tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12114002030123316432024-03-05T12:37:01.124-08:00Rockwood Ski and SnowshoeTrail info for Rockwood State Forest in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains, Fulton County NY. Other great ski tours in the Adirondacks as well. Enjoy!Paul Kalachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522463063870677766noreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1211400203012331643.post-47764976063401200472017-02-05T14:49:00.001-08:002017-02-05T15:11:14.754-08:00North Side Exploration and LoopDid a little exploring on the North Side Trails. Went in on North Loop Road from Rte 29 and skied it all the way to the bend where the trail heads toward Rockwood Lake. Instead I bushwhacked straight ahead and found the trail that is growing in from lack of use all the way the northern property boundary of the state forest. This place needs a chainsaw! I ended up in someone's backyard, a yellow house. Somewhere here there is supposed to be a way to ski west to the reservior to do a big loop. I couldn't find anything going west. I skied back to the B-Road trail and skied it east to Rte 10, skied to Rte 29, walked gingerly across Rte 29 and then skied the Forest Edge Trail all the way back to the parking area. A three hour tour with a lot of exploring. Snow is in great shape with a heavy duty base and 4" of powder over the top of it. All of the trees laying on the forest floor are covered now.<br />
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I skied my Fischer Outtabounds for the extra floatation on these untracked trails. Only the main trail was broken out by a snowmobile. All side trails were untracked. The 88/68/78 are noticably slower than my Glittertinds that I've been skiing lately.Paul Kalachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522463063870677766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1211400203012331643.post-27196826428599047972017-01-01T16:53:00.004-08:002017-01-01T19:10:03.783-08:00Deep Snow on New Year's DayHoorah, the trails are next to perfect right now! Some, but not all, have been tracked out by skiers and snowshoers. There's plenty of unbroken snow on the lesser used trails. In many places snowshoers and skiers have made individual tracks, which helps. No snowmobile use here at all.<br />
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Anywhere between 18" and 24" is in the woods today and it is fresh and so nice. The latest snow last night dropped a few inches of higher moisture content snow on the powder base, but without splitting hairs the snow is the best today in two years.<br />
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Arrived around 2:30pm. 35 degrees. I skied the Roadside all the way to the east gate and then turned into the forest. I had tracks ahead of me all the way. It was kick and glide heaven down a broken trail, with snow hanging in the trees and the sun low in the sky and throwing a warm glow through the tree tops. I skied the length of South Loop road and then connected with the C-Connector Trail and skied that almost to Big Bowl. I turned here and doubled back on the tracks to D-Spur and nearly skied out to Rte 29. I decided to do a bit more climbing and skied up the Camp Road trail and boy does that trail climb very steeply, then descends back toward Rte 29. Exited about 4:30pm, last car in the lot with the sun having set and a pink "alpenglow" just clipping the tree tops. Just in time to get back in my vehicle with my 20oz. tea still warm in my insulated mug. There's a good day.<br />
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Fischer Snowbound Outabounds 88/68/78<br />
Three pins and leathers<br />
Temperatures were nice for a thick wool sweater over a long sleeve base layer.Paul Kalachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522463063870677766noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1211400203012331643.post-57747237340238050672015-03-30T07:00:00.000-07:002015-03-30T07:01:48.618-07:00Stephens and Cascade Ponds near Blue Mountain LakeHard to believe I never skied Rockwood this winter. Long story short, I didn't go out probably 4 weekends due to the severe cold, negative wind chills, and also planning for a fishing trip to the Florida Keys which took up a lot of my time.<br />
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So I hope others had a fine time at Rockwood this winter.<br />
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I skied Stephens and Cascade Ponds from the Lake Durant Campground near Blue Mountain Lake in the Adirondacks yesterday. It was very good, with at least 18" of consolidated snow in the woods, with a thin layer of new snow on top. Bluebird skies all day. The ponds were just perfect skiing. There is so much ice to come off still. The Sacandaga River at Wells NY is still locked up in ice, with two days to go til trout season, ha!Paul Kalachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522463063870677766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1211400203012331643.post-76494476115752101162014-04-07T05:00:00.000-07:002014-04-07T05:02:34.950-07:00G Lake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The road going in was icy in the morning where the sun had not hit it yet. Be prepared for a long slow climb to the lake. I skied the perimeter of the lake where the windblown snow was still covering everything. Otherwise 98% of the lake was ice and a soft layer of ice on top. Still solid, but not for skiing. Full tour took 4 hours, but I did take a few good breaks to soak up the sun. Mid-40's and so enjoyable. The road on the way out was just perfect spring corn.<br />
