had a tough go of it. Our
group today was a good sized one and consisted of the following members: Kevin
Cox, Jim Dean, Jim DeWaal Malefyt, Shashi Narayan, Carol Nestor, Hilaire
Meuwissen, Jonathan Mossop, Kathy Pacuk, Lisa Weismiller, and the leader. It was
a nice snowshoe through the fresh and fluffy snow and Jonathan was kind enough
to take the trail breaking responsibility all the way to the summit. We also
encountered a short but heavy snow squall as we made our ascent after turning
off the Dry Brook trail and onto the
Balsam
Lake
trail. At the summit, we took a nice break and chatted with another group of
hikers that were planning on going over to Doubletop. On our way over to Graham,
we ran into a Catskill 3500 Club group and also Linda Kolnick, who had signed up
for my hike but decided to join the other group when we didn’t show up on
time. When we reached the summit of Graham, we were forced to take refuge in the
remains of the old building there in order to escape a biting wind. We took an
extended break as Kathy passed around some of her fresh baked cookies for all of
us to enjoy. I always look forward to that! Then we made our way back to the Dry
Brook trail, back to our vehicles and found great relief in seeing a plowed and
sanded
Mill Brook Road
.
Jan
7 (Wed) PROSPECT MOUNTAIN
Leader: Don Berens
The
forecast of day-long "wintry mix" encouraged some participants to drop
out of the planned trip to
Tongue
Mountain
. The reality of "wintry mix" encouraged Don Berens and Kathy
Pacuk to shorten the drive and the hike, by shifting the objective to
Prospect
Mountain
from the
Lake George
Recreation
Center
near Northway Exit 21. The highway was indeed slick and the trailhead
parking lot was unplowed when we put on snowshoes in 26 degree light sleet.
But in the woods, which we had to ourselves, we barely noticed the
precipitation. The trail was well packed but covered by shallow wet snow
over a crust. We summited in wind and snow flurries with no views and
waved to a pair of snowmobilers who spent even less time at the top than we did.
We retraced our steps to the trailhead which had been plowed in our absence, and
finished with a visit to ADK HQ. It was not the most scenic of days to
hike, but a mediocre half-day in the woods can be better than many of the
alternatives.
Jan
10 (Sat) PINE BUSH PRESERVE XC SKI
Leader:
Gene Reilly
It was a toss-up whether to attempt XC skiing
or switch to a snowshoe outing as the snow conditions were not favorable for
skiing. There had been warmer
temperatures / rain since the last snowfall, followed by cold again so that
there was a significant icy crust over the snow, with only marginal additional
snow cover on top of it. Of the
seven hearty souls to sign up, four were aware of the leader’s concern and
came prepared to snowshoe, one decided to bare boot it and the other two brave
adventurers carried on with the XC skis. The
Discover
Center
made an ideal meeting place as several folks had never been there before and
found the well designed layout and educational exhibits both interesting and
entertaining while the group gathered. For
the first leg of our excursion we went a short distance on the trail right
behind the Discovery Center to the high point of the land where there were some
good views – some were surprised at the height of the Albany landfill to the
east, while the Catskills could barely be discerned in the distance – on a
good visibility day the ‘three sisters’ of Blackhead, Black Dome and Thomas
Cole can be clearly seen to the south. We
descended the far side of the dune and continued on the trail in a clockwise
direction until veering left for the connector trail under Route 155 where it
crosses the NYS Thruway – it was an interesting ‘urban hiking’ experience
being right next to the highway with the traffic noise, cold and wind.
Continuing west we completed a relatively flat triangular trail that
initially paralleled the Thruway and then turned away into the woods.
We passed several large open snow covered meadows which I could recall
being overgrown with brush in the past – evidence of the efforts to clear out
invasive plant species and restore the habitat to its proper condition.
We drove to another trailhead located near the Point of Woods development
where we embarked on the second leg of the outing.
There we followed the red trail and blue trail loops for another couple
hours, circling over and around the Great Dune.
Enjoying this cold but delightful day were Dave Ganje, John Tracy, Bonnie
Prushnok, Michael, Aaron VanDerwiel, Maria Garcia, Luis Pacheco, Rachel Smith,
Brendan Reilly and the leader.
Jan
12 (Mon) CAT & THOMAS
MOUNTAINS
Leaders: Lori McCarron & Karen Ross
Six enthusiastic hikers set off for Thomas on
a clear cold January morning. The trail to Thomas, up an old logging road, went
quickly, as the trail had been broken through the deep snow. The trail from
Thomas to Cat, through the woods, was another matter; steep slopes and unbroken
2 – 2.5 ft. deep snow made for slow progress.
Lunch on top of Cat was a delight with clear skies, no wind, and a great
view of frozen
Lake George
. While the nominal leader, Katie Henrikson, stayed at home with a pulled
muscle, the hike was enjoyed by Charlie Beach, Ray Bouchard, Lori McCarron, Tom
Ostrowski, and Karen Ross. Thanks to Lori and Karen for stepping in to lead at
the last minute.
Jan
13 (Tue) COLE HILL SNOWSHOE
Leader: Virginia Boyle Traver
Eight people signed up for this event but the
three degree temperatures, with wind, kept a few folks away. Those who
went were treated to superb snow conditions on a day of clear, deep blue, sky.
The woods kept the wind at bay, but we kept moving, stopping for only one
break just long enough to soak in the sunshine on a bridge crossing the marsh.
Stalwart winter outdoors people were Phil Hawkes-Teeter, Bob McCarty, John
Tracy, Deb Wein, and the leader.
Jan
17 (Sat) TABLETOP AND TR MOUNTAINS
Leader: Don Berens
The forecast was for cold. In fact, we
drove through a pocket of minus 20 degree air near
Schroon
Lake. But when Don Berens, Kevin Cox, Michael Jensen, Dan Lockhart, Denise
Mongillo, Shashi Narayan, Kathy Pacuk and Bob Scaife left the ADK Loj parking
lot at 7:10 in morning twilight, it had warmed to zero. We had some clouds
and occasional snow flurries, but also some hazy sun throughout the day.
The trail was well broken to
Indian
Falls
where we admired the obscured view of Colden and the
MacIntyre
Range
before heading up toward Tabletop on a well packed herd path covered with a
couple inches of unbroken snow. Near and at the summit, we viewed the
rime-covered spruce up close and the cloud-covered peaks in the distance.
The descent back to the trail was quick, and soon we were bashing a snow trench
on the seldom used herd path to TR. We followed rabbit tracks and
intermittent survey tape through occasional spruce holes to a small clearing
indistinguishable from the summit clearing, declared our objective met shortly
after noon, and again descended to the trail for a bite to eat. We all
returned to the cars by 2:30, basked in the plus 10 degree heat wave, and
then drove home before dark.
Jan
22 (Thu) PILOT KNOB RIDGE
Leader: Jim Schaller
This late January day brought relatively mild
temperatures in the high 20’s, but mostly cloudy skies. We started at the
parking area for the Lake George Land Conservancy’s Pilot Knob Ridge and used
snowshoes all day. After a steady climb, we reached the Gazebo at the open area
where a former house had been illegally built. The leader recounted the story
which all found to be of interest! Then
we took the blue trail up a series of zig-zags to the “upper” loop. A
scramble took us into a pine and hemlock forested ridge along a now frozen
stream gorge. So no waterfalls views today! We retraced our beaten down path
through the snowy woods to the clearing where we had lunch in the woods out of
the wind. Views were good but were of the mostly developed southern end of
Lake George
. Then we followed the old road (that formerly led up to the house)
and trail back down to the cars. Hiking were: Karen Ross, Lori McCarron,
Anneliese Lawson, Anita Whalen, Tom Ostrowski, Jeff DeLisle, Walt Addicks, Katie
and Ray Henrikson, Bonnie Schaller, and the leader Jim Schaller.
Jan
24 (Sat) HALCOTT
MOUNTAIN
Leader: Norm Mueller
The outing today started on a clear and cold
morning at the Rte. 43 parking area. The temp was in the 20s and it was a bit windy, but the sun was promising to shine brightly
today. The members of the group today were: George Baranauskas, Jim De Waal
Malefyt, Mary MacDonald, Hilaire Meuwissen, Kathy Pacuk, Stephen Smith, and the
leader. We were fortunate to find that some kind soul was nice enough to break a
trail for us all the way to the summit and directly to the canister. I would
have preferred a more direct route straight to the ridge, and then follow it to
the summit, but following the broken trail was a more attractive option. Even
though the distance to the summit is only 1.5 miles, the steepness of the ascent
still makes it a formidable task. I had assured the group early on that it would
be a piece of cake. A couple of hikers had suggested that eating your Wheaties
was the requirement for this hike, but we were at the summit before you know it.
They say that time flies when you are having fun. We signed in at the register
and Kathy began to pass around her home-made cookies. The oatmeal and raisin are
always my favorite! After a couple of group photos, we made our return trip
which was great fun as there were several spots in which to get good butt-slide
going. We got back to our vehicles just in time for lunch.
Jan
25 (Sun) BERRY POND SNOWSHOE
Leader: Walt Hayes
This trip was rescheduled from January 24 to
avoid conflict with the services for Almy Coggeshall. The day was bright and
cool. Starting temperatures were well below zero but got up to the mid
teens by lunch. We saw many snowmobiles on the roads of the Preserve but
no other snowshoers. We started out carrying snowshoes on the hard
packed trails of the
Village
Recreation
Center
but soon put on the snowshoes. There had been no non-motorized use
of the preserve since the last snow. We could see old snowshoe tracks from
before the latest snow. We were able to visit the blue heron rookery close
up on the frozen pond. Good views from the pond of the overlook. The
views from the overlook were more open without leaves on the trees so the pond
was visible from the overlook and we could see
Potash
Mountain
over toward
Hadley
Mountain. The views from the east overlook of
Lake George
are spectacular. We bushwhacked back to the Village Recreation trails via
the
State
Land
just north of the Village property. Roman Laba, Jeff O'Donnell and the leader.
Jan
31 (Sat) GIANT & ROCKY MOUNTAINS
Leader:
Don Berens
We had just about every kind of fun you can
have on snowshoes. Don Berens, Michael Jensen, Tim Kase, Dan Lockhart,
Carol Nestor, Bob Scaife and Laurie Schweighardt met at the
Giant
Mountain
trailhead near Chapel Pond before the 7:15 sunrise but when it was already
light. It was about 10 degrees all day and mostly sunny. Below the
Giant's Washbowl, we overtook two hikers and thereafter broke trail the rest of
the way up in fresh powder and drifts over a firm track. Views of the
Great
Range
opened as we climbed the open ledges of the Ridge Trail. We had heard
that the trail to Giant was marked with blue, so when we saw that deep blue
color overhead, we just went up and up between snow covered trees gleaming
brilliantly in the sun until we summited at 10:30. The steep 800 foot
descent toward Rocky was covered in unbroken shin-deep powder that let us ski
down on our snowshoes telemark style. As we climbed the gentler slopes of
Rocky Peak Ridge, we watched the wind rip snow off the trees and carry it
briskly toward
Vermont
. When we emerged on the open summit at noon, the views were literally
staggering. In fact, looking upwind, the views hit us in the face at about
40 mph! We descended back into the trees for a lunch break, then
re-climbed most of Giant - some of us detouring for a view at the edge of
the icy slides on Giant's east face. The descent was notable for the views
of the High
Peaks, for one broken snowshoe (the binding separated from the frame), and for some
long sitz glissades which were sometimes elegant but always fun. During
the day, besides Giant and Rocky, we saw thirty of
New York's
High
Peaks
and two of
Vermont's, plus Lake Champlain, Schroon
Lake, and numerous ponds. It was as exhilarating as snowshoeing gets.
