Wolf Creek Falls Preserve(Albany County Helderbergs)

Visited the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy's 135 acre Wolf Creek Falls Preserve, located in the town of Knox this afternoon.  Perhaps it was the overcast skies and rainy morning, but I was still pleasantly surprised to be the only car there when I pulled in.  I have visited this preserve on numerous occasions but it is still one of my favorites, and seems to fly under the radar.

I explored the various trails on both the north and south side of Bozenkill Road.  On the north side of the road, there are numerous small, picturesque cascades on Wolf Creek.  From the creek crossing, I caught this awesome shot, where last night's rain had the water rushing along.

Just upstream about 15 yards from the creek crossing is another pretty shelf falls.

Passed by remnants of an old foundation along the white trail.  The foundation walls seem to be in very good conditions still and there are other artifacts laying around as well.

Even in the hilltowns, spring is finally catching up. It was really nice seeing so much green in the woods!

As stated, there are many different small sets of falls at the preserve that can be enjoyed from the trail, or just a few steps off trail.

More falls.

The sun began to push through the clouds just as I was taking this shot of a small cascade near the white trail.

There are a TON of old stone walls found throughout the preserve.  I'm sure most of this land was farmed a few generations ago.

Took my time strolling most of the trails at the preserve.  Walked about 3 miles total on a mostly cloudy, but comfortable spring day.

Unnamed St. John's Lake Ledges(Wilcox Lake Wild Forest-Adirondacks)

Headed north after work to do a small bushwhack hike to some unnamed ledges near Harrisburg Lake in the Wilcox Lake Wild Forest on a beautiful spring day.  The peaks I was climbing have no official name, but are located very close to St. John's Lake, hence the name.  Parked in a large, unmarked parking lot off Harrisburg Road, where a sliver of state land comes down to meet the road and provides access to the mountains.  You have to look carefully to find the start of the trail, but it leaves the corner of the parking lot at an elevation of 1575 feet and heads north.

The trail is sporadically marked and tough to follow in spots, but does offer a nice footbridge crossing over a pretty brook.

The trail abruptly ends where the state boundary line opens up just over 1/3 of a mile in.  I then made my way NW up through an open hardwood forest when the black flies began to swarm.  Horrible little demons!  They were just terrible for the next hour or so and almost made me turn back.  They weren't really biting, however, just swarming, so was still able to enjoy a very nice ascent.

As I closed in on the summit, I swung around to the west ledges, which were boulder filled and steep.  

There are several okay views along the way, but persistence pays off, as a sprawling area of open ledges just below the summit offer spectacular views.  Harrisburg Lake and many of the peaks that make up the western part of the Wilcox Lake Wild Forest can be seen to the west/ SW.

 A fun scramble between ledges.

 From another open ledge, I enjoyed this zoom view down to Harrisburg Lake to the SW.

 To the west, this zoom view takes in a multitude of peaks.

There are multiple photo ops from the numerous open ledges, each with a unique perspective down on Harrisburg Lake and its surrounding mountains.  A truly amazing spot...partially ruined by swarming black flies.

 The area of open ledges continues almost all the way up to the summit.

 The wooded, nondescript 2528 foot summit sits less than a 1/10 mile away from the ledges.

Just off the summit, I found screened views to the east in a bit of a clearing, but nothing compared to the the west ledges.

A nice and easy descent west brought me down into the col between the two peaks.  Just above this spot, on the next peak, is an old woods road, that is now a pretty good unmarked foot trail but didn't go in the direction I needed so I crossed it and continued on.

Unfortunately, as soon as I began to ascend, I hit a wall of spruce.  I was actually a bit shocked to see just how much spruce was on this particular peak....probably the most I have seen on any southern Adirondack peak, and especially below 2500 feet.

I fought my way through the spruce, picking up rough game paths along the way to help out.  Staying below the summit ridge, where the open rock was  I soon hit the first of two open ledge views at about 2400 feet, with a perfectly framed look down at Harrisburg Lake.

The second ledge is just a few yards away(although you'll have to fight through spruce to get there).  This ledge is a bit more open and at a slightly different angle, with Harrisburg Lake again front and center.

After enjoying the ledge views, I carefully made my way down through the scratchy spruce to the SW, circling back under the steep ledges from below.  They look even more impressive from below!

Thankfully the bugs eased up the second half of the hike so I could actually enjoy myself.  Looks like the bug net will be coming every hike from now on, just in case.  Hiked 4.3 miles RT with 1400 feet of total ascent.
Today's route below.  Red=Ascent   Blue=Descent

Burnett Hill-Savoy Mountain State Forest(Berkshires)

With a possible shift in the weather pattern towards true springtime warmth, I decided to head east to the northern Berkshires to do some exploring.  I wanted to bushwhack to the the two summit bumps just south of Spruce Hill in the Savoy Mountain State Forest to see what they had to offer.  Spruce Hill is a well known trailed peak with spectacular views, but 2416 foot North Burnett Hill and 2420 foot South Burnett Hill sit off trail and are pretty much unknown.  The easiest access would be to follow Old Florida Road(a very old abandoned town road that is reputed for being in rough shape), which shares the same trailhead as the Busby Trail to Spruce Hill off of Central Shaft Road.  Elevation to start was way up at 1885 feet.

