4.3 mile Run in the Albany Pine Bush
Thursday, January 21, 2009
Dumb, dumb, dumb. You'd think by now I'd know to have the snowshoes in the car, just in case there's more snow than I expected... like tonight, when I hit the trails near the Pine Bush Discovery Center expecting them to be a mix of packed snow and bare ground, and instead find several inches of crusty snow, lots of footprints, and some very icy spots. Would have been easy going on snowshoes... ended up being a very tough run using my screw shoes, tough enough that I cut it short. Oh, well. Lesson learned, I guess... at least until next time...
JMH
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
COMING SOON TO A NYS PARK NEAR YOU -
Park Closures?
Wednesday, January 20, 2009
NYS Governor Patterson released his proposed 2010-11 budget recently... and it's not looking good for NY State Parks. According to the budget documents, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) oversee nearly 4.9 million acres of open space statewide, including 2.6 million acres in the Adirondack Park and nearly 288,000 acres in the Catskill Forest Preserve. Additionally, the State park system comprises 214 parks and historic sites. The proposed budget cuts the funding for both by 12.5 - 13 % as one of many attempts by the Governor to close the enormous budget shortfalls being faced by New York State.
In and of themselves, these reductions don't seem terribly extreme. The problem is, the OPRHP has already seen their budget cut by 25% over the past 18 months. According to a press release from Parks & Trails NY, this has resulted in the loss of nearly 1000 permanent and seasonal staff. The additional cuts seem likely to force the state to reduce services and close at least some state parks, at a time when we need affordable options close to home for outdoor relaxation and vacations. Some reports estimate that $5 in revenue are gained for every $1 the state spends on parks; sadly, the understandable attempt to reduce the budget shortfall seems likely to not only cost us access to some of our outdoor areas, but also to cost the state and local communities much needed revenues.
I don't know what the right answer is - the budget needs to be balanced (or at least brought closer to being balanced) but we also need our parks and green spaces. PTNY has information on their site about contacting the governor and state representatives to let them know how important this issue is. Perhaps investing in our parks could be a way to add much-needed jobs and revenue in NY, at a time when they are most definitely needed. Only time will tell just how much of a commitment NYS is willing to make to our wonderful park system... though I suspect we're likely to see less rather than more.
JMH
Park Closures?
Wednesday, January 20, 2009
NYS Governor Patterson released his proposed 2010-11 budget recently... and it's not looking good for NY State Parks. According to the budget documents, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) oversee nearly 4.9 million acres of open space statewide, including 2.6 million acres in the Adirondack Park and nearly 288,000 acres in the Catskill Forest Preserve. Additionally, the State park system comprises 214 parks and historic sites. The proposed budget cuts the funding for both by 12.5 - 13 % as one of many attempts by the Governor to close the enormous budget shortfalls being faced by New York State.
In and of themselves, these reductions don't seem terribly extreme. The problem is, the OPRHP has already seen their budget cut by 25% over the past 18 months. According to a press release from Parks & Trails NY, this has resulted in the loss of nearly 1000 permanent and seasonal staff. The additional cuts seem likely to force the state to reduce services and close at least some state parks, at a time when we need affordable options close to home for outdoor relaxation and vacations. Some reports estimate that $5 in revenue are gained for every $1 the state spends on parks; sadly, the understandable attempt to reduce the budget shortfall seems likely to not only cost us access to some of our outdoor areas, but also to cost the state and local communities much needed revenues.
I don't know what the right answer is - the budget needs to be balanced (or at least brought closer to being balanced) but we also need our parks and green spaces. PTNY has information on their site about contacting the governor and state representatives to let them know how important this issue is. Perhaps investing in our parks could be a way to add much-needed jobs and revenue in NY, at a time when they are most definitely needed. Only time will tell just how much of a commitment NYS is willing to make to our wonderful park system... though I suspect we're likely to see less rather than more.
JMH
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Qualifying for Nationals...
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
... or not qualifying, in my case. Sunday the preliminary results looked good, with my squeaking into the last spot, but the official results have been released and I guess there were USSSA members who hadn't been counted, because now I'm too far down the list.
I'm planning to run the Camp Saratoga race in mid-February which is another chance - but it's a big enough race that my chances of qualifying are probably slim. And I don't know that I want to skip one of the other races I'd been planning to do (mostly local events where I get to see my friends) just to drive a long way to a qualifier where the result will probably be the same as this past Sunday.
In the grand scheme of things it's pretty insignificant... but I did find the idea of running at Nationals exciting (even though I'd no doubt be far behind everybody else) so finding out today that I didn't was a bit of a bummer. So it goes...
JMH
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
... or not qualifying, in my case. Sunday the preliminary results looked good, with my squeaking into the last spot, but the official results have been released and I guess there were USSSA members who hadn't been counted, because now I'm too far down the list.
I'm planning to run the Camp Saratoga race in mid-February which is another chance - but it's a big enough race that my chances of qualifying are probably slim. And I don't know that I want to skip one of the other races I'd been planning to do (mostly local events where I get to see my friends) just to drive a long way to a qualifier where the result will probably be the same as this past Sunday.
In the grand scheme of things it's pretty insignificant... but I did find the idea of running at Nationals exciting (even though I'd no doubt be far behind everybody else) so finding out today that I didn't was a bit of a bummer. So it goes...
JMH
Monday, January 18, 2010
1.3 Mile Walk on the Ontario Pathways Trail
Monday, January 18, 2009
Lots of ice with a bit of slush and a few stretches of snow covered the path, so not the easiest walking I've done recently... I'd have been smarter to use my screw shoes. Fortunately it was short enough and flat enough that while slow going it wasn't a problem. The recent rain and snow melt had the stream running well, so the waterfalls were looking pretty good. All in all, not a bad walk on a cold, grey, damp day... and the Phelps trailhead is close enough to the Thruway that it didn't take me too far out of my way on the drive back to Albany.
JMH
Monday, January 18, 2009
Lots of ice with a bit of slush and a few stretches of snow covered the path, so not the easiest walking I've done recently... I'd have been smarter to use my screw shoes. Fortunately it was short enough and flat enough that while slow going it wasn't a problem. The recent rain and snow melt had the stream running well, so the waterfalls were looking pretty good. All in all, not a bad walk on a cold, grey, damp day... and the Phelps trailhead is close enough to the Thruway that it didn't take me too far out of my way on the drive back to Albany.
JMH
Sunday, January 17, 2010
CRITTERS, CRITTERS EVERYWHERE...
Sunday, January 17, 2010
While I was running Ann walked down to the trailhead we parked at a few weeks ago and spent some time feeding the chickadees... good thing too, because when we went back after the race not only was there a small crowd of people there with seed, but the little guys were apparently pretty full, since they weren't nearly as quick to come to us for food.
And it wouldn't be a trip to Mendon with seeing at least a few deer... there were two in the woods near the trailhead when we pulled up, and then later as were were leaving the park there were about half a dozen foraging right near the park office. Traffic was pretty busy at that spot, what with all the events going on for the annual Mendon Winterfest, so I didn't get any photos.
I did stop when we passed a small, mostly frozen pond on the way home and saw geese all over the ice... once we pulled over we saw why, one end was open water and some of the geese and a few ducks were splashing around. I suspect Ann just shook her head at my stopping to take more pictures of geese and ducks, but for whatever reason the scene struck me enough that I was willing to delay lunch for a few minutes to get some pictures.
JMH
Sunday, January 17, 2010
While I was running Ann walked down to the trailhead we parked at a few weeks ago and spent some time feeding the chickadees... good thing too, because when we went back after the race not only was there a small crowd of people there with seed, but the little guys were apparently pretty full, since they weren't nearly as quick to come to us for food.
And it wouldn't be a trip to Mendon with seeing at least a few deer... there were two in the woods near the trailhead when we pulled up, and then later as were were leaving the park there were about half a dozen foraging right near the park office. Traffic was pretty busy at that spot, what with all the events going on for the annual Mendon Winterfest, so I didn't get any photos.
I did stop when we passed a small, mostly frozen pond on the way home and saw geese all over the ice... once we pulled over we saw why, one end was open water and some of the geese and a few ducks were splashing around. I suspect Ann just shook her head at my stopping to take more pictures of geese and ducks, but for whatever reason the scene struck me enough that I was willing to delay lunch for a few minutes to get some pictures.
JMH
Season of the SnōShū 2010 - Race #4
Mendon Winterfest 10k Snowshoe Race
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Another fun but challenging event put on by Mort & Tim of Goose Racing/RoadsArePoison and their excellent crew of volunteers. Mendon Ponds park is one of the most beautiful parks in the Rochester area (which is saying a lot, given all the fantastic green spaces they have out that way) and one which host many of the trail and snowshoe events in the area. This was my third time running this course, so I knew what to expect - lots of hills! Course conditions were pretty much what I expected, given the warm weather we've had for a couple of days and the fact that those trails are used by a lot of skiers when there's snow - the trails were solidly packed down, some spots were more ice than snow, and in a few places they had to re-route the course to keep us on snow. On the plus side, packed snow usually means fast times and I have no doubt that contributed to my fastest time yet on this course, just under 1 hr 22 min. On the minus side, the pounding means my knees were a bit sore afterwards, but that will pass...
As we were standing around waiting for the race to start (apparently there was a local runner who was on his way) I was surprised to see Bob Dion of Dion Snowshoes come walking up. We chatted a bit about this and that, and he told me about an orienteering race he and Denise did at Mendon last winter, wandering through the full variety of terrain that Mendon has to offer (something about snowshoeing through a swamp...) I guess in retrospect I shouldn't have been surprised to see him, since his company is one of the sponsors and Medved Running & Walking is the local distributor for Dion Snowshoes... but having seen him yesterday running at Greylock I wasn't expecting there to be anybody other than me who made the trek west to be at the race today.
A bit of additional uncertainty about today's race was added after I spoke to some of the folks yesterday about how today was a qualifier for Nationals in March and they were very quick to say that my qualifying wasn't nearly the long shot I thought it was. Checking the results from the previous two times I ran this, I discovered that both times I would have qualified had I been a member of the United States Snowshoe Association... by virtue of the fact that the top 5 in each age group qualify and there were fewer than five runners in my age group. So I came to today's race wondering if that trend would hold for a third time. Only an uncertainty, not any additional pressure - this is a fairly fast crowd so I knew the result would only depend on how many USSSA members ran in my age group, not on how quickly (or more appropriately for me, how slowly) I finished. And once the official results are tallied... I'll know whether I'm running the 10k championship or 5k citizens race in Syracuse on March 6...
JMH
2010 Event Totals
Run
Bike
Snowshoe 15.2 mi, 3 hr 53 min
states visited: MA, NY
Mendon Winterfest 10k Snowshoe Race
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Another fun but challenging event put on by Mort & Tim of Goose Racing/RoadsArePoison and their excellent crew of volunteers. Mendon Ponds park is one of the most beautiful parks in the Rochester area (which is saying a lot, given all the fantastic green spaces they have out that way) and one which host many of the trail and snowshoe events in the area. This was my third time running this course, so I knew what to expect - lots of hills! Course conditions were pretty much what I expected, given the warm weather we've had for a couple of days and the fact that those trails are used by a lot of skiers when there's snow - the trails were solidly packed down, some spots were more ice than snow, and in a few places they had to re-route the course to keep us on snow. On the plus side, packed snow usually means fast times and I have no doubt that contributed to my fastest time yet on this course, just under 1 hr 22 min. On the minus side, the pounding means my knees were a bit sore afterwards, but that will pass...
As we were standing around waiting for the race to start (apparently there was a local runner who was on his way) I was surprised to see Bob Dion of Dion Snowshoes come walking up. We chatted a bit about this and that, and he told me about an orienteering race he and Denise did at Mendon last winter, wandering through the full variety of terrain that Mendon has to offer (something about snowshoeing through a swamp...) I guess in retrospect I shouldn't have been surprised to see him, since his company is one of the sponsors and Medved Running & Walking is the local distributor for Dion Snowshoes... but having seen him yesterday running at Greylock I wasn't expecting there to be anybody other than me who made the trek west to be at the race today.