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With this tour I'm wrapping up the year. There were few better ones.Paul Kalachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522463063870677766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1211400203012331643.post-77021355118607217632014-04-03T15:45:00.002-07:002014-04-04T09:37:40.078-07:00Toast (End of Season)Rockwood is toast for the season in my opinion. I skied the northside trails to the gate near the lake and back after work today. The snow is there, but it's dirty and potato-ish if you aren't skiing in previous tracks. I was able to follow snowshoe tracks, then snowmobile tracks and I stayed out of the soft stuff. As a quick ski, it was fun, temps were in the 40's and all I wore was a light sweater.<br />
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But my days at Rockwood are done for 2013/14. Up north in the mountains there will be another 3 weeks of snowcover I'm guessing. Not finished completely with skiing just yet, but close, and it was a great winter, one of the best.Paul Kalachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522463063870677766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1211400203012331643.post-6589381554260607702014-03-28T06:58:00.001-07:002014-04-09T18:59:17.947-07:00St. Regis Canoe WildernessOn a bluebird day being in the St. Regis on skis is like someone handing you a pound of freedom on a happiness roll. We had a great long tour, about 12miles, and the snow conditions couldn't be better; the lakes were dry powder but firm enough for my skinniest of skis for speed. Bill Ingersoll, Paul Sirtoli and I dropped out for the day and drove to Tupper Lake and then to the trailhead at Little Clear Pond. The tour took about 7 hours with a nice half hour lunch. Highlights were skiing the tall, narrow esker between Mud Pond and the St. Regis River, remote Fish Pond and it's lean-to, and the wild rolling ride on the truck trail on the way out. Paul wants to make it an annual tradition, and I don't see why we shouldn't. 28+ inches of barely consolidated snow in the woods, but we had tracks most of the way. The lakes were wind-blown firm with 2" of powder.<br />
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Paul Kalachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522463063870677766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1211400203012331643.post-3164542985147092042014-03-23T18:16:00.001-07:002014-03-24T08:20:53.334-07:00Stewart, Indian and Otter Lake Loop (Kane Mountain Trailhead, Canada Lake) The marked trail to Stewart Lake has plenty of steep, so I put on skins right from the start and climbed like a billy goat. Skins off, I had a great ski in an old snowshoe track on the marked trail to Indian Lake. I toured the lake and explored a nice flat draw toward Frie Flow, which was really fun through open meadows and back.<br />
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I found another set of tracks that led me with ease downhill through a spectacular rocky draw back to Stewart Lake. I crossed Stewart with bluebird skies and decided to push on with making this as much a loop as possible. So I skied and skinned to the saddle of the Camelhump and passed great outcrops for climbing in that area.<br />
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The descent was difficult. I traversed probably 10 times to ease the steep descent, but there's so much snow in the woods (28"+) it was only the young beech trees causing difficulties on the way down. I kept the skins on during the descent and it helped, but I was ripping on some of the downhills nonetheless.<br />
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Instead of bombing down to Otter Lake, I skirted the edge of the Camelhump through nice open woods until I returned to the Stewart/Indian trail and skied out. I went over and did a loop of Otter Lake for kicks. Overall, a great day, since the snow on the lakes is perfect, temps nice, and the bluebird skies inspiring. I hit only about 5 sticky spots where I clumped up for a bit. Skied my Black Diamond Polar Stars and Alico double boots, and changed my socks at lunch which felt really good.Paul Kalachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522463063870677766noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1211400203012331643.post-54160436240463538642014-03-16T19:18:00.004-07:002014-03-24T07:08:45.145-07:00Ferris Lake Wild Forest--Backcountry Ski Loop<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Here's a fun ski loop in the Ferris Lake
Wild Forest that combines a primary snowmobile trail and true backcountry trail
breaking. Paul Sirtoli and Carl Anderson and I met at the northern entrance to Powley-Piseco Rd where we found plenty of new snow. The road was
freshly groomed for snowmachines, which we expected, but as the
only approach to our backcountry stash it would have to be skiied.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> With the temperatures around 9 degrees, we
skied south for several miles, passing the trailhead for Sand Lake, until little
Mud Pond showed through the trees. We bombed down a long wooded hill, traversing as we went over a base of 24" of
snow, with a powder layer of about 6". Just perfect. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Finally we were away from the roads and crossed Mud Pond to its south side, clear of
the outlet stream. The beauty of this little tour is the open meadows along Mud
Pond, and the large open meadows all along the outlet of Mud Pond, all the way
to Sand Lake. The meadows can be skied with as little as 18" of snow cover, but
we had a solid 24"-28". Only the tallest alders and of course young
balsam and hemlocks stood above the snowcover.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> No tracks ahead of us, just pristine rolling
snow through open meadows, we turned back east toward Sand Lake, two miles away.
