Inman Pond

Our Thursday mornning hike took us to Inman Pond. We had planned on exploring Shelving Rock Falls and the short trails, but the road to the TH was closed. Damn. I'm guessing it was pretty muddy back there....we'll have to wait for things to dry up. Oh well, the TH for Inman Pond was just down the road, so that's where we went. It's a pretty short walk--we probably would have been better off in snowshoes, but we took a chance and wore the microspikes. We've been here before, but not in the snow

When we got to the Pond--point A, Brian wanted to check out the trail on the other side--point B. So, we made almost a straight line across to the other side, LOL. It was a little slushy in some spots, but the bottom layers of ice will last another week.....maybe. The big rock in the photo (above my head and to the left) was our destination. We found the trail and did a little bushwhacking over a brook, across a marshy area and up the backside. Anyhoo, we made it to the top, had a snack, hooted to an owl, and did a little first aid.

Look, I'm walking on water!

Never try to break a fall on a broke branch
The only thing I didn't care for on this hike was the amount of garbage from hunters and hikers strewn along the trail. It's really disgusting and I'm sure we'll see more as the snow melts. Note to self: bring a garbage bag!

Shelving Rock Shuffle

We visited the Lake George Wild Forest on our weekly hike last Thursday, specifically Shelving Rock Mountain. It was a quick 1.5 miles to the summit on an old carriage road. Very easy but very icy. The weather was perfect---beautiful blue skies, low 20's, slightly breezy. Nice views looking south from the summit--you can see where the ice is starting to get thin on the Lake.

We decided, democratically this time, to take advantage of the weather and earlier-than-usual start and lengthen the hike just a bit. We scooted back down to the closest intersection and took a connector trail which we thought would put us on the Ridge Trail. Well, we zigged when we should have zagged and ended up on the Lakeshore Trail. No biggie. We walked down the old carriage road to the Red Rock Picnic area. Cute little spot with tons of picnic tables, docks and outhouses---what a pleasant surprise! We stopped to eat lunch and got to sit at a real table--pleasant surprise #2, since we usually stand to eat or sit on a snow covered rock or log. Anyhoo, we finished lunch and headed to the next trail which was an old horse trail that had not been travelled in a while. It seems as though horses do not need DEC markers to guide them. This human does however. We pushed on and finally made it to the Ridge Trail. We saw some tracks---not sure what critter they belonged to...coyote maybe? Not to worry, animals will not bother us as long as I keep feeding Brian foods that disagree with his colon.

We hiked around a small bump where there had been a forest fire, then on to a short spur and again to the main trail back to the TH. I managed to fall on this spur. I didn't quit have my spikes planted and went arse over teakettle. It was kind of comical---I just kept sliding on an icy patch. My rump hit first, then my knee and finally my hand. Nice. The trail in this last spot was groomed thanks to snowmolbilers. Brian fell three times in this section cuz he wasn't wearing his microspikes---tsk tsk tsk!. And we spotted something slinking into the woods. Too black to be a pine marten. Too big to be a mink. We googled it later and decided it was a fisher. Yikes, I would NOT want to meet one of those in a dark alley! Great hike though despite the spills--7.7 miles total in about 5.5 hours.

Nasty looking, ain't he?!------->

Cat & Thomas, revisited

Pam and I took a leisurely hike to Cat & Thomas on Thursday morning. I hiked to the summit of Cat with Brian back in October--excellent day hike, btw--6.50 miles RT. Brian suggested we take the orange trail to Thomas, check out the cabin and then take the Blue Trail to Cat....so that's what we did.A guy on XC skis passed us on the way up. We stopped a few times to de-layer, as usual. I really enjoy the winter hiking, but I heat up so quickly---I haven't been able to find a happy medium where coats are concerned. Anyhoo, we made it to the cabin and took a peek inside. What a nice view it has looking out over the lake! We had a quick snack and decided to move on to the Blue Trail. There were a couple icy spots so we decided to put on the microspikes. Unfortunately, I managed to hurt myself while butt-sliding shortly after we started this section. I was sliding a little too fast, somehow dragged my right leg over a root or rock, hyperextended my left thumb and stopped a ski pole with my lower lip. Ouch! I got up, brushed myself off and kept on moving!

Brian said this trail was a little "rugged" so I expected it to be really nasty, but it wasn't. It just rolled through some hardwoods, had some small inclines...it was actually fun! We had some interesting conversations over the course of 2.25 miles to Cat. Before we knew, we crossed the Yellow Trail and followed the BT to the last small stretch to the summit. The views again were gorgeous and the sky was bluer than blue. After quick snack, sock change, and potty break, we headed down to connect with the Yellow Trail. We saw several animal tracks--big and small--mostly deer and rabbit. I wished I had brought my little card from UpYonda, I probably would have been able to identify more. After, 3.25 miles, we made it back to the TH and signed out. We took a little longer than I expected, but I'm looking for exercise, not setting records : ).