Trail running

I've got a short piece on the Times Union's Runners Blog today with some local suggestions for trail running.

You can read my post here.

Hiking at Moreau Lake State Park, 05/18/2013

I was so impressed with Moreau Lake State Park on my first mountain bike ride there a few weeks ago that I brought my family back to hike the very next weekend. Overshadowed by the limitless hiking opportunities in the nearby Adirondacks, Moreau Lake State Park would certainly be more widely regarded as a hiking destination if it was located elsewhere in the state. I'm almost embarassed to admit that despite living in Saratoga County for more than 20 years, I never bothered to explore Moreau Lake State Park's 4,000 + acres beyond the heavily used beach and campground area.

Pitchoff Mtn. Balanced Rocks: 05/27/2013

We’ve all heard the clichés about the unpredictability of Adirondack weather, but the Nor’Easter that deposited up to 3 feet of snow on the higher elevations of Whiteface, Marcy and the rest of the High Peaks over Memorial Day weekend is one for the record books. We had planned to be in Lake Placid for the Adirondack 46ers annual dinner and award ceremony Sunday evening and to hike with the kids on Monday. Our timing couldn’t have been better: by late Sunday afternoon the storm cleared, yielding spectacular views of white peaks, green valleys and blue skies.

Snow-capped Cascade Mountain rises above Upper Cascade Lake

I had Pitchoff’s Balanced Rocks overlook on my short list of possible hikes. At just over 3 miles round-trip with 900 vertical feet of climbing, it’s well within our kids’ ability range. The Balanced Rocks sit at around 3000’ elevation, high enough that we’d encounter some snow (bonus!) but low enough that it shouldn’t pose much of a problem.

Mountain biking at Spier Falls

I’ve been out on my bike quite a bit since the end of ski season, so it seems like it’s time for a mountain bike trip report. This is from last week, my first-ever time riding the Spier Falls trails at Moreau Lake State Park.

Western Ridge trail

To be honest, I wasn’t quite sure I had the skills for Spier Falls. The reputation is that the riding is great, if you survive. You can read what others have to say about Spier Falls here. In a nutshell, the riding is rocky and technical, comparable to some of the advanced trails at SMBA but with one added twist: a lot more vertical.

Adirondack ski areas by the numbers: 2012-13 season

The National Ski Areas Assocation (NSAA) released preliminary numbers last week indicating that ski areas in the Northeast bounced back with a 20% increase in visitation over the disappointing 2011-12 season. Gore and Whiteface rebounded strongly too, as I reported in this article that appeared in the Adirondack Almanack yesterday.

Jon Lundin, ORDA’s Public Relations Coordinator, summed up the season: “This past skiing and riding season was an outstanding one for ORDA’s ski resorts. The resorts’ crews did an outstanding job with snowmaking and Mother Nature cooperated and provided plenty of snow cover on her own. It was great to see the skiers and riders back on the mountains enjoying the winter fun.”

Here are the numbers: