Bald Mountain

In reading about Bald Mountain, it isn't bald.  It has 4 named view points.  I would find out, considering it's winter, it's a stretch to call these view points.

Mendon Peak from Pico view point.  Pico can be seen.  Through the trees.

Pico from North River view point

Mendon Peak with Killington behind it

With my snowshoes resting in my storage unit hundreds of miles away, I would bareboot the entire way.  Chris Hiker is not a fan of barebooting.  In fact it's one of his pet peeves.  Unfortunately, we did not get much snow from Juno, so I only postholed a couple times.  Still, snowshoes would have been nice.

Late afternoon sun

Nice trees along the way

Some spruce and balsam

Bald mountain is located a few miles outside Rutland.  There is a 3.5 mile loop of trails on the mountain.  I started around 3pm to enjoy the low sun shining on Pico and Killington.  The views were nothing really to talk about, but the hike was.  I mostly walked through a hardwood forest, with some sections of evergreens.  Very pleasant.  Despite the heavy winds, most of the trees were covered in snow.  I love the sight of this.

Overlook and Echo Lake (The Yoga Version)

The Ashokan under a high noon sun

Today I met up with Caroline who wanted to go for a hike in the mountains.  I told her we would go to my favorite mountain, Overlook.  There are many reasons why Overlook should not be one of my favorites: a maintenance road for a trail, a radio tower and a popular spot.  But there are so many reasons it's my favorite: arguably the best views in the Catskills, old hotel ruins, my first Catskill summit, easy accessibility (trailhead rests just above Woodstock) and sometimes a lot of people is a good thing.

The weather was magnificent.  The temperature was a bit cold, in the upper teens to low 20s.  My toes at times got a bit cold.  Caroline with her new winter boots would stay warm the entire time.  We wore microspikes from the start.  The trail was quite icy just past the trailhead.  This eventually became a hard packed snow, which doesn't technically require a traction device, but they were welcome on my feet.

We eventually made it to the summit.  A bit of haze prevented the views to spread out to the Taconics or the great city of Albany.  I pointed out the views out to the Hudson River and the Ashokan Resevoir.  I recently purchased a book about the building of the Ashokan.  It has yet to reach me, but I look forward to reading more of the history behind it.  It accounts for 40 or 60% of NYC's water supply.  It's also one of the cleanest.  I always got a good laugh at students at SUNY New Paltz drinking bottled water, when the tap water (which came from the Ashokan) is far superior.

The walk down to Echo Lake became a bit more icy, especially once near the lake.  We took advantage of these spots and slid down.  Once at the lake, we walked out, rolled out the Yoga mat and did some Yoga.  She took it easy on me, but it still was a tough workout.  All of it felt great and it appears it will help my deteriorating back.  Hopefully, there will be many more Yoga hikes in my future.

Caroline on Echo Lake

On the way back, I introduced Caroline to the sport of Sledocross.  This would be a very miniature version of what it normally will be.  The sport is essentially a combo of Cyclocross and Sledding.  In other words, Cyclocross with a sled.  In this version we sled down one of the short sheats of ice and climbed over or under some trees in the woods.  Caroline won round one, but she needs to be brushed up on some of the rules.  Overlook was the site of the first Sledocross race, another reason it's my favorite mountain.    

Pine Hill Park, Rutland, VT

Today I figured to check out my adopted hometown for the winter.  Google maps showed a park a few blocks from where I live.  After a great day of skiing, today would be good for a short little stroll.
When I first arrived, it looked like it was just a recreational park.  There is an ice skating arena, skateboard park and ball fields.  Then I looked across the parking lot and spotted a trail sign.

Pine Hill Park has about 20 miles of trails on its 300 acres.  Looking at the map, the choice of trails seemed overwhelming.  I mostly stayed on the carriage trails, but checked out the Overlook Trail and the Vista Trail.  Only a couple hundred feet of elevation gained.

It's a great place for a quiet stroll through a lovely hardwood forest.  The wind blew through and the trees were cracking.  I even heard the sound of a woodpecker.  There were a few view points.  One overlooking Rock Pond and had obstructed views of Pico and Killington Peaks.  The other view point overlooked the city of Rutland.  It's a great city park.  

