I plan to add to this Hiking Journal regularly. It is my intention to record in greater detail some of the hiking adventures my husband and I enjoy. We are fortunate to have found friends who frequently join us. We are indebted to them for sharing their expertise, humor and boundless love of the wilderness. Placing my photos in the context of a story, it seems to me, brings added appreciation for the special places we visit.
Stop by often. I have many stories to tell.
12-2-11 New Gallery Display
This morning I hung 19 framed photos in the Helderberg Room of the Guilderland Public Library, Guilderland, NY. The gallery exhibit will run through the end of December. Many thanks to Margaret Garrett and her staff for their assistance and warm welcome. I organized the images in four groupings: Catskills, Adirondacks, Local and Other Places. Please stop by during the month of December for a look!
7-8/11 CALIFORNIA HIKING ADVENTURE
At long last I am going through the photos I took on our fantastic hiking trip to California. We spent a month exploring the National Parks of Yosemite, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Lassen with other side trips to national forests and towns (including a ghost town) along the eastern High Sierras. The following is a link to a slideshow of some of the places we visited. I will add images to this slideshow as they are edited in Photoshop.
6-15-11: WEST CAVE/CAVE MTNS. (CATSKILLS)
As we get older (what a way to start a blog), we have gotten a little more picky about the conditions under which we hike. Retirement has afforded us this luxury. Yesterday, the temperatures were moderate, a light breeze kept the pesky bugs away, and the skies were sunny: in a word, a perfect hiking day. Our good friend Alan suggested climbing two mountains which are part of Windham Ski Center. His dog Bookah was recovering from some kind of an intestinal bug, so this hike was chosen with Bookah's recovery in mind. Not to worry - Bookah did just fine. She even posed for us amongst some lush ferns.
Signs showing the various ski trails were a bit confusing as we started up to West Cave Mt.
We chose a muddy, rutted route which eventually took us into some trees and then up a steep section to the top of West Cave Mt. The views looking back towards the Ski Center were hazy but I'll take it!
On top of West Cave we took a short break.
We continued along the ridge, down to the col, and then up again to Cave Mt. Workers were moving large wooden spools in a two-wheeled trailer.
The "space ship" building where skiers get off the lift was the perfect place for a lunch break.
Wildflowers were in abundance. I took some shots of daisies.
We enjoyed views of distant Highest Hundred and Highest Two-Hundred peaks.
Solutions to erosion of the banks along the ski trails (to the left in the photo below) involved draping nets (maybe impregnated with seeds) to bind the soil.
I can't say we enjoyed "a beautiful day in the woods," but I can say "a beautiful day on two mountaintops."
6-4-11 SIAMESE PONDS OVERNIGHT
Our John Muir Trail backpack is a little more than a month away so we decided to test some of our new gear on an overnight backpack into the Siamese Ponds Wilderness, Adirondack Mountains. This is one of several "shake-downs" we plan before the BIG EVENT. With the exception of some pesky mosquitoes and black flies we enjoyed fine hiking conditions and perfect weather. The 6+ mile hike to the pond involved crossing several bridges, one of which was fairly new. The builders took the time to fashion barriers under the rustic railing posts using traditional Adirondack twig construction. Very impressive!
We ate lunch shortly before arriving at the lean-to (junction of the blue and yellow trails). We found a tranquil spot along the shore of the East Branch of the Sacandaga River.
The yellow trail continues across a suspension bridge beyond the lean-to. Thor had no difficulty walking across the bridge. In fact, he led the way, looking back impatiently to see if we were following.
We didn't spend much time as we reached a vly along the yellow trail - too many bugs - but I did manage a photo of Diamond Mt.
We camped on a hill above a larger campsite where the previous campers had left a large bag of food, a bowl, grates, a large piece of plastic, and remnants of aluminum foil in the bushes. We cleaned up the site and carted away most of the trash. The question of course is why would people do this?
I headed down to the pond in the early evening, but the sun was still too high in the sky to allow for photos of any interest.
Thor's owner has provided for his canine companion in every way possible. When it was time to sleep, Thor climbed into his very own sleeping bag. What a contented, pampered pooch!
The bugs were more plentiful next morning when we headed by to the car. I snapped a quick photo of the river as we crossed the suspension bridge near the lean-to - much better light.
A particularly robust field of nettles reminded Dick of a bushwhack he hiked several days earlier. These plants are called "stinging nettles" for a reason!
If the weather holds we will try for another overnight backpack this coming weekend.
5-29-11 TUMULT ON THE AUSABLE RIVER
Communities in northern New York State have endured major flooding over the past several months with extensive damage to homes, businesses and, sadly, loss of life. We got to see the flooding first hand when we visited friends recently who live in the small town of Keeseville, about thirty minutes south of Plattsburgh. We had planned to hike but persistant rain convinced us that climbing the mountains would have to wait until the weather was more cooperative. Instead, we visited a park along the Ausable River and, later that afternoon, walked the rim trail in Ausable Chasm. The river which passes an historic nail factory in Keeseville had subsided somewhat but was still a mighty torrent of waterfalls and undulating currents.
Debris had accumulated along the shore. We spotted a "Wilson" volley ball bobbing up and down in the erratic swells.
Someone suggested that this might be the perfect day to visit Ausable Chasm, a deep canyon which has been sculpted over millennia by the Ausable River and is a popular tourist attraction. The river and views didn't disappoint beginning with Rainbow Falls. I took this photo from an auto/pedestrian bridge which spans the Ausable River.
