Northeast Wild

  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...

  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 9, 2014 - INDIAN HEAD via Lake Rd from Ausable Club in St Huberts.  Skied the Lake Rd then switched to snowshoes at the Bypass Trail to Gill Brook & frozen falls.  Ascent of IH very steep in places.  Blue skies & little wind - gorgeous.  Nice view toward Giant Mtn from northern lookout.  From the ledges on IH the Ausable Lakes are below, Lower Lake flanked by Colvin & Sawteeth.  The open rock face of Gothics stands out in the Great Range.  In the far distance Vanderwhacker & Snowy (50 miles away!).  Looped down on lake side - trail switches back often, a ladder covered in ice was unusable.  Short side-trip to Gothics Window.  Snowmobiles had been on the Lake Road (private access to camps on Upper Ausable Lake).  Excitingly fast mostly downhill run out on the hard-packed road.  ~10 miles, 6+ hours.  Ran into Tony Goodwin when we stopped for dinner at the Ausable Inn. Jan 20, 2013 - LOWER AUSABLE L...

   Mar 3, 2014 - GOOD LUCK MOUNTAIN CLIFFS from Rt.10.  Dexter Lake snowmobile trail to past the register then off-trail up the NE side of the mountain climbing moderately at first then steeply cutting switchbacks (climbing skins helped), nice view of the W Br Sacandaga valley along the way.  Picked up the hiking trail just below the cliffs & side-stepped the final steep pitch. Gain of 650' from start.  From the cliffs there is a great view across Spectacle Lake to the hills S of the Mohawk Valley & W to Hedgehog Mountain & the hills in the Jerseyfield area.  Dropped down to the W then N skirting some cliffs but with wide-open woods most of the way, much fun!  Crossed the snowmobile trail & off-trail over to State Brook (flows E) which we followed upstream to the W, some beaver ponds along the way.  Reached Hart Vly Stream (flows W) then back down State Brook further downstream.  Spent most of time off-trail - 3-4" powder on g...

  Mar 14, 2005 - PRESTON PONDS & DUCK HOLE . Weather much like yesterday: a bit of everything; winter still here for quite a while yet. Woke up to temps in low teens. Trail climbs gently then moderately with short steep pitches - I used skins for about a half mile but they weren't absolutely necessary (advanced intermediate on way down - can ski thru open woods to the N of trail) - gained 400' in 1.5 miles to pass before Upper Preston Pond. Nice mountain views while crossing the pond. A carry trail runs S of the outlet (an oar handle sticks up out of the snow at the start). Soon we are on Lower Preston Pond with views ahead to the Sewards & Sawtooths. Picked up the outlet & skied along its S shore (some open water here). After a while, the outlet narrows between steep walls as it goes over a waterfall as it enters Duck Hole - a bit before this there was a ribbon marking the start of a short narrow steep carry (side-stepped it). Out onto Duck Hole & crossed over ...

  SHAKER MOUNTAIN WILD FOREST Jan 10, 2019 - WEST STONY CREEK LEAN-TO skiing from Benson Rd, S on the NPT - 3.9 miles one way + went half mile downstream.  Shaker Mountain Wild Forest.  Up to 6", crusty at 1,000' at the lean-to, better up high (1,500') on most of the trail.  Steeper parts have rocks sticking up - would be best to ski this with at least 20" - the last half mile down to the lean-to is fairly steep so I skied it very tentatively & took off the skis for about 100 yards half way down.  Jan 8, 2017 - SHAKER MOUNTAIN WILD FOREST ski, from the end of Pinnacle Rd in Bleecker.  Started out on the County Line Lake Trail, the first 0.2 miles climbs 100' in a washed out trail, things got much better past that.  Had to go well upstream to get over 1st stream crossing.  At ~2 miles went out on the vly to the W which has a nice view of Pigeon Mtn.  Previous skiers had been in to N of the vly but turned back at a wet stream crossing....

  There was one more in & out trip when these photos were taken but I can't find the report...  plus, one where we spotted a car at The Garden then started skiing on Meadow Lane thru South Meadow, up thru Klondike Notch, down to Johns Brook Lodge, & out. Feb. 22, 2000 - Headed out from the Garden on the Johns Brook trail which had been nicely packed by snowshoers. Steady climb with thru the trees views of the Great Range to the ranger's cabin, crossed scenic Johns Brook on the suspension bridge & picked up the Range trail to Wolf Jaws leanto (the climbing here was a little more difficult). 40F at the leanto, nice view of Big Slide Mtn., woodpecker for company. Decided to put on climbing skins here (probably should have at beginning of Range trail) & headed over the Woodsfall trail which had one steep hill but moderated after that. About 1,300' elevation gain from start to high point on Woodsfall. Trail dropped fairly steeply down to Orebed Brook trail - skin...

                                                                                                                                                                   Feb 6, 2014 - ALBANY PINE BUSH PRESERVE from the end of Madison Ave Ext.  Excellent skiing on about a foot of powder.  Did a loop on the yellow trail & parts of the red & blue to a clearcut area with view to the Heldergerg Escarpment.  All trails broken this morning.  I did break trail along part of the powerline.  Snowshoers already walking in the ski tracks!!!  1.4 hours. Dec 15, 2013 ...

  Mar 2, 2008 - SIAMESE PONDS cross country skiing from Rt.8.  15" powder on deep base, 3'+ total.  200' climb & 400' drop in 1st 1.5 miles (intermediate in good snow), nice views of cliffs on 11th Mtn.  Another 2.5 miles (novice) along the E Branch Sacandaga River to leanto & bridge.  Climb over 400' in 2+ miles to the remote ponds, this is a very enjoyable run out (intermediate).  Trail packed until a little past the leanto then we broke trail for over 2 miles, much slower going.  13 miles, 7 hrs.  Fischer Rebound skis with 3-pin bindings. Visit us on Facebook Welcome to the Adirondacks NYSDEC Info

  From NYSDEC: You’re headed for an adventure when you visit the Partridge Run Wildlife Management Area (WMA)!  Located on the Helderberg Escarpment in Berne, roughly 11 miles west of Albany, it comprises about 4,500 acres of hardwood forests, ponds, and wetlands, and is open year-round. Parking areas offer access to the substantial trail network, and there are also several hundred acres of fields maintained throughout the WMA. Some trails are part of the Long Path, a 358-mile trail between Altamont (outside Albany) and the 175th Street Subway Station in New York City that connects many parks, preserves, and forests. One shorter, local trail runs from the parking area at Partridge Run Road and County Route 6, around White Birch Lake to Fawn Lake, and varies in elevation from about 1,600–1,900 feet. DEC recently completed construction of a half-mile-long accessible interpretive trail at the site through its Young Forest Initiative, a program that improves forested landscapes in...