The outlet of Mud Lake was our guide, but it was hardly discernable in the area
due to the snow covering it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Big spruce, hemlock and balsam line the meadows. We broke out onto Sand Lake, a
big gem in the Ferris Lake Wild Forest, and crossed it to a big outcrop with a
campsite. No rock showing today, we easily skied up the drifted snow over the
outcrop and back down, just for fun. Then we crossed the lake again on an inch
of powder over a huge base and found the trail from Sand Lake back to
Powley-Piseco Rd</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> The ski out up the Powley Road was swift, as
it was still firm snow and fast on the groomed snowmobile trail. The round trip
time for this one was 4 hours, with a short lunch. To
explore this area on foot or by Hornbeck in the summer would be a challenge. On
skis, it was a pleasure.</span></div>
Paul Kalachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522463063870677766noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1211400203012331643.post-85246692278472962562014-03-12T06:11:00.002-07:002014-03-12T06:11:31.113-07:00New Snow A-ComingConditions were great at Rockwood when I hit it yesterday after work for a workout. Temps were in the 40's and it was just nice and comfortable. The packed trails had just enough give to them for pleasant skiing. I spent about an hour out, mostly down near Big Bowl.<br />
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Today, it will snow. Weatherman says 8-18", which is a huge spread, but it'll be nice to put a fresh coat on things.Paul Kalachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522463063870677766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1211400203012331643.post-58894416291912750272014-02-26T05:35:00.001-08:002014-02-26T09:43:15.345-08:00Thanks to the Southern ManPretty much everything was telling me not to go out after work. It was 16 degrees, overcast, very windy and we haven't had appreciable snow in a week. I went anyway.<br />
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Trails are hard, but the ski track is good and especially fast. People have been staying out of the ski tracks and using a parallel set for snowshoeing. No harm to anyone and it works.<br />
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I skied in on D-spur and continued right out of Rockwood and down to the powerlines that cross Old State Rd. I wanted to see how far I could go before really getting into someone's backyard or being accosted by dogs or something. Nothing to report, except it looks like I could have kept going right across Old State and beyond.<br />
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Next I went to Big Bowl and did some turns in the glades there. Just some fun. I skied back to my jeep and found both locks on the hatch and driver-side door frozen up. Could not open the Jeep, so 20 minutes later in the dark I waved down a passerby who made a point of saying I was lucky he was from the South for his kindness. I called my team and they scrambled, but I finally got the hatch open ten minutes later. I never lock the Jeep except I had another set of skis in there.<br />
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Plenty of snow around and flurries are helping. Skied my old Karhu XCD-GT's and leathers. 4;30 to 6:00pm.Paul Kalachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522463063870677766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1211400203012331643.post-41379459326360616382014-02-25T11:24:00.000-08:002014-02-25T20:06:09.690-08:00With a Twist<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> I like to be creative
when I ski, I get a better kick out of it. It doesn’t take much effort, much
less than the physical effort of skiing, so I try to inject some creativity into
my days out.</span><br />
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<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> The first thing that comes to mind is mixing up your tour or in
other words devising a tour that has a lot of changes and surprises, and
demands on your skills. Let’s not forget about trying to make the tour
aesthetically pleasing too, in other words, get up close to nature and learn and enjoy. I try not to ski with my head down just running hard, but to take in
things as I run. Think of it as experiencing all you can on your tour. There
will be times when you are running and stomping hard up a hill, then mad
shooshing with your telemark through a dropping bend, and later skirting an old
fieldstone wall with thoughts of bloodied knuckles on farmers hands. Or the
way a squirrel stored a hickory nut in the chinks of that wall 75 years ago, where now
the wall is busted by a big old tree.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-no-proof: yes;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">No tour is good without
plenty of diversity. I want to know I have some noble hills to climb, and I
want to know I have a long lake crossing with the potential for a tailwind or a
headwind. Nice stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want to change
up a tour also. How about sneaking in two reps of the same little loop with a
decent downhill rip, before continuing<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>through. This is something akin to how whitewater boaters will play
several times in a particular eddy with a chute nearby. Not sure it they call it
a chute, but they’re taking time to play some within the scope of their days
run.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-no-proof: yes;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">You have to be
imaginative. One little twist on a tour leads to another. I’ve stopped during
tours and done a little mindfulness of dried leaves rustling curled up, crispy,
and yellow like old newspaper on beech trees from last summer. Next thing,
I'm commited to the best of my abilities to climbing off-trail to sew together two
lakes I’ve never skied together in the same day, that I’ve discovered I can sew
into a new loop.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-no-proof: yes;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s easy to go to the