Feb
7 (Sat) DIAL & NIPPLETOP
Leader:
Don Berens
Don Berens, Marc Bachand, John Harris,
Michael Jensen, Doug Luke, Keith Martin, Arnie Tran and Kay Tran left the
Ausable Club parking lot at 6:20 under a full but hazy moon. At the gate
house register we put on snowshoes and turned off headlamps. In another 15
minutes, we left the
Lake Road
and started the 2 mile, 1,700 foot climb on packed trail to the shoulder of
Noonmark where the 1999 fire has opened fine views. High clouds did not
obscure our views of Dix, Lower Wolf Jaw and many peaks in between.
The well-packed trail took us down and up to Bear Den by 9:00. There,
Keith decided he was not having a good day and turned back down the well trod
marked trail to the car to wait for us. As we traversed Dial and continued
up the ridge, snow had drifted in the track so we did some real route finding,
trail breaking, and spruce hole excavation. As we neared Nipple Top, two
other parties of two each caught up with us. We summited before noon, but
the vaunted view was obscured by wind driven cloud and we soon retreated to a
calmer spot for a bite to eat. The steep descent to
Elk
Pass
was nicely covered in boot high unbroken powder which let us skate down with
ten-foot strides and without falling over (much). We continued to break
trail to the Colvin junction whence fresh tracks led us back down to the
Lake Road
. By pre-arrangement, Doug left to climb Lower Wolf Jaw (successfully we
later learned), and the rest of us returned to meet Keith in the parking lot by
3:10. The tracks of others helped us to do this 14 mile loop in under nine
hours. Interestingly, while our hiking temperatures ranged from +5 to +25,
we recorded temperatures on the morning drive of -5 and on the afternoon drive
of +44, a swing of nearly 50 degrees in less than twelve hours!
Feb
7 (Sat) DOUBLETOP
Leader:
Norm Mueller
The outing today was to be a great one for a
few reasons. First, it was to be the day that one of my fellow hikers would be
finishing the winter 35’s. Secondly, it was a full group on this hike which
was a first for me. And third, the weather was supposed to be great! It was
quite cold to start, but the temp was supposed to reach 40 and it was to be very
clear and sunny. The members of the group today were: George Baranauskas, Jim
DeWaal Malefyt, Lilo Hackel, Pat Johnston, Tim Kase, Alan Kovacic, Barry
Leibowitz, Denise Mongillo, Laurie Schweighardt, Lisa Weismiller, and the
leader. We started off on the Seager trail headed toward the Flatiron Brook. We
were fortunate to find that someone had broken a trail for us which made it a
rather nice snowshoe to the summit. As we approached the summit, you could see
that the Balsams were thickly coated with a very heavy combination of ice and
snow that caused the tips of the lowest branches to touch the ground. It is
amazing how much the trees can bend without breaking. Some of the hardwood trees
had ice hanging off the branch tips in a manner that looked and sounded like
wind chimes as we brushed up against them. The more direct route to the canister
was obstructed by a wall of icy branches which forced the group to circle around
to find it. Congratulations go out to Denise as she becomes a winter 35’r
today! Hugs and pictures, and the sharing of decadent chocolate laden snacks
were in order while we took a nice long break before retracing our steps back to
the Seager trail. The temperature was beginning to rise to the point where the
surface of the snow was now beginning to stick to the bottoms of our snowshoes.
Even though this was annoying, it was still so nice to feel the warmth of the
sun after such a cold start earlier that morning. As we were making our way back
to the parking area, we noticed an interesting phenomenon. Along the steep banks
on one side of the trail, there was snow that started to slide down and ball-up
as it rolled down causing a tight curl like you would see as you pull an ice
cream scoop across a freshly opened box. These curls would continue to roll and
get larger till they would fall over and look like a swirling bowl on its side.
This had some hikers snapping pictures of it. It is things like these that make
being outdoors all the more interesting.
Feb
11 (Wed) TONGUE MOUNTAIN
Leader:
Don Berens
After
spotting cars, Don Berens, Matt Sirni and Allan Sowinski left the northern
trailhead at 8:40 under partly cloudy skies with temperatures in the
unseasonably warm mid-30s. The forecast was for late afternoon or
evening rain. We followed old broken tracks south and up to the ridge
crest, before taking a 1-mile detour east to the lookout at Deer Leap.
There we saw the 600 foot cliffs of Bloomer Mountain to the north, a pair of ice
fishermen on Lake George nearly 900 feet below, Huletts Landing east across the
lake and Black Mountain with its fire tower to the south. We returned to
the ridge crest where we shed clothing for the uphill climb in the now
bright sun. The broken trail passed through alternating hardwood and
coniferous forest with occasional glimpses of the ice covered lake below.
We ate "elevensies" at the Five Mile Mountain Lean-to. From
there, we followed ski tracks through softening snow under increasing clouds.
By the time we reached
Five
Mile
Mountain
's open views at 12:30; we had no ski or snowshoe tracks, but only
occasional animal tracks. The steep switchback descent toward the Saddle
gave us simultaneous views of the
Lake George
Narrows
to the southeast and the
Northwest
Bay
to the southwest, framing the
Tongue
Mountain
peninsula in front of us. At the four-way trail junction in the Saddle,
we found broken tracks to the east, south and west (we had come from the
north). We went west, through hemlocks glens shading blue and green ice
flows, down to the car we had left at Clay Meadow. Moments after we
retrieved the other car at 2:45, the first few rain drops hit the windshield.
It was a charmed hike.
Feb
12 (Thu) NEW TRIP LEADERS WORKSHOP
Leader: Virginia Boyle
Traver
We have six new leaders in the Albany ADK.
Please welcome Dave Esmond, Stephanie Graudons, Danielle Leonard, Pete Morrison,
John Sheehan and Don Yackel to our roster. Look for their trips in upcoming
Cloudsplitters!
Mar
4 (Wed) PINE BUSH SNOWSHOE
Leader: Virginia Boyle Traver
A late winter day with a few inches of new
snow and clear blue sky was perfect for a morning's outing. Although there
was not enough snow for snowshoeing, we walked trails through woods and meadow,
viewing areas newly opened from last year's controlled burns, and entering
secluded areas with rustic bridges crossing streams. Basking in March's
strong sunshine were Patricia Robelotto, Claudia Summers, John Tracy, Deb Wein,
Rachel West, and the leader.
Mar
11 (Wed) TONGUE MOUNTAIN
Leader: Don Berens
Don
Berens, Dan Lockart and Kathy Pacuk enjoyed a 35 degree rain falling from low clouds
at the Clay Meadow trailhead. We snowshoed east on soft wet snow, on
rainwater running over soft ice, and on soft ice over running water, up to the
Saddle on the ridge crest. There we turned south, climbed into the wind
and clouds, and yo-yo'ed over the many bumps of the range. By day's end,
we climbed about 3,000 feet without ever going over 1,800 feet above sea
level. In the blowing mists, we rarely knew what bump we were on and all
morning we never saw
Lake George
from any of the trail lookouts. While he was in front, Dan saw first four
deer and then another; we all saw lots of fresh tracks and droppings.
Generally, we slogged through sticky snow on the north-facing uphills, and
snowshoed over patches of snow less ground littered with oak leaves on the
south-facing downhills. After noon, and south of
First
Peak
, we removed our snowshoes for the descent of the south-facing cliffs
and finally descended below the clouds for views of the islands in the
Narrows
of the frozen lake. Two of us took the spur trail to Montcalm Point on
the lake shore at the very southern tip of
Tongue
Mountain
. Then, again wearing snowshoes, we all turned north on the trail
along the shore of
Northwest
Bay
. We hiked the last hour in sunshine as it warmed to 44 degrees back at
the trailhead. Out like a lamb.
Mar
14 (Sat) DIX & HOUGH
MOUNTAINS
Leader: Don Berens
Fantabulous!
Awesom-acious! The whole hiking day was literally cloudless! Don
Berens, George Baranauskas, Darcy Castine, Tim Kase, Dan Lockart, Denise
Mongillo, Bob Reinhart and Laurie Schweighardt began at 6:00 am in 15
degree starlight. As we crested the first ridge fifteen minutes later, we
saw the waning gibbous moon; just two days past full, reflecting off the frozen
surface of Round Pound. As we climbed to the second ridge, we saw the
orange-red pre-dawn glow back beyond the pond. The day
would only get brighter. Snowshoes clattered on the hard-packed trail
beside the
Boquet
River
whence we had views through the leafless hardwood forest to Noonmark behind and
Dix ahead. Beyond the lean-to, from the bottom of the slide, our
steps shattered inch-thick plates of crust which skittered down the
unbroken crust beside the trail. The climb to Dix was in every way
breath-taking because it was steep (1,650 feet in a mile) and beautiful with
distant views of Giant, Whiteface, the entire Great Range, Allen, Santanoni, Elk
Lake, Schroon Lake and Lake Champlain, and near views of ice encrusted spruce
poking out of the snow, all sparkling in the sun. At the Beckhorn of Dix,
we left the marked trail and found the herd path descending south on the ridge
toward Hough. As the temperature climbed toward 40 degrees, the globules
of clear ice departed their sunny treetop perches, clinked through the icy
middle branches, and thudded into the softening snow below. We
reached Hough at 12:25 pm and looked north toward the Beckhorn which we now
re-climbed. Very much to our delight, though not to our surprise, we
descended the steep mile from Dix in less than half the time it had taken us to
ascend. Back on the low-angle bottom of the slide, some of us
experimented with belly-sliding on the crust, controlling the speed by
kicking boot toes down through the slick surface into the soft snow
beneath. In these unique conditions, it worked safely. The walk out
was supported by sticky but firmly packed snow. Laurie broke a snowshoe
with a mile and a half to go; Don broke another with a tenth of a mile to go.
But no worries. We returned to the cars in full daylight by 5:45 pm EDT,
having walked about 16 miles and - as George's GPS said - climbed over 6,000
feet.
Mar
26 (Thu) ROUND MOUNTAIN
Leader: Jim Schaller
Originally, there were eight sign-ups, but
cancellations and no-shows left just four hikers setting out for
Round
Mountain
in the
Adirondacks
. We hoped the vague weather
forecast was right—“cloudy, with showers and rain by late afternoon”.
It did prove right, as we had no rain, except a few sprinkles, all day.
The sun even came out for awhile on the ascent.
As we began the climb up the old
Dix
Trail-
we soon found the path to be hard-packed snow, some bare spots, and many
stretches of ice! Stableicers became
the “Footwear Du-Jour”. We
reached the first ledges on the climb, and got the first views of Dix and the
Great
Range
on either side of Noonmark. Soon we
reached the summit, and then the views east and north were added- to Giant and
Whiteface
Mountains
. The Red trail descends (ATIS markers gone) along the “Weston” trail route.
The very steep descent was quite icy, requiring care, and slow going. It
did pass interesting rock formations, and ice falls along the way. We finished
in good time- and ran into rain during the drive south! Hiking were: Lori
McCarron, Marcia Hanson, Bonnie Schaller, and the leader Jim Schaller.
Mar
28 (Sat) MACOMB
MOUNTAIN
Leader: Don Berens
Don Berens, Roman Laba, Dan Lockart and Bob Scaife left the Clear Pond parking
lot (1,914 ft) in pre-dawn light at 6:20 in 32 degree temperatures under partly
cloudy skies, with a forecast of unseasonably warm weather. The gravel
road to the summer trailhead was bare of snow with a few ice patches. The
trail to Slide Brook was mostly firm snow, but - because of soft snow bridges
over the streams - we all switched to snowshoes before we reached the lean-to at
7:50, having briskly covered 4.2 miles in only 90 minutes. In the morning
shadow of Macomb's bulk, the herd path was firm all the way to the slide, most
of which was covered in snow and ice with only a few islands of rock or rubble.
We switched to crampons and found variable snow conditions ranging from hard
granular "corn" snow to shin-deep post-holes and occasional water ice
crust over snow. Above the slide, we cramponed on firm herd path to the
summit (4,405 ft) which we reached at 10:05. We lingered for a half hour
on top, admiring the views of Dix, Marcy, Santanoni and many other peaks. For
our descent, the slide was half in sun and half in shade, with fine views
over
Elk
Lake
. We switched back to snowshoes in the softening snow under the mid-day
sun, spent a little while cleaning up litter at the lean-to, and returned by
1:30 to the car at Clear Pond where it had warmed to 54 degrees. By our
return to
Clifton
Park
, the temperatures exceeded 70. A grand early spring day!
Apr
9 (Thu) SPRUCE MOUNTAIN
Leader: Dave Esmond
As advertised,
Spruce
Mountain
was indeed an easy climb, a good spring “warm-up” hike. Numerous woods-road
switchbacks intersect the trail, which is fortunately well marked by both stone
cairns
and Saratoga Plan markers. At 73 feet the firetower is the highest in the
Adirondack
park, now nearly overtopped by the hemlocks surrounding it. The leader took
full credit for the great weather, but the fun and lively conversation were
totally attributable to our crew of hardy hikers – Lori McCarron, Susan
Roberts, Jim and Bonnie Schaller, Leslie Siegard, Anita Whalen, and Bob
Whitaker.
Apr
16 (Thu) ASHUWILLTICOOK RAIL TRAIL
Leader: Virginia Boyle Traver
We had perfect day for our ride through the
Berkshires. A friendly group, who first hung together chatting and then spread
out into those who looked for a work-out and others along for a more moderate
ride, we all savored the blue sky, scattered wildflowers, and a great cruise
through lovely scenery. Enjoying this spring outing were Don Berens,
Paul Breslin, Bernadette Glynn, Carolyn McLoughlin, Steve, Leslie, and Adam
Siegard, and the leader.
Apr
18 (Sat) SCHROON & BRANT
LAKES
BIKE
Leader: Don Berens
No flats! Little rain! Excellent day! George Baranauskas, Don
Berens and Aileen Genett car-pooled to the bike (er, boat) launch at the
southern outlet of
Schroon
Lake
. It was mostly cloudy, calm and a little under 50 degrees, all good
signs. There were snow banks beside the parking lot and a vulture circling
overhead, maybe bad signs. We warmed up by peddling easily north along the
lake's west shore on Route 9. Morning auto traffic was light and the
lake was free of mid-summer motor boats. After a brief break in the
hamlet of
Schroon
Lake
, we swung around the north end of the lake and climbed our longest hill.
East Shore Drive
was framed by tall white pines through which sun sometimes shone and in
which woodpeckers hammered and thrushes sang. The rolling, often
sand-covered road led us between the lake shore and the
western edge of the Pharoah Lake Wilderness and by trailheads leading to Gull
and Spectacle Ponds. We took our late morning lunch break in the rocking
chairs on the porch of the General Store in
Adirondack
, remounting our bikes just as the fire house whistle blew at noon. A
serene ride past more snow banks, spring peepers and Beaver Pond brought us to
the north end of
Brant
Lake. We rolled south along the west shore, listening to loons (on the lake,
not on the bikes). From the hamlet of
Brant
Lake
, it was a short ride to
East Schroon River Road. Ten minutes from the end, we felt a light spritz which we were reluctant
to call rain. We decided it was no more than dew falling from the trees or
sweat flying off the rider in front. Curiously, though, windshield wipers
were activated on the ride home.
Apr
23 (Thu) SOUTH TACONIC TRAIL &
ALANDER
Leader: Jim Schaller
We picked a day when the weather was a bit
unsettled – ushering in a warm front in the days to come. But this day was
wild and wooly! Four of us started up the steep South Taconic Trail’s southern
trailhead – to the ridge running north to South Brace Mtn. We enjoyed seeing
the first spring wildflowers along the southerly facing slopes. At Brace Mt, we
began to be pummeled by strong west wind-driven snow pellets! Actually, the
clouds were gradually lifting, and we were treated with decent views –of the
Catskills –and Berkshires all day. We
did the side trip over to the “Tri-State Corner” monument – and up to
Mt. Frissell
,
Mass.
(passing the
high point
in
Connecticut
). Then- on up the ridge –to Alander Mt. Intermittent light snow eventually
turned to sleet and rain showers—between otherwise clear stretches of weather.
We stopped briefly at the cabin on Alander’s summit before beginning the steep descent to a spotted car. We had a nice day in
the
South Taconic
highlands. Hiking were: Lori McCarron, Walt Addicks, Bonnie Schaller, and the
leader Jim Schaller.
Apr
25 (Sat) EARTH DAY/TRAILS DAY – CLEANUP
THACHER
PARK
Leader: Jim Schaller
The winter’s ice storm, and snowstorms,
still left lots of damage to clean up in Thacher
Park
’s picnic areas, and Thompson
Lake’s campground by April. Calls for assistance went out to ADK, “Friends of
Thacher Park”, various running clubs, Girl Scouts, and other outdoor groups. A
general call went out for help via local media, as well. So- on Saturday, April
25, a large- but welcome crowd descended on
Thacher
Park
’s “Paint Mine” pavilion. Work
crews were divided up, and sent off in a dozen directions with leaders- to
attack the forest debris with rakes, saws, and just a good hard day’s work
lugging limbs, branches, and cut-up logs to roadside, for a “chipper” to get
later. Tarps were used to haul raked-up leaves, pine needles and small blowdown
to the road. Wood chips had been distributed to spots- to be raked out into worn
or wet areas. Luckily—by this time- nearly all hiking trails throughout
Thacher
Park
had been cleared by volunteers, or Park staff. I was given the solo task of
replacing missing signs along the Escarpment Trail’s wooden post & beam
fence. The “Danger – Steep drop-off; Do not cross fence”-etc. signs are
repeatedly stolen, or vandalized. From the Indian Ladder Trail to the Overlook,
over 50 signs were replaced! By noon or so, most workers wrapped up their work
areas, and returned to Paint Mine- where the “Friends” group sponsored a
picnic barbeque lunch for all volunteers. Burgers and hot dogs, along with
salads and all the “fixin’s” in the shady pavilion- were a welcome break
for all (did I mention that the temp. hit somewhere around 90 deg. this day –
warmest of the spring season so far !) Chris (Park super.) thanked all for the
help in keeping
Thacher
Park
nice. Please excuse me if I leave out anyone who attended - as the crowd was
large, and “intros” were difficult for all.
ADK’ers attending were: Walt Addicks, Jim and Bonnie Schaller, Sue
Roberts, Anita Whalen, James and Leslie Harnett, Barb Northrup (p.s. - thanks
for bringing the cookies!!), Hank & Marlee Bickel, Dave Esmond, Mary Folsom,
Will Golden. A special guest appearance was made by our Thacher Park Mentor-
Fred Schroeder!!!
Apr
25 (Sat)
BOQUET
RIVER
GORGE
Leader: Bob Scaife
Blue sky, a warm sun, a roaring river and the
promise of adventure greeted Don Egan, Wayne Gray, Roman Laba, Ron Toseland and
the leader, at the East Dix trailhead. A
short walk in the unseasonable morning warmth brought us to the herd path’s
crossing and then re-crossing of the
North Fork
. Here we departed the beaten path and set a course for the upstream wilds.
After enjoying the first real treat of this walk, a 25 foot spectacular
and nameless falls pouring down the face of a massive stone wall, we pressed on
until the valley widened into a broad and open park.
Following the meanders of the now-peaceful river we were greeted by
unusual vistas of
Spotted
Mountain
and East Dix through the widely spaced and still-leafless trees.
At the mouth of the gorge, the character of our walk abruptly changed.
Scrambling uphill to avoid rocky impediments, descending steeply through
dense forests or venturing gingerly out onto mossy cliff edges for a view of the
torrent below, we made our sometimes ungraceful way up the gorge.
As we climbed, so did the river. It
narrowed, steepened, grew louder and rose to meet us as we traversed beneath
bands of cliffs whose shadows cooled remnant snow and ice.
Venturing out onto the huge boulders constricting the stream’s path, we
could feel them trembling at the water’s force.
At last we reached a 40 foot falls walled by sheer cliffs and could
follow the river no further. Our
escape was steep, but only once precipitous, and we arrived at the rim of the
gorge at noon, 3 hours and ¾ miles beyond our entry.
Route discussions intermingled with short hikes brought us to and into
and out of a snowshoe-bunny-inhabited forest bog and finally to the
Dix
Mountain
trail. An intrepid member of our
group procured transportation from the Dix trailhead to our cars parked at the
North Fork
Bridge
and we were soon on our way home to wash off the mud, sweat and spruce needles,
having had a fine and challenging day in a wilder corner of the
Adirondacks
.
Apr
25 (Sat) CASCADING WATERS VII
Leader: Gene Reilly
Due to widespread and heavy rain on April 4th,
this hike was postponed to April 25th when we had great weather.
Temperatures for
Albany
were predicted to be in the 80’s and it was a clear, sunny day up in the
Adirondacks. Due to the amount of snow and ice
still to be found in the
Rainbow
Falls
canyon we even had to don jackets to keep the chill away.
