H.G. Reist Wildlife Sanctuary(Schenectady County)

Got out for a short walk on a bitterly cold winter afternoon at the H.G. Reist Wildlife Sanctuary in Niskayuna.  The 113 acre Sanctuary is owned by the Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club and is located in a residential section of the town.  There are several different entrances, with the most popular trail head(and also my starting point today) being Morgan Ave, to the south off of Troy-Schenectady Road.

Started out with the snowshoes but the trail was well broken in and frozen over making the snowshoes basically unnecessary.

 White pines.

 Keeping up a brisk pace was essential to stave off the cold.

Trails are well marked by color and easily visible.

 The sun did its best to warm things up, with almost no luck at all as temperatures lingered in the single digits.  Notice the bench in the foreground buried under snow.

 Animal prints lead to this large, hollowed out tree, making a nice shelter.

 The hard packed trails made for nice, easy walking with minimal elevation change.

 Small kiosks and trail maps can be found near each trail entrance.

 Signage near the center of the Sanctuary.

 As the sun began to set, the temps started to plummet.

Walked 1.68 miles RT through the winter woods.