As we walked the rim trail we were again overwhelmed by the shear force of the water as it rushed beneath our feet.
Near the parking area I couldn't resist taking one last photo of the falls at close range. The over-used word "awesome" was appropriate in this setting.
5-27-11 MORNING WALK
The temperatures will climb later today so I decided to take a walk on a "trail" which accesses power lines for our local utility company. Early morning is the best time to walk this 2-mile out-and-back path. Wildlife abounds - many varieties of birds, wild turkey, rabbits, rodents, coyotes, and even a juvenile bear a few years ago. Today the scent of honeysuckle blossoms was overwhelming.
As I bent down to take a macro photo of some of the blooms, a bee managed to duck under my shirt. I quickly scooped him out but he managed to sting me as he exited. I'm not allergic to bees so am none the worse (and the hurried shot of the bee didn't work out).
On the way back from the walk, I passed a local farm with horses grazing in a field. A black and white horse approached the fence for a closer look and I was able to take a few photos.
5-21-11 THOMAS AND CAT MOUNTAINS
We should have known. Mid-May in the Adirondacks presupposes black flies. There are swarming black flies and there are swarming and biting black flies. We encountered the latter. A few squirts of high test Deet on my hat and a quick application of oil of citronella on face and arms seemed to work well until the carbon dioxide we produced while huffing and puffing in earnest attracted hoards of the annoying "beasts." We decided on a loop hike, first ascending to a cabin with great mountain views, and then walking .5 miles to the summit of Thomas Mt.
It rained for a short time while we walked the undulating ridge to Cat Mt..
I put on a "Dri-Duck" light-weight rain jacket. Weight is negligible at the expense of ruggedness, so, at the first contact with a pricker, the jacket received its first tear. After lunch, the rain left and we were treated to sunshine, but the black flies continued to annoy so we kept on moving. Even at the summit, we enjoyed the views for only a short time. One member of our party thought he would take a nap on a flat rock complete with bug net, long-sleeved shirt and pants, but the rest of our party wanted to keep moving so his nap was cut short.
The loop trail took us down a rocky road. We weren't surprised to pass a high-water beaver pond.
The well-established beaver lodge was easily recognized on the other side of the pond.
Some of the trail along the pond was flooded but we found some good hopping rocks to avoid wet feet.
The GPS said that our walk was 7.5 miles with about 2300' of elevation change due to lots of ups and downs along the ridges. A pleasant workout, despite the challenges of those black devils!
5-11-11 HUDSON HIGHLANDS
The Hudson Highlands is a range of mountains on either side of the Hudson River, south of the Catskill and Shawangunk mountain ranges. We hiked part of Breakneck Ridge in Hudson Highlands State Park. There are a myriad of trails to explore. We found several beautiful views from high points on the ridge.
New leaves were sprouting on trees and shrubs, and we found a few wild flowers.
We were attracted to an unusual sight in the middle of the trail: a tiny seedling covered in a feather cape.
We ended our day with a hotdog roast over an open campfire at our friends' campsite. Thanks Cheryl and Mike for a great day!
5-7-11 BROWN COUNTY SP, INDIANA HIKE
We joined several members of a local Indianapolis hiking club for this 11-mile hike in southern Indiana. The day was overcast with sprinkles of rain interspersed with specks of sunshine, but the light-hearted quips and stories more than made up for the changing weather conditions. We hiked around Ogle Lake and I stopped briefly to capture some images of geese near the shore and a beaver dam.
We stopped next to a dam for a short break.
I managed to get a shot of some dogwood blossoms.
Our leader took us on a series of trails which climbed up and down several ridges, the last "up" being aptly named "Cardiac Ridge." Many thanks to our friend Chuck for sponsoring us as his guest. We hope to be able to hike with you all again.
5-1-11 CONNECTICUT APPALACHIAN TRAIL (HOUSATONIC)
We
met our friends Jeff and Varda at the trailhead to Broadman Mt. at the
intersection of routes 4 and 7. Our friend Roleigh and his terrier Thor
rode with us on the 1.5 hour trip. Cell phone calls alerted us to the
fact that we were parked at the wrong trailhead, but a quick three
minute drive united us with our friends. While waiting, I took a photo
of fiddlehead ferns rearing their delicate heads. The trail from the parking area was soft
underfoot with dappled sunlight. We passed a beautiful stone fence and a series of small waterfalls. 
The hike up to the Broadman Mt. summit was steep but short. We ate lunch at the viewpoint,
enjoying a gentle breeze and blossoming shad bushes, and then moved on to a second mountain for another break before descending to the Housatonic River. 
We spent some time trying to rock-hop across a fast-moving stream. We
all managed to get to the other bank with more or less dry feet. We
walked along the shore and, from time to time, left the river for short
forays into the woods. Once we walked along a beautiful open meadow.
In the distance we saw a man on horseback and several people and their
canine companions. Thor seemed disinterested and kept up Roleigh's
pace and attention to the trail in front of him. Back to the river once more, we spent some time sitting on the shore. Thor immediately went into sleep mode
while Jeff and I took off our boots
and waded into the cold water. We used our hiking poles to keep from
being sucked into the sandy river bottom. At some point we decided to
turn around and head back along the path and then onto a road which took
us back to route 4. We were UNDER the route 4 bridge so we scrambled
up a steep hill to access the road and our cars. I couldn't resist one
last photo of a perfect purple trillium along the roadside.
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