Took advantage of a small window of time I had this afternoon to visit the Nature Conservancy's 415 acre Hannacroix Ravine located on the New Scotland/ Berne town line off of Cass Hill Road in the Helderbergs. I was a bit surprised that there was several inches of snow on the ground up here(elevation 1220 feet to start), but still not enough to warrant snowshoes. I headed out into the dark coniferous woods following the orange blazes south, on yet another overcast, dreary day.
The toughest park of the entire hike is the crossing over Hannacroix Creek. On any given occasion, you may encounter slick rocks, a swift current, or a thin layer of snow and ice to go with freezing water. The latter proved to be the issue today.
The creek crossing was a little tricky, but I took my time, easily negotiating a safe passage.
Once across the creek, the trail narrows its way west through an old hemlock forest, before turning back north.
Throughout the preserve, the trail crosses over several small streams that drain the slopes of the ravine.
The current snow pack on the ground, coupled with an incoming winter storm's clouds gave the woods a very black and white feeling.
Soon the trail jogs uphill out of the ravine, picking up an old road. Stone walls line this section with filtered views across the ravine to the east.
The old roadbed continues north, passing by a private backyard and eventually back to Cass Hill Road. From there, it was a short 2/10 of a mile road walk back to the parking lot. Hiked just under 2.5 miles total with 400 feet of ascent.
For more information, visit https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/places-we-protect/eny-hannacroix-ravine/
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