A bit of additional uncertainty about today's race was added after I spoke to some of the folks yesterday about how today was a qualifier for Nationals in March and they were very quick to say that my qualifying wasn't nearly the long shot I thought it was. Checking the results from the previous two times I ran this, I discovered that both times I would have qualified had I been a member of the United States Snowshoe Association... by virtue of the fact that the top 5 in each age group qualify and there were fewer than five runners in my age group. So I came to today's race wondering if that trend would hold for a third time. Only an uncertainty, not any additional pressure - this is a fairly fast crowd so I knew the result would only depend on how many USSSA members ran in my age group, not on how quickly (or more appropriately for me, how slowly) I finished. And once the official results are tallied... I'll know whether I'm running the 10k championship or 5k citizens race in Syracuse on March 6...
JMH
2010 Event Totals
Run
Bike
Snowshoe 15.2 mi, 3 hr 53 min
states visited: MA, NY
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Hawk in the City
Saturday, January 16, 2010
For once I spotted a hawk while driving and was in a place where I could safely pull over, get out, and try to get some photos.
Though what this beauty was doing in the middle of Albany (besides getting harassed by an upset group of crows) I have no idea...
JMH
Saturday, January 16, 2010
For once I spotted a hawk while driving and was in a place where I could safely pull over, get out, and try to get some photos.
Though what this beauty was doing in the middle of Albany (besides getting harassed by an upset group of crows) I have no idea...
JMH
Season of the SnōShū 2010 - Race #3
Greylock Glen 3.7mi Snowshoe Race
Saturday, January 16, 2010
There's just something about Greylock that always has me excited to be going there to run. I was also looking forward to today's race because, while I've run all the trails we'd be on in a number of other races, I'd never actually run the Greylock Glen snowshoe race before this season. Add in sunny weather and word from Ed that the conditions should be pretty good, and I came expecting a good morning. And as usual, I wasn't disappointed.
With construction in the Glen moving race HQ from the gazebo to the hilltop across the road, I actually ended up parking up the road from the start of the race, with a nice view of the mountain. Checked in, geared up, and headed to the start to chat with friends and wait for the fun to begin. It was tough to tell exactly where to start - there were a lot of new faces around. But Ed had said the first bit was pretty wide, so with luck that would all sort itself out before we hit the singletrack. And then, with little fanfare (we are a pretty low-key group after all) off we went.
Having run the trails before I had a pretty good idea of what to expect... some rolling terrain early on and then climb, climb, climb. Not as bad as last week's haul up the endless Turner Trail switchbacks, but still more than enough to keep my heart rate up, especially since I'd decided to try and keep Bill and Konrad in sight this time around, and that proved to be a challenge on the long climb up to Old Adams Road. One of the things I love about that stretch of trail is the brook bubbling away off to the right as we wind through the evergreens - I was tempted a couple of times to slow up and take some photos, but decided to push my pace instead and settle for enjoying my surroundings with quick glances. One of these days I need to hike through there so I can take my time and really enjoy it!
When we finally reached Old Adams Road I took advantage of the long downhill and headed down as fast as I could (not that many folks would consider it very fast, but for me I was tearing up the trail.) Ah, snowshoeing, where even tearing downhill can leave you gasping for air at the bottom! No great surprise I slowed up quite a bit as we made our was back through the woods at the base of the mountain, running through some wonderful stands of evergreens and white birch on our way back to the start. But I think my favorite spot along that stretch is the field just past the West Mountain Rd parking area, where once again Greylock dominates the horizon. I ran through there back in June while sweeping part of the half marathon course and was surprised to see the War Memorial shining away in the dusk - I didn't realize it was lit at night. Today the sight was no less awesome, with the mountain frosted with snow and the clouds just beginning to clear away from the summit. No matter how many times I run through there it always takes my breath away (or maybe that's just the running...)
From there it wasn't long before we were back on the rolling terrain we ran out on... that final climb was tough, and Brad had a camera rolling at the top so I actually had to run the last bit and at least try to make it look good. Crossed the finish in good time (for me)- 53:04 - between the warm weather and the good snow conditions I had a good run, tired but not totally fried, and only hacking up half a lung this week - guess the cold that kicked my butt two weeks ago really is on its way out. I actually packed up pretty quickly and headed out, since I needed to get home and get ready for the second trip of the weekend out to Rochester, NY (where I ran into Bob Dion at Sunday morning's Mendon Winterfest 10k snowshoe race, but that's another story.)
Congratulations are due to Laurel Shortell for finishing not only her 100th WMAC race today but her 100th consecutive race - and doing so with her ever-positive attitude and smile. There's also no doubt we owe a huge thank you to Ed for his work organizing the race at a time when he had a lot on his plate, marking the course, and cooking warm food for us to enjoy, and Beth and Brad Herder for handling timing, taking photos and video, and all the folks who helped with the myriad other tasks needed to make today a fun time for all of us out playing on the trails.
JMH
2010 Event Totals
Run
Bike
Snowshoe 9.0 mi, 2 hr 32 min
states visited: MA
Greylock Glen 3.7mi Snowshoe Race
Saturday, January 16, 2010
There's just something about Greylock that always has me excited to be going there to run. I was also looking forward to today's race because, while I've run all the trails we'd be on in a number of other races, I'd never actually run the Greylock Glen snowshoe race before this season. Add in sunny weather and word from Ed that the conditions should be pretty good, and I came expecting a good morning. And as usual, I wasn't disappointed.
With construction in the Glen moving race HQ from the gazebo to the hilltop across the road, I actually ended up parking up the road from the start of the race, with a nice view of the mountain. Checked in, geared up, and headed to the start to chat with friends and wait for the fun to begin. It was tough to tell exactly where to start - there were a lot of new faces around. But Ed had said the first bit was pretty wide, so with luck that would all sort itself out before we hit the singletrack. And then, with little fanfare (we are a pretty low-key group after all) off we went.
Having run the trails before I had a pretty good idea of what to expect... some rolling terrain early on and then climb, climb, climb. Not as bad as last week's haul up the endless Turner Trail switchbacks, but still more than enough to keep my heart rate up, especially since I'd decided to try and keep Bill and Konrad in sight this time around, and that proved to be a challenge on the long climb up to Old Adams Road. One of the things I love about that stretch of trail is the brook bubbling away off to the right as we wind through the evergreens - I was tempted a couple of times to slow up and take some photos, but decided to push my pace instead and settle for enjoying my surroundings with quick glances. One of these days I need to hike through there so I can take my time and really enjoy it!
When we finally reached Old Adams Road I took advantage of the long downhill and headed down as fast as I could (not that many folks would consider it very fast, but for me I was tearing up the trail.) Ah, snowshoeing, where even tearing downhill can leave you gasping for air at the bottom! No great surprise I slowed up quite a bit as we made our was back through the woods at the base of the mountain, running through some wonderful stands of evergreens and white birch on our way back to the start. But I think my favorite spot along that stretch is the field just past the West Mountain Rd parking area, where once again Greylock dominates the horizon. I ran through there back in June while sweeping part of the half marathon course and was surprised to see the War Memorial shining away in the dusk - I didn't realize it was lit at night. Today the sight was no less awesome, with the mountain frosted with snow and the clouds just beginning to clear away from the summit. No matter how many times I run through there it always takes my breath away (or maybe that's just the running...)
From there it wasn't long before we were back on the rolling terrain we ran out on... that final climb was tough, and Brad had a camera rolling at the top so I actually had to run the last bit and at least try to make it look good. Crossed the finish in good time (for me)- 53:04 - between the warm weather and the good snow conditions I had a good run, tired but not totally fried, and only hacking up half a lung this week - guess the cold that kicked my butt two weeks ago really is on its way out. I actually packed up pretty quickly and headed out, since I needed to get home and get ready for the second trip of the weekend out to Rochester, NY (where I ran into Bob Dion at Sunday morning's Mendon Winterfest 10k snowshoe race, but that's another story.)
Congratulations are due to Laurel Shortell for finishing not only her 100th WMAC race today but her 100th consecutive race - and doing so with her ever-positive attitude and smile. There's also no doubt we owe a huge thank you to Ed for his work organizing the race at a time when he had a lot on his plate, marking the course, and cooking warm food for us to enjoy, and Beth and Brad Herder for handling timing, taking photos and video, and all the folks who helped with the myriad other tasks needed to make today a fun time for all of us out playing on the trails.
JMH
2010 Event Totals
Run
Bike
Snowshoe 9.0 mi, 2 hr 32 min
states visited: MA
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
A NIGHT FOR OWLS
5.5 Mile Snowshoe in the Pine Bush
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
I ended up running most of the Albany Running Exchange's Brave the Blizzard course from the past few years... don't know if they're using the same course this year or not. Snow conditions were basically the same as last week... snow on most of the trails but very packed down. The best snowshoeing was actually in the woods between the Pine Bush and Guilderland Elementary... no big surprise, not as many people go back in there.
Much like Monday night, I ran most of the time with no lights... the overcast sky was pretty bright and the snow both reflects enough light to make it easy to see the trail and smooths things out enough that there's much less to trip over. Running at night in the woods without lights is definitely one of the things I really enjoy about running in the winter.
I heard an owl twice tonight! The classical "who, who, who-who-who" that they always use on TV or in a movie for an owl call... I'm guessing a great horned owl from the calls on www.whatbird.com. Interestingly, every time I heard him call, a short time later I heard another animal calling in the trees as well - I originally thought it was some kind of nocturnal squirrel, though that didn't make a lot of sense to me, but listening to the owl calls on Whatbird has me thinking it may have been a short-eared owl. Very cool...
JMH
5.5 Mile Snowshoe in the Pine Bush
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
I ended up running most of the Albany Running Exchange's Brave the Blizzard course from the past few years... don't know if they're using the same course this year or not. Snow conditions were basically the same as last week... snow on most of the trails but very packed down. The best snowshoeing was actually in the woods between the Pine Bush and Guilderland Elementary... no big surprise, not as many people go back in there.
Much like Monday night, I ran most of the time with no lights... the overcast sky was pretty bright and the snow both reflects enough light to make it easy to see the trail and smooths things out enough that there's much less to trip over. Running at night in the woods without lights is definitely one of the things I really enjoy about running in the winter.
I heard an owl twice tonight! The classical "who, who, who-who-who" that they always use on TV or in a movie for an owl call... I'm guessing a great horned owl from the calls on www.whatbird.com. Interestingly, every time I heard him call, a short time later I heard another animal calling in the trees as well - I originally thought it was some kind of nocturnal squirrel, though that didn't make a lot of sense to me, but listening to the owl calls on Whatbird has me thinking it may have been a short-eared owl. Very cool...
JMH
Monday, January 11, 2010
1.9 Mile Walk in the Pine Bush
Monday, January 11, 2010
I'd been planning to do a short walk on the bike path tonight but the sky was overcast enough that with the snow on the ground it was bright enough for me to walk in the Pine Bush... so I ended up doing a short loop through the Karner Barrens behind the Discovery Center. Took my headlamp just in case but never turned it on... most of the trails I walked are open and it was plenty bright without it.
It's s shame the Thruway is so close - the road noise never really goes away - but other than that it was a nice quiet walk on the trails. After spending close to a week sick it feels good to be getting outdoors again.
JMH
Monday, January 11, 2010
I'd been planning to do a short walk on the bike path tonight but the sky was overcast enough that with the snow on the ground it was bright enough for me to walk in the Pine Bush... so I ended up doing a short loop through the Karner Barrens behind the Discovery Center. Took my headlamp just in case but never turned it on... most of the trails I walked are open and it was plenty bright without it.
It's s shame the Thruway is so close - the road noise never really goes away - but other than that it was a nice quiet walk on the trails. After spending close to a week sick it feels good to be getting outdoors again.
JMH
Sunday, January 10, 2010
2.1 Mile Snowshoe to No Bottom Pond
Sunday, January 10, 2010
From Harvey Mountain I drove over to nearby Beebe Hill State Forest, which in addition to a number of hiking trails has two points of note - a fire tower on the top of Beebe Hill itself and in almost exactly the opposite direction No Bottom Pond, so named because tradition has it there's one point where soundings don't give a depth. Since it was getting late in the day I decided to visit the fire tower another time and settled for hiking out to No Bottom Pond.
No Bottom Pond has a certain degree notoriety for two reasons. The first is that is periodically disappears. Apparently there's a small drain in one spot which, when the local water levels start dropping, allows the pond to drain down to a small puddle, so at any given time a visitor might find anything from a full pond to an almost empty one. This has apparently happened since the first recorded observations of the pond. The second is an association with an infamous figure in local history, Oscar Beckwith, sometimes referred to as the cannibal of Columbia County. As detailed in Patricia Clyne's Hudson Valley Tales and Trails, Beckwith was a miner living in Austerlitz in the 1870's who murdered and dismembered his business partner. The unexpected return of his victim's landlord resulted in the crime being discovered before Beckwith could dispose of the remains; parts of the body were found in his stove and a pickling barrel, the liver was in a frying pan on the stove, and later at his trial Beckwith admitted he'd planned to eat parts of his victim, though it's not clear that he actually managed to do so before being discovered (but then, "the intended cannibal of Columbia County" isn't nearly as alliterative.) A posse from nearby Alford, MA, came to Beckwith's cabin to arrest him, but Beckwith had fled. They followed his tracks through the snow to No Bottom Pond, where the tracks vanished and the pursuers concluded that Beckwith had hidden in one of the many caves near the pond. They gave up the pursuit and Beckwith escaped to Canada, only to be brought back almost 4 years later and finally tried and hung two years after that.
According to my trail map there are three routes to the pond, two on a loop road (used as a snowmobile trail this time of year) and one a hiking trail. I opted for the easiest choice, the shorter side of the snowmobile loop. It was pretty easy going for a while and then went up and up... not tremendously steep, but also not a welcome climb after my trek in Pittsfield yesterday and my hike up Harvey Mountain today. Just over the top of the hill a hiking trail climbed a bit further and then dropped down to the shore of the pond. I was very glad for my snowshoes along that stretch - it had been hiked by folks without snowshoes and was a mess of post holes.
Not much to see at the pond, no great surprise - its frozen over and snow covered - though at least it looked like it was close to full. I hiked around the east end to get to some of the rock formations across from the spot where the trail ended... pretty cool, I'll have to get back there in warm weather and get a better look. There were also a lot of signs of beavers around the edges of the pond... gnawed trees and quite a few that had been dropped by the little guys.
After that it was just a matter of hiking back out... up the hill to the snowmobile trail, and then back down to the car. I actually ended up running down the hill I'd hiked up earlier - it was easier than trying to walk down it - and thankfully didn't have any snowmobiles go through while I was there. Once I got back to the car I really wished I'd brought dry pants to change into... I'll have to remember next time to dress like I would for XC skiing and bring extra clothes (which I would just naturally do if I was planning to go for a run.)
JMH
Sunday, January 10, 2010
From Harvey Mountain I drove over to nearby Beebe Hill State Forest, which in addition to a number of hiking trails has two points of note - a fire tower on the top of Beebe Hill itself and in almost exactly the opposite direction No Bottom Pond, so named because tradition has it there's one point where soundings don't give a depth. Since it was getting late in the day I decided to visit the fire tower another time and settled for hiking out to No Bottom Pond.
No Bottom Pond has a certain degree notoriety for two reasons. The first is that is periodically disappears. Apparently there's a small drain in one spot which, when the local water levels start dropping, allows the pond to drain down to a small puddle, so at any given time a visitor might find anything from a full pond to an almost empty one. This has apparently happened since the first recorded observations of the pond. The second is an association with an infamous figure in local history, Oscar Beckwith, sometimes referred to as the cannibal of Columbia County. As detailed in Patricia Clyne's Hudson Valley Tales and Trails, Beckwith was a miner living in Austerlitz in the 1870's who murdered and dismembered his business partner. The unexpected return of his victim's landlord resulted in the crime being discovered before Beckwith could dispose of the remains; parts of the body were found in his stove and a pickling barrel, the liver was in a frying pan on the stove, and later at his trial Beckwith admitted he'd planned to eat parts of his victim, though it's not clear that he actually managed to do so before being discovered (but then, "the intended cannibal of Columbia County" isn't nearly as alliterative.) A posse from nearby Alford, MA, came to Beckwith's cabin to arrest him, but Beckwith had fled. They followed his tracks through the snow to No Bottom Pond, where the tracks vanished and the pursuers concluded that Beckwith had hidden in one of the many caves near the pond. They gave up the pursuit and Beckwith escaped to Canada, only to be brought back almost 4 years later and finally tried and hung two years after that.
According to my trail map there are three routes to the pond, two on a loop road (used as a snowmobile trail this time of year) and one a hiking trail. I opted for the easiest choice, the shorter side of the snowmobile loop. It was pretty easy going for a while and then went up and up... not tremendously steep, but also not a welcome climb after my trek in Pittsfield yesterday and my hike up Harvey Mountain today. Just over the top of the hill a hiking trail climbed a bit further and then dropped down to the shore of the pond. I was very glad for my snowshoes along that stretch - it had been hiked by folks without snowshoes and was a mess of post holes.
Not much to see at the pond, no great surprise - its frozen over and snow covered - though at least it looked like it was close to full. I hiked around the east end to get to some of the rock formations across from the spot where the trail ended... pretty cool, I'll have to get back there in warm weather and get a better look. There were also a lot of signs of beavers around the edges of the pond... gnawed trees and quite a few that had been dropped by the little guys.
After that it was just a matter of hiking back out... up the hill to the snowmobile trail, and then back down to the car. I actually ended up running down the hill I'd hiked up earlier - it was easier than trying to walk down it - and thankfully didn't have any snowmobiles go through while I was there. Once I got back to the car I really wished I'd brought dry pants to change into... I'll have to remember next time to dress like I would for XC skiing and bring extra clothes (which I would just naturally do if I was planning to go for a run.)
JMH
3.7 Mile Snowshoe on Harvey Mountain
Sunday, January 10, 2010
I've been aware of a state forest bordering Route 22 in Austerlitz for years, having seen the markers alongside the road as I drove back and forth to Albany. But it was only in the last year or so that I found out that there's actually two state forests along that stretch of road, Harvey Mountain State Forest on the east side and Beebe Hill State Forest on the west, and that there's a fairly extensive system of trails at both. The Harvey Mountain trail goes, not terribly surprisingly, to the summit of Harvey Mountain, which lies on the border between NY and MA.
Last winter I read an article posted on Rich & Sue Freeman's NY Outdoors Blog that described a local newspaper writer's hike to the summit of Harvey Mountain in January. No great surprise, I also have the trail guide mentioned in the article (AMC's Best Day Hikes in the Catskills and Hudson Valley by Peter Kick) which gives directions for the hike. So naturally I've wanted to do the hike ever since! I even tried heading over there once before, at the end of October, but ended up staying closer to home when rain moved in.
Today I had thought I might drive down to CT for the first Manchester Running Company snowshoe race in Vernon, CT (last week's race was cancelled due overall poor conditions.) When I woke up this morning I was suffuciently sore from yesterday's trek up and down the mountains of Pittsfield State Forest that I decided a 4 1/2 hour round trip to run a 5k in barely enough snow just didn't make sense... but I did still want to get outside, and from that thought it was only a few moments before I decided to give Harvey Mountain a try, with possibly trips to No Bottom Pond and the Beebe Hill Fire Tower afterwards.
I found the directions in Kick's book a little bit confusing, mainly because I ended up turning on the north end of East Hill Rd rather than the southern end - so all the driving distances were a little bit off. I was surprised the find the parking lot almost full (ie. four vehicles already there) - I'd been expecting to have the place pretty much to myself. Walked across the road to the trailhead and decided that snowshoes were in order - the path had been well packed by other snowshoers and at least one XC skier, but there was no telling what it would be like further on.
There's a steep climb right at the start but then the trail wanders along a fairly level grade through the woods for a while, before travelling along the edge of a cleared hill and then down, down, down into a gully with a very nice stream bubbling away at the bottom. Easy walking, for the most part, and no real wind in the woods.
Of course, what goes down must then go back up... and in this case, the final half mile or so to the summit proved to be the challenge, as the trail climbed up out of the gulley and up the side of Harvey Mountain. Sometimes steep, sometimes not so steep, but uphill all the way. Two hikers in snowshoes passed me on their way out; they asked me briefly about my "running" snowshoes before heading on their way. My legs weren't thrilled with the climb, especially after yesterday's 2-mile long uphill slog, but I took plenty of quick breaks and made it to the top with no problem.
The summit was basically bare, with nice views off to the west and also toward the southeast into the Taconics. Catamount was clearly visible off in the distance; I suspect the view is particularly splendid in the fall when the leaves have turned. The wind was blowing pretty briskly, so after taking some pictures I wandered around a bit. There were ribbons that seemed to be marking some sort of possible path, and other snowshoe tracks, but none seemed to lead anywhere other than into the woods to the east. No additional views, unfortunately. Since I wasn't sure where those woods led to, and the snow cover was very uneven (at one point I took a step and sunk up to mid-thigh in a drift I didn't realize was there) I decided to head back out in hopes of still having time to visit Beebe Hill State Forest.
The hike back out was a lot easier - I definitely preferred descending from the summit! Made it back to the stream much more quickly than the hike up, and the climb back up out of the gully wasn't bad at all. After that it was just a matter of hiking through the woods back to the trailhead, tossing my gear in the car, and heading over to the Beebe Hill trailheads.
Speaking of gear... my bicycling booties did a great job of keeping my feet dry during the hike, I'm really glad I'd left them in my snowshoe bag. Unfortunately all of my snowshoeing so far has been geared toward running so I really didn't think to dress right for the hike - I really should have worn one of the pairs of pants I XC ski in rather than jeans, which got pretty damp once the snow on them melted. The lightweight pair of tights I wore under the jeans kept me from getting too cold... but it really would have been nice to be able to change into dry clothes once I was all done walking for the afternoon. Definitely something to remember for next time...
JMH
Sunday, January 10, 2010
I've been aware of a state forest bordering Route 22 in Austerlitz for years, having seen the markers alongside the road as I drove back and forth to Albany. But it was only in the last year or so that I found out that there's actually two state forests along that stretch of road, Harvey Mountain State Forest on the east side and Beebe Hill State Forest on the west, and that there's a fairly extensive system of trails at both. The Harvey Mountain trail goes, not terribly surprisingly, to the summit of Harvey Mountain, which lies on the border between NY and MA.
Last winter I read an article posted on Rich & Sue Freeman's NY Outdoors Blog that described a local newspaper writer's hike to the summit of Harvey Mountain in January. No great surprise, I also have the trail guide mentioned in the article (AMC's Best Day Hikes in the Catskills and Hudson Valley by Peter Kick) which gives directions for the hike. So naturally I've wanted to do the hike ever since! I even tried heading over there once before, at the end of October, but ended up staying closer to home when rain moved in.
Today I had thought I might drive down to CT for the first Manchester Running Company snowshoe race in Vernon, CT (last week's race was cancelled due overall poor conditions.) When I woke up this morning I was suffuciently sore from yesterday's trek up and down the mountains of Pittsfield State Forest that I decided a 4 1/2 hour round trip to run a 5k in barely enough snow just didn't make sense... but I did still want to get outside, and from that thought it was only a few moments before I decided to give Harvey Mountain a try, with possibly trips to No Bottom Pond and the Beebe Hill Fire Tower afterwards.
I found the directions in Kick's book a little bit confusing, mainly because I ended up turning on the north end of East Hill Rd rather than the southern end - so all the driving distances were a little bit off. I was surprised the find the parking lot almost full (ie. four vehicles already there) - I'd been expecting to have the place pretty much to myself. Walked across the road to the trailhead and decided that snowshoes were in order - the path had been well packed by other snowshoers and at least one XC skier, but there was no telling what it would be like further on.
There's a steep climb right at the start but then the trail wanders along a fairly level grade through the woods for a while, before travelling along the edge of a cleared hill and then down, down, down into a gully with a very nice stream bubbling away at the bottom. Easy walking, for the most part, and no real wind in the woods.
Of course, what goes down must then go back up... and in this case, the final half mile or so to the summit proved to be the challenge, as the trail climbed up out of the gulley and up the side of Harvey Mountain. Sometimes steep, sometimes not so steep, but uphill all the way. Two hikers in snowshoes passed me on their way out; they asked me briefly about my "running" snowshoes before heading on their way. My legs weren't thrilled with the climb, especially after yesterday's 2-mile long uphill slog, but I took plenty of quick breaks and made it to the top with no problem.
The summit was basically bare, with nice views off to the west and also toward the southeast into the Taconics. Catamount was clearly visible off in the distance; I suspect the view is particularly splendid in the fall when the leaves have turned. The wind was blowing pretty briskly, so after taking some pictures I wandered around a bit. There were ribbons that seemed to be marking some sort of possible path, and other snowshoe tracks, but none seemed to lead anywhere other than into the woods to the east. No additional views, unfortunately. Since I wasn't sure where those woods led to, and the snow cover was very uneven (at one point I took a step and sunk up to mid-thigh in a drift I didn't realize was there) I decided to head back out in hopes of still having time to visit Beebe Hill State Forest.
The hike back out was a lot easier - I definitely preferred descending from the summit! Made it back to the stream much more quickly than the hike up, and the climb back up out of the gully wasn't bad at all. After that it was just a matter of hiking through the woods back to the trailhead, tossing my gear in the car, and heading over to the Beebe Hill trailheads.
Speaking of gear... my bicycling booties did a great job of keeping my feet dry during the hike, I'm really glad I'd left them in my snowshoe bag. Unfortunately all of my snowshoeing so far has been geared toward running so I really didn't think to dress right for the hike - I really should have worn one of the pairs of pants I XC ski in rather than jeans, which got pretty damp once the snow on them melted. The lightweight pair of tights I wore under the jeans kept me from getting too cold... but it really would have been nice to be able to change into dry clothes once I was all done walking for the afternoon. Definitely something to remember for next time...
JMH
Saturday, January 09, 2010
Season of the SnōShū 2010 - Race #2
Turner Trail 5.3mi Snowshoe Race
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Last year we were lucky enough to have several new races added to the schedule, including the Turner Trail race in Pittsfield State Forest which ended up fast-tracked to replace a race at Savoy that had to be cancelled due to all the damage caused by the December 2008 ice storms. RDs Brad and Beth Herder developed the race in part to showcase the newly re-routed Turner Trail - thanks to the efforts of the local mountain biking club, the badly eroded and relatively straight trail down Berry Mountain was replaced by one featuring 40+ switchbacks. After years of sending on a screaming descent down the nearby Shadow Trail (an old ski racing trail) during Curly's Record Run at the end of January, it was only natural that Brad and Beth would have us winding our way down 2 miles of switchbacks during their new race. And some of us liked it so much that we even came back for more as part of the trail race series...
This year's early information indicated that the course would be different and we would actually be climbing the Turner Trail to the top of the mountain and eventually taking the much more straightforward Honwee Trail back to the finish, with about a mile added to the length of the course. A bit grueling for those of us who are still pretty out of shape this early in the season, but how could I pass up a chance to run in the beautiful Pittsfield State Forest, despite the fact that I was still coughing crud up out of my lungs as a remnant of the cold that knocked me off my feet the weekend before.
And after a lot of clouds during the preceeding week, what a beautiful day it turned out to be - bright and sunny, with ample snow covering the eastern slopes of the mountains. Listening to the weather reports I expected it to be colder, but it really didn't seem that bad (at least for those of us treking around on a trails - I suspect it felt a lot colder to the folks who were there to help the race run smoothly.)
As usual, geared up and caught up with everyone while we waited for the fun to start. Eventually Beth called us over to the start and we discovered that instead of running up the snow covered road for a bit we'd be taking the Telephone Trail over to begin the climb up the mountain - that turned out to be a nice warmup for the long hike that followed. Beth said a few words about how the trail was marked and then off we went. Nice wide rolling trail to start, which after about a quarter mile turned off onto the Turner Trail... and then the fun began. Maybe the folks who are really good at this stuff ran up that trail, but for those of us at the back it was a long, slow, sweaty slog, winding our way up the mountain, with everyone packed in pretty tightly at first and then the line gradually spreading out as we climbed and climbed. Along the way I found myself thinking that an aerial photo would probably have been pretty cool - a string of brightly-clothed racers twisting its way along the side of the mountain like holiday lights against the white of the snow.
Despite the hard work to get to the top, it was a gorgeous day to be out in the woods, and once the trail leveled off up near the summit we were treated to a true winter wonderland, with white snow coating every available surface and gleaming in the sunshine. The snow-covered branches against the clear blue sky were simply fantastic... it's at times like that I'm glad I'm slow and can take a few moments to take in the beauty of the surroundings.
Of course, all too quickly the course started descending and I had to pay attention so that maybe I could avoid taking out one of my knees. There were a couple of steep drops early on that had me wondering if I'd end up going head-over-heels to the bottom, and then some nicely rolling terrain to get us to the top of the Honwee Trail. I had hiked up that trail last year, so I had some idea of just how long and unrelenting that hill would be... what I hadn't counted on was how much fun it would be to run down it! For the most part of the slope was fairly gradual, so I was able to let gravity be my friend and pick up the pace a bit without worrying too much about my knees. It definitely felt good to let loose a bit - I can only imagine how the top runners hammered down that trail. Of course, even running downhill is work on snowshoes, and I spent a lot more time gasping for air than I did taking in the sights. And as much as I enjoyed that mile and a half of downhill running, I was mighty glad when I saw the trail drop down to the road, since that meant it was only a little bit further to the finish. And finish I did, staggering across the line in just under 1 hr 39 minutes... not a great time, but not horrible, all things considered.
After crossing the finish, I spent a moment or two doing my best to cough up a lung and then headed back to the car to change into dry clothes. As always, the chance to spend a few minutes visiting with our happy crew of snowshoers was a real treat. My only real regret is that I didn't have enough juice left in my legs to go back out and hike along the Lulu Cascade trail - Honwee's narrow winding cousin that follows closer to the Lulu Cascade and provides a great view of the many waterfalls along that brook. Maybe after Curly's Record Run later this month or one of the other races over this way...
As always, major kudos and thanks to Beth and Brad and their intrepid volunteers who put on a top-notch event and not only made sure we were all well taken care of but that we'd have lots of pictures to look at to remember a fun day. The places we run are by and large absolutely wonderful... but it's the people who really make our snowshoe series as special as it is.
JMH
2010 Event Totals
Run
Bike
Snowshoe 5.3 mi, 1 hr 39 min
states visited: MA
Turner Trail 5.3mi Snowshoe Race
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Last year we were lucky enough to have several new races added to the schedule, including the Turner Trail race in Pittsfield State Forest which ended up fast-tracked to replace a race at Savoy that had to be cancelled due to all the damage caused by the December 2008 ice storms. RDs Brad and Beth Herder developed the race in part to showcase the newly re-routed Turner Trail - thanks to the efforts of the local mountain biking club, the badly eroded and relatively straight trail down Berry Mountain was replaced by one featuring 40+ switchbacks. After years of sending on a screaming descent down the nearby Shadow Trail (an old ski racing trail) during Curly's Record Run at the end of January, it was only natural that Brad and Beth would have us winding our way down 2 miles of switchbacks during their new race. And some of us liked it so much that we even came back for more as part of the trail race series...