All along the West River Trail the water was flowing heavily with
spectacular cascades and waterfalls in the
Ausable
River, at Wedge Brook falls,
Beaver
Meadow
Falls
and
Rainbow
Falls. Eating lunch at
Beaver
Meadow
Falls
required us to move some distance away or else be continually showered with
mist from the roaring waterfalls. We
could not get as close to Rainbow Falls as in past trips due to the amount of
ice/snow and the heavy ‘rain’ falling from the canyon wall opposite the
falls. We all got very wet but dried off fine once back out in the sun on the
AMR road. We were such gluttons we
even made part of our return along the Gill Brook to take in more cascading
waterfalls and pools. Look for some
of our photos on the chapter website! Participants
were Kathy Quoi, Yvonne DeMarino, and Charlie Holster (who drove up from
Long Island, and didn’t regret it at all!), and the leader, Gene Reilly.
We’re already looking forward to next year’s Cascading Waters hike!
May
12 (Tue)
DORSET
PEAK
-
VERMONT
Leader: Charlie Beach
The
day was cool and clear—ideal for good hike. We climbed on a system of unmarked
roads/trails which made the climb immeasurably more enjoyable than a bushwhack. These
trails had been cleared somewhat more since last year. We encountered a variety
of spring flora as we gained altitude. Whoever maintains the summit has a
sense of humor- a summit sign in reverse and a double doorknob tree. Enjoying
the day were: John Antonio, Lori McCarron, Bob Heffley, Josh Rose, John &
Kelly Sheehan, Claudia Rosenholtz and the leader Charlie Beach.
May
13 (Wed) WAKELY AND PILLSBURY
Leader: Don Berens
This was billed as a "Tower Two-Fer," a trip to two fire tower peaks
among the Adirondack 100 Highest, southwest of
Indian
Lake
. Don Berens, Wayne Gray, Kathleen Helfrich and Dan Lockart with his dog
Mickey enjoyed a near cloudless morning drive on the Cedar River Road to
the Wakely Mountain trailhead which we had to ourselves .The hardwood forest was
not yet in full leaf, so we had considerable sun warming us from 40 degrees into
the mid-60s. Two miles of gentle grades led us to a drained beaver
pond featuring a decidedly sub-prime beaver lodge. Then the steepening
trail took us past witch hobble and purple trillium into a spruce and
balsam forest and through clouds of early black flies swarming so thick that
they cast shadows. Fortunately they had not yet achieved mid-season
aggressiveness and a breeze near the summit dispersed many of them. We
explored the unlocked, abandoned observer's cabin and the views from the
eight-story fire tower, the tallest in the Forest Preserve. The descent
was uneventful, but warmer and accompanied by more black flies which - to avoid
unwanted ingestion - inhibited our conversation. We
took a lunch break in the hamlet of
Indian
Lake
where Dan decided to drive home early and the rest of us resolved to head to
Pillsbury for a second, shorter hike. The approach past Perkins Clearing
to the Pillsbury trailhead used narrow, rutted dirt roads, but the parking lot
was already occupied by three cars. Our foot path crossed the
Miami River
then immediately climbed. . A hundred feet below the summit, in the
north-facing, spruce-shaded hollows, we saw a few lingering patches of snow,
probably in their last week of existence. Pillsbury's observer cabin was
boarded closed, but the upper flights of the tower staircase offered 360 degree
views of forests, lakes and mountains, including Wakely, Crane, Snowy, and
- beyond Snowy - a few of the High Peaks. A breeze and the lowering sun
made the descent pleasant. Just before the
Miami River
Bridge
, Kathleen pointed out a spruce grouse just eight feet off the trail. We took
Routes 30 and 29 back to the Capital District, thus exploring alternative roads
as well as alternative trails outside the
High
Peaks
.
May
14 (Thu) LONG PATH –
THACHER
PARK
Leader: Jim Schaller
A total of six hikers turned out on this cloudy, showery day to hike the
Long Path through
Thacher
State Park
. Starting at
Beaver Dam Road
, we followed the trail down to the overlook on Rt. 157. Then- hiked the
Escarpment trail section- providing good views of the valley.
The trail took us through mixed woodlands, and stops at Hang Glider and
High Point Cliffs – provided more views. Showers, mixed with dry spells made a
decent hiking day, and all enjoyed the varied terrain, woods, fields, and wild
flowers of the spring in
Thacher
Park
. We covered the ten miles in good time- Four hours on the trail when we ended
at Old Stage Road. Hiking were: Karen Ross (& “Louie”), Anita Whalen,
Lori McCarron, Sharon Bonk, Bonnie Schaller and the leader Jim Schaller.
May
16 (Sat) INDIANKILL WILDFLOWERS HIKE
Leaders: Ted & Sue
Wright
Our annual wildflowers hike was rewarded with
Jack-in-the-pulpit, toothwort, mayapples, wild geranium, bishop's cap, foam
flower, wake robin, Solomon's plume and true Solomon's seal, meadow rue, fringed
polygula and one garter snake. Sue and the rest had lunch at the waterfall while
Ted scurried back to give a talk on Dutch life in
Albany
for the Colonie town celebration of the
Hudson
quadricentennial at Schuyler Flats. The trail blazes in Indiankill are
inadequate and one needs the ECOS Schenectady County Natural areas map to get
out. Hikers were: Gail Carr and three granddaughters, Patty Costas and Lis
Schultze-Allen from
Germany
.
May
16 (Sat) OWLS HEAD & PITCHOFF
Leader: Gene Reilly
This turned out to be another great day despite the threatened chance of
rain. We got off to a great start
with everyone being on time, enjoyed breakfast at The Silo (exit 19) and had no
trouble getting parking places for both cars.
We opted to leave Owls Head until the end of the day and focus on
accomplishing the major portion of the hike first, and it turned out to be a
good decision as we later unanimously decided to postpone Owls Head to another
time. It was mixed overcast with
periods of sun now and then when we started but the weather deteriorated to
strong gusty winds and rain / hail hitting us sideways by the time we were on
some of the most exposed rock outcroppings / ledges on the middle section of the
hike. We had already had some great
views from the balanced rocks and even took a few photos but were glad to have
rain jackets at this later point! We
soldiered on and were soon rewarded with drier weather and even a few more
glimpses of sunlight. Wet,
sore, tired and muddy at the end were first time hiker Jill Tedd, Lenny Maglio,
Mike Mason, Maria Schollenberger, Ron Toseland, and the leader, Gene Reilly.
May
16 (Sat) SW HUNTER & HUNTER
Leader:
Cal Johnson
Starting at the Spruceton trailhead, we took
the Diamond Notch trail to the Devil’s Path for the ascent to the herd path to
SW Hunter. No real bushwhacking was
required to get to this “trailless” peak, since the well defined herd path
follows an old railroad bed for about a ½ mile before the path turns left to
the summit. After registering our
visit in the canister, we backtracked to the Devil’s Path to continue on to
the
Hunter
Mountain
trail, which leads to the summit of Hunter.
Gary Hoekstra, the area Catskill supervisor for the NY-NJ Trail
Conference and a fire tower interpreter, joined us for the hike and opened the
caretaker’s cabin. He would have
opened the cab on the tower, but since we spent the day inside of a cloud, with
frequent drizzle, that wasn’t a good idea.
We couldn’t even see the cab from the bottom.
After taking a break in the cabin, we headed down the Spruceton Trail to
our cars, leaving
Gary
to spend the night in the cabin and be available for hikers on Sunday.
The temperature was very comfortable for hiking, but there certainly
weren’t any views on this trip. Hikers
were: Charlene Shafer, Lori McCarron Gail Bradney and the leader.
May
21 (Thu) PADDLE
HUDSON RIVER
FEEDER CANAL
Leaders: Bill Valentino &
Jim Schaller
Well,
a wilderness experience it was not, but it was fun anyway. The
Feeder
Canal
extends between
Glens Falls
and
Hudson
Falls
. It is the only surviving part of the original
Erie Canal
system. It is rarely more than two feet deep but still carries water
needed for the locks on the
Champlain
Canal
. Our group paddled the
Feeder
Canal
on a beautiful warm day in May. The trip began just below the Big Boom
which, in yesteryear, held logs cut in the
Adirondacks
for sorting and shipping to the mills. The five mile trip offered some
stark contrasts. You begin by moving through beautiful forest in which the
sides of the canal are lined with the original cut stones that were used on the
Erie Canal
. The middle of the trip takes you right through the industrial center of
Glens Falls at one point right directly under a Finch Pruyn paper mill. If you
reach up in your boat you can touch the bottom of the plant. The trip ends
moving through an attractive wooded residential area and terminating at
Martindale
Park
. The most difficult part of the trip was the spotting and shuttling of a
dozen cars. Between
Glens Falls
and
Hudson
Falls
there were two “turn-abouts” which ended up distributing cars in multiple
haphazard directions requiring “reorganization” of the group. Trip
participants included Millie and Danny Grossberg, Paul Breslin, Lynn Filarecki,
Karen Ross, Marlee and Hank Bickel, Bob Heffley, Katie and Ray Henrikson,
Charlie Beach, Etta Menges, Doree Cox, Emily Reed, Doris Bindt, Bonnie Schaller
and the leaders.
May
22 (Fri) SPRUCE PEAK AND GRASS MTN.
Leader: Charlie
Beach
This was another climb on road/trails on a warm sunny day. These trails
are not marked. Off our route were many side roads, most probably used
for logging at one time are dead end. The black flies were our companions
when the wind took a break. We bushwhacked to Spruce from the col between
the hills. Spruce summit is fairly flat and with the brush undergrowth the
marker is not prominent. After returning to the col, the climb to the Grass
summit was relatively easy on a road which appeared to be used often.
Not surprisingly, two motor bikes passed us on the way to Grass. On the way
back we visited a stream gorge which was inviting for a refreshing dip on this
warm day. Enjoying the outing was: Walt Addicks, George Baranauskas, Leslie
Siegard, and leader Charlie Beach.
May
23 (Sat) MT.
GREYLOCK
BY BICYCLE
Leader: Don Berens
George
Baranauskas and Don Berens drove to the
Mount
Greylock
Regional
High School
in the Green River valley between the Taconic and
Berkshire
mountain ranges. With temperatures in the low 60's and a steady south
wind under partly cloudy skies, we warmed up by pedaling south up the
gentle valley for ten miles, often with views of the Mount Greylock summit
towers to our east. We then turned north into the state reservation with
the wind at our backs and a ten-mile, 2,300 foot hill in our faces. After
a two-year reconstruction project, the paved road to the 3,491 foot summit of Massachusetts
had been officially reopened to auto traffic only the day before. A score
of other cyclists were there to try out the new pavement. Above the
visitors’ center, we climbed into a leafy late spring
Berkshire
mountain hardwood forest. Higher up, we went back in time a few
weeks into an early spring birch forest with occasional views both east and
west, and then into the spruce zone. Increasing cloud and breeze kept us
comfortably cool in spite of our high work rate. At the summit, we
snacked, put on some layers and climbed the stairs of the
War
Memorial Tower
for its 360 degree views above the trees. Then we rewarded ourselves for
our 90 minute climb with a 20 minute, ten-mile, and 2,800 foot ride down the
north ridge of the mountain. Back in the increasingly sunny 70 degree
lowlands, we pedaled through Williamstown another 30 minutes to a decision
point. Still suffering the impaired judgment caused by our recent trip to
altitude, we decided to climb Petersburg
Pass
on the Taconic side of the valley. It was only four miles and 1,200 feet,
but steeper than our climb of Greylock. We derived some perverse
satisfaction in completing the climb to the pass with its view across the
Green River
valley to Greylock, and some healthy exhilaration in descending, barely within
the 40 mph speed limit, back down the hill to the car. Carbo reloading
with milkshakes and sundaes completed a wonderful 46-mile, 4,850-foot day
Jun
6 (Sat) NATIONAL TRAILS DAY AT THACHER PARK
Leader:
Jim Schaller
On 2009’s National Trails Day Albany ADK
worked again in
Thacher
State Park
. A total of around 20 volunteers participated, but that included “Friends of
Thacher Park” and others who saw the news on the Park’s website or in media
announcements. Only a few ADKers came. We completed building a new extension of
the Yellow marked “Perimeter Trail” from
Carrick Road
to Old Stage Road. That makes a new connection to make longer “loop” hikes
easier. Also trail bypass sections were done on the Yellow Trail at the Beaver
Pond to avoid a muddy shoreline area and
on the Salisbury Trail to avoid a section of old road abused by illegal truck
and ATV use. Volunteers used the DR Brush & Field mower to mow sections of
the
Salisbury
, Meadow Loop, and new Yellow Trails the previous weekend. The Park, with help
from Friends of Thacher Park, again treated us to a picnic barbeque lunch at mid
day at the Horseshoe Picnic area. We
want to thank the park workers and “Friends” for the free passes and a great
lunch. Three of us went back out in the afternoon to begin marking the new
Salisbury Trail section with white discs, and new trail signs. With these trails
completed, a new Park map will be planned after the trails are “GPS’d”.
ADKers present were Jim & Bonnie Schaller, John Susko, Dave Esmond,
John Klunowski and Susan DeAngelus, with a special appearance by Thacher Park
mentor and legendary trail builder—Fred Schroeder.
Jun
6 (Sat) EAST DIX VIA SPOTTED MOUNTAIN
Leader: Bob Scaife
On a cool, clear early June morning the flat,
rocky head of Elizabethtown # 4, and the steeply rising back of Spotted Mountain
beckoned from high above the rushing Boquet.
Following the East Dix herd path along and beyond the
North Fork
, we turned East through the open woods and quickly reached Lilypad Pond, a
pleasant, shallow and aptly named pond. We
proceeded with compass in hand, and with as much directness as nature permitted,
to and across the South Fork of the Boquet and up the forested slopes to the
cliffs that wall the northwest face of E’town 4.
Our upward progress blocked, we chose left and a hundred yards later
congratulated ourselves as a break appeared in the rock ribs of the mountain.
Ascending a forested gully through the lower cliff band, we emerged onto
the first of a series of open ledges and paused to enjoy both the expansive
views and the abundance of Pink Lady’s Slippers.
A scramble from ledge to ledge, with intermittent short meanders between
stunted birches, led to the bald pate of E’town 4.
Descending to the foot of E’town’s summit and traversing the rocky
shoulder of Spotted, we began to follow its spine upward.
The sun warmed us to a sweat but clouds gave us occasional shade and we
climbed into a pleasant breeze. From
the broad, open summit of Spotted our destination peak, East Dix, rose at the
end of a mile of rocky, bumpy, wild and beautiful ridge.
Cloud shadows drifted across the springy face and arms of Dix as we
zigzagged up the ridge, often moving effortlessly on the open rock, sometimes
not so much. Pushing through the
last and thickest brush, we emerged to a view of the East Dix slide and paused
to chill on the brow of the windy cliffs before claiming the summit.
Our return leg, along the usual E. Dix herdpath, was refreshed by the
shaded cascades and pools of the Boquet South Fork.
Jun
7 (Sun) CATSKILL CREEK/RAMSHORN MARSH KAYAK
Leader:
John Hoffman
This outing couldn't have been any better.
Since this was my first trip as leader, there was a bit of anxiety, to
say the least. So, maybe
beginner’s luck was in part responsible for a great day. Nine of us met
and launched from Dutchman's Landing in the
Village
of
Catskill
. The weather was warm and sunny, the wind was light, and the tide was in our
favor. We first set off to explore
Catskill Creek and were able to paddle upstream as far as the railroad bridge,
where the very clear water quickly became too shallow to continue.
As only good luck would provide, one of our bunch is a local (Ken
Goldfarb), and served as our historian and tour guide. We met very little
powerboat traffic and were warmly greeted by the folks enjoying their Sunday
morning with their boats in the many marinas along the creek. So, out the
Catskill we went and then downstream on the
Hudson
to Ramshorn Creek. We slowly made
our way up Ramshorn, enjoying the quiet and the feeling of being in deep
wilderness, even though we were less than a mile from traffic lights and city
hall. We managed a lunch stop at the Audubon dock where we rested and further
discovered what a friendly bunch had stumbled together. Lunch was livened up not
only by good conversation but by homemade butterscotch oatmeal cookies provided
by paddler Joy Gudz. Our return to the
Hudson
proved interesting, paddling against incoming tide in a very crooked
stream. But all seemed to go well.
We returned to Dutchman’s Landing, recording 8.62 miles of enjoyable
travel.
Jun
11 (Thu) PUTMAN POND PADDLE
Leader:
Bill Valentino
Like
so much of June this year, the day of our trip to Putnam Pond was overcast and
chilly. Between the marginal weather and because we were early in the
season we had Putnam Pond pretty much to ourselves. It is an attractive
place, located in the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness and surrounded by high peaks.
There was ample evidence of beaver and we had a loon for company for a short
part of the way. We stopped at a campsite on an island for lunch. If
you stood in the face of the wind while you ate, the black flies would divert
and consider one of your companions who were less exposed to the wind. But
it was a nice paddle nevertheless enjoyed by John Pecoroni, Betsy Kaido, Dave
Esmond, Susan Roberts, Ken Charuk, Eric Washburn and the leader.
Jun
12-14 (Fri-Sun) JBL TRAIL WORK WEEKEND
Leader: Mery Seeman-Sokal
Members
of ADK Chapters from many parts of the state met on Friday afternoon at the
Marcy Field parking lot. We divided
trail work tools and food enough to feed the 14 volunteers and 2 staff members
for 2 days. Adding to our personal
gear, our packs bulged a bit. We
hiked in with little problem from black flies or other fine critters and reached
JBL before 4:00 p.m. While all set
about laying claim to their bunks and spreading out territorial gear, I followed
the Big Chef, Marilyn Gillespie, into the kitchen.
With incredible dispatch, we had a fine spaghetti dinner on the table by
6:00 pm. ADK staff then explained
the work to be done: move rocks,
clear drainage and cut back blowdown on the trail up and over Big Slide and
Yard
Mountain
. The Crews would be divided in
half, each starting at the opposite end of the trails, meeting on the crest.
Please watch for next year’s announcement of the JBL Trail Work
weekend. It occurs every year around
the beginning of June, it is free of charge, and the trail work won't kill you
(according to my husband). It is
usually advertised under Trail Work in the
Adirondack
magazine, or you can contact the Trail Dept. at the Main Club Office. And, look
for me in the kitchen, as I am delighted to report that I passed my
apprenticeship and will return next year, as well!
Jun
13 (Sat) SUGARLOAF
Leader:
Cal Johnson
After everyone arrived at the Stewarts shop
in
Haines
Falls
, we proceeded to the Roaring Kill trailhead.
We took the Roaring Kill trail to the Mink Hollow trail to get up to the
Devil’s Path for the hike over Sugarloaf.
A few people found the ascent to be extremely difficult, taking over 2
hours to climb what would normally take about 30 minutes for a “B” hike.
The bulk of the group got far ahead and I learned later that they
finished the hike over 3 hours ahead of the last few, who found going down the
east side of Sugarloaf to be equally as difficult.
At the col between Sugarloaf and Indian Head we went down the Pecoy Notch
trail to the Roaring Kill trail and out to the cars.
As the Pecoy Notch trail turns west from the descent we passed a rather
substantial beaver dam, where there used to be just a very small pond.
Further down, the trail passes through Dibble’s Quarry, where overly
ambitious locals constructed stone chairs, fire pits and walkways from the pile
of rubble left by the quarry work. Hikers
were: Maria Garcia, Luis Pacheco, Martha Waldman, Christina Miller-Lezniak, Beth
Johansen, Ron Toseland, David Koehler, Stephan Kass, John Kwasnowski, Maria, Ken
Class and the leader, Cal Johnson.
Jun
20 (Sat)
ADIRONDACK
HIGH PEAKS BIKING
Leader:
Don Berens
No one signed up to join the advertised
bicycle ride up and down the Chapel Pond and
Cascade
Passes
. So the leader instead rode the annual Whiteface Mountain Uphill
Bike Race from
Wilmington
to the castle at the top of the highway. Because the road gains 3,600
feet at an average grade of nearly nine per cent, it was the toughest eight
miles I've ever pedaled. But it was a congenial, though masochistic,
group of cyclists, and the predicted rains held off until after the ride, so
when all the riding was over, all the riders were satisfied.
Jun
25 (Thu) PADDLE SOUTH
BAY
OF
LAKE CHAMPLAIN
Leader:
Bill Valentino
After one of the coldest, wettest Junes on
record, our paddle in
South
Bay
on
Lake Champlain
was one of the first indicators of summer. We had sun for most of the day
with temperatures in the mid 80’s. After about five miles of paddling
and approaching the grassy, marshy southern limit of our trip we encountered a
group of young people who worked for the Nature Conservancy. They each had
plastic laundry baskets balanced on the front deck of their kayaks which
contained the water chestnuts they were harvesting. They explained how
hand harvesting of certain invasive species such as water chestnuts can make a
significant difference to the ecosystem. Apparently this small group has
been at it for a few years. I was startled to see that on this trip we
could paddle an additional ¼ to ½ mile
farther south into the vegetation than we had been able to three years ago
because of this hand harvesting effort. The
leader selected a “paddling subcommittee” to range ahead of the main group
and find a suitable lunch spot. Unfortunately, and almost immediately, you
could hear loud sucking sounds as each paddler exited their boat and watched as
their sandals or water-shoes were pulled off their feet by the claylike mud
substance which lined the shore. At this point, after a couple of hours of
paddling ensconced in a hot kayak, tired and with a great desire to eat, most of
us just had to get out of our boat. So with one foot in the boat and
another stuck in the mud, we ate lunch standing like a covey of odd storks. The
DEC boat launch at
South
Bay
may have the worst latrine in the
Adirondack
Park
, but we all agreed it was a wonderful paddle. Our group included Marlee
and Hank Bickel,
John Lane
and Mary Flanders, Lynn Filarecki, Charlene Shafer, George Hallenbeck, Bill
Smollin, Howard Stoller, Mark Pettrone and the leader.
Jun 27 (Sat) DIAL & NIPPLETOP
Leader:
Mike Becker
The air was humid as we made our way up the
pretty Leach trail, with its very large trees and green forest.
Passing the burned area on the shoulder of Noonmark, I was amazed by how
quickly the vegetation is growing and obscuring the views from the 1999 fire.
We had fleeting views from the windy and damp summit of Dial, and rain
started soon after, making the already-wet trail between Dial and Nippletop
extremely muddy. We made our way
carefully down the steep and wet trail to
Elk
Pass
and enjoyed the view of the 3 ponds there.
We could hear the rushing water of
Fairy
Ladder
Falls
and see it through the trees. The
poor weather made the side trip to Fish Hawk Cliffs not appealing, so we took
the short trail back to the
Lake Road
and the long walk back to the parking lot.
Hikers included Amy Becker, Pam Barbeau, Charlie Czech, and the leader
Mike Becker.
Jun
27 (Sat)
SOUTH
MOUNTAIN
Leader:
Cal Johnson
This hike started at the DEC parking lot on
White’s Road in Palenville. We
headed out the short yellow marked spur which leads to the
Harding Road
trail (Long Path). Just before the
intersection, we headed up what was an old quarry road, which zigzags its way up
the side of
South
Mountain
. The path goes through a few long
abandoned quarries and then connects to what was an old carriage road up to the
former Half Way House at what is now known as Palenville Overlook.
This excellent viewpoint has three large stone chairs, built from
remnants of the Half Way House foundation. The
basement area of the former building is still there.
After a break here, we took a branch of the Rip Van Winkle horse trail
system, crossing to a former bed of the Otis Elevating Railway and the
connecting to the Mountain Turnpike trail, which leads up to North Lake.
There had been some off and on showers, so we took advantage of the
pavilion to stay dry for lunch. After
eating we took the Escarpment trail up to the site of the former Catskill
Mountain House, to see the great view of the
Hudson
Valley
fog. We continued on the Escarpment
trail to pass Boulder Rock, explore the former Kaaterskill Hotel site, and go
down to the intersection for the Harding Road trail, which descends 3 miles down
to Palenville. Hikers were: John
Susko, Charlene Shafer and Frank Petramale.
Check out this web site for info and photos of this historic area: http://www.catskillarchive.com/otis/index.htm
Jun
29 (Mon) PILOT KNOB RIDGE
Leader:
Katie Henrikson
The day dawned cool and cloudy, but like many
other days this summer, we were not rained on while hiking – only driving to
and from the hike. We had the usual geographic view of southern
Lake George
from the gazebo, and most of the group found the waterfall to be flowing. A
fine time was had by Mary Flanders, Alexis Henrikson, Ray Henrikson, Jake Landry
and Sharon,
Don Lane
, Lori McCarron, Jim Torriani, and the leader.
Jul
7 (Tue) NOONMARK AND
ROUND
MOUNTAINS
Leader:
John Antonio
I know, Fred, “What, Noonmark again!!?”
But this time we took the Stimpson Trail up instead of the standard Boys
Club route of the Felix Adler Trail. Eight
of us left the hikers parking lot at 9:35. We
got strung out somewhat but all arrived at the summit at 11:40 in a cool but
mostly clear 57 degrees. We soaked
up the sights and headed down the Felix Adler Trail to regroup once again at the
Dix intersection at 12:55. After
deciding to split the group up, three of us headed out on the old Dix trail
while the rest of the group shot off to
Round
Mountain
to complete the day’s planned itinerary.
Our smaller group reached the parking lot at 3:15 and the
Round
Mountain
party at 4:20, happy to have completed both of these mountains.
There were no complaints, especially after a stop at the Noonmark Diner
for ice cream and treats. Our group:
John Sheehan, Mark Barrett, Ed Newell, Sharon Bonk, John Tifft, Al
Knight, Lori McCarron and the leader.
Jul
11 (Sat) COLVIN & BLAKE
Leader:
Bob Scaife
With afternoon thunderstorms in the forecast,
Mark Barrett, Terryl Brown, Mike Schaefer and the leader set off along the
Lake Road
at a brisk pace and with firm purpose. With
only a short delay to admire trout pooled behind the small dam on Gill Brook, we
were soon ascending the trail toward Colvin.
Overhead the sky was blue and the early sun cast shadows in the forest,
but dark clouds already shrouded the summit of the Nipple Top ridge.
As we climbed, the clouds expanded to fill
Elk
Pass
and the south wind began to rise. Our
early start and steady pace brought us to Colvin’s summit not long after 9:00
a.m. Clouds and haze obscured many
peaks, but Sawteeth, Armstrong, the Wolf Jaws, Giant and Rocky revealed
themselves intermittently, and the
Lower
Ausable
Lake
beneath us still sparkled in the sun. The
weather offered no threat, so we continued our peak-quest southward along the
crest of Colvin’s sharp ridge. All
found the steep and rocky descent challenging.
As with many
High
Peaks
paths, the trail to Blake seemed particularly muddy, rooty and eroded this
rainy summer. Though the
re-ascent of Colvin proved as challenging as the descent, we found on our
arrival that lunch was still being served at the summit.
The steady wind kept our insect friends from the picnic and we enjoyed an
extended rest before beginning the return journey.
Visits to Fish Hawk and Indian Head Cliffs, spectacular even with heavy
gray clouds covering the peaks, were cut short by the first raindrops of the
day, soon followed by many others. The
predicted rumbles of thunder began to echo between the peaks as we neared the
end of the long walk out and we were glad to be off the high ridges and not too
far from dry clothes.
Jul
14 (Tue) WAKELY MOUNTAIN
Leader:
Jim Schaller
Some more non-typical July weather met us for
our hike. It was only in the high 5’s that morning and it didn’t get out of
the 60s until the ride home! The old road in to Wakely is heavily eroded in
spots. It was used by the Fire Observer until the early 1990s. Still a nice
warm-up walk in, though. Then the foot trail diverges straight up to Wakely’s
3744’ summit. The fire tower rises 80’, and the cab was open. But a chilly
breeze kept most of us on the ground, or venturing only part way up the steps
for a view under cloudy skies. Various surrounding peaks could be seen—Little
Moose, Blue and
Snowy
Mountains
and the Cedar River Flow below. The descent went quickly but cautiously.
Thirteen hikers participated: Cassie and Mark McCracken, Ray and Katie
Henrikson, John Sober, Lori McCarron, Gary Wiltshire, Larry Pohl, Bonnie
Schaller, Leslie Siegard, and son Adam, with his friend Connor Brinser, and the
leader Jim Schaller.
Jul
21 (Tue) SOMERSET RESERVOIR
Leader:
Bill Valentino
Among
the leader’s favorite paddling destination, Somerset Reservoir is largely
unspoiled and one of the last lakes in
Vermont
with nesting loons. The day was
overcast and cool with rain threatening as we launched. Almost immediately
we saw a loon overhead moving in the opposite direction. The rain started
as we finished lunch and were beginning our return for home. Within a mile
we had an unexpected but great sighting of a bald eagle. Halfway home the
rain started in earnest and began coming down in sheets. This was a very
positive and willing group undiscouraged by the heavy rain at the end, which
reaffirmed the old ADK adage that there is no such thing as bad weather—just
bad gear. The rain continued to come down fairly heavily as we loaded our
cars with our boats and gear, never too much fun but made even more challenging
when one of our members locked their keys in the car.
That neat trick to unlock a car with the keys stuck inside, by holding a
cell phone near the lock while someone uses a spare clicker at home, doesn’t
work if you are out of cell phone range. Just a general reminder from
someone who has been leading trips for years and who has watched at least half a
dozen people lose or lock their keys in their car—keep an extra car key on
your person. Since we operate in remote locations a lost key almost always
guarantees extensive discomfort for both the person losing the key and often
other assisting members of the group. Trip members included Marlee and Hank
Bickel, Pam Bristol, John Sheehan, Robert Bailey, Cathy Kemp, Ray Henrikson,
George Ross and the leader.
Aug
6 (Thu) Canoe Trip- St.
Regis Lakes
Leader:
Jim Schaller
Only one person met us for this trip. We had
a good day, and little, or just moderate winds on the loop we took. We paddled
up Upper St. Regis Lake, and past the former Marjorie Merriweather Post Estate,
before making the carry over the hill past Echo Pond. At Keese Mills Dam, we
continued up river on the St. Regis, stopping for lunch at Peter’s Rock
Lean-to on the
Lower Lake
. A brisk wind hit from the west as we crossed
Spitfire
Lake
, and then crossed Upper St. Regis to the landing.
At one point on the lake a Bald Eagle burst from the wooded shore, and
swooped right in front of us! Joining the leader Jim Schaller were Bonnie
Schaller and Ray Bouchard.
Aug
7 (Fri) Canoe
Trip – Jones Pond to
Osgood
Lake
Leader:
Jim Schaller
There were six “no-shows” for this trip!
So only three embarked from Jones Pond on another nice day. The Jones
Pond-Osgood stream had a moderate flow and only one low beaver dam that we could
run. We entered Osgood Pond and rounded the point where White Pine Camp’s
2-lane Bowling Alley and “Tea House” are.
Soon we were in the
Osgood
River
moving downstream. Kingfishers swooped back and forth over the water. We went
as far as the “rock dam” which held back the lake and river’s waters,
before a series of rapids begins. Returning upstream, we had lunch at a clearing
which was the site of a former camp. Then it was back to Osgood Pond and the
stream to Jones Pond. We caught a
glimpse of an otter in the stream! Paddling were Jim Schaller, George
Hallenbeck, and Ray Bouchard.
Aug
8 (Sat) Canoe
Trip – Rainbow Chain of Lakes
Leader:
Jim Schaller
Again this day there were six “no-shows”!
And again just three of us set off from the south end of
Rainbow
Lake
to paddle the chain of lakes. This day proved to be the warmest and sunniest of
the three. We went down the right (east)
shore
of
Rainbow
, and there were few boats out at this early hour. We crossed under the two
roads and one old railroad bridge into
Rainbow and then
Kushaqua
Narrows
. We passed the Buck Pond inlets and then found a small island on the end of
Lake
Kushaqua
to have lunch. Our return trip followed the same route as far as the “cut in
the esker,” a tiny passage into Rainbow’s western bays and inlets. By this
time of day, more boats were about, and we had to take a bit of extra care with
wakes from the motors. Back in the marshes approaching the take-out, we spotted
a heron with a good-sized fish he was attempting to swallow in one gulp!
Paddling were George Hallenbeck, Ray Bouchard, and the leader-Jim Schaller.
Aug
20 (Thu) PADDLE KUNJAMUK RIVER
Leader:
Bill Valentino
We
had a great weather day. To shorten our trip somewhat we launched directly
into the bay rather than the usual launch in Speculator near the firehouse.