guidebooks and run a classic tour start to finish and get a kick out of it. I
think it’s better to add the smallest degree of nuance to it, to make it new
like Ezra Pound said about good writing, to make it a new tour, the first time
anyone has done it just so, ever.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-no-proof: yes;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I try to spend a little
time creating good tours like this, and most of the time it starts to flow just
after my first attempts to be creative on my skis. Maybe it’s getting creative like this that people need to get something more from ski touring. Nature alone may not present enough feedback. By applying
yourself to the terrain and surroundings, you are certain to trigger
imaginative ways to make each tour something a little more special than just a
day of kick and glide.</span></span><br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Some days I'm dull and couldn't be imaginative to save my ass. I think for most of us those kinds of days are few. In the end, as I once heard said, there will be more good days than bad in the end.</span></span></div>
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Paul Kalachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522463063870677766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1211400203012331643.post-89769243585220427322014-02-24T06:37:00.001-08:002014-02-25T04:33:03.494-08:00The TricksterWow, Spring is a month away! Not long at all before the lakes reopen, says Coyote. But it's just a trick, all that warmth this past weekend. We'll be skiing and snowshoe hiking for another month at least. Nothing wrong with that.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXUT90JcCcOKmG1iFOmpsxFwmMuTbXlKBptswv47Jd4kDsuk7llGDqxY2r8gnj7ccU8330acQMa9IPvwkj9o8EU5zVX-S4GPU706LPEi4bMV_AYrN8pvVuuhyQuu_YDIo8b6gmE9jpSC-g/s1600/Coyoteinacanoe.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXUT90JcCcOKmG1iFOmpsxFwmMuTbXlKBptswv47Jd4kDsuk7llGDqxY2r8gnj7ccU8330acQMa9IPvwkj9o8EU5zVX-S4GPU706LPEi4bMV_AYrN8pvVuuhyQuu_YDIo8b6gmE9jpSC-g/s1600/Coyoteinacanoe.png" height="400" width="275" /></a></div>
Paul Kalachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522463063870677766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1211400203012331643.post-14692633550263977332014-02-22T14:59:00.000-08:002014-02-24T05:34:58.441-08:00Good Luck-Spectacle Lake-Third lake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_OAu9ohCGryjWrk-0OqvLinmHp8-z8ACdf8vR_GwH-DHiPXR-haDhNQ1AgzbROLatZNuE4KGSUpd3utos6MWsY1H3EIXd_rKwr2c_cevHpleoSE448iov_eJ6ENlCx2_u8ITiM8j8KFXM/s1600/storms+from+feb+5+and+feb+13+2014+Lake+Placid+002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_OAu9ohCGryjWrk-0OqvLinmHp8-z8ACdf8vR_GwH-DHiPXR-haDhNQ1AgzbROLatZNuE4KGSUpd3utos6MWsY1H3EIXd_rKwr2c_cevHpleoSE448iov_eJ6ENlCx2_u8ITiM8j8KFXM/s1600/storms+from+feb+5+and+feb+13+2014+Lake+Placid+002.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
This loop proved to be fun, and it would really be a blast if you could catch it with new snow on the snowmobile trails. We saw some rain Thursday which put a crust on the snow cover, but on top of it there was a little new snow for a total of probably 20".<br />
<br />
I skied in to Good Luck down some easy drops, then crossed the lake on beautiful firm snow. The trail to Spectacle Lake starts in the far southwest corner and it's marked with this tiny little sign. The footpath leading up to the snowmobile trail has a few good climbs, but I did a lot of traversing to ease the ascent.<br />
<br />
It was good to see someone had snowshoed to Spectacle Lake. It's a marked snowmobile trail, but the groomers don't touch it, so no snowmobiles use it either. Not too much up and down on this one, just good skiing.<br />
<br />
Got on Spectacle Lake and the wind kicked up. I only found some slush near the shorelines. I had the lake to myself and it felt great skiing on firm snow. Once across, I skied into the marshy area where the snowmobile trail swings next to the lake. Once on the snowmobile trail I made great time to Third Lake.<br />
<br />
The wind was behind me on Third, but the slush was more prevalent. I stuck to the shoreline and actually had a nice shoosh all the way to the eastern end. Next, there's an easy but long climb over the shoulder of West Lake Mountain and a nice descent to an intersection where I headed north back to Good Luck. On this stretch are a few good climbs that required a herringbone. I traversed down to Good Luck and skied across, got up on the footpath and skied out. The hardest part of this trip is this last 15 minutes to the road, as I was tired and it's all short little uphills. More traversing did it. Slow and steady wins the race.<br />
<br />
Nice day, 35 degrees or so, but the clouds were there for most of it until I was crossing Good Luck on the way out, then I had blue skis and whispy clouds cruising over with the wind. 10:30 til 3:30 for the loop, with two short stops. I skied my widest skis thinking I'd run into soft snow, but between the packed snowmobile trails and the snowshoers who broke out the Spectacle Lake trail I had no trouble. The crust and snow on top of it on the lakes saved me some serious work, since my skis were on top of it except for a few soft spots.<br />
<br />
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Paul Kalachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522463063870677766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1211400203012331643.post-10107169891451556492014-02-20T19:40:00.004-08:002014-02-21T17:54:07.667-08:00Fast Evening with Snow Showers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2bPHVxKAwMuUgRyqqgke3uSSpfZaid_SlE7ECmWt9JHjB03kId-zraSI8-2T8WAZWzqyRy74CuBPpkBlMtsjJmUpYlWcQpNuIhCzseOXSMzpy1H7COEP7VJtNMi2De6rBvoUzfHpc9wd0/s1600/storms+from+feb+5+and+feb+13+2014+Lake+Placid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2bPHVxKAwMuUgRyqqgke3uSSpfZaid_SlE7ECmWt9JHjB03kId-zraSI8-2T8WAZWzqyRy74CuBPpkBlMtsjJmUpYlWcQpNuIhCzseOXSMzpy1H7COEP7VJtNMi2De6rBvoUzfHpc9wd0/s1600/storms+from+feb+5+and+feb+13+2014+Lake+Placid.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
