WINTER WONDERLAND
1.9 Mile Snowshoe At Thacher Park
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Woke up to a bit under a foot of snow... at least I'd shoveled last night so clearing the walk was easier than it might have been. Didn't have to do much more than brush the car off to get out, though parking is going to be a mess if the city doesn't do something about the snow sooon.
I was really struck by how much I've missed Thacher this year... ordinarily I'd have gone there once a month or so to run, but this year I've only been there a couple of times to walk.
I bypassed Hop Field - too many XC skiers - and headed over to the lots near the park office, figuring I'd walk along the escarpment. No one there at all - a plus in terms of having the trail to myself - but a minus in that I was breaking trail the whole way out. So it was a slow slog.
I had planned to take the trail behind the Haile's Cave picnic area back, but breaking trail slowed me down too much and I didn't want to risk getting locked in. Instead I backtracked - definitely easier going than the way out.
One plus to all that unbroken snow - I wasn't even the slightest bit tempted to try any sort of running, so while today's walk was hard work, it wasn't my usual start to snowshoe season ("Geez, this is so much harder than I remember!") Hopefully the snow will stick around long enough for me to build up a bit more gradually and determine whether running on snowshoes is in the cards this season.
JMH
Showing posts with label snow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label snow. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
SNOW, SNOW, SNOW, SNOW!
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
A welcome sight after two tough days that saw me too tired and too buried under work to get my lazy backside out the door after work for a run...
OK, it's only supposed to be about 6 inches or so, but it's better than nothing... it was good enough to get us an unexpected day off, it means I'll be able to do some easy snowshoeing this afternoon, and it's probably good news for the snowshoe race scheduled for Saturday morning...
Besides which, it's winter and I like to see snow in the winter!
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
A welcome sight after two tough days that saw me too tired and too buried under work to get my lazy backside out the door after work for a run...
OK, it's only supposed to be about 6 inches or so, but it's better than nothing... it was good enough to get us an unexpected day off, it means I'll be able to do some easy snowshoeing this afternoon, and it's probably good news for the snowshoe race scheduled for Saturday morning...
JMH
Friday, January 04, 2013
1.1 Mile Walk at Buckingham Lake
Friday, January 4, 2013
There was still a bit of daylight left when I got back, so I stopped at Buckingham Lake before coming home. There was a solid path packed down all the way around the pond. No ducks - they'll be gone until the ice starts to go in March or so - but I did see some crows and a few squirrels. Mostly though it was just nice to be outside for a little while enjoying a bit of nature, even if it's surrounded by Albany.
LOTS OF WILDLIFE ON A SUNNY WINTER MORNING
1.1 Mile Walk at Tinker Nature Park
Friday, January 4, 2013
Gorgeous morning (despite the wind, which was gusting well above 30 mph at times) so Ann and I went to Tinker Park for a short walk before I hit the Thruway for the drive back to Albany. As I expected, the snow was stomped down enough that we didn't need snowshoes. We spotted a number of deer hunkered down in the woods - the cold and snow over the past week and a bit must have made life more difficult for them! - and numerous birds, including both pileated and red-bellied woodpeckers, the usual chickadees, juncos, and cardinals, and - surprise- several bluebirds!
There was also a lot of activity in the fields near the park, with a regualr stream of geese descending from the sky to join flocks of crows already on the ground. My guess is that the wind had blown enough snow off the fields that it was fairly easy for them to find food. A little later a small group landed in the snowy field between the road and the woods, pretty much the same place we saw geese the other night on the way to Mendon.
All too quickly, though, it was time to get back in the car and head east...
JMH
1.1 Mile Walk at Tinker Nature Park
Friday, January 4, 2013
Gorgeous morning (despite the wind, which was gusting well above 30 mph at times) so Ann and I went to Tinker Park for a short walk before I hit the Thruway for the drive back to Albany. As I expected, the snow was stomped down enough that we didn't need snowshoes. We spotted a number of deer hunkered down in the woods - the cold and snow over the past week and a bit must have made life more difficult for them! - and numerous birds, including both pileated and red-bellied woodpeckers, the usual chickadees, juncos, and cardinals, and - surprise- several bluebirds!
There was also a lot of activity in the fields near the park, with a regualr stream of geese descending from the sky to join flocks of crows already on the ground. My guess is that the wind had blown enough snow off the fields that it was fairly easy for them to find food. A little later a small group landed in the snowy field between the road and the woods, pretty much the same place we saw geese the other night on the way to Mendon.
