Northeast Wild

April, 2022 - NYS buys the Grafton Forest. Changes at Rensselaer Plateau Alliance's Grafton Forest so I revisited a couple times. There are 3 lookouts, all toward Tomhannock Reservoir, and a maze of logging roads. ~10 miles east of Troy. The Whoop-De Do Trail (white markers) is a 1.4-mile multi-use trail - ruts, rocks & puddles - not the prettiest. Valley View Trail (yellow) is most interesting & more like a regular hiking trail - some steep to very steep & rugged parts, leads 0.4 miles to a lookout at 1,500' elevation - Empire State Plaza can be seen to the W, northern Taconics to the NE, Adirondacks on a clear day. Passes a balancing rock & some nice hemlock woods. After 1 more mile reach Vulture View - again Tomhannock Reservoir dominates, a bit closer here. Another 0.5 miles on Vulture View Trail (orange) on logging roads to loop back to white trail, 0.7 miles back to parking area. 0.4 miles further NE on white trail is the Rynard's Roost Trail...

Article - click here . Oct 21, 2017 - SNOW HOLE & BALD MOUNTAIN hike & trail clearing, from Petersburg Pass. An Albany ADK http://www.adk-albany.org/ trip that included some trail maintenance - I was nail & hammer guy & got to add/fix trail markers. Taconic Crest Trail mostly in NY, partly in VT here, stays just W of MA. Hopkins Memorial Forest https://hmf.williams.edu/ . Cleared area ~2 miles in - they have tried to revert this section to what it was some years ago to attract certain flora & fauna. White Ro ck & views to Catskills. Snow Hole - no snow/ice. Steeply up Bald Mtn (summit is treed) & down 100' on its N side, filtered view NW across N half of the Rensselaer Plateau, before turning around. Short bushwhack up Smith Hill for view of Mt Greylock. Mostly beech, maple & yellow birch. Flowering: smartweed. Elevations from 2,100' to 2,500' - foliage past peak but some good color down below at ~1,000...

Snowshoes or skis should be used on all trails where snow is 10 inches or deeper. Snowshoes or skis are required in the High Peaks Wilderness. Using snowshoes eases travel on snow and prevents "post holing", which can ruin trails and cause sudden falls resulting in injuries. Snowshoers and hikers should avoid walking on cross-country ski tracks wherever possible. Trail crampons should be carried for use on icy portions of the trails including summits and other exposed areas. Traveling in deep snow takes more energy and time - especially when traveling through freshly fallen snow - plan accordingly. Adirondack Backcountry Information

CROSS COUNTRY SKIING – WHAT'S ON THIS WINTER'S ADIRONDACK TO-DO LIST? With some good snow before Thanksgiving, the 2016/17 ski season has started out somewhat better than last season and I'm hoping this winter brings us more snow and less rain than we experienced a year ago. Although I have some favorite routes in the Forest Preserve that I continue to revisit on skis, I do like to explore new places and see what they have to offer both from a skiing standpoint as well as from a scenic perspective. With New York State's completion of the purchase of the former Finch, Pruyn & Company lands we do have some interesting new routes and destinations to investigate. This year's purchases have yet to be classified by the Adirondack Park Agency and public comments and suggestions are being accepted through December 30 of this year (see below*). Most of the lands will end up classified as either Wilderness or Wild Forest – the former allows no motori...