I met a nice couple in the parking lot and later in Big Bowl, and we talked about the Adirondacks and the new section of the NPT in Benson among other things. I mentioned they should come to an ADK Foothills meeting, second Wednesday of the month at the Gloversville SC, and I hope they do. We both enjoyed the skiing. I came out of Big Bowl and did two loops of the C-Connector Valley trail with all those neat downhill runs. I did a face plant on one of them due to the depth of the snow. Later I got on a trail I've never been on before, and I thought I had seen them all at Rockwood. You can just see it at bottom center on the Trail Register Map. I climbed slowly and then dropped down the craziest steepest hill I know in Rockwood and it put me right at the Barrier Sign in my header picture above. It was dusk and getting dark and I skied out from there via D South Rd, Camp Road past the old chimney and down the Chimney Loop trail which is a nice run out after an evening of skiing, and then out to my Jeep.<br />
<br />
I was listening to this song before skiing, and thanks to the kindred spirit who turned me onto it...It's groovy! Highlighting the http and a right-click will take you there.<br />
<br />
Richochei, Perfect Like You<br />
https://www.deejay.de/__140670<br />
<br />
As I was packing up it started dumping snow, like lake effect, and I had a pretty intense drive home in it. Temps were just right at 30 for just a light shirt. I skied my old Karhu XCD GT's that are 62/55/60 and I nearly covered them in red kick wax as the snow is pretty wet from the warmth today. Lots of red seemed to do the trick and I had plenty of kick. The trails are in great shape, even the main one's. Had fun on the Karhu's with three pins and my Asolo Snowfield boots. 4:30 til 6pm.Paul Kalachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522463063870677766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1211400203012331643.post-48471964367205897502014-02-12T07:27:00.002-08:002014-02-20T07:28:25.147-08:00....Shoosh It Real Good!<br />
We should have plenty of fresh snow for the weekend to play in, and the temps look nice. I'll be out of town, but some after-work skiing next week looks promising.<br />
<br />
We should have 16" with a good base under it when this storm passes through. The southern Adirondacks have about 2' today. Heading up to Lake Placid for Friday thru Monday, but looking forward to great conditions for the remainder of the week.<br />
<br />
<br />Paul Kalachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522463063870677766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1211400203012331643.post-64556534137133302462014-02-06T04:56:00.002-08:002014-02-10T05:08:55.375-08:00Now's the Time to Play<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 399px;">
<colgroup><col style="mso-width-alt: 3730; mso-width-source: userset; width: 77pt;" width="102"></col>
<col span="2" style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 3840; mso-width-source: userset; width: 79pt;" width="105"></col>
<col style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></col>
</colgroup><tbody>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td class="xl63" colspan="5" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black; height: 15pt; width: 300pt;" width="399"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Fulton
County -- Precipitation Reports</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td class="xl63" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black; height: 15pt; width: 77pt;" width="102"></td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"></td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"></td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"></td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"></td>
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<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td class="xl65" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black; height: 15pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">Town</span></strong></td>
<td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">Amount</span></strong></td>
<td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">Type</span></strong></td>
<td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">Since</span></strong></td>
<td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">On</span></strong></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td class="xl64" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black; height: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Broadalbin</span></td>
<td class="xl64" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">11.50"</span></td>
<td class="xl64" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Snow</span></td>
<td align="right" class="xl66" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">7:00:00 AM</span></td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">2/6/2014</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td class="xl68" colspan="5" height="40" rowspan="2" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: black; border-style: none none solid; border-width: 0px 0px 0.5pt; height: 30pt;"></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td class="xl63" colspan="5" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black; height: 15pt; width: 300pt;" width="399"></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td class="xl63" colspan="5" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black; height: 15pt; width: 300pt;" width="399"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Greene
County -- Precipitation Reports</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td class="xl63" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black; height: 15pt; width: 77pt;" width="102"></td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"></td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"></td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"></td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td class="xl65" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black; height: 15pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">Town</span></strong></td>
<td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">Amount</span></strong></td>