The Kunjamuk may be the ultimate
Adirondack
meandering stream. We experienced numerous twists and turns some of which
had us going around almost in a complete circle. Luckily on this trip we only
had to get out of our boats once to clear a beaver dam. We headed up
river for a couple of hours then stopped, sat and ate lunch on a bridge.
We resumed up river after lunch but reversed our course and headed downstream
just short of
Elm
Lake
in order to beat the afternoon thunderstorms to the area. Reasonably
close to
Albany
, the Kunjamuk is a great same day flatwater canoe trip. Our group included
Charlene Shafer, John Sheehan, Etta Menges, Marty Connor,
John Lane
, Bruce Barbeau, Kay Valentino and the leader.
Aug 27 (Thu) POKE-O-MOONSHINE
Leader:
Dave Esmond
The guidebooks couldn’t agree on the
derivation of the mountain’s name (adaptation of native American phrase for
“broken/smooth” vs. reference to the locals’ distilling activity) but they
both agreed on the superlative view from the fire tower, which we amply
confirmed. Great day, great views, and we had a nice opportunity to chat with a
Potsdam
student from
Rochester
doing ‘environmental steward’ duty as part of an internship for his college
program. Participating were John Tifft, the Eddy family (Gerald Eddy, Stephanie
Neubert, and daughters Arden and Mia), and the leader.
Aug
30 (Sun) SHELVING ROCK MTN. &
LAKESIDE
TRAIL
Leader:
Wally Herrod
Rain delayed this Saturday trip to Sunday,
and it turned out to be 67 degrees and partly sunny for this wonderful hike with
terrific people. After climbing the
rustic carriage road and summiting on Shelving Rock Mtn. we feasted on the views
and then began our ramble along the ridge trail to the north.
This trail seems to be only occasionally used, and in parts was
overgrown. However, the entire
path’s soft duff (rock-free organic matter) was easy on the feet and its
climax forest leading to grandiose views down toward
Lake George
with its many boats provided a feast for our eyes. We then headed rather
steeply down to the lakeshore, and hiked 1.3 miles along the water on another
carriage road. There were many
stately hemlocks, white pine and cedars. We
heard waves lapping at the shore beside us, and stopped at one of the points for
a refreshing swim. Then we had a
steep climb back toward Shelving Rock Mtn. and down to our cars on
Shelving Rock Road
. Everyone agreed they wanted to
return another day, but not the next day, because we were plenty tired out.
Along on the trip were leader Wally Herrod, Justina Danison, Anita
Whalen, Anneliese Lawson, Tom Conry, Susan Jefts, Bob Priest, and Sue Snyder.
Sep
2 (Wed)
Jenkins
MtN.
– Long
& Black Ponds
Leader:
Jim Schaller
We met at the
Adirondack
Visitors
Information
Center
at Paul Smiths. The trail begins there, following the old
Jenkins Mountain Road
. PSC has Forest Ecology placards
along the road, explaining their Forestry Silviculture program. The trail winds
across a couple of glacial eskers before a long woods walk to the open rock
summit of
Jenkins
Mtn.
We enjoyed a beautiful day-= and
views of the lakes and distant mountains. About a third of the way back, we cut
off on the Long Pond Trail, soon arriving at a leanto on the pond.
We took the easterly trail around Black Pond, and at a footbridge
connecting two land points, a loon surfaced just a few feet from us, providing a
closeup view of this wild bird we so often hear in the distance with its eerie
calls and “yodeling.” We ended
at Keese Mills at a spotted car. Hiking
were Anita Whalen, Tony Calvagno, and Jim and Bonnie Schaller.
Sep
3 (Thu) Loon
Lake
Mountain (Fire tower)
Leader:
Jim Schaller
Only one other person joined us for this day.
Upon our arrival at Buck Pond Campsite, a Ranger gave me information on
Loon
Lake
Mountain
that it was again legal to climb the mountain after at least three decades of
closure. The summit is State land, but the access was blocked by a lumber
company’s hunting club lease. That ended in April 2009. So we changed our
schedule from St. Regis Mtn. to
Loon
Lake
. We found the old trail to be unmarked (signs or discs), unmaintained, and
badly eroded on steep sections, with lots of blowdown. But the route was marked
with orange flagging and was passable. The first mile or so is along a gravel
haul road, and then the old trail diverges (straight up!). After winding through
spruce on the summit ridge, we came out on the open top and the Fire Tower. The
lower set of steps is dangling and other steps are broken, making the tower
un-climbable. But great views are had from the open rocks in almost all
directions. The St. Lawrence River is to the NW,
Lyon
Mt.
to the NE, Whiteface and other
High
Peaks
to the South.
Lake
Kushaqua
lies to the West below us. Only a
slight distant haze prevented a perfect viewing day.
It was great to be back on this old
Fire
Tower
Mountain
that I first climbed 42 years before! Hiking were Tony Calvagno and Jim and
Bonnie Schaller.
Sep
4 (Fri)
St.
Regis
Mountain
(Fire tower)
Leader:
Jim Schaller
Again there was one other hiker, and we
agreed to re-schedule again, doing St. Regis Mtn. instead of
Debar
Mt.
After a 3.4 mile ascent, with a
steep section at the top, we reached the open rock summit. The Fire Tower here
is closed with two sets of stairs
removed. But it is hardly needed, as views from the rocky summit are great,
reaching from the north to the south, including distant High Peaks and dozens of
lakes and ponds beneath. We were surprised to be all alone on the top—at noon!
But we passed a procession of about twenty five hikers while on our
descent. At one brief rest stop, a huge old dead tree suddenly came loudly
crashing down to earth—only 100 feet off the trail or so.
Wow! Just one more “force
of nature”! Climbing were Tony Calvagno and Jim and Bonnie Schaller.
Sep
10 (Thu) PADDLE NORTH HUDSON-LUZERNE
Leader:
Bill Valentino
We put in at the DEC boat launch
south of Luzerne and paddled north against an easy current up to the Town.
Some of us played in the stronger current near the town and then we all rode the
current assist back to the launch area. Other than losing one of our
members on the ride up because of an unfixable tire blow-out this was one of
those days of really nothing extraordinary, just plain vanilla fun. Our
group included Marlee and Hank Bickel, Emily Reed, Bob Heffley, Etta Menges,
Marty Connor, David Palat, Tim Lawson and the leader.
Sep
19 (Sat)
PHARAOH
LAKE
& MOUNTAIN
Leaders:
Sue & Ted Wright
On a perfect fall day, fifteen of us set out
for the Pharaoh Mountain Wilderness. At the parking place, since the road to the
trail head is so deeply rutted, rocky and full of puddles, we split into two
groups. Those who would climb the mountain (Mary Walsh, Kathleen McGarry, Janice
Miller, Anthony Calvagno and John Tift) drove in the only SUV to the trail head,
while the rest of us (Gail Carr, her son-in-law Herbert Witham and his daughters
Allegra, Blythe and Celeste and her nephew Dan, Frank Visco, and Arthur
Fontijn), walked in. We hiked to the peninsula, now called Watch Rock, one of
the most beautiful spots in the
Adirondacks
, had lunch amidst a large group and then returned to our cars by 5:00 p.m. The
mountain climbing contingent didn’t reach the trail head until 6:20, a bit
longer than expected.
Sep
26 (Sat) AVALANCHE MOUNTAIN
Leader:
Don Berens
This
bushwhack hike to a 3,800 foot trail less peak on the first Saturday of autumn
was like "pulverized pepper." It was fine! The
day started frosty (28 degrees on the
Loj Road
), warmed to comfortable (56 degrees at 3:30), and was sunny, clear and
breezy with colorful foliage all day. Don Berens, Julie Gibbons, Wayne
Gray, Shashi Narayan and Jennifer Reidy made quick work of the walk to Marcy Dam
where we had a good view across the water of our peak bracketed by
Mount
Colden
and
Avalanche
Pass
to the SE and the
MacIntyre
Range
and
Caribou
Pass
to the NW. Another twenty minutes brought us to the Kagel Lean-to, near
which we forded Marcy Brook where Wright Brook joins it. We kept to the
right (SE) bank first of Wright Brook and then of its unnamed tributary draining
Caribou
Pass.
At first, it was mostly open woods in a gently rising broad valley.
Then the narrowing valley on our right squeezed us left into thick spruce
up against the steep cliffs of
Avalanche
Mountain
's NE ridge. We found a beautiful mossy gully that led us perhaps three
hundred feet up through the cliffs to the ridge crest where GPS told us we were
only 0.2 miles from the summit. The trees were thick but we soon saw the
summit across a dip in the ridge. As we approached the dip, we found
ourselves atop a 20-foot cliff band, but soon found breaks to allow us to
descend the band and continue up the ridge to the summit which we reached
before noon. We admired the bare rock slides on
Mount
Colden
, ate a leisurely lunch, and started back the way we had come through the thick
trees. Within two minutes, we were still in the thick trees, but we
were no longer on the way we had come. We quite unintentionally avoided
the ridge-top cliff band and instead dropped steeply but steadily down
the shady, sprucey, mossy north slopes of the mountain toward the stream
draining
Caribou
Pass.
We had awesome views of Algonquin and
Wright
Peaks
in the sun above us and of the bright blue pond of Marcy Dam below us.
After we descended to within earshot of the stream, we walked for a while down
its rocky bed. Although the route was lovely, well defined and sure
to lead us back to Marcy Brook, it had uneven footing and frequent deadfall
blocking quick progress. So we returned to the SE bank and made our way
uneventfully back to the lean-to and to the crowds of trail hikers descending
after a marvelous day. Back in the Loj parking lot, most of us
discovered evidence that our euphoria might have been caused by an unusually
intense application of "Adirondack Acupuncture" for we found
hundreds of flat green-brown needles resting between our clothes and our skins.
Sep
26 (Sat) GIANT VIA OWL HEAD
Leader:
Bob Scaife
After a last-minute change to the route,
George Baranauskas, Roman Laba, Kathy Pacuk, Arnie Tran, Kay Tran and the leader
set out from the quiet North trailhead to hike over Giant Mountain and Rocky
Peak Ridge to New Russia. A gradual
two mile ascent through a lovely hardwood forest brought us to the open rock and
panoramic views of the Owl Head lookout. Here
we enjoyed cooling breezes, a cloudless sky and a sunlit vista of mountains in
colorful fall drapery. Leaving this
pleasant spot, we descended into the valley of Roaring Brook and hiked for three
miles through a sun-dappled forest of maple, beech and birch, catching glimpses
of the eastern slides of Giant between the splashes of leafy red and orange
overhead. From the deeply shaded
valley between Giant and Green, we began our ascent of Giant.
The temperature dropped as we climbed and we found frost, a chill breeze
and a small crowd of hikers awaiting us at the summit.
There and on the steep descent of the sheltered and sunny East side of
Giant we shared the trail with a group of St. Lawrence University students
celebrating “Peak Day”. On Rocky
Peak Ridge, we found again a brilliant, warm sun and a refreshing, cool breeze.
