Northeast Wild

  Jan 18, 2015 - NORTHVILLE-PLACID TRAIL thru ski from Upper Benson (Godfrey Rd) to Benson Rd. New parking area on Benson Rd is on the S side 4.7 miles from Rt.30 - despite that I still skied to the old new (of last winter) parking turnout on the N side of the road 4.5 miles from Rt.30 - NPT markers that were there last winter have been removed near this end. From the hunting camp at the end of Godfrey Rd the trail is now marked with yellow markers & is no longer part of the NPT. 1.75 miles to the bridge over the N Branch W Stony Creek & picked up the new section going E. Lunch at Abner Brook then 280' climb over a hill (1,700' el) then fun 150' downhill run. Excellent conditions for the most part with 4"-6" powder on hard icy base. On the harder side of intermediate. Some exposed rocks later in the trip - needs 2' of snow in the Woods Lake area to cover up the rocks in the softwoods. Light rain for last hour, heavier rain & freezing rain on drive ...

  Jan 12, 2009 - BELLOWS PIPE TRAIL from Notch Rd.  NE side of Mt. Greylock near N Adams, MA.  Parking lot uphill from trailhead not a priority for plowing (got plowed just after we got there).  Great conditions - good base topped with up to a foot of powder.  Some blowdown; stream crossings not too bad (just make sure its been cold lately).  Climb for 2.7 miles to lean-to; thru-trees view of Hoosic River valley.  Continued on to  Thunderbolt Ski Trail; watched a couple of guys come down using alpine touring gear.  Fun run back; intermediate with only 1 steeper hill.  1, 000'+ elevation, 6.5 miles, 4+ hours.    Jan 16, 2006 - BELLOWS PIPE TRAIL thru the notch between Mt. Greylock & Ragged Mtn., N. Adams, Mass. Trailhead just before the end of plowing on Notch Rd. Trail is wide, relatively smooth. 8" powder, little base; windblown at higher elevation. More wet stream crossing than I would like due to recent warm spell & ...

  Southern Vermont near Wilmington. Mar 3, 2013 - DEERFIELD RIDGE TRAIL from Upper Dam Rd in Wilmington VT.  Elevation 2,390' at the trailhead.  Trail climbs over 600' in 2.1 miles to junction of 0.3 mile spur to Haystack Mtn.  The ridge trail continues above 3,000' to Mt. Snow.  As of Dec 14, 2012 motorized vehicles incl. snowmobiles not allowed.  Stopped for lunch & turns at top of the private Haystack Ski Area.  Continued N to a 1,055m summit & a bit beyond, over a mile short of Mt. Snow, before turning back.  Some moderately steep terrain, some challenging hills with moguls, trail generally fairly wide & good for turns.  A few limited views along the way - high up the trail tends to be bordered with thick stands of red spruce heavily laden with snow.  Some crusty base with 1-2" powder down low (ok skiing); excellent skiing above 3,000' with 5" powder on good base.  At least intermediate+.  1,000' net elevation c...

  Mar 31, 2014 - HI-NOTCH from Adirondak Loj Rd.  Started out on Meadow Lane, easy skiing with 1" new powder.  Klondike Notch Trail then L on the Mr. Van Ski Trail, a wide old woods road with no recent use.  Rolling terrain with some short steep hills & view of cliffs on Mt. Van Hoevenberg.  Yellow xc ski trail markers, new bridges over all streams. Lean-to at South Meadow Brook.  After crossing the iced-over stream the trail gains 300' in 0.7 miles arriving at Hi-Notch a little before reaching trail at the Mt Van Hoevenberg Ski Area.  Zippy run back to the lean-to.  Good base a bit crusty with some give to it, temp around freezing - ok skiing, somewhat hairy on steeper sections, could use a few inches of powder or warm temps to soften up the surface. Snowshoe hare, red squirrel, blue jay.   Intermediate+.  8.4 miles, 4.4 hours.  Visit us on Facebook Welcome to the Adirondacks NYSDEC Info

  Mar 7, 2016 - Still a foot of snow west of Piseco - skied in the G Lake area today.  Dec 26, 2011 - G LAKE skiing.  2-3" powder over 1-2" icy base - good skiing on the 2.1 mile unplowed dirt road, fair skiing on trails.  G Lake Rd drops 100' in the first mile then climbs 200' in the next mile.  From the summer parking area it is 0.4 miles N along an old woods road to a campsite at the E end of the lake - major windchill with a W wind.  Explored the old road S of the lake - had some minor blowdown.  Sidetrips on Alder Brook snowmobile trail & to Big Marsh.  3.3 hours.  Adirondack lakes mostly iced over (Canada Lake had the most open water).  Nov 19, 2008 - G LAKE xc skiing.  Piseco/Speculator region reported 6"-9" & more W of there; Boonville & Tug Hill area over a foot.  So we drive up to Speculator - 2", head west on Rt.8 Piseco 5", things start to look real good west of Piseco Lake.  ~6" at start of the unp...