<td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">Type</span></strong></td>
<td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">Since</span></strong></td>
<td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">On</span></strong></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td class="xl64" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black; height: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Ashland</span></td>
<td class="xl64" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">8.00"</span></td>
<td class="xl64" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Snow</span></td>
<td align="right" class="xl66" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">2:00:00 AM</span></td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">2/5/2014</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td class="xl64" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black; height: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Halcott Center</span></td>
<td class="xl64" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">10.00"</span></td>
<td class="xl64" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Snow</span></td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">2/5/2014</span></td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">2/5/2014</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td class="xl64" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black; height: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Purling</span></td>
<td class="xl64" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">9.00"</span></td>
<td class="xl64" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Snow</span></td>
<td align="right" class="xl66" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">5:00:00 AM</span></td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">2/6/2014</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td class="xl64" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black; height: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Halcott</span></td>
<td class="xl64" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">8.00"</span></td>
<td class="xl64" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Snow</span></td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">2/5/2014</span></td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">2/5/2014</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td class="xl68" colspan="5" height="40" rowspan="2" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: black; border-style: none none solid; border-width: 0px 0px 0.5pt; height: 30pt;"></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td class="xl63" colspan="5" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black; height: 15pt; width: 300pt;" width="399"></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td class="xl63" colspan="5" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black; height: 15pt; width: 300pt;" width="399"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Hamilton
County -- Precipitation Reports</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td class="xl63" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black; height: 15pt; width: 77pt;" width="102"></td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"></td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"></td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"></td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td class="xl65" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black; height: 15pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">Town</span></strong></td>
<td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">Amount</span></strong></td>
<td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">Type</span></strong></td>
<td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">Since</span></strong></td>
<td class="xl65" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">On</span></strong></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td class="xl64" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black; height: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Wells</span></td>
<td class="xl64" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">12.75"</span></td>
<td class="xl64" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Snow</span></td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">2/5/2014</span></td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">2/5/2014</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td class="xl64" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black; height: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Hoffmeister</span></td>
<td class="xl64" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">13.00"</span></td>
<td class="xl64" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Snow</span></td>
<td align="right" class="xl66" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">6:00:00 AM</span></td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">2/6/2014</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td class="xl64" height="20" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black; height: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Piseco</span></td>
<td class="xl64" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">12.50"</span></td>
<td class="xl64" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Snow</span></td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">2/5/2014</span></td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px black;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">2/5/2014</span></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