After exchanges of cameras and photographs among the groups at the
summit, we continued on our sunny path, down past Mary Louise Pond to the twin
summits of Rocky Peak and then steeply downward to Bald Peak.
Onward and downward, we found ourselves out of season for the blueberries
of Blueberry Cobble. Ever onward and
downward from the birches into the pines and oaks, through the dark hemlocks,
along the mossy brook, continuing down the very last hill to the trail’s end.
Photos from the hike may be viewed at: http://picasaweb.google.com/rpscaife.
Oct
1 (Thu) BLUE LEDGES
Leader:
John Sheehan
It was a crisp autumn day with
everything the
Adirondacks
had to offer—sun, clouds, mud, autumn color and even the few morning snow
flurries that the weatherman promised. A
total of 9 hikers enjoyed this moderately paced 5 mile walk in the woods.
The group included a range of hiking skills from the very experienced to
first time hikers. The afternoon temperature was comfortable and we enjoyed
lunch on the banks of the
Hudson River
at the base of the cliffs across the water.
We also had plenty of time to explore the views both up and down stream.
The fall colors provided a striking contrast with the “white waters”
of the
Hudson
. The photo opportunities were
plentiful, and a number of us took full advantage.
Although rafting season was still in progress, we did not encounter
anyone on the water. The group
included: Peg Carucci, Jean Jones,
Mary Nicotera and Jim Hussey (with their two canine companions), Kevin Sheehan,
Fran Balch, Bob Heffley, Brian Washburn and the leader.
Oct
3 (Sat)
SEWARD
MOUNTAIN
Leader:
Don Berens
Overnight
rain had stopped and wind had blown much of the tree-drip off the green
spruce and colorful hardwoods when Don Berens, Randy Caldwell, Don
Duthaler, Dawn Mallory, Denise Mongillo, Shashi Narayan and Tim O'Connor met at
the trailhead on Saturday morning. We walked a brisk pace in comfortable
(mid-50s) temperatures under overcast skies on the trail past the Blueberry
Lean-to, but we slowed considerably on the herd path to Seward. The
unnamed brook draining the north slopes of Seward splashed with white
rushing water. Fungi gleamed in the moist forest, many brown, some
gold or pink, and one spectacular horn of shaved white coconut.
We climbed into the clouds, past tiny patches of snow, over occasionally icy
rocks, to the breezy, misty summit of Seward for a standing lunch break.
The mud and rocks on the traverse toward Donaldson continued to slow us.
When we reached the herd path junction, we calculated the likely time over
Donaldson to Emmons and back, then down to the valley trails, all in
anticipation of sunset, and decided not to undertake a long descent and exit in
darkness. Instead, we skipped further peak-bagging and started immediately
down the Calkins Brook herd path on which we had occasional rain showers
followed by intermittent sun. The skies dried by the time we reached the
trails, where we resumed the brisk pace of early morning. Rain
returned as we were changing clothes at the trailhead. On our drive from Coreys
to
Saranac
Lake
, the sun behind us broke through the clouds to ignite brilliant rainbows
in front of us. While four of us stayed in the
North Country
Saturday night, the remainder who drove south were treated to further
atmospheric delights. As we drove into Keene Valley, a nearly full moon
over Giant Mountain shone on a silver fog bank floating above the Ausable River,
and as we descended from the highlands near Lake George, lightning repeatedly
flashed across the southern sky. There may be some hikers who thrive on
sunny, cloudless days, but we enjoyed the visual fruits of the
Adirondack
damp.
Oct
14 (Wed) GLENS FALLS
&
LAKE GEORGE
BIKE RIDE
Leader:
Virginia Boyle Traver
I thought everyone would cancel
when the forecast was for 27 degrees to start the day and 40 by mid-afternoon,
but no, my stalwart crew of avid bikers out to have a social ride stood up to
the test! We started out bundled up and shed outer layers as we negotiated
hills and valleys. Colored leaves made for a pretty day, and conversation
was lively. Out for exercise, scenery, and fun were Claudia Summers, Janet
Tully-Kuzman, Deb Wein, and the leader.
Oct
18 (Sun)
THACHER
PARK-
LONG PATH LOOP
Leader:
Jim Schaller
Nearly every weather prediction called for
some rain that day, but we decided to give it a go anyway. So, ten folks met at
the
Nature
Center
. We started out on the Long Path from
Old Stage Rd. to High Point Cliff. And from there we went on to Hang Glider
Cliff. We enjoyed good views of the
autumn colors, and distant mountains were visible under cloudy skies. The rain
held off all day, but temps in the low 40’s and a stiff breeze made our stays
on the cliffs brief ones. We continued on the Long Path, Salisbury Trail, Blue
Trail, and finally the Yellow Trail back to the cars
by noon! The hike was an
introduction to Thacher Park North’s trail system
to some of those on the trip. Sections of the Long Path had just been
brushed out only days before. The
group enjoyed the forests and fields of the hike. Those hiking were Anita
Whalen, Gina Smith, and son Austin, Martha Waldman, Janet Twardzik, Marie, Neil
and Ann Cherkosly, and the leader/ trail-sweep – Jim and Bonnie Schaller.
Oct
24 (Sat) BASIN & SADDLEBACK
Leader:
Bob Scaife
This trip was officially
cancelled because threatening weather made a group hike seem inadvisable.
The leader decided to brave the elements and was accompanied in the
endeavor by Kathy Pacuk. At 6:30
a.m. at the trailhead, the temperature was 45 degrees and skies were overcast.
Soon a steady rain was falling, and so was the temperature.
On the Shorey Short Cut above Slant Rock we began to find a skin of ice
on the rocks and trees and stopped to strap traction aids on our boots.
The rain fell harder and the trail became an ankle-deep brook before we
reached the Range Trail. Turning
onto the Range Trail toward Basin, we climbed steeply upward through iced
waterfalls cascading off the frozen ledges.
When we reached the summit, thoroughly soaked but warmed by our
exertions, we found the southwest (windward) side of the rocks coated with a
thin layer of ice. It was not a good
day to descend the steep and shadowed north side of Basin or to ascend the
Saddleback cliff, so we put our one peak in the bag and turned back.
When we reached the brook crossing above Slant Rock, we found that the
placid stream we had easily 2-hopped across three hours before was now a raging
white torrent that could not be safely forded.
A short, thick bushwhack and four difficult log crossings brought us
safely across all the un-bridged tributary streams and to the east side of Johns
Brook, roaring white from bank to bank, 2 to 3 feet above normal flow.
As we slogged downstream beside the thundering brook, the rain ended.
The sun broke through the clouds shortly before we reached the trailhead,
at about 5:15 p.m. On the drive
home, in dry clothes and with warm hot chocolate in hand, we agreed it was a
great hike, but not one we cared to repeat soon.
Nov
7 (Sat) DIAL & NIPPLETOP MOUNTAINS
Leader:
Don Berens
A
brisk, clear, 20 degree sunrise greeted John Arnason, Don Berens, Kathy
Pacuk, John Sheehan and Bryce Waldrop near the Ausable Club. The bare
ground at the register succumbed to thin but widespread day-old snow as we
ascended the road to
Lower
Ausable
Lake
. We climbed past Indian Head and its views of the frigid,
wind-whipped lake to
Elk
Pass
and its thinly iced ponds. Four of us donned foot spikes, while one of us
went "pointlessly" up the steep, shaded, icy climb to the windy summit
of Nipple Top, which we reached under high, dark clouds at 11:00 a.m. We
enjoyed views in many directions as we ambled under the re-emergent sun over the
ridge trail to half-open Dial, wooded Bear Den, and the wide open shoulder
of Noonmark where we paused to work on our tans. A steady descent through
the 1999 fire clearing brought us back below the snow line. Then a
downhill shuffle through a carpet of beech leaves brought us back to the road
and a pleasant stroll back to the cars before 4:00 p.m.
Nov
7 (Sat) MT.
MARCY
Leader: Bob Scaife
Pam Barbeau, Dan Lockhardt,
Denise Mongillo and the leader found clear skies, a dusting of snow and crisp 17
degree temperatures at the trailhead. The
day was too nice to leave any of it unused and the group decided to add Skylight
to the day’s agenda. At
Indian
Falls
we were treated to 2 inches of fresh snow and a wonderful vista of the bright
white MacIntyre range against a blue sky. The
snow did not deepen appreciably with altitude.
As we approached Marcy, a dense and intricately patterned layer of high
clouds swept in from the west on a stiff breeze, dimming the light and adding
drama to the distant views. Though
the temperature had warmed into the mid thirties by 10:40 a.m. when we reached
the summit, the wind was chill and our pause was brief.
We descended the steep and rocky southwest face of Marcy carefully to
avoid the occasional patches of ice, and some donned crampons for the ascent of
Skylight. After an all-too-brief
enjoyment of the broad, open summit of Skylight, we began our return trip. The
leader’s belief that the best part of the trip was the opportunity to climb
Mt.
Marcy
twice was not widely shared. Fortunately
the return of a bright sun and the winter-blue sky crowning the mountain above
made the re-ascent of Marcy enjoyable for all.
While we had the summit to ourselves in the morning, when we returned at
1:30 p.m., we found many other hikers also enjoying the wonderful late fall day.
A steady pace carried us the 7.2 miles back to the trailhead with a bit
of light to spare, but none wasted. Photos
from the hike may be viewed at http://picasaweb.google.com/rpscaife.
Nov
16 (Mon) MT.
TREMPER
Leader: Katie Henrikson
We had a beautiful day for this Catskill hike. The sky was
bright blue, the temperature was mild and the company was pleasant. The fire
tower, closed in August, had been rehabilitated and was open for climbing. A
fine day was had by Charlie Beach, Ray Henrikson, Anneliese Lawson, Hilaire
Meuwissen, Kendra Pratt, Maureen Roeth, Charlene Shafer and the leader.
Nov
19 (Thu) AUSABLE CLUB – INDIAN HEAD CLIFF
Leader:
Jim Schaller
Eight of us started out at the Ausable Club
on a fairly mild, sunny November day. We took the West River Trail which is
always a pleasant hike, ranging from going high above the rushing torrent of the
Ausable
River
to right beside it. We stopped at both
Wedge
Brook
Falls
and
Beaver
Meadow
Falls
for photos. After passing along meadows and wetlands, we arrived at the
Lower
Ausable
Lake
, where we had lunch on the edge of the dam.
Then we ascended Indian Head cliff for great views of the
Ausable
Lakes
and nearby
High
Peaks
. A steep “down” and slight “up” took us over to Fish Hawk Cliff, with
more lake and mountain views. We then cut over to the
Gill
Brook
Trail
, took that out to the
Lake Road
, and followed that out to our cars. We left the woods at dusk, finishing up a
great day’s hike! Those hiking
were: Lori McCarron, John Susko, Susan Roberts, Claudia Rosenholz, John and Jane
Husson, and the leader/ trail-sweep – Jim and Bonnie Schaller.
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