In the Home of the Sasquatch

My Hikes, Trail Runs, and Other Such Things

[inthehomeofthesasquatch]

Found them.

Here are the pictures of me running around St. Regis.

In the first I look like a little kid, in the second I look super triumphant. At least, I think I do.

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St. Regis  - Firetower Hike #14, Saranac 6er #1

I completed this hike back in 2016, and then got incredibly lazy and didn’t write about it. So, I probably forgot a lot of things. I gotta stay more on top of this thing, but life gets so busy, and then I forget about it. It’s funny, because I did this hike about a week after Snowy, and the weather was entirely different. Snowy was a frigid, icy fallfest. St. Regis was warm and sunny, and I did a large portion of the hike in a tank top. Many of the other hikers in my group had worn gear preparing for a winter hike, but I hadn’t. (Thankfully.)

St. Regis was a good hike with nice views. At one point I saw a woodpecker, which was pretty exciting for me. I did take a picture of it, but it just looks like trees. It was hard to get a good shot. I won’t bother posting it, because you’ll just keep looking for the woodpecker that is hard to see. It will be frustrating for you, and it will only lead to madness. 

Instead, have some views from the top:

I love the hues, and I’m looking forward to seeing St. Regis from some of the other mountains in the Saranac 6. Unless you can’t see it from there, then oops. 

James got a picture of me up there eating food, which is something I do a lot of, so I’m glad it finally got documented. 

It was a protein cookie, Pumpkin Spice, and it was delicious. I remember that very distinctly. I buy Pumpkin Spice stuff to bring along because Jason hates it, and therefore he won’t mooch off my snacks. #protip

Here is the firetower itself. 

I thought I had saved a bunch of pictures Mike took of me running around the mountaintop, but I guess I didn’t. I did do a lot of that, and I felt incredibly free. 

In 2017 I am hoping to complete the Firetower challenge or the Saranac 6, if I’m lucky, possibly both. Wish me luck! 

[inthehomeofthesasquatch]

Firetower #13 - Snowy

This Firetower hike was completed on 11/12/16.

This was definitely one of the more difficult hikes I have done, second only to Giant/Rocky Peak. This is largely because there were multiple very icy areas, and I didn’t have micro spikes. In fact, when I got home that night, I ordered a pair.  I fell seven times. It may partially be because I am not the most graceful pixie on the planet, but a lot of it was due to the ice. Five of the falls weren’t particularly terrible, and were more of a nuisance than anything else. But, two were not so great.

The first was when we were climbing up one of the icy rock climbs, which made it more like an ice wall with unsafe bumps. I was using trees along the side, holding onto them and pulling myself along more through upper body strength than by using my feet. They were more or less on the safest footing possible just to assist. One of the trees I was hanging onto gave out and uprooted, sending me down part of the slide. I think the tree kind of slowed me down, so all I did was land on my hip hard. Mike pulled the tree off of me, and I kept going. It wasn’t as bad as it looked (probably). I just had a sore hip and a huge adrenaline rush as a result. 

The second was one the way down. It was at the very base of the actual mountain, and we were coming down some basic rock stairs. I have no clue how the heck I fell, but I did. I came down hard on my left knee and bashed my shin, then I somersaulted, and wound up trapped on my back like a turtle kind of. Jason told me it was the most ridiculous fall he had ever seen. I realize that I am very fortunate. I hurt my knee and bruised my shin, but not bad enough to the point where I couldn’t get out of the mountain. It could have been a lot worse. Writing this a day later, both are still sore. So, I am going easy on them. I didn’t get a lot of pictures on the way up, or on the way down either. I was more concerned about footing and less about pictures. 

It’s strange to go from a snowless world up into one in which snow and ice are present. Early on, I got some pictures of the trail.

I think this one is probably closer to the end because of the change in time, but I can’t quite remember taking it. I was pretty tired. 

The view from the top is only reachable from the Firetower or from an outlook point that is about a quarter of a mile from the summit. 

I prefer the view from the Firetower personally. Jason is terrified of Firetowers however, so he preferred the ledge. 

This is the ledge view:

The main difference is the tree cover from the ledge. 

There also isn’t a lot of space beneath the Firetower to get a good shot of it, so this is the best I could do. I also didn’t get many pictures from the top because it was cold and windy. Usually, I like to hang out the lookout cabin and enjoy the views, but it was just so cold. 

I am sure that the hike would have been easier when things weren’t frozen over. I enjoyed the challenge of this though, and I really appreciated what my body was capable of physically. It was a total rush.

[inthehomeofthesasquatch]

Wrapping up 2016

I know I didn’t make a separate November post for trying something new. So I’m just going to include that and December into this post. For November, the new thing was Bushwhacking, which I wound up doing unexpectedly on Snowy. 

For December, I tried Sweat Roulette. Originally I had wanted to try skiing or snowshoeing, which would be waaaaay more interesting. Skiing stuff and snowshoes cost money though, and it was Christmas, so it’s not like I had all this superfluous cash lying about.

Sweat Roulette is a website which gives you a workout to do, and you do as much as you can until it switches to the next activity. It also will give you rests throughout. For some people, I can see how this would be a great thing, because a lot of people are capable of working out in their own homes without being distracted or getting bored. I am not capable of this. I want to do other things when I am at home, and I prefer working out in a gym or going outdoors. There’s an app too, so you could take it with you, but I haven’t tried that yet. 

There’s an image of the app, and it gives you a general outline of what it does. It wasn’t for me, but it might be for someone else. 

Anyway, as for 2016, I did a lot this year physically. Some of them won’t stick around, but others definitely will. I think my favorite thing was hiking. I feel good spending time in nature disconnecting from the technological world, and I like the challenge of the climb and the feeling you get at the top. It’s something I will be doing in 2017 as well. I already joined a hiking/outdoor walking challenge for this year. 

It’s the 365 Mile challenge. You have to walk 365 outdoor miles over the course of the year. More info can be found here: http://365milechallenge.org/

I’m really excited about this, and I’ve already logged 3 miles by walking on nature trails around town and walking the dogs where I volunteer. 

Other things I really enjoyed this year were aerial yoga and paddleboarding, both of which I think I will keep doing this year. Obviously, paddleboarding will happen in the summer. 

My least favorite thing was the one I ended the year on, Sweat Roulette. It just wasn’t for me. Here’s to wrapping up a year of new discoveries, and I’m pretty sure next year will bring many more. 

[inthehomeofthesasquatch]

Saratoga National Park & Sleeping Beauty - The Return

This is another hike I did with my hiking group. We started out with the National Park, and it was the main event we gathered for. Sleeping Beauty was an add on hike, which some of the people who went to the park opted to do after. It was a nice day, a little chilly. So, I got to try out some of my winter gear for cooler weather. Athleta fleece lined leggings are awesome, but I am worried about the wear and tear I am putting them through with hiking. I am not sure if there are fleece lined hiking pants though. Or maybe I should wear leggings under something else. I have no clue. Anyway, enough about pants.

The day was overcast, but enjoyable. I think that the trail would be excellent for trail running, and I plan to do that there in the future. 

I am looking forward to trail running there in the future. After that we chose to do Sleeping Beauty since we felt confident that we could do it before it became dark, and it was close. 

This is the second time I’ve hiked Sleeping Beauty. You can see in a prior post about that hike. This time, it was an easier hike for me, and I didn’t feel as taxed at the top. Colder, definitely. The view was still beautiful.

And I still felt pretty epic. 

(Last photo courtesy of James.)

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Firetower #12 - Hunter Mountain

This was my second firetower hike in the Catskills, completed on 10/9/16. 

I am writing this a bit after the fact - over a month later in fact because my life has been pretty busy. So, my memories of everything are a bit fuzzy. There are multiple trails up Hunter Mountain, but since I was leading a group, I chose the easiest one available. We went on the Spruceton trail, and we had no issues with it. Part of the trail is a simple jeep path, so that was good for some of the newer hikers to the group.

The Catskill firetowers are so impressive. Balsam Lake was well maintained, as was the cabin. Hunter was also well taken care of. In fact, the cabin even had a little fire going, and people were gathered around inside of it. There was one little boy there with cool mittens that had googly eyes on it. He showed me them proudly, so I complimented them and asked him what their names were. He didn’t know. Later, I saw this little guy on the trail, and he waved at me enthusiastically like I was his best friend. I love that sort of thing. Gave me warm fuzzies. 

The view from the firetower was good. It was windy up there, but it wasn’t totally frigid, so I didn’t mind. I guess I’m used to it by now. 

The path was also beautiful. Some peak fall going on here. 

After the initial hike, Aaron suggested we go to Devil’s Falls, which was a short hike nearby. I would strongly recommend it, since the payoff is beautiful. 

