Vanderheyden Preserve(Troy, NY)

In between running errands Sunday, Kalli and I stopped by the 24 acre Vanderheyden Preserve in South Troy.  Access is at the end of a development on Wynantskill Way.  We parked near a kiosk just past a community garden and were  on our way.

 There is an old road(closed to vehicles) that travels through the middle of the preserve, with trails(some official, some not) breaking off seemingly in each direction.

 We took a wide, easy to follow trail down to the Wynants Kill, which was flowing very high after this weekend's heavy rains.

 This was my first time here, but it seemed that the creek was well outside its banks in several spots.  We tried to loop around on all the trails, but large sections were completely flooded and impassable.

 Back on a trail away from the creek, I found a nice view over a marshy area from a height of land.

 Fall colors just off the trail.

 Skies cleared out momentarily, only to be replaced by clouds and strong winds.  We enjoyed what was left of the fall foliage as well. 

We saw several folks out walking their dogs on a cool Sunday afternoon.  A rare undeveloped natural space in South Troy, it seems that people are really making the most of it.  We walked about a mile total on a confusing network of trails.

First Snow

A strong cold front replaced our warm, humid autumn weather with a bone chilling rain.  As the day continued to cool, the rain soon turned to snow..the season's first snow. 

More snow accumulated the higher you went, especially in the Catskills and Adirondacks.  We didn't get anything more than some flakes flying in the air.

Stony Ledge/ Saddleball Mountain-Greylock Range(Berkshires)

My buddy Jim is as knowledgeable on hiking as anyone I have met, from the Catskills to Adirondacks all the way to Vermont.  One area that he is not all that familiar with is the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, including the Greylock Range.  It just so happens that this is an area that I am very familiar with and therefore, was more than happy to share some of my experience with Jim.  Our plan for the day was to do a two car traverse, leaving a first car at the Jones Nose parking area along Rockwell Road and then driving to the Haley Farm to begin the hike.  We parked the car at an elevation of just over 1100 feet and began our hike, under sunny skies and beautiful, warm fall weather.

The first part of the hike passes picturesque Haley Farm and then along the old Hopper Road, under a canopy of colorful trees, as well as a carpet of fallen leaves.

Old stone walls line this section of the old road.

A short distance in, the trail turns right and crosses an open field with a fantastic look back towards Mount Prospect just to the north.

The trail heads south then east, climbing through a colorful, mostly hardwood forest.

The hike up to Stony Ledge has a nice, steady ascent with a couple of steeper sections.

A little over 2 miles into the hike is a small spur path to a nice view north int Williamstown.

Just prior to reaching the summit of Stony Ledge is a camping area with Lean To and picnic tables.

After about 2.5 miles, we arrived at the 2560 foot summit of Stony Ledge, with its incredible views out over the Hopper.  The Hopper is the giant chasm between Stony Ledge and Greylock.  Here is a look north towards Mount Prospect, Mount Williams and Mount Fitch.

Jim was thoroughly amazed by the views from this vantage point.  We stayed here for quite a while, eating lunch and taking many photos.

Continuing on past Stony Ledge, we followed Sperry Road south, then southeast towards the Sperry Road campground area. 

The foliage along Sperry Road was fantastic, and there were several other parties out enjoying this stretch near the campground.

We left Sperry Road, taking the Hopper Trail east towards its junction with the Appalachian Trail.  This stretch of the Hopper Trail was loaded with beech trees and ablaze in orange.

Jim and I were both surprised to pass through some wet stretches of trail along Saddleball's long  ridgeline.  Due to the very dry conditions persisting elsewhere, this was the most water we had seen on the trail since the spring.

 Saddleball Mountain passes through mostly conifers and has a very long ridgeline, with four small summit bumps.  The southernmost summit bump is considered the summit, with an elevation of 3247 feet.  Other than its northern neighbor Mount Greylock, this is the only other 3000 plus foot summit in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

About a .25 mile hike past the summit is a trail junction, where the Appalachian Trail heads left.   Continue a short .2 mile south on the AT here, past the Jones Nose junction, and you will be rewarded with a nice view from a clearing to the east off of Saddleball Mountain.

The town of Adams sits far down in the valley to the left with the rolling countryside stretching far beyond.

The weather had warmed to 80 degrees, as we began to descend Saddleball Mountain, via the Jones Nose Trail.

A small spur leads to a great view west towards the Route 7 corridor and Brodie Mountain's wind farm.

The descent down the south face of Saddleball Mountain passes through a transition of conifer forest to hardwoods and is gorgeous under fall conditions.

Incredible fall foliage.

Descending down into the open meadows below Jones Nose.

One last look back north to Jones Nose, a southern shoulder of Saddleball Mountain.

