Adventure XXVII

Type of Adventure: Snowshoe hike

Date of Adventure: Friday, 30 Jan. 2009

Place of Adventure: Shrewsbury, PWMA

Length of Adventure, miles: 2.25

Length of Adventure, hours: 2

Weather: Temps in the upper 20's, overcast, flurries turning into light snow showers. 1-2 feet of fresh snow on the ground.

Companion(s): Colyn

Other Adventurers Encountered: 4 cross country skiiers, several snowmobile transporting vehicles, although none of the actual snowmobiles.

Notes: 1. I finally managed to complete the loop that I've attempted twice before. 2. We got first tracks in the fresh snow. It was rough going, but we made it. 3. I really need to complete my hiking gear. I need gators for my snowshoes, wool pants to keep me warmer. I also need an extra mini maglight, swiss army knife, first aid kit, and matches for my backpack.

Map of today's Adventure:

Adventure XXVI

Type of Adventure: Snowshoe hike

Date of Adventure: Tues. 27 Jan. 2009

Place of Adventure: Patch Hollow

Length of Adventure, miles: approx 1

Length of Adventure, hours: 1

Weather: Sunny, temps in 20's, lots of snow

Companion(s): Colyn

Other Adventurers Encountered: None, although the trails were very packed down.

Notes: 1. I had hoped to make it up to the pond today, but I didn't get started soon enough. In the interest of time, I made our destination the little cabin. I took a bunch of pictures, because I think it is so cool. It really makes me want to go camping.

The "front" side. I have declared it the front because the doorway is only about 1 foot off the ground.




The "back" side. This is the back because the doorway is several feet off the ground. Note the tree that has fallen on the cabin. It happened when the beaver damn at the pond collapsed last year. The subsequent flood almost took out the cabin.


The view through the front door.




The view of the front door from inside.



The view of the back door from inside. I love how it is a half door.



The far wall.


The base of what should have been the chimney.




The ladder to the 2nd (and 3rd) floors.



The 2nd floor, viewed from the top of the ladder. I couldn't quite climb up to the 2nd floor, because there is no railing or anything to grab onto from the top of the ladder.



The ladder to the 3rd floor.

Adventure XXV

Type of Adventure: Snowshoe hike

Date of Adventure: Tues. 27 Jan. 2009

Place of Adventure: Pittsford Trails

Length of Adventure, miles: 2

Length of Adventure, hours: 1

Weather: Sunny, temps in low 20's, plenty of snow on the ground

Companion(s): RCHS adoptee, Alaska


Other Adventurers Encountered: 1 cross country skiier, she started at the other end of the trail head and we never crossed paths again.

Notes: 1. Lots of people make shortcuts, or cross the fields in different directions than normal. Because everything is frozen over, short cuts are easier. 2. A fleece outer layer is better than my parka when the temps are in the 20's.

Adventure XIV

Date of Adventure: Tues. 20 Jan 2009

Type of Adventure: Hike

Place of Adventure: Pittsford

Length of Adventure, miles: 2.3

Length of Adventure, hours: 1.25

Weather: Very sunny, fresh snow on the ground, light wind.

Companion(s): Colyn

Other Adventurers Encountered: none

Notes: 1. Robins! I saw Robins! The stupid birds were apparently too stupid to fly south. They were eating the rotten apples still hanging on the apple tree. 2. If I think I might want snowshoes, then I should use snowshoes.

Adventure XXIII

Type of Adventure: Snowshoe hike

Date of Adventure: Sun. 11 Jan. 2009

Place of Adventure: Shrewsbury

Length of Adventure, miles: about 2

Length of Adventure, hours: 1.75

Companions: Colyn

Other Adventurers Encountered: 6 snowmobilers, 8 X-C Skiiers, 4 dogs

Weather: Bright and sunny, fresh snow, temps in the teens, about 1 foot of snow on the ground.

Points of Interest: 1. I took the left hand trail at the initial intersection this time, and I found about 6 more intersections further out. I still didn't find a loop, but I'm confident that there are several. 2. I saw this really cool curl of snow. Somehow, the snow had been plastered to this tree trunk, and then it fell away from the tree in a curl. It was so cool. The picture really doesn't do it justice.