All too quickly, though, it was time to get back in the car and head east...
JMH
Saturday, December 01, 2012
OOMS AFTER DARK...
1.3 Mile Walk at Ooms Conservation Area
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Meant to go for a short run this week and see how the foot responded... didn't happen. Meant to go for a walk las night... didn't happen. Busy week, work-wise, plus it doesn't help that two nights I came home and ended up falling asleep for a while in the evening - not sleeping soundly at night is definitely taking a toll. Then last night I had what is becoming an annoyingly common experience - took the car in for a half hour procedure (swap on the winter tires) and walked out almost 2 1/2 hours later (4 wheel allignment, with the machine apparently acting cranky.)
Today, on the other hand, seemed pretty safe. Spend a big chunk of the morning doing laundry, then pack a couple bags and head for CT, with stops for walking along the way. Except sorting the dang laundry took longer than I anticipated (probably because I don't usually sort it, but today there was just too much and it needed to be sorted for me to get it all back home.) And then the computer started acting up in a new way (the card reader has vanished from the system. Worked fine last night when I transferred an album to the card in my player for the car, but today - nothing.) And a dozen other little things popped up, culminating in a request from the guys upstairs to check their water heater and my discovering that it had died much like my own did a little over a year ago, which meant conversations with the landlord, etc, etc.
Enough griping. I almost gave up on going for a walk today, but then decided that I could stop at Ooms on the way south, and that's what I did. Walked up to the gazebo and back. Would have been nice if the night sky had been clear, since it's just past the full moon, but instead it was cloudy - which led to a bit of an unfortunate surprise. I always remember cloudy nights being pitch black out in the fields - can't see your hand in front of your face. But in the areas around Ooms there's an incredible amount of light pollution, and not just over by Albany/Rensselaer like you'd expect. Even without the moon I had no trouble seeing the path (of course, the half inch of snow helped.) Geese were noisy out on the pond, and every once in a while I could see their dark shapes against the silvery reflection of the sky on the water.
Walking at Ooms tonight definitely improved my mood... with luck it will still be light enough for me to stop there on the way home tomorrow as well, and maybe actually see where I'm walking a little more clearly.
JMH
1.3 Mile Walk at Ooms Conservation Area
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Meant to go for a short run this week and see how the foot responded... didn't happen. Meant to go for a walk las night... didn't happen. Busy week, work-wise, plus it doesn't help that two nights I came home and ended up falling asleep for a while in the evening - not sleeping soundly at night is definitely taking a toll. Then last night I had what is becoming an annoyingly common experience - took the car in for a half hour procedure (swap on the winter tires) and walked out almost 2 1/2 hours later (4 wheel allignment, with the machine apparently acting cranky.)
Today, on the other hand, seemed pretty safe. Spend a big chunk of the morning doing laundry, then pack a couple bags and head for CT, with stops for walking along the way. Except sorting the dang laundry took longer than I anticipated (probably because I don't usually sort it, but today there was just too much and it needed to be sorted for me to get it all back home.) And then the computer started acting up in a new way (the card reader has vanished from the system. Worked fine last night when I transferred an album to the card in my player for the car, but today - nothing.) And a dozen other little things popped up, culminating in a request from the guys upstairs to check their water heater and my discovering that it had died much like my own did a little over a year ago, which meant conversations with the landlord, etc, etc.
Enough griping. I almost gave up on going for a walk today, but then decided that I could stop at Ooms on the way south, and that's what I did. Walked up to the gazebo and back. Would have been nice if the night sky had been clear, since it's just past the full moon, but instead it was cloudy - which led to a bit of an unfortunate surprise. I always remember cloudy nights being pitch black out in the fields - can't see your hand in front of your face. But in the areas around Ooms there's an incredible amount of light pollution, and not just over by Albany/Rensselaer like you'd expect. Even without the moon I had no trouble seeing the path (of course, the half inch of snow helped.) Geese were noisy out on the pond, and every once in a while I could see their dark shapes against the silvery reflection of the sky on the water.
Walking at Ooms tonight definitely improved my mood... with luck it will still be light enough for me to stop there on the way home tomorrow as well, and maybe actually see where I'm walking a little more clearly.
JMH
Wednesday, November 07, 2012
Feels More Like December...
