Albany Pine Bush-Blueberry Hill East & West

Had to take advantage of the beautiful late winter conditions after work this afternoon, so I headed over to do some easy walking at the Albany Pine Bush.  Parked at the Blueberry Hill East Trailhead at the end of Columbia Circle and headed out under bright skies.

Began by following the yellow trail southeast atop mostly hard packed snow.  The sun and snow combination was quite blinding at times.

The yellow trail loops around the far SE corner of the preserve before turning west/ NW, paralleling Velina Drive.  Although there are backyards and houses a mere 10 to 15 yards away, this section is actually the most forested in this part of the Pine Bush.

At a trail junction, I turned north on the yellow/ red trail combo, which traverses a high point between Blueberry Hill East and West. This is really the only spot that there is any real ascent(if you even want to call it that).

From the open high point, some of the distant northern Catskills can be seen peeking out above the tree tops.

 The area between Blueberry Hill East and West has interesting topography, with rolling dunes cloaked in native prairies. 

Once off the red/ yellow combo trail, I chose to loop left along the red blazed Blueberry Hill West trail, which rolls a bit more through open dunes and pitch pine-scrub oak barrens.

Trail conditions varied quite a bit, depending on the amount of direct sunlight, shadows, slope angle, etc.  This stretch of the red trail typifies the varying conditions...dry on one side and snow covered just a couple feet away on the other.

Once completing the red loop, I once again took the red/ yellow combo trail north back towards my car, before finally, a right turn onto the yellow trail brought me the rest of the way.  Development is never too far away, as the yellow trail literally provides an unimpeded glimpse into backyards along Pitch Pine Road,

This is one of the more scenic parts of the Albany Pine Bush and we should all consider ourselves lucky that this area was saved from development.  A touch over 3 miles total for the afternoon.