Random Notes:

I weighed my gear and discovered that just my boots and snowshoes weigh 8lbs. The whole get up, boots, showshoes, coat, backpack, weighs 18lbs. No wonder winter hiking is so much more tiring than summer hiking.

Adventure XXII

Type of Adventure: Hike

Date of Adventure: Sat. 10 Jan. 2009

Place of Adventure: Patch Hollow, Long Trail, Wallingford/Shrewsbury

Length of Adventure, miles: approximately 2

Length of Adventure, hours: 1.5

Companions: My father

Other Adventurers Encountered: 1 snowshoer

Weather: Cloudy, temps in the teens, 4-5 inches of snow on the ground.

Points of Interest: 1. My father pointed out a single deer hair, stuck to the end of a branch. 2. A 3 story cabin was built out in Patch Hollow back in the 70's. As far as Dad knows, no one ever actually live in the cabin. The guy who owns the land it was built on, later sold the land to the state when the Long Trail was moved. He has also broken out all the windows in an effort to help the building fall down. When the beaver dam broke last summer, it almost washed out the cabin. It's a tiny cabin, but the first floor would be great as a common room. Dad expects you could sleep 8-10 people easily in the 2nd floor and 3rd floor loft. It is an amazing little cabin. You have follow an old town road, now just a wheel track, to reach the cabin. It doesn't look like anybody ever uses. 3. We saw countless deer tracks, including an actual deer trail. Dad said it was the first trail he's seen this winter. We also saw partridge and mice trails. We may have seen bobcat and coyote tracks, but Dad isn't sure.

Adventure XXI

Type of Adventure: Hike

Date of Adventure: Wed. 7 Jan. 2009

Place of Adventure: Pittsford Trails

Length of Adventure, miles: 2.3 I thought this trail was 2.4 miles, but I noticed on a sign today that it is 2.3

Length of Adventure, hours: 1.25

Companions: Colyn

Other Adventurers Encountered: 1 walker, 1 dog

Weather: Wintry mix. Temps in the 20's. Overcast, snow changing to freezing rain. We were early enough that the trail was still in good shape.

Points of Interest: 1. Still the ice. 2. We saw 4 male cardinals together in a tree.

This is the water line from a week or so ago after all the rain and flooding. Yes, it is as high as it looks. And it's still probably a foot higher than normal. And this is just a backwash area, not even the river itself.


If I just could've convinced him, Colyn would've fit under there.


Yes, the ice is as strong as it looks. It's supporting 90 pounds of dog, with nothing but air underneath. And I assure you, there wasn't any daintiness involved in getting Colyn on top of the ice.

Adventure XX

Type of Adventure: Hike

Date of Adventure: Tues 6 Jan 2009

Place of Adventure: Pittsford Trails

Length of Adventure, miles: 2.4

Length of Adventure, hours: 1.25

Companions: Shadow

Other Adventurers Encountered: 1 hiker, 2 dogs

Weather: Bright, sunny, light breeze, temps in the 20's

Points of Interest: Ice! Most of the trail was basically flooded and frozen. There is a nice 1" of crusty snow on top, which provides traction. The river was about 5 feet higher than normal, but is down to only 2-3 feet higher than normal. As long as things stay cold, the trail should be perfect for hiking all winter.

Monthly Recap

Month: Dec. 2008

Number of Adventures: 9

Miles Adventured: Approximately 19.5

Hours Adventured: approximately 12.25

Adventure Destinations: Pine Hill Park, Rugby Field/Swamp, Town Farm Trail, Pittsford Trails, Moosalamoo, Shrewsbury aka Plymsbury Wildlife Management Area

Adventure Companions: Colyn, Mom, and Reno

Thoughts: I got started kind of slow this month, but I managed to pack in quite a few adventures at the very end. I had some great adventures this month as well as a couple misadventures. I saw quite a few interesting sights. The "aquatic crop circle" and the debris damn in Pittsford were particularly interesting. The snow at the end of the month was fabulous. Moosalamoo sees a lot more traffic in the winter. I may have to find a different parking area and different trails to use. I found a new set of trails in Shrewsbury that will allow me to avoid the snowmobilers. Shrewsbury is closer and has easier parking, so I may end up hiking there quite a bit this winter. I think I managed to hit all of my main adventuring locations this month.