1.2 Mile Walk in the Pine Hills Neighborhood
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
No run tonight, thanks to my blasted foot... but I did manage to walk to the store and back to pick up some food. The "nor'easter" is supposed to come through later tonight, with the possibility of a bit of snow (a couple of inches, tops) and possibly some rain. Tonight was cold and damp, with spatters of very fine, very wet snow coming down... brrr. The last few days have felt much more like mid-December than early November.
And it doesn't even have the distinction of "first snow of the season" since it barely qualified as snow, plus I drove and ran in snow flurries Saturday morning...
JMH
1.2 Mile Walk in the Pine Hills Neighborhood
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
No run tonight, thanks to my blasted foot... but I did manage to walk to the store and back to pick up some food. The "nor'easter" is supposed to come through later tonight, with the possibility of a bit of snow (a couple of inches, tops) and possibly some rain. Tonight was cold and damp, with spatters of very fine, very wet snow coming down... brrr. The last few days have felt much more like mid-December than early November.
And it doesn't even have the distinction of "first snow of the season" since it barely qualified as snow, plus I drove and ran in snow flurries Saturday morning...
JMH
Saturday, January 28, 2012
SNOWSHOES WOULD HAVE BEEN A BETTER PLAN...
7.5 Mile Run at Thacher Park
Saturday, January 28, 2012
You'd think I'd have learned by now, given all the times I've gone up to Thacher in the last couple of winters and found significantly more snow there than we had down in Albany. Actually, I have learned - I brought my snowshoes with me instead of leaving them at home. But when I was gearing up in the Ryan Road parking area and saw mainly ice on the trail, I decided to go with screw shoes, and I should have known better... any trails that hadn't been snowmobiled were ankle-deep in snow and ice, which made for difficult, slow going - it would have been much easier to be on snowshoes.
Despite that, it was a good day to be out - it was grey and cloudy when I left Albany, but then the Sun mixed in with the clouds for much of my run and treated me to some glimpses of a very nice sunset. The only area that was totally clear of snow was the farm fields near the Long Path parking lot, and that was filled with dozens of robins looking for food. I had hoped to follow the mountain bike trail to the water treatment plant and run down to the Hailes Cave overlook, but the snow slowed me down too much and it was getting dark by the time I reached the hang glider launch area, so I decided to take the snowmobile trails back - I could run fairly consistently on them. Along the way I had some great views of the crescent moon framed by Jupiter and Venus - beautiful!
JMH
7.5 Mile Run at Thacher Park
Saturday, January 28, 2012
You'd think I'd have learned by now, given all the times I've gone up to Thacher in the last couple of winters and found significantly more snow there than we had down in Albany. Actually, I have learned - I brought my snowshoes with me instead of leaving them at home. But when I was gearing up in the Ryan Road parking area and saw mainly ice on the trail, I decided to go with screw shoes, and I should have known better... any trails that hadn't been snowmobiled were ankle-deep in snow and ice, which made for difficult, slow going - it would have been much easier to be on snowshoes.
Despite that, it was a good day to be out - it was grey and cloudy when I left Albany, but then the Sun mixed in with the clouds for much of my run and treated me to some glimpses of a very nice sunset. The only area that was totally clear of snow was the farm fields near the Long Path parking lot, and that was filled with dozens of robins looking for food. I had hoped to follow the mountain bike trail to the water treatment plant and run down to the Hailes Cave overlook, but the snow slowed me down too much and it was getting dark by the time I reached the hang glider launch area, so I decided to take the snowmobile trails back - I could run fairly consistently on them. Along the way I had some great views of the crescent moon framed by Jupiter and Venus - beautiful!
JMH
Saturday, October 29, 2011
HAIRY GORILLA & SQUIRRELY SIX ARE ON OFF
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Just got word that the Albany Running Exchange's premiere trail races, the Hairy Gorilla Half Marathon and Squirrely Six Miler, have been cancelled for tomorrow due to weather by the venue, Thacher State Park.
While there will no doubt be wholesale vitriol directed at the park staff by some hardcore runners, the decision is really the most sensible one to make. Right now the Helderbergs are forecast to receive 8-10 inches of extremely wet, heavy snow. Trees will come down. Roads may be treacherous. There may be widespread power outages up on the ridge and in the hilltowns to the west - heck, it's already happening to the south, where the snow started earlier and is predicted to reach similar depths.