 

New Year's Day 2015: Algonquin

Caroline at Heart Lake with Mt Jo in background

Today’s plans changed a multitude of times.  The original plan was to drive to Lyon Mountain.  That would have been my last ADK/Catskill Fire Tower hike.  Johnny Rocket had difficulty getting his monstrosity of a pack ready and since it was already 10am, Caroline suggested we do something from the Loj.  This sounded good to me since I didn’t feel like driving a half hour.  Since Caroline had never been to Tabletop or Phelps we decided to do those.  This would change when we reached the junction for Algonquin.  I think Caroline wanted to go above timberline in winter for the first time, so we decided to head for Algonquin. 

Algonquin is easily one of my all time favorite mountains.  It’s easily accessible with only four miles to reach it’s lofty summit.  The last 500 feet of its summit is above timberline, making it feel like a real mountain.  There are numerous waterfalls along the way and anybody who knows me, knows how I love waterfalls.  Algonquin is situated in a perfect spot with outstanding views in every direction. 

 

Johnny Rocket snack break

Trail up is nice

The rocket on his way up

About halfway up, Johnny Rocket called it a day.  The Rocket had a big day on Tuesday when he did Colden.  In winter, 14 miles is serious stuff.  The Rocket felt it.   Caroline and I stopped and had something to eat and we were off.  The going got tough at this point.  Just above the Wright trail junction it gets amazingly steep.  A few times we both slid a little bit.  We both agreed this would make a great slide.  Above this point we covered our faces as much as we could before reaching timberline. 

 

Steep.  Makes for a great slide.

Caroline on her way up the slide

Wright Peak (or the petri dish)

We were warned by fellow hikers that it was quite windy and icy.  I noticed they all had full crampons while we only had microspikes.  Based on past experience, I felt microspikes were more than up to the challenge.  I plan to do a gear review based on my experience from this hike. 

It did not take too long for us to come across some ice.  There were only a couple sections that were a bit tricky.  The much greater hazard was the wind.  I kept quite warm.  None of my extremities ever got cold (only when I took off my gloves to take photos).  We eventually made the summit.  The wind was one of the heaviest I’ve experienced.  Caroline had to hold me up a few times, otherwise I would have been blown off and I’d be at the bottom of Avalanche Lake. 

 

Caroline on Algonquin's icy summit

The route above timberline to Algonquin is marked by cairns.  Caroline asked, “what do you do if there is two feet of snow?”  I said, I would make sure I had a compass.  This also could apply when visibility is low.  I could kick myself for not paying attention while on the summit.  Of course from the summit, we headed towards Iroquois.  The consequences of this mistake are low, since we could have taken a trail to Avalanche Lake.  But still, it’s a needless mistake.   

About halfway down I was pretty certain we went the wrong way.  I wanted to be sure, so we went almost all the way to the col with Iroquois.  If I were on my own, I probably would have turned around sooner.  I would have started the right way down, but most likely would have turned around once it didn’t look right.  I would have kept turning around.  Most likely infinitely.  I still would be up there, bouncing back and forth over the summit of Algonquin. 

We turned back after discussing going down to Avalanche Lake.  This would be a good call.  We made it back up and  down with no problems.  We both stayed warm despite the winds.  Once below timberline, we had a quick bite to eat.  We reached the top of the slide.  This part of the trail easily dropped 60 feet.  I drew a line in the snow and we were off!  We picked up quite a bit of speed.  Caroline won round 1.  We went up for another.  This time I won, but I’m sure Caroline recalls it differently.  I cannot recall how long it’s been since I’ve had this much fun. 

The slide

Too much fun

We continued down.  We continued to slide down the trail with mixed results (I have a nice bruise from one of my misadventures) and had a nice conversation.  Caroline had a good laugh at my iced up eyelashes.  She suggested this would make a good theme for Burning Man.  Finally I have a theme!  Now I’m ready to go.  This was a wonderful way to start the new year.  

Nice and Sexy.  Burning Man here I come!