East Greenbush/ Schodack Town Parks in Fresh Snow

The last few days we have been battered with wave upon wave of a winter storm. There has been some sleet, some freezing rain, some plain rain and a whole lot of snow.

There is nothing, however, quite like a snowshoe hike following a fresh coating of new snow blanketing the landscape.  The woods are transformed into something almost surreal.  It is possibly my favorite time to hike of the entire year.  Unfortunately, with limited time and questionable roads, my options were somewhat limited today, so I chose to walk the local parks close to my house.  Started with a free time slot I had in the morning at East Greenbush Town Park.  I was very happy to see that the road was plowed all the way in.  I quickly got my snowshoes on and made my way into the woods, where the trail was a bit hard to find.

 Amazing to see the world covered in white.

 I was here about a week ago and it looks like a completely different place this time around. The beautiful man made falls below the damming of the North Branch Moordener Kill.

 Surrounded by the quiet hush of a fresh snow.

 The North Branch meandering through the snowy woods.

 Snowy creek.

 A damp area of the woods down by the creek.

 With temperatures holding in the upper 20's, the freshly fallen snow stayed on all the bare trees through the day.

 Leaving the winter like scene of the town park.  As I headed out, two cars pulled in with dogs bounding around in the snow, fully enjoying the snow day.

 Later on in the afternoon, I had about an hour free so I stopped off at the Schodack Town Park, only minutes away from East Greenbush Park which I had visited earlier.  The park's access road was just as scenic as any of the trails I walked today.

 The still fresh, wind blown snow kept the woods looking white as can be.

 Walking down the blue trail from the parking lot, which had been completely shoveled out.

 The Moordener Kill's small cascades, hemmed in by hemlocks.

 A look upstream from the foot bridge shows just how heavy this fresh snow pack is, as the trees bend almost completely in unison over the creek.

 The beautiful Moordener Kill.

 A large meadow provides a panoramic view of the wintry landscape.

 Light snow began to fall as I crossed the meadow and as it fell from the sky, a peaceful silence fell over the area.  I stood out in the open field for a few minutes soaking it all in.

 Looping through the fields fully absorbed by the snow clinging to each branch of each tree.

 As darkness began to take over, I started to head back towards the car, with nearby evergreens weighed down by the heavy snow.

 Crossing the creek on the final leg of my walk.

  The stark beauty of the wintry scene engulfed every moment of my walks today.  Walked about 1.8 miles altogether between both parks.