And what about the runners themselves? The word on Friday was to expect approximately 700 people on the trails tomorrow morning... many of them first time or at least inexperienced trail runners. I've been running trails for 14 years and have the gear I need to run safely in snow - and I wasn't looking forward to running tomorrow, especially if it is on the 10 inches end of the forecast. The likelihood is that someone (more likely several someones) would end up getting hurt. And this runner says - it just isn't worth that risk.
I've also heard the argument that runners should be able to decide whether or not it's worth the risk for themselves, and to a certain degree I agree. A couple of summers ago somebody berated the director of the Escarpment Trail Run for allowing the race to go on despite the threat of a severe thunderstorm (which did pound the mountaintops during the race and had runners trying to find whatever shelter they could from the lightning strikes) and the RD's response was that all runners in his race accept responsibility for their decision to run. And you know what - I agree with him. Escarpment is an insane event to begin with and has qualifying standards to try to keep out folks who are likely to be insufficiently prepared for the challenge of running 18+miles across some of the worst terrain in the Catskills. Hairy Gorilla is an entirely different beast and attracts an very different group of runners.
I wouldn't be surprised if the ARE finds a way to reschedule the race (though in all likelihood it will end up on a day when I can't be there due to a different running commitment.) Am I sorry it isn't happening tomorrow? Yes (I've run the half marathon 6 years in a row, including just 2.5 months after my '06 bike crash when I hadn't run for most of the time since the accident - I signed up for the 6 miler because I knew I'd miss it if I didn't, even though I'm supposed to be taking it easy in preparation for next weekend's marathon.) And no (run in snow? Been there, done that, I'd rather break out the snowshoes.)
Now to decide where I am going to run tomorrow once Ann heads back to Rochester...
JMH
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Just got word that the Albany Running Exchange's premiere trail races, the Hairy Gorilla Half Marathon and Squirrely Six Miler, have been cancelled for tomorrow due to weather by the venue, Thacher State Park.
While there will no doubt be wholesale vitriol directed at the park staff by some hardcore runners, the decision is really the most sensible one to make. Right now the Helderbergs are forecast to receive 8-10 inches of extremely wet, heavy snow. Trees will come down. Roads may be treacherous. There may be widespread power outages up on the ridge and in the hilltowns to the west - heck, it's already happening to the south, where the snow started earlier and is predicted to reach similar depths.
And what about the runners themselves? The word on Friday was to expect approximately 700 people on the trails tomorrow morning... many of them first time or at least inexperienced trail runners. I've been running trails for 14 years and have the gear I need to run safely in snow - and I wasn't looking forward to running tomorrow, especially if it is on the 10 inches end of the forecast. The likelihood is that someone (more likely several someones) would end up getting hurt. And this runner says - it just isn't worth that risk.
I've also heard the argument that runners should be able to decide whether or not it's worth the risk for themselves, and to a certain degree I agree. A couple of summers ago somebody berated the director of the Escarpment Trail Run for allowing the race to go on despite the threat of a severe thunderstorm (which did pound the mountaintops during the race and had runners trying to find whatever shelter they could from the lightning strikes) and the RD's response was that all runners in his race accept responsibility for their decision to run. And you know what - I agree with him. Escarpment is an insane event to begin with and has qualifying standards to try to keep out folks who are likely to be insufficiently prepared for the challenge of running 18+miles across some of the worst terrain in the Catskills. Hairy Gorilla is an entirely different beast and attracts an very different group of runners.
I wouldn't be surprised if the ARE finds a way to reschedule the race (though in all likelihood it will end up on a day when I can't be there due to a different running commitment.) Am I sorry it isn't happening tomorrow? Yes (I've run the half marathon 6 years in a row, including just 2.5 months after my '06 bike crash when I hadn't run for most of the time since the accident - I signed up for the 6 miler because I knew I'd miss it if I didn't, even though I'm supposed to be taking it easy in preparation for next weekend's marathon.) And no (run in snow? Been there, done that, I'd rather break out the snowshoes.)
Now to decide where I am going to run tomorrow once Ann heads back to Rochester...
JMH
MOBBED BY DUCKS IN THE SNOW!
Saturday, October 29, 2011
OK, driving back from Rosendale on a late October afternoon should not look like this:
Unless, of course, you're driving in the midst of a record-breaking October snowstorm. Fortunately, it never got bad enough to make the roads unsafe, so we made it back to Albany without mishap.
Once we got in from the wind and cold and wet, I was pretty sure we wouldn't go back out, so I took us by Buckingham Lake to say hi to the ducks. Where saying hi means getting mobbed by a gang of feathered mooches who couldn't resist the chunks of bagel Ann tossed them, while I took some photos...