Paul Kalachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522463063870677766noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1211400203012331643.post-46918123751344698102014-02-04T05:08:00.000-08:002014-02-04T07:08:50.565-08:00I'm Waxing in my Mind<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPp84V2_uZWa5GcyYDFGe56q25lEU9dRWkYjbPOThDY9tjo0RSfS7sIIMB1QMCO2TxXy34C1fkdKD9dTmL1qCt_KdNuPfo-yb0MuWjuYHLKC1Lyb8Ys56J8aTYIVrZdZ5cU9BYXNbYmc7_/s1600/WRGB_SNOWBAND1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPp84V2_uZWa5GcyYDFGe56q25lEU9dRWkYjbPOThDY9tjo0RSfS7sIIMB1QMCO2TxXy34C1fkdKD9dTmL1qCt_KdNuPfo-yb0MuWjuYHLKC1Lyb8Ys56J8aTYIVrZdZ5cU9BYXNbYmc7_/s1600/WRGB_SNOWBAND1.jpg" height="223" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Paul Kalachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522463063870677766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1211400203012331643.post-44548699938757988492014-01-31T05:47:00.003-08:002014-02-04T05:22:21.588-08:00Northside TrailsYesterday, I was able to ski from 4 til 5:30pm on the north side of Rte 29 at Rockwood. What a blast. The snow is just perfect, cold, and fast. I skied most of the trails east of the gated North Loop road going in. There's a bunch of trails on the Northeast map that are just as wide open as the trails on the south side of Rte 29, except less-traveled. Other than North Loop road and B Road., I was laying down first tracks. The snow is just so quick and sounds like fingers on silk under the skis. <br />
<br />
Someone has flagged the entire B Road. with orange flagging tape. And then I skied north to the old Wilderness Center. From there I got on the blue-flagged trail that heads southwest and after a nice long run on that it brought me back to B Road. Sweet. I tooled around on some other trails until dusk.<br />
<br />
About 15 degrees but no wind, so I was just in bibs and a thick sweater and watch cap. Skied a pair of Karhu XCD GT's (62-54-59) which my friend Mark gave me recently, with Rottefella Tele 3 pin bindings. With green wax, it was just speed and the flats were effortless, the downhills silky fast.Paul Kalachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522463063870677766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1211400203012331643.post-77195924342256848062014-01-27T05:13:00.003-08:002014-02-03T09:36:14.381-08:00Return of the Snow I went out Thursday afternoon and found the southside trails, the main roads, have been rutted up by a four-wheel drive vehicle. Not sure if there was actual logging going on. I doubt it. The side trail were okay, but packed out and crusty.<br />
<br />
The main trail going in was really messed. Anyway, the side trails were skiable, but the snow coverage was an 1" or 2" over a hard base. I skied around for a half hour and then walked over to the Northside trails, and things were much better. I was basically breaking trail through a few inches and the only thing about the Northside trails is that they are not as nicely maintained. So I had a few blowdown to go around. But overall, the Northside was the place to be, with unbroken snow, while the southside trails were packed out, or with bareboot holes or four wheel tracks.<br />
<br />
With the new snow we got Saturday into Sunday, things will be even better. I'm looking forward to further explorations on the Northside of Rt29.Paul Kalachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522463063870677766noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1211400203012331643.post-68540780118227479792014-01-03T06:46:00.001-08:002014-01-03T06:49:53.814-08:00New Powder Snow on Top of 3" Base<table style="width: 700px;"><tbody>
<tr><td colspan="6"><div class="head2">
Fulton County -- Precipitation Reports</div>
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Ephratah </div>
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11.50" </div>
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01/2/2014 </div>
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Perth </div>
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9.10" </div>
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08:00:00 AM </div>
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Broadalbin </div>
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8.00" </div>
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07:00:00 AM </div>
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Caroga Lake </div>
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8.00" </div>
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05:00:00 AM </div>
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Fish House </div>
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8.00" </div>
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05:00:00 AM </div>
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Gloversville </div>
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9.00" </div>
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01/2/2014 </div>
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Johnstown </div>
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11.00" </div>
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06:00:00 PM </div>
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Paul Kalachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522463063870677766noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1211400203012331643.post-34978267459534410282013-12-16T04:58:00.000-08:002013-12-16T05:07:53.047-08:00Breaking TrailSwung into Rockwood, (well not exactly since the parking lot wasn't plowed), around 1pm. I parked along the road. We received a good 12" of fine grained snow, pretty lofty and staying that way with the cold temps, over Saturday night.
I had to wonder who else was turned away from snowshoeing or skiing Rockwood due to the parking lot being inaccessible. I parked along the road. I figured I'd let the plow know where to go next ;)
So I broke trail all the way to the Shorty Cut-Off trail, then skied the Ridge trail for the first time. If anyone followed my tracks later, they would see the Ridge trail is pure fun. If you're on the Shorty Trail (Southwest Map), you might start along the ridge from where the Shorty crests the top of the ridge, but I skied down the Shorty toward Big Bowl and then picked up the Ridge Trail at the bottom. It was a challenging climb to the ridge while breaking trail at the same time. After skiing the ridge east, I descended to the main trail and came out right where the old gate and sign stand in the woods, which is an old town marker of some sort. It was a nice loop. On the way out, I skied the Camp Road Trail to the chimney and then did the loop back to the main trail. A few chickadees and woodpeckers keeping me company in the woods.
