North Country Trail: Highland Forest

The weather forecast for today was very fine, sunny and warm, and Erwin decided to join me for a hike while Frankie was at school.  With two cars available, I opted for a traverse of Highland Forest on the North Country National Scenic Trail (NCT), a 5.2 mile hike with approximately 740 feet elevation gain.  We dropped one car at the small gravel parking lot on Dam Road by DeRuyter Reservoir, and drove back west to a small roadside parking area along Cowles Settlement Road.  I pulled over a little too soon when I saw a NCT trail marker, but then remembered this section of the trail follows the road, and drove up to where the trail enters the woods, leaving the car at the small shoulder parking area at the sharp bend in the road.

North Country Trail: Armstrong Pond via Kinney Hill

Today Frankie and I hiked the North Country National Scenic Trail (NCT) from Webber Road to Armstrong Pond and back, for a total of 3.4 miles with about 700 feet of elevation gain.  This was the hike I'd scouted ahead for when I hiked the Deruyter State Forest section of the NCT last month, and Frankie liked Armstrong Pond as much as I thought he would!  He loved this entire hike, actually.  The trail starts climbing right away and gains 500 feet in the first mile, but the grade is never steep.  Like many other local portions of the NCT, this section was built by the Onondaga Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club, and they do fantastic trailwork.  These trails are such a pleasure to hike.  

North Country Trail: Nelson Road to Quarry Road

Several weeks have passed since my last free day (i.e., my last chance for a school day hike), and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get out and move at an adult pace.  Rain was forecast, so I selected another easy section of the North Country National Scenic Trail (NCT) that follows the old Lehigh Valley Railroad.  I parked at Nelson Road, which had been my turnaround point when I hiked the Canastota Creek section, and hiked to Quarry Road and back, a total of 6.4 miles roundtrip.  The first portion is also marked for snowmobile use.  This is farm country, and much of the trail follows hedgerows between fields or passes through pasture.  The trail also skirts several backyards and passes through several front yards.  There is not a lot of cover, so it is definitely a good choice for a cool, cloudy day. 

Spruce Mountain Fire Tower

Last summer Frankie had a really bad allergic reaction to mosquito bites, so for the first time ever, I've been a bit conflicted about the change of seasons.  Spring has always been my favorite time of year, with the mild temperatures and awakening plant life.  Green!  Wildflowers!  Unfortunately, it also means the return of biting insects.  I have been watching trip reports carefully, hoping for a day of good weather to make a foray up to the Adirondacks in the narrow window between ice melt and bug emergence.  The High Peaks are still icy at high elevations, of course, but there are some fire towers in the southern Adirondacks that are clear now.  With gorgeous weather forecast for today, it seemed like my stars were lining up for a hike, and in a serendipitous case of timing, Jen was able to confirm the black flies aren't yet problematic at Spruce Mountain.  Hurray!

Clark in April

Frankie was pretty tired today, hung over from a very busy yesterday.  We started the day volunteering at the Earth Day clean-up organized by the Downtown Committee.  One of the meeting places is right outside my office, so a contingency from my company always represents.  This was the third year Frankie and I have joined in, and it is a great experience, if a little depressing - because the garbage is continuously replenishing.  It's an impossible task.  Good for a kid to develop an understanding of why it is important not to litter, though.  Then yesterday afternoon was an epic three-hour knight themed birthday party, with much simulated sword play and endless running around.  Asher's father made "swords" from cardboard tubes wrapped in tinfoil and decorated "shields" from corrugated cardboard.  The kids loved every minute of it, and wore themselves out completely.

Berm Trail North, Three Rivers

Three Rivers Wildlife Management Area is one of the few places close enough to Erin's house that a hike can be sandwiched between Alden's morning and afternoon naps.  It is also a place my Mom used to frequent when she lived here, making it a good choice for another family hike on this visit.  We decided to make another Berm Loop, following the banks of the same drainage ditch we hiked last month, only this time going north of Potter Road instead of south.  Once again, we parked at the gate on Potter Road and headed east, but then in short order took the first left onto a dirt road heading northwest.  This is a service road that passes a number of sunken bunker-like structures.  We crossed over another service road about a half mile from the car.

Great Bear in April

As I've mentioned before, my mom lives in Michigan.  Mary is not at all fond of driving in the snow, so aside from an annual holiday pilgrimage when her husband Keith gets stuck with the driving duties, she doesn't visit much in the winter.  Despite the storm earlier this month, snow never lasts long around here in April, so she planned a trip back east.  The weather forecast for the weekend was perfect, so of course we all wanted to hike.  As the guest of honor, I thought Mary should get to select the destination (from the suite of options nearest Erin's house).  However, Frankie overheard me suggesting she choose, and insisted on Great Bear.  Luckily, Mary hadn't been there in a long time and was on board.  Win-win.