This year's early information indicated that the course would be different and we would actually be climbing the Turner Trail to the top of the mountain and eventually taking the much more straightforward Honwee Trail back to the finish, with about a mile added to the length of the course. A bit grueling for those of us who are still pretty out of shape this early in the season, but how could I pass up a chance to run in the beautiful Pittsfield State Forest, despite the fact that I was still coughing crud up out of my lungs as a remnant of the cold that knocked me off my feet the weekend before.
And after a lot of clouds during the preceeding week, what a beautiful day it turned out to be - bright and sunny, with ample snow covering the eastern slopes of the mountains. Listening to the weather reports I expected it to be colder, but it really didn't seem that bad (at least for those of us treking around on a trails - I suspect it felt a lot colder to the folks who were there to help the race run smoothly.)
As usual, geared up and caught up with everyone while we waited for the fun to start. Eventually Beth called us over to the start and we discovered that instead of running up the snow covered road for a bit we'd be taking the Telephone Trail over to begin the climb up the mountain - that turned out to be a nice warmup for the long hike that followed. Beth said a few words about how the trail was marked and then off we went. Nice wide rolling trail to start, which after about a quarter mile turned off onto the Turner Trail... and then the fun began. Maybe the folks who are really good at this stuff ran up that trail, but for those of us at the back it was a long, slow, sweaty slog, winding our way up the mountain, with everyone packed in pretty tightly at first and then the line gradually spreading out as we climbed and climbed. Along the way I found myself thinking that an aerial photo would probably have been pretty cool - a string of brightly-clothed racers twisting its way along the side of the mountain like holiday lights against the white of the snow.
Despite the hard work to get to the top, it was a gorgeous day to be out in the woods, and once the trail leveled off up near the summit we were treated to a true winter wonderland, with white snow coating every available surface and gleaming in the sunshine. The snow-covered branches against the clear blue sky were simply fantastic... it's at times like that I'm glad I'm slow and can take a few moments to take in the beauty of the surroundings.
Of course, all too quickly the course started descending and I had to pay attention so that maybe I could avoid taking out one of my knees. There were a couple of steep drops early on that had me wondering if I'd end up going head-over-heels to the bottom, and then some nicely rolling terrain to get us to the top of the Honwee Trail. I had hiked up that trail last year, so I had some idea of just how long and unrelenting that hill would be... what I hadn't counted on was how much fun it would be to run down it! For the most part of the slope was fairly gradual, so I was able to let gravity be my friend and pick up the pace a bit without worrying too much about my knees. It definitely felt good to let loose a bit - I can only imagine how the top runners hammered down that trail. Of course, even running downhill is work on snowshoes, and I spent a lot more time gasping for air than I did taking in the sights. And as much as I enjoyed that mile and a half of downhill running, I was mighty glad when I saw the trail drop down to the road, since that meant it was only a little bit further to the finish. And finish I did, staggering across the line in just under 1 hr 39 minutes... not a great time, but not horrible, all things considered.
After crossing the finish, I spent a moment or two doing my best to cough up a lung and then headed back to the car to change into dry clothes. As always, the chance to spend a few minutes visiting with our happy crew of snowshoers was a real treat. My only real regret is that I didn't have enough juice left in my legs to go back out and hike along the Lulu Cascade trail - Honwee's narrow winding cousin that follows closer to the Lulu Cascade and provides a great view of the many waterfalls along that brook. Maybe after Curly's Record Run later this month or one of the other races over this way...
As always, major kudos and thanks to Beth and Brad and their intrepid volunteers who put on a top-notch event and not only made sure we were all well taken care of but that we'd have lots of pictures to look at to remember a fun day. The places we run are by and large absolutely wonderful... but it's the people who really make our snowshoe series as special as it is.
JMH
2010 Event Totals
Run
Bike
Snowshoe 5.3 mi, 1 hr 39 min
states visited: MA
Thursday, January 07, 2010
AT LAST!
4.9 Mile Run in the Pine Bush
Thursday, January 7, 2009
Tonight's run reminded me of how much I've been missing get out in the woods... even if I did hack up all sorts of gunk from my lungs while I was out there.
I probably should have worn snowshoes - at least a few spots would have been easier going if I had - but for the most part the paths were sufficiently packed down that my screw shoes were fine.
The clouds even parted for a little while and gave me a great view of Orion shining overhead - spectacular!
JMH
4.9 Mile Run in the Pine Bush
Thursday, January 7, 2009
Tonight's run reminded me of how much I've been missing get out in the woods... even if I did hack up all sorts of gunk from my lungs while I was out there.
I probably should have worn snowshoes - at least a few spots would have been easier going if I had - but for the most part the paths were sufficiently packed down that my screw shoes were fine.
The clouds even parted for a little while and gave me a great view of Orion shining overhead - spectacular!
JMH
Monday, January 04, 2010
Sunday, January 03, 2010
Saturday, January 02, 2010
Season of the SnōShū 2010 - Race #2 DNS
Frozen Assets 3mi Snowshoe Race
Saturday, January 2, 2010
No race for me today, thanks to this darn cold that's been kicking my butt for a little over a day now. I had originally considered driving down to CT tomorrow for the Manchester Running Company's 1st race in their Sunday snowshoe series... but right now it looks like there won't be enough snow for them to even hold the race, even if I had been healthy enough to run it. With luck we'll get enough this week for the Turner Trail race in Pittsfield next Saturday... and maybe the CT race on Sunday.
JMH
2010 Event Totals
Run
Bike
Snowshoe
states visited:
Frozen Assets 3mi Snowshoe Race
Saturday, January 2, 2010
No race for me today, thanks to this darn cold that's been kicking my butt for a little over a day now. I had originally considered driving down to CT tomorrow for the Manchester Running Company's 1st race in their Sunday snowshoe series... but right now it looks like there won't be enough snow for them to even hold the race, even if I had been healthy enough to run it. With luck we'll get enough this week for the Turner Trail race in Pittsfield next Saturday... and maybe the CT race on Sunday.
JMH
2010 Event Totals
Run
Bike
Snowshoe
states visited:
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