Southeast views from the open fields below Jones Nose.

We made one last stop for the day at the short Robinson Point Trail, which drops down about 250 feet in a quarter mile from Notch Road.  The views from this spot are spectacular.

The Taconics in the distance, with the beautiful fall colors of Mount Prospect(L) and a shoulder of Mount Fitch(R). 

Driving Jim back to his car at Haley Farm, with Mount Prospect standing proud in the afternoon sun.

Total mileage for the day was about 8 miles RT and 2700 feet elevation gain.

Ooms Conservation Area(Chatham, NY)

Took Bella for a short walk at Ooms Conservation Area in rural Chatham, on a very mild evening. 

 The rolling fields were surrounded by picturesque fall colors on a cloudy, humid day.

 The quiet, fall woods.

 We were treated to the foliage on the nearby East Chatham hills.

 Rolling hills of Columbia County with the Taconics further beyond.

 Looping down to Sutherland Pond with colors ablaze. 

 Walked about 1.5 miles total with one happy puppy.

Roundtop, North Plattekill, South Plattekill(Western Catskills)

Met up with my buddy Jim on a clear, cool fall day in the beautiful northwest Catskills.  Our goal was to do a traverse hike across Roundtop Mountain, North Plattekill Mountain and South Plattekill Mountain. We parked the first car at the height of land along New Kingston Mountain Road and then drove to the very end of Mountain Brook Road in the town of Bovina.  The road becomes rougher and rougher so anyone without a high clearance vehicle must be careful.  We parked the car and got out right next to a beautiful old stone wall, surrounded by a sea of ferns.

From the parking area with an elevation of about 2550 feet, Roundtop's 3060 foot summit was a scant .4 mile away.  We began climbing immediately with great foliage all around us.

Almost immediately, we arrived in a very large meadow with nice views back towards nearby Burnt Hill.

Just past the meadow we re-entered the woods, climbing steadily through an open hardwood forest to summit.  A small rock cairn marked the summit, which was wooded with no views.

After leaving the summit, we dropped off the east side of the mountain down towards the Plattekill Turnpike.  We were lucky to find a couple of small holes in the canopy above, with views towards the east.  Here is a view of the col between North and South Plattekill.

The slopes on the east side of Roundtop are fairly steep, but the woods are so open that the hiking wasn't bad.

Another peek glimpse towards the bulk of North Plattekill.

Taking our time walking along the Turnpike, enjoying the beautiful fall weather.

We cut off some mileage by bushwhacking, then rejoined the Turnpike at about 2900 feet, only to begin our bushwhack again, about .4 of a mile from the summit of North Plattekill.  The climb was slow but steady until we hit a large areas of prickers.  We tried our best to get around them, but they extended quite a distance so we had no choice but to try to force our way through.

Once we got past the briars and prickers, we emerged into a large clearing, which turned out to be a X-C ski trail.  Soon enough, we arrived at the 3340 foot summit.  Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, the mountain doubles as a ski area.

Although man made, the views from the top of the ski slopes are stunning.  Especially with peak or near peak foliage all around.

Looking directly down towards the parking lot nearly 1000 feet below.

We explored the entire summit area and ski slopes and found different variations of spectacular views.  Here is a look down into Meeker Hollow.

Another view down to the ski area parking lot, surrounded by fall colors.

The views extend far and wide towards the Bearpen range, with many distant peaks further beyond.

Meeker Hollow Mountain, sitting in front of us to the east.

We sat and enjoyed lunch as well as the views for quite a while.  The only caveat was a cold northwest wind blowing across the open ski slopes.  After finally tearing ourselves away from the great views, we continued along the ridgeline to the south, passing through gorgeous fall woods. 

After dropping down to about 2600 feet, we continued on for about 1.5 miles, climbing all the way back up to the 3260 foot summit of South Plattekill Mountain.  We really couldn't find much in the way of viewpoints, but the woods were beautiful and mostly open, making for great bushwhacking.  The summit area was large and flat.  We paused here for a few minutes, soaking int he serenity.

Continuing past South Plattekill's summit to the southeast, we were treated to more of the same...beautiful golden woods.

We tried to follow the ridgeline southeast, being careful to stay on a public land.  We did manage to find a peek a boo view through the trees to the northeast.

Descending the ridgeline on a carpet of fallen leaves.

We arrived back at the first car on New Kingston Mountain Road after about 8 miles RT and 2500 feet of elevation gain.
On the drive back to Jim's car on Brook Mountain Road, we passed through gorgeous Catskill countryside, with colors ablaze.

Enjoying the incredible fall views.

Farm country.

This whole area has become one of, if not my new favorite areas of the Catskills.  I really enjoyed driving these back roads.