FLT/NCT: Shindagin Hollow State Forest from Old 76 Road

Today I returned to the Finger Lakes Trails, Map 18, to hike the next section.  I parked on Old 76 Road and did out-and-backs in both directions.  There has been a lot of that lately, and while I prefer a cleaner section break, random turn-around points are becoming necessary more often because my drives are getting longer -- this trailhead is an hour and 20 minute drive from where I drop Frankie off at school at 8 am.  This leaves me less and less time to actually hike before I need to rush back to shower before school pick up at 3 pm.  The obvious solution would be to hike closer to home, but I will admit that I am completely hooked on the thrill of exploring new trail, extending my line further and further.  So I will keep up the madness for now.

Camillus Forest Unique Area: Trails #1 and #5

For today's adventure, Frankie and I met up with Erin and Alden at Camillus Forest Unique Area.  This was terribly exciting for me, since I can't recall ever having visited before, despite it's relative proximity to my house -- there is easy highway access and we were there in less than 20 minutes.  Erin and Alden had been here before, but only on the lower trails.  Erin suggested making a lollipop loop, where we followed the #1 trail up to the junction of the #5 trail, then followed that clockwise back to the same junction, then returned to the parking lot the way we came via the #1 trail.  This was a perfect adventure for all of us, because we all got to explore new trails, and the #5 trail goes through the old-growth forest that led to the protection of this property.

FLT/NCT: Potato Hill State Forest

This hike represents another link in the chain, another new section of Finger Lakes Trail (FLT) and North Country National Scenic Trail (NCT) explored.  So as not to leave a gap, my goal for this hike was to hike back into my turnaround point on my last FLT/NCT hike, when I'd had to turn back prematurely due to time issues, then continue westward into new territory.  It was a gorgeous gift of a day, with blue sky for miles.  I parked at the trail crossing on Blackman Hill Road, and set out to the north, following a thin hedgerow across a wide sweeping field. 

FLT/NCT: Tarr-Young Natural Area

A myriad of commitments has kept me from my solo weekday hikes, and when a free day finally arrived, I was far past ready for it.  I have been impatient to continue my explorations on the Finger Lakes Trail (FLT), which carries the North Country National Scenic Trail (NCT) westward.  After my long absence, I hadn't exactly forgotten the challenges of winter hiking on the FLT, but let's just say I was in denial.  The problem is access, since many of the trailheads are on narrow country roads, often seasonal dirt roads, with limited shoulder parking.  Even where such roads are plowed, the narrow shoulders are often filled with snow, leaving no space to safely park.  I experienced this difficulty today, and wasted a lot of time driving around after the first two spots I tried were completely inaccessible.  Then I remembered the small parking lot that served as my turnaround point on my last FLT hike in Robinson Hollow State Forest.  It has a southern exposure and was available.  Phew!  Finally I could get out of the car and start hiking.

Baltimore Woods: Valley and Overlook Trails

Baltimore Woods is a nature center and natural area managed by the Central New York Land Trust.  Despite Frankie attending summer camp here for the last few years, and it being in semi-regular (though infrequent) rotation, I have somehow never dedicated a full post to our hikes here.  Today we met Erin and Alden, and made our default circuit.  This loop follows the Valley Trail down the steep hill, then crosses the stream and turns right, following the Boundary Trail east until the small gravel bed on the left.  With the labyrinth buried under the snow, we moved on, climbing up the hill on the Overlook Trail.  Of course we stopped for a snack at the eponymous overlook, then continued along, dropping back into the valley and following the Boundary Trail until the turnoff to the other side of the Valley Trail, which we climbed back up to the parking area at the top.

Snowshoeing Lake Bonita

I have to work tomorrow, so today had to be our travel day to get us back home.  I had been planning to stop and hike another small mountain on the way home, the way Frankie and I did with Belfry and Mount Arab.  Unfortunately it was snowing pretty hard and Erwin decided he wanted to take the Northway and the Thruway home; he'd driven through some rough conditions on Route 8 on the way up Friday night, and thought the highway would be in better shape.  I had a Plan B for just that circumstance: Severance Hill in the Schroon Lake area -- it's right off the Northway, so I thought it would have easy access.  Wrong!  The parking lot hadn't been plowed, and not just from today's snow.  It didn't look like it had been plowed all winter.  Erwin stopped at Stewart's in Schroon Lake, and we tried to come up with a Plan C, but couldn't think of another option that wouldn't involve back roads.  I was devastated.  Even a milkshake failed to raise me from the depths of despair.  We got back on the highway and kept driving south.  The highway was a mess.

Big Crow Mountain

Big Crow Mountain is another one we hiked back in 2011, with Frankie riding up in the Kelty backpack carrier.  It was super hot and muggy that day, with haze smothering the High Peaks, but it was evident that the views from the summit would be spectacular on a clear day.  I've been wanting to come back ever since, and was hoping we'd have a clear day this weekend to try to get those views.  Big Crow fit our criteria perfectly to continue our first foray into Adirondack winter hiking: it represents a known entity, and is a short hike with views.  The bluebird skies that so thrilled us in the morning didn't end up lasting all day, but the views were still orders of magnitude clearer than our first hike up.  And Frankie got to hike another new peak.