Van Dyke Spinney Preserve(Bethlehem)

Visited the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy's brand new Van Dyke Spinney Preserve in the town of Bethlehem. To find the preserve, follow Delmar bypass west to Van Dyke Road, then bear left and take it almost all the way to the end just before Van Dyke Rd meets Meads Lane.  A small parking lot is found on the right, just after a bridge crossing.   A kiosk with interesting preserve info and trail maps are available here.

The trail leaves the parking lot heading west with orange markers leading the way.  The trail is rather wet and muddy in some spots, but well built foot bridges help to keep your feet dry.

Puncheon over a muddier section of trail.

The trail makes a loop, hugging the banks of the Phillipin Kill much of the way.

The calm waters of the Phillipin Kill are never too far from the trail.

Early sunsets are a trademark of November.

The Phillipin Kill begins in the town of New Scotland and passes through the preserve on its way towards the Vloman Kill, which it will ultimately meet up with.

The trail is well marked but fairly obvious anyway.

This is not a very large preserve with under a mile of trail mileage, but is a quiet slice of nature amidst suburban sprawl.  The trail forms an easy loop with very little elevation gain and makes for a pleasant walk in the woods.

Ragged Mountain(Berkshires)

Anyone who has hiked or driven to the summit of Mount Greylock in the Berkshires has more than likely seen 2517 foot Ragged Mountain, a prominent bump on the east side of the mountain range.  There are several approaches to the multitude of trails throughout the Reservation, and today I would be coming from Gould Road on the east side of the mountain range.  Gould Road is located in the town of Adams, almost directly below Greylock's summit and provides spectacular views of the summit tower and historic 1901 landslide.  Here is the view near the Pecks Falls parking area along Gould Road.

 I made a quick pit stop to picturesque Pecks Falls, which are located about .1 of a mile from the road.

 Just upstream of the falls.

 After exploring the falls for a few minutes, I got back in the car and continued on Gould Road to the parking lot at the end of the public road.  Just past the parking lot is a gate leading to a private farm and incredible views of Mount Greylock.

 From the trail head, I began my hike on the Bellows Pipe South trail.

The trail soon begins climbing and turns to a large meadow like area.

The view east from the broad clearing on the trail.  From here, there are many trails heading up the mountain.  I took the Bucket Trail, which leads north for a short distance before meeting back up with Bellows Pipe Trail once again.  The Bellows Pipe Trail heads west then north, towards the legendary Thunderbolt Trail.

 

The Thunderbolt Ski Area was built way back in the 1930's, but fell into despair in the 1980's after years of neglect.  Today there are remnants of the old ski lifts  which can be easily seen in the brush.

Continuing along the Bucket Trail(quite literally).

Old light fixtures amongst the trees.

 

A view trough the trees at Ragged Mountain.

Passing by the Thunderbolt Trail, which climbs very steeply directly up to Mount Greylock's summit.

Continuing on the Bellows Pipe Trail past the Thunderbolt Trail junction.

The Bellows Pipe lean to with fire pit.

I was shocked to see a huge hole in the floor of the lean to.  Upon further inspection I noticed that there were burn marks on the wood.  Very sad to see this happen.

Another view of the lean to. 

I stopped here for a few minutes, enjoying the solitude and incredible mid November weather.

As I neared the trail  junction to the Ragged Mountain trail I spotted this stone wall, which climbs very steep slopes.  I'm always amazed to see where these walls were built way back when.

The Ragged Mountain trail junction.

Just before reaching the summit, I noticed a great view back towards Greylock's summit tower.

A closer look at the incredible slide on the steep east facing slopes just below the summit.

Mount Greylock's summit.

Arriving at the summit of Ragged Mountain, after an ascent of 1288 feet.  A small rock ledge provides great views to south and nearby Mount Greylock.

Continuing past the summit, an unmaintained trail winds through the woods, starting generally north on an easy to follow path.  After turning east, however, the foot path becomes a bit harder to find.  There are sporadic blue paint marks on the trees and soon the path disappears altogether.  From here it is a true bushwhack until you pick up blue paint markings again near the rocky prominence known as Ravens Rocks.  From Ravens Rocks, located on the east side of Ragged Mountain, there are spectacular views to the east over the entire valley.

Mount Greylock, as seen from Ravens Rocks.

Ravens Rocks.

Looking directly down upon Specialty Minerals large quarry.

The Hoosac Range towering above the town of Adams.

After exploring Ravens Rocks, I bushwhacked my way back to Ragged Mountain and then retraced my steps down off the mountain.  From there I turned south on the Bellows Pipe Trail, heading back towards the car.  There are several stream crossings along the way, which have carved out quite a path on their way down.

 

Old ski lifts deep in the woods.

 

Coming back down through the meadow as I neared the car.

 

Hiked about 6 miles RT, on a gorgeous late fall day.

Mount Van Hoevenberg(Adirondacks High Peaks Region)

Visited 2940 foot Mount Van Hoevenberg in the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks on yet another picture perfect mid November day.  The trail head is found by taking the Adirondack Loj Road south for 4 miles to Meadow Lane, then turning left and following Meadow Lane for .25 mile to the DEC trail sign on the left.  A wide, level trail which resembles an old road begins just past the gate at the trail head.

Bright morning sun breaking through the forest canopy.

The trail soon leads to a large beaver swamp, where the original trail had to be rerouted to the left around it.  The rerouted section of trail is very muddy, so a lot of rock hopping is needed to keep your feet dry.

The summit rocks of Van Hoevenberg can easily be seen across the swamp.

                                                              

Muck and snow was worse as I continued to climb.

 The trail soon begins to climb, where I encountered snow in the shaded areas.

 

After 2.1 miles, I arrived at the first of two long ledges.  Tremendous views can be had here.  A view north towards Lake Placid and the downhill ski jumps.

The views from Mount Van Hoevenberg are some of the best in all of the High Peaks. Here is an incredible panorama.

Mount Marcy's snow capped summit stands out amongst the High Peaks.

The High Peaks tower above South Meadow.

The second rock ledge provides very similar views, and the true summit is found several yards beyond this ledge.

After enjoying the magnificent views for a little while, I finally turned back, retracing my steps down off the mountain.  There are broken views through the trees as the trail descends over 700 feet back to the car.

I slowed down as I walked back, really enjoying the sights and sounds of the quiet November woods.

Hiked 4.4 miles RT on a beautiful November day.