  Dec 30, 2016 - HENNIG PRESERVE & HOMESTEAD COUNTY FOREST ski, in western Saratoga County.  12-15", 6" of new powder on a good base - very good skiing.  Looped on the yellow trail; also white & blue trails on eskers, red trail to vly/pond.  Elevations 1,300' to 1,650'.  Nice views of Cadman Creek in the county forest.  Easy intermediate N of Centerline Rd, intermediate to the S.  6.6 miles, 4.6 hours.  Jan 27, 2014 - HENNIG PRESERVE , western Saratoga County , just outside the Adirondack Blue Line , elevations over 1,500'.  Skied most of the trails N of Centerline Rd incl. new blue loop, all loops counterclockwise.  Very good to excellent skiing, mostly silky smooth but did hit 4 or 5 rocks (mostly on northern white trail that goes over an interesting esker ).  Up to 10" of snow, mostly powder.  1" fresh powder in tracks from previous skiers, did have to break trail some of the time tho.  2 hours.  Dec 31, 20...

  Feb 17, 2014 - SNOW HOLE.  Taconic Crest Trail from Petersburgh Pass (el 2,000') Rt.2 on the NY/MA border.  2-3' of snow (perhaps too much?!) - very good skiing in & out of snowshoe tracks, uphills a bit of work in the troughs.  Bare-booted the initial steep section from road to kiosk but skied it on the way back.  Great view from White Rocks lookout (2,300') 2.5 miles in - the Taconics, across the Rensselaer Plateau to the Catskills.  Williams College/Hopkins Memorial Forest has cut down most trees on a hill before White Rocks to attract flora & fauna that was found here in the past.  The grotto-like Snow Hole did have snow in it,.  Most of the trail is in NY but a section is in VT.  Short side-trip on Birch Brook Trail which eventually drops 1,500' to Williamstown - nice conditions for that.  Mostly intermediate with one steeper hill.  6 miles, 4.7 hours.  Jan 11, 2009 - THE SNOW HOLE & BALD MTN.  Taconic C...

  Mar 30, 2014 - COOPER KILN POND thru ski from Whiteface Mountain Rd to Bonnie View Rd in Wilmington.  Believe the start is the highest elevation plowed trailhead in the Adirondacks, over 2,300'.  5" fresh heavy snow on packed base.  Climb of 900' to height of land at over 3,200' (passed by 2 snowmobiles who soon turned off to Forestdale, broke trail most of the way) then drop 200' (to the pond & lean-to.  Misty.  Drop of 1,900' from height of land - steep, sometimes washed out snowmobile trail (saw group of 6 near the end).  5.9 miles, 4.5 hours then added another hour going back a ways to look for the last 2 members of our group.  Best skiing was up high where the new snow was lighter, got heavier & harder to snowplow & turn down low.  Epic skiing, best done by advanced skiers with new snow before 'bilers get out.  Lean-to camping on Heart Lake next to Adirondack Loj - it was good to get smoke in the eyes once again. ...

  Apr 19, 2004 - DUTCH HILL & HOOSAC RANGE skiing. Green Mountain NF. Good skiing on 0-15" corn, some wet spots. Started at ~2,200' on Rue Madeline in Heartwellville VT. Some bushwhacking, some old woods roads, some old ski trails. Climbed to the N of DH. View E to MA & NH? from ledge on 2,657' peak. Found an old camp & abandoned vehicles incl. school bus. Looped back on woods road to DH. Nice view across Aiken Wilderness to Prospect & Glastenbury Mtns from top of the old (closed in 1985) Dutch Hill Ski Area. Went partway down one of the old runs (not much snow down low). Sunny, temp rising thru the 40s to mid 50s, skied in shorts again. 4.7 miles, 4.5 hours.  Visit us on Facebook

Mar 25, 2009 - SPECULATOR TREE FARM ski.  From parking area just off Rtes 8&30 near bridge on Old Rtes 8&30 which is not plowed shortly after the bridge.  Avg. 1.5' of snow.  Icy at first but real nice as temp rose well over 40F + lots of sun to soften things up.  S on Old Rtes 8&30 for ~1 mile, rapids of Sacandaga River seen to the R.  L on Fly Creek Rd, a snowmobile trail (mountain bike trail in summer).  Pass 3 Camp Rd which goes to Elm Lake then pretty much stay close to Kunjamuk River (mostly ice-free).  Pass Long Level Bridge & continued on E side of Kunjamuk to site of Upper Bridge, there is no longer a bridge here.  Some nice views along the way with Upper Pine Mtn's cliffs to the E & East & Dug Mtns to the W.  I wouldn't ski here on a winter weekend due to snowmobiles but makes for a good late season weekday trip.  Mostly novice but with enough hills to make things interesting.  15 miles, 5.1 hours....

  The Huyck Preserve is a non-profit research organization located in the scenic hamlet of Rensselaerville.  The preserve's 12 miles of trails are spread out over 2,055 acres and lie between 1,600' and 1,900' in elevation.  An excellent map can be found on their website (huyckpreserve.org) or picked up at the visitor center on weekdays.   The best starting-off point for the skier is at a small parking area and kiosk on Pond Hill Road across the street from Lincoln Pond.  From there, it is a short walk to the beginning of the Wheeler-Watson Trail which climbs away from the road and soon reaches a 19th century cemetery.  On a clear day, you may get a view to the Catskills before reaching the flat Race Track, an old horse-racing oval.  The Partridge Path's 3 loops are the preserve's newest trails and are ideal for skiing with plenty of ups and downs through open hardwoods with little understory  I especially love skiing the glade on the southwes...

  February 28, 2010 - WHALES TAIL NOTCH.  High Peaks Wilderness. Start at HPIC.  Old Marcy Dam Trail.  Marcy Dam - popular spot due to its magnificent mountain views (+nice & sunny today).  Whales Tail Notch Ski Trail (400' up & down in 1.2 miles, wider than most hiking trails) - climbs moderately at first then quite steeply (climbing skins helped make this section easy) - view of Mt. Colden from notch.  Quite steep down to Algonquin Trail.  Skied out onto Heart Lake for views.  6.7 miles, 3.5 hours.  2'-3', good (WTN) to excellent (packed trail to Dam) skiing.  WTN advanced, rest intermediate.  Still time to grab a microbrew in Lake Placid.  Skiers caught in avalanche on nearby Wright Peak yesterday - story .  Visit us on Facebook Welcome to the Adirondacks NYSDEC Info

  March 1, 2010 - OVERLOOK MOUNTAIN from the north. Catskills.  4' of snow (snow was up to handrails on a bridge), on the dense side of powder.  Looked at Prediger Rd access but nowhere to park.  Parked on Platte Clove Rd & started on Long Path thru Platte Clove Preserve - the narrow winding trail goes uphill & can be a challenge on return.  After ~1 mile junctions of blue & red trails obscured by blowdown but we persist & are eventually on the blue-marked old road to Overlook.  Lean-to was cave-like under all the snow & outhouse was half buried.  Mid part of route levels out some (we were breaking trail here) & there are views of the Hudson Valley.  Occasional overhanging trees & blowdown but trail is fairly wide & obvious.  Trail later wraps around W side of Overlook & views open up to the W.  Met a tele skier & a bare-booter (gotta be nuts to post-hole like that).  Porcupine in a tree....

  Mar 1, 2004 - WHITEFACE MOUNTAIN xc ski via Memorial Hwy. Spent the night in a leanto among red & white pines overlooking Heart Lake at Adirondak Loj campground - overnight temp a bit below freezing - beautiful cloudfree morning - good day to get up in elevation for views. Varied snow depths with couple of windswept bare spots on the uplowed paved road (had to take skis off once); bit icy near start & at top but mostly packed powder. Warm (upper 40s) & sunny - super views along the way & from summit. Most views are to the W & N til the 4,000' point when view opens to S & Lake Placid & many high peaks are seen. At the final turn, views are to the E over the Whiteface Ski Area. Left skis at the Castle at end of road then bare-booted up the rest of the way on man-made steps - railings help here - mostly open rock around the weather observatory at the summit. Trees get smaller as one goes up in elevation & near the summit red spruce & balsam fir ar...

  Mar 22, 2004 - OWL HEAD LOOKOUT ski, from Rt.9N near Elizabethtown. At trailhead (el. 1,300') less than 1' powder snow; just below the 2,500' summit 2'-3' of dry powder - nice!!! Skinned up in under 1.5 hrs. Could have used just a little bit more grip than my 48mm skins offered. Walked the last 200 yds on narrow trail to the rocky summit, a few small trees cut the wind enough for a comfortable break. On this clear sunny day (temp in low 20s), stunning views of Vermont's major peaks, Lake Champlain, Rocky Peak Ridge, Giant Mtn.'s eastern slides, Whiteface Mt., Hurricane Mt. & more. The first 600' drop was heavenly - perfect powder for making turns in the open woods. Trail then passes thru a ravine with some rocks showing - had to go easy here. Things get better for a while to a stream crossing on a good bridge. Trail levels out for bit (not so good with no grip) then drops moderately thru a beautiful hemlock woods - room here for more tele turns in ...