... and shot a short video.
In the end I was right - once we got home that was it for our outdoor adventures today. So I'm glad we stopped somewhere first.
JMH
Saturday, October 29, 2011
OK, driving back from Rosendale on a late October afternoon should not look like this:
Unless, of course, you're driving in the midst of a record-breaking October snowstorm. Fortunately, it never got bad enough to make the roads unsafe, so we made it back to Albany without mishap.
Once we got in from the wind and cold and wet, I was pretty sure we wouldn't go back out, so I took us by Buckingham Lake to say hi to the ducks. Where saying hi means getting mobbed by a gang of feathered mooches who couldn't resist the chunks of bagel Ann tossed them, while I took some photos...
... and shot a short video.
In the end I was right - once we got home that was it for our outdoor adventures today. So I'm glad we stopped somewhere first.
JMH
Friday, October 28, 2011
ICE & SNOW... & MORE ON THE WAY?
Friday, October 28, 2011
I guess I shouldn't have been surprised to find everything covered in a coat of icy snow when I went out to go to work this morning, but I was. Thank heavens I'd dragged my scraper out of the trunk over the weekend (when I needed to scrape ice off my windows Sunday morning) - but it was still a chore getting the car to a point where I could safely drive to school.
It was bright and sunny so I expected the snow to disappear quickly... but this was the view out my classroom window until pretty late in the morning.
Now they're saying we'll be getting more snow tomorrow - possibly a foot or more in some areas (Thacher? That could make running Sunday's race interesting, to say the least... maybe I'll throw my snowshoes in the car...) preceded by rain and a wintry mix. Which has me wondering if I'll be doing the Ulstercorps Service Sprint after all; I enjoyed it a lot last year, but I don't think it's worth risking an accident to run a 4.7 mile race. Guess I'll just have to wait and see what the weather looks like in the morning.
And once this taste of winter is over - can we have fall back for a while?
JMH
Friday, October 28, 2011
I guess I shouldn't have been surprised to find everything covered in a coat of icy snow when I went out to go to work this morning, but I was. Thank heavens I'd dragged my scraper out of the trunk over the weekend (when I needed to scrape ice off my windows Sunday morning) - but it was still a chore getting the car to a point where I could safely drive to school.
It was bright and sunny so I expected the snow to disappear quickly... but this was the view out my classroom window until pretty late in the morning.
Now they're saying we'll be getting more snow tomorrow - possibly a foot or more in some areas (Thacher? That could make running Sunday's race interesting, to say the least... maybe I'll throw my snowshoes in the car...) preceded by rain and a wintry mix. Which has me wondering if I'll be doing the Ulstercorps Service Sprint after all; I enjoyed it a lot last year, but I don't think it's worth risking an accident to run a 4.7 mile race. Guess I'll just have to wait and see what the weather looks like in the morning.
And once this taste of winter is over - can we have fall back for a while?
JMH
Thursday, October 27, 2011
FIRST SNOW
Thursday, October 27, 2011
When I left work today there was snow mixed in with the drizzle... surprisingly, a while later some was even starting to accumulate on the lawns across the street and the cars parked out front.
My first thought was to go for a run... except I've been pretty wiped out from too much work and not enough sleep. Then I thought I'd go for a walk... but I just couldn't summon up much enthusiasm to go out on a cold, grey evening into a mix of rain and snow. Maybe if it had been just snow, but the rain was a real deal-breaker.
So in the end I settled for a few looks out the window, where at least I can be dry and somewhat warmer...
As much as I enjoyed this first glimpse of snow, I hope we still have plenty of sunny, comfortably chilly autumn days left before winter really arrives.
JMH
Thursday, October 27, 2011
When I left work today there was snow mixed in with the drizzle... surprisingly, a while later some was even starting to accumulate on the lawns across the street and the cars parked out front.
My first thought was to go for a run... except I've been pretty wiped out from too much work and not enough sleep. Then I thought I'd go for a walk... but I just couldn't summon up much enthusiasm to go out on a cold, grey evening into a mix of rain and snow. Maybe if it had been just snow, but the rain was a real deal-breaker.
So in the end I settled for a few looks out the window, where at least I can be dry and somewhat warmer...
As much as I enjoyed this first glimpse of snow, I hope we still have plenty of sunny, comfortably chilly autumn days left before winter really arrives.
JMH
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