Old Florida Road begins in relatively decent shape(save some very large puddles created by off road vehicles) and heads west around the sprawling but picturesque Tower Swamp.

Where Old Florida Road passes beneath the power lines, I decided to leave the road and begin my bushwhack ascent. 

The ascent was pretty straightforward through open hardwoods and early spring wildflowers.  Spotted this yellow trillium at one point, although many of them were still closed up.

After going up and over a smaller peak, I continued up towards Burnett Hill's north peak, which was guarded by enormous cliff bands.

I managed to find a nice chute up through the middle of the cliffs and was hoping to find a view at the top.

After scrambling around atop the ledges, I did manage to find a couple decent views.  This is a view NE towards the northernmost Berkshire peaks towards Vermont.

The view south-southeast takes in my next goal, Burnett Hill's south peak, as well as other nearby unnamed peaks of the Savoy Mountain State Forest.

The 2416 foot north summit is fully wooded but I did find a large clearing just yards away from the summit and also just yards away from the power line crossing.

Leaving the summit heading south I passed beneath the power line crossing with its amazing views west into the Hoosac Valley and the town of Adams. 

Just before re-entering the woods, I caught this view of Mount Greylock and the Specialty Minerals Lime Quarry.

Once back in the woods, I continued south through a very nice open forest.

Edging my way along the steep east ledges, I searched and searched for an open view.  Most of the views were screened by trees and vegetation but I did find a couple of small framed views.

After a fruitless search for open views, it was a pretty easy climb up to the 2420 summit, marked with a rock cairn.

The summit area was wide open and easy to explore.  Although there were no views, it was very pleasant..almost like a stroll through a meadow.

Wandering around the open summit area was a pure joy, and out of nowhere I was shocked to find a summit sign in jar.  This was probably the last thing I expected!! 

The drop down the east slopes of the summit were very steep, but negotiable.  Using switchbacks I carefully made my way down towards Old Florida Road.

Once back down on Old Florida it was a nice and easy hike out on the rough and rugged road.  I now can see why this old town road is so well known in the off-roading world. 

Back near the area along Tower Swamp the old road has been completely rerouted from a wash out and is literally becoming part of the swamp now.

Hiked about 4.3 miles RT with roughly 1000 feet of ascent.  A nice little adventure on a very pleasant spring day(finally!)
Red=Ascent   Blue=Descent

Twin Ponds-Taconic Crest Trail(Berkshires/ Taconics)

Although the calendar has turned to May, winter decided to pay us a bit of visit last night and today.  I don't generally mind snow, but on May 9th!!??  May 9th??!! Average high temperatures are in the upper 60s, but today we barely got out of the 30's(and even lower in the mountains)...and add to that, strong NW winds gusting over 40 mph and it felt more like mid winter than mid spring.  So, of course once I got out of work this afternoon I decided to head straight up to the Taconics straddling the New York/ Mass state line to check it all out.  I parked at the southern end of the Taconic Crest Trail off of Route 20 in Hancock and set out at an elevation of 1480 feet, where the snow was still clinging to the trees and grassy areas.

As I headed north on the Taconic Crest Trail, sunny skies and snow squalls were taking turns as brisk NW winds added a biting chill to the air.

Gentle reminders of spring popped up here and there as the wind chills and snow did their best to obliterate those thoughts.

Unfortunately there are no grand vistas from this section of the Taconics, but there are many good screened views down into the Lebanon valley on the NY side of the state line.

I only saw one other hiker on this remarkably wintry May day, a hiker that follows my blog.  I'd like to give a nice shout out to Ned!  It was nice to meet you and I hope you enjoyed the hike!

After just over one mile in I left the Taconic Crest Trail and picked up the nearby Taconic Skyline Trail(used by ATV's).  Within just a couple minutes I arrived at Cranberry Pond, a small but pretty pond that sits at an elevation over 1800 feet.

I continued north on the Skyline Trail before a short bushwhack brought me to South Twin Pond, the larger of the two "twins".  I found a nice little fire pit in a clearing on the shore that would make a great campsite.

A very short bushwhack downhill brought me to North Twin Pond.  I explored the whole shoreline around the pond, checking things out, and did find a rough firepit on the steep east hillside.  On the NW side of the pond is where the Taconic Crest Trail passes by. 

The ponds are actually easily navigable and fun to explore.  This is the crossing over the inlet of North Twin Pond, which drains directly down from South Twin.

Suddenly, almost out of nowhere, the skies cleared out and the sun came bursting through.  Back up on the shores of South Twin Pond, the scene was absolutely spectacular.

Blue skies made for a memorable backdrop as I circled my way back around South Twin. 

Returning on the Taconic Skyline Trail, which due to the ATV traffic is much more muddy and rutted but still makes for nice hiking.

Pit stop back at Cranberry Pond, now bathed in sunlight.

Leaving Cranberry Pond behind as yet another snow squall briefly moved in.

Wandering south on the Skyline Trail, on my way back to the Taconic Crest Trail and my car.

By the time I arrived back down at the parking area, the snow was already melting-with temps only in the low to mid 30s!!!  The snow was a nice surprise, but it was sure nice seeing green grass again!  A nice and easy 3.6 mile saunter in the woods.

Today's Route.