the Way of the Turtle

2 Mile Walk at Shenantaha Creek Park
Tuesday, June 23, 2009

I chose to park at Shenantaha Creek Park even though it meant driving a little bit farther because then I could check out the park either before or after my ride. In particular, my copy of ECOS's Natural Areas of Saratoga County mentioned boulders which may have been used by Native Americans to grind food (the boulders have rounded depressions in their top surfaces) and the remains of an old mill along the banks of Ballston Creek.

My first walk through the park was before my ride - I stopped to use the restroom and decided to see if I could find the two areas of interest, but ended up wandering through the woods with no clear idea of where I was going before I finally gave up and walked back to the car.

After my ride I read the park description a bit more carefully and ended up walking to a different part of the park, where I found two markers noting the entrances to the trails I'd been looking for previously. Apparently quite a bit of work has been done at Shenantaha Creek Park since the guide book was written, including marking the trailheads. I hiked into the woods (no major hills, thank heavens!) and fairly quickly found an "Indian mortar" boulder... actually, I found quite a few rocks and glacial erratics in that section of the woods. From there I followed the trail along the edge of the ridge overlooking Ballston Creek, until it became evident I'd be heading down a significant hill (and would thus have to walk up said hill on my way back!)

Heading back the way I'd come, I surprised a garter snake sunning himself near one of the rocks and then made my way along the stream until I came to the mill ruins. Truthfully I wouldn't have known that was what they were if I hadn't been told beforehand... the rocks were all unworked stone (probably because the mill dated back to the late 1700's.) Followed the path along the stream a bit further until it turned back into the woods and, thankfully, deposited me back at the trailheads, where all that was left was for me to walk across the fields to the parking lot and my car.

JMH