Jiggs Highway/ Waterfalls Trail(Capital District Wildlife Management Area-Rensselaer County)

Took a break from changing diapers to do a little wintry exploring up on the Rensselaer Plateau this afternoon at the Capital District Wildlife Management Area.  Elevation to start at the north entrance to "Jiggs Highway" is well over 1700 feet, so as expected the snow was plentiful.  Bluebird skies and no wind meant very pleasant conditions for this late autumn walk.

Followed the tire tracks broken out on Jiggs Highway by a 4 wheel drive vehicle, stopping briefly to check out the large, picturesque pond that sits just off the road. This pond is a dyked pond originally built to provide water for the CCC crews that built the place in the 1930's.(thanks for the info PeterR)

Back on the "highway", it was a very serene walk through about 7 inches of snow in a wintry forest.

Temperatures have stayed well below freezing since the snowfall, meaning that most of the trees still cling to a decent snow cover.  A light breeze and filtered sunshine made for a neat look as the road passes through deep woods.

Near the south end of the Jiggs Highway, I broke off onto the Waterfalls Trail, which closely follows the Black River.  I followed this to the point where the trail crosses the creek, turning back there and retracing my steps back to the road.

Once back on the Jiggs Highway, it was a very short walk over to Miller Road, which is a town maintained road that would take me back to my car. 

Wetlands along Miller Road.

Miller Road is a very quiet and scenic country road that sees minimal traffic(I saw no cars my entire walk).

Followed Miller Road all the way back north to my car, completing a large loop. Hiked about 3.3 miles total with 400 feet of combined ascent, and didn't see another soul all day.