the Way of the Turtle

A BIT O' POST-RACE WALKIN'
0.8 Mile Walk at Five Rivers EEC
0.9 Mile Walk at Normanskill Farm
Sunday, October 25, 2009

Many of the previous times I've run Hairy Gorilla I've gone back out afterwards and walked around the Indian Ladder trail - both up on the escarpment and down along the trail that goes behind the waterfalls. My legs were fried this year and my left knee was more than a bit sore, but the afternoon was also bright and sunny... so I decided to head for easier walking instead, to take in some of the late-fall colors.

Five Rivers Environmental Education Center

My first stop was at Five Rivers, where I walked the Woodlot Trail next to the parking lot before crossing the road and heading down toward Beaver Pond. Going down the hill definitely hurt, and unfortunately there wasn't much to look at on the bridge - the fish, turtles, and frogs would seem to have headed to their winter quarters, either in deeper water or burrowed down into the mud. The birds around were smaller and harder to spot as well, not at all like the swallows or cedar waxwings I spent so much time watching during the summer. Still, the golden, orange, yellow, and red trees were awfully nice to look at. After walking the boardwalk across the swamp, I decided against circling the pond, and instead headed back across the road and up the hill back to the parking lot. Slow going, but it was a nice day to be outside... given the number of other people there, it looked like a lot of folks felt the same way.

Normanskill Farm

I first walked the Normanskill Farm trail back in June and honestly wasn't that impressed... not many views of the Normanskill and the last part of the trail runs through a golf course. While it's not a bad option for a short walk, there are many nicer places to go walking/running in the Albany area. On the plus side, there are some interesting ruins and historical sites in the park. I headed back there today because when I drove by on Friday I could see rows of colorful trees along the banks of the creek and thought they might look pretty spectacular in today's sunshine. As it turned out, I was right...

Again there were a surprising number of cars in the lot, possibly because of the dog park located on the property. I followed the trail through the woods with a detour down to the banks of the creek. The water was much higher than it had been back in June, probably because of yesterday's rain. I wandered around the remains of an old ice house for a little bit then followed the path along the stream just because the sunlight through the brightly colored leaves was really pretty. I didn't go far - stopped before reaching the National Grid station on the property - in part because as with Five Rivers, there weren't nearly as many birds visible as back in June, and in part because my legs were getting really tired by that point. But I still found the energy to walk over to the old bridge across the Normanskill, where I found two other people taking pictures of the trees along the shore. The view up and down the creek was gorgeous, with the sunlight making the trees positively glow with color. Even the Delaware Avenue bridge just downstream didn't do much to detract from the scenery.

I briefly contemplated walking up to the Whipple bridge to see the view up and down the ravine it crosses but decided that my legs wouldn't be able to handle the hike up and back (it's a moderately steep hill, and by then my legs were definitely running on empty... not to mention my left knee hollering at me.) So instead I headed home, for a well-deserved shower and possibly a nap.

JMH