Was out about two hours. Skied my Fischer Snowbounds with three pins on them this year. Nice day, 21 degrees. All the trail are clear in Rockwood as far as I see it. Thank you to whomever cleared them of downed trees.Paul Kalachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522463063870677766noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1211400203012331643.post-53618452925724639892013-11-24T16:37:00.002-08:002013-11-24T16:46:52.880-08:00Nice Ridge TrailRockwood received 1 -1/2" Saturday night. Quite cold, windy day in the woods, on foot.<br />
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I swung into Rockwood and drove the roads to see if they were open and free of downed trees and they are. Then I walked the C-Connector Valley trail and that one has been cut out. Nice. Big Bowl has also been cleaned up.<br />
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I brushed out another less frequented trail by hand that leads to a very nice, sharp backcountry ridge with great views to the South and the path of the sun in winter. The trail starts off of the Shorty Trail (see the Southwest map) in view of the descent into Big Bowl, and climbs a bit before reaching the ridge. You can turn onto the ridge here but it may not be clear-going. I continued on the trail until it turned South and climbed to an old road-cut in the ridge, then followed the spine of the ridge East under mature trees with no underbrush. The sharp ridge (an esker?)is clear as day just north of the C-connector Valley Trail on the map, all the way to D-Spur. A nice new loop for 2014.Paul Kalachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522463063870677766noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1211400203012331643.post-72968548112515193332013-04-12T06:54:00.000-07:002013-04-12T06:54:08.715-07:00Wrapped up the Nordic Backcountry ski season at Nick Stoner Golf Course on April 6, with a couple laps on the course. I thought of seeing if any snow was left at Rockwood, but knowing my chances were better at Nick Stoner persuaded me to go there. It was worth it, with a few inches of corn snow and still some firm base. But it's over now. I've hung the skis up.Paul Kalachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522463063870677766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1211400203012331643.post-12412735841743573522013-03-04T05:20:00.002-08:002013-03-04T05:24:40.121-08:00Went up North insteadSnow was very crusty on my local golf course in Gloversville over the weekend, so I had to assume it would be crusty at Rockwood. We went up north to Chub Lake north of Canada Lake/Areitta on Saturday and the lakes above 2000' are just perfect, a nice cover of powder on a firm base. On Sunday, I headed back up and toured Nine-Corner Lake and that was just as perfect. Plenty of snowmobiles for company, but plenty of solitude as well. You need good and decently wide backcountry skis as these untracked lakes would be difficult to ski with real x-c skinnies. I used my 88/68/78 Fischer Outtabounds, the widest bc skis I own. 88mm at the tip and 68mm underfoot gives very good float in deeper snow.<br />
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Maybe the trails throughout Rockwood are in better condition than my crusty golf course, but the option of visiting a lake up north is a good one too.Paul Kalachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522463063870677766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1211400203012331643.post-73496274358522257652013-02-07T05:00:00.003-08:002013-02-07T05:04:44.018-08:00Time for New SnowThe interior trails were ice with a 1/2" of dry snow on top on Sunday, just bad. I bumbed into a couple on snowshoes who were disgruntled with the conditions, but had enjoyed their walk while carrying the shoes anyway. What saved the day for me was skiing the forest edge along the road, from the parking lot east to the other gate, about a half mile run. I skied it probably four times down and back on decent snow, enough to cut into and make light tracks. The sun rarely hits this snow due to its northern exposure. It's rolling terrain. Made a fine time out, about 1 1/2hrs. It was cold when I left at 4pm, about 16. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXJ8Z5YVuPrNhAQjOMWdym3R544DngOHFwlnxcxKXiY5SletUOZozOMPZ01tPXvGF8SfSio7MkmIfBRkQiSp_NA2yr8s8YcD8rnOfpqnhOxwUT35uzaymJ9O3I4YyZYLnwdSl3xw6g92gk/s1600/special.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" jea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXJ8Z5YVuPrNhAQjOMWdym3R544DngOHFwlnxcxKXiY5SletUOZozOMPZ01tPXvGF8SfSio7MkmIfBRkQiSp_NA2yr8s8YcD8rnOfpqnhOxwUT35uzaymJ9O3I4YyZYLnwdSl3xw6g92gk/s320/special.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The storm coming will put things back in shape.<br />
<br />Paul Kalachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522463063870677766noreply@blogger.com0