the Way of the Turtle

A Short Hike at Mohawk River State Park
Saturday, October 27, 2007

After a morning of teaching karate classes while it rained hard enough to suggest building an ark or two, Ann and I headed over to the Pine Bush Discovery Center for a half hour or so of checking out the exhibits and learning a bit more about the Pine Bush. It was still raining cats, dogs, and various other small and medium-sized mammals when we came out, so we moved on to running a couple of errands - and were pleased to see that when we completed the last one the rain had stopped and the sun was actually peeking through the clouds!

After a quick stop to change into dry clothes, we headed over to the Mohawk River State Park (formerly the Schenectady Museum Nature Preserve) to check out some of the trails over there. I know that the local mountain bikers ride there frequently, and I'd heard some of the local runners go there occasionally too... but I'd never actually gotten out on the trails to explore.

We started at Lock 7, briefly checking out the views along the river before heading down the bike path to the western trailhead. After a brief uphill walk we came out by a stream which had swollen to a raging river from all the rainwater. We followed the stream until we reached the trailhead at the Niskayuna Wastewater Treatment Plant (and didn't that smell delightful...) then headed up to the top of the ridge overlooking the bike path. From there we followed the ridge east until we came to the power lines right-of-way. After a side trip to see a small waterfall formed by the raging stream, we headed back down to the bike path.

Since we still had a bit of daylight, I wanted to check out the eastern trailhead, so we walked down the bike path and then hiked up the trail to another power lines right-of-way. By that point we were losing the light, so we headed back down to the path and walked back over to Lock 7, again checking out the views up and down the river and watching the cormorants flying around.

What little I saw was definitely very nice, and also very runnable... a bit more rugged than a lot of the trails around here (ie the Pine Bush) but nothing too tough. I definitely want to get in there during daylight and explore the trails a bit more... and then maybe at some point I'll be comfortable running there at night with my headlamp.

Legs definitely felt a bit tired during the walking... guess they haven't fully recovered from last weekend yet. Of course, my work schedule and general lack of sleep during the past week probably hasn't helped... all of which makes me wonder just how things will go during the half marathon tomorrow. Guess I'll find out tomorrow morning!

JMH