Today's hike was a continuation of Tredhed and my equipment shakedown trips. The rate that we're going, we'll get our gear squared away by April. I had some "new" snowshoes that I needed to test drive and Tredhed is still fighting with some hot spots on his instep. Ouch! :mad:
We were excited at the mild weather forecast today and planned a short trip to Auger Falls in the Siamese Ponds Wilderness Area. Since the popular trailhead on Rt. 30 isn't plowed in the winter, we took the alternate route on the snowmobile trail through the Forks Mountain Primitive Area.
Parking the Tredhed Mobile on the Rt. 8 parking area at Griffin, we hoofed it down to the only bridge over the East Branch of the Sacandaga River.
The East Branch was locked up solid with only a little bit of moving water peaking through the thick ice.
We strapped on our snowshoes and headed west on the wide snowmobile connector trail. Normally, I'm not a big fan of hiking on snowmobile trails, but we were the only ones on the woods today. The only sound we heard was the wind in the trees. The four inches of fresh powder made for great trail conditions and in a few minutes, we were looking out over Towers Brook and it's beaver pond.
Another 100 yds up the trail and we passed the new cabin built on a small inholding. We were impressed how the builders put a modern structure on the old foundation and were able to use the old chimney. It looks like a great place to spend some time relaxing.
Once past the cabin and the vehicle barrier, the trail passed through some skinny hardwoods.
As we neared the falls, the woods transitioned to beautiful hemlocks with a balsam understory.
Soon enough, we had walked the mile and a half to the falls. Stepping out to the Sacandaga River, we immediately noticed some impressive ice formations.
Fear and common sense kept us from testing the numerous ice bridges.
We shuffled around a little bit trying to find a good view of the falls. The river was frozen up solid and large blocks of ice prevented any view down the gorge.
Just before we departed, the sun came out for a few minutes and gave a us a great view of the surrounding area.
The walk back to the Griffin Bridge was as relaxing and enjoyable as the walk out. Even though the woods were kind of monochromatic today, we had a blast. Along with our constant companion, the chickadees, we were fortunate enough to see a deer and a turkey as well! :clap: It was nice to be back in the big woods after the recent cold spell and before the upcoming rainstorm later this week. It might be a while before the conditions are this good again. I'm glad we got out, even for a little bit.
We were excited at the mild weather forecast today and planned a short trip to Auger Falls in the Siamese Ponds Wilderness Area. Since the popular trailhead on Rt. 30 isn't plowed in the winter, we took the alternate route on the snowmobile trail through the Forks Mountain Primitive Area.
Parking the Tredhed Mobile on the Rt. 8 parking area at Griffin, we hoofed it down to the only bridge over the East Branch of the Sacandaga River.
The East Branch was locked up solid with only a little bit of moving water peaking through the thick ice.
We strapped on our snowshoes and headed west on the wide snowmobile connector trail. Normally, I'm not a big fan of hiking on snowmobile trails, but we were the only ones on the woods today. The only sound we heard was the wind in the trees. The four inches of fresh powder made for great trail conditions and in a few minutes, we were looking out over Towers Brook and it's beaver pond.
Another 100 yds up the trail and we passed the new cabin built on a small inholding. We were impressed how the builders put a modern structure on the old foundation and were able to use the old chimney. It looks like a great place to spend some time relaxing.
Once past the cabin and the vehicle barrier, the trail passed through some skinny hardwoods.
As we neared the falls, the woods transitioned to beautiful hemlocks with a balsam understory.
Soon enough, we had walked the mile and a half to the falls. Stepping out to the Sacandaga River, we immediately noticed some impressive ice formations.
Fear and common sense kept us from testing the numerous ice bridges.
We shuffled around a little bit trying to find a good view of the falls. The river was frozen up solid and large blocks of ice prevented any view down the gorge.
Just before we departed, the sun came out for a few minutes and gave a us a great view of the surrounding area.
The walk back to the Griffin Bridge was as relaxing and enjoyable as the walk out. Even though the woods were kind of monochromatic today, we had a blast. Along with our constant companion, the chickadees, we were fortunate enough to see a deer and a turkey as well! :clap: It was nice to be back in the big woods after the recent cold spell and before the upcoming rainstorm later this week. It might be a while before the conditions are this good again. I'm glad we got out, even for a little bit.
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire