North Country Trail: Nelson Swamp

When I was reviewing online trail maps before my recent Art Park hike, I discovered there is another cross-country section of the North Country National Scenic Trail (NCT) just a mile or so down Stone Quarry Road from where I turned around on that hike.  I didn't have time to go further that day, because I needed to get back in time to pick Frankie up from school.  Also, I'm not remotely interested in hiking on roads.  However, I am definitely interested in exploring new trails.  Between that hike and the one we did today, I've definitely got the bug to keep exploring new sections of the NCT.  We hiked a few sections of the NCT last summer, and Frankie was enthusiastically and affectionately calling it "the interstate trail" (he loves highways), so I thought he'd be excited to hike more of it today.  Plus I saw pictures of the foot bridge over Chittenango Creek, and I knew he'd like that.  Pooh sticks!

North Country Trail: Art Park

My normal work schedule is four days a week, so I occasionally have part of a day to myself when Frankie is at school.  Between appointments and errands, snow days and school vacations, it doesn't happen every week -- not even close.  But every now and then, things line up perfectly for me.  I am excruciatingly prone to cabin fever this time of year, so when I realized I'd have such a day to myself this week, I was determined to get out for a hike.  It was a no brainer.   

A Warm Winter Day at Great Bear

After last weekend was miserably cold with subzero temperatures that limited our outdoor time to a few brief hours of yard play, I'd been watching the weather forecast desperately hoping for a chance to get out this weekend.  Today was forecast to be rainy with mild temperatures.  However, throughout the week, the likelihood of rain in the forecast kept decreasing, and there was also my desperation factor... I was pretty much determined to go no matter what.  I convinced Erin the rain wasn't worth worrying about, and offered to meet her somewhere out her way.  We settled on Great Bear.

Three Generation Hike at Three Rivers

When my Dad and I hiked Santanoni and Panther at the end of the summer, he brought his dog Daisy along, and it was so much fun to see her unbridled enthusiasm in the woods.  At that time, Frankie was a bit afraid of her.  She was still a puppy and jumped up on people a lot, and Frankie is of low enough stature to get feet in face.  Unfortunately, even very friendly claws can be a bit off putting when scrabbling energetically about the face.  Time has passed, and Daisy got her toenails clipped and learned to jump up less.  Along the way, Frankie conquered his fear, and the two of them are great friends now.  I thought it would be fun to get them out on a hike together so he could see the crazy dog in the woods.