You can actually walk around the falls on all the rocks.

 James actually got a picture of a group of us sitting at the top of the falls.

And then I got a picture of him taking pictures of us.

Overall, the hike was gorgeous. It was a beautiful fall day, and it kept me in mind of everything that fall has to offer. 

[inthehomeofthesasquatch]

October - Color Me Rad

For October, I tried a 5k with a twist. I have had minimal experience with 5ks. I did one last year for something I can’t remember. I did it with Ethan, and I remember running around a neighborhood, but I can’t remember if there was anything special about it. In May, I did the Workforce challenge. I was pretty proud of myself because I did the entire thing without having to stop to walk. It was a straight up 5k though, without any frills. 

Someone on my gym team (#teamAnthony) suggested we all run the Color Me Rad together, and I am pretty game for anything. A whole bunch of us went. AND WE ALL WENT AS #TEAMUNICORN.

Here we are, all clean before. 

Then some people bought the color bombs to pelt one another. Anthony got pinked.

Really, can we just take a moment to appreciate the fact that I got him in a unicorn t-shirt? Super proud of this moment. 

As you go through the race, you hit a station where you get hit with each color. Some of the stations had a colored water spray, and combined with the fact that it was drizzling, things got pretty gross. 

Regardless, you gotta work what you’ve got...so...

That’s my friend Row with me.

And this is a selfie taken by Ethan, with his phone all up in my face. It was a crazy fun day. The shower after felt amazing. October crushed. 

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Shelving Rock Falls & Mountain

Shelving Rock Falls was a simple hike with an excellent payoff.  I went with my hiking group, and we selected this so that some of the members of the group who wanted to start hiking had a good first experience. The falls are gorgeous, and the day was perfect. Also, having good company helps. 

The hike was maybe a mile if that, and it was a very minimal incline to the falls. And look at this view:

How gorgeous is that. Some of us wound up going into the rocks to scout around the falls. It was slippery in some areas, so you have to be careful with your footing. 

After the falls, we went to hike the mountain itself. The summit of the mountain doesn’t have a spectacular view. I remember I said, “This is it?” as soon as we got there. But, if you wander a bit down the other side, you’ll get an amazing view. 

Lake George in all of its glory. 

It was a nice payoff for a simple hike. I’d recommend both as a nice day trip in combination. 

[inthehomeofthesasquatch]

September - Bolly X

Don’t worry, I didn’t forget about my goal this year to try something new every month. I am just incredibly behind on all my posts. Working on it though. So, this month I wound up trying another dance class. It felt like a little bit of a cop out to me since I had done dance classes last month, but unfortunately September was a very busy month for me. It’s the start of the new school year, and it’s also an excellent month for hiking.

So, Bolly X was what I did in September. 

Bolly X is a fitness class based on Bollywood dance, popular in India. I looooove Bollywood. I love the music, I love the movies, and I love the dancing. 

All right, there is a video on Facebook of the dance class, but I wasn’t able to download it. So, here’s a link:

https://www.facebook.com/lenny.kravitz.90834/videos/609943232518995/

The class was fun, but I didn’t feel that it was as authentic as I was hoping it would be. At one point there was a Bollywood kind of version of “Party Rock Anthem” that I just wasn’t feeling. Some of the songs were super fun though.

I tried the class with some of my friends who I met through Zumba - Abbi, Liz and Christa. I loved the studio that I went to, but I am not sure that Bolly X was the class for me. 

[inthehomeofthesasquatch]

Balsam Lake - Firetower #11

This was a hike completed with my hiking group. It is legitimately my hiking group now. The original owner has moved across the country, and she has left it in my capable hands. So, now I can take a whole group of people with me on firetower hikes whenever I want. Now, if only I had a home where I could have a dog so I could start bringing a dog with me...

Balsam Lake is the nicest Firetower I have been to, and it’s my first one from the Catskill region. I am writing this post long after the actual hike, so my memory is a bit fuzzy about some of the details. The firetower’s upkeep was taken on by someone who felt passionately that the firetower should be preserved. 

The inside of the firetower is nice, and inside they have charts on the walls to help you identify the other mountains in the area. They also have a circular platform in the center which helps you figure out how far away the other mountains are. 

I haven’t seen anything like this in any of the other firetowers I have visited. Not only was the firetower in excellent shape and well-kept, the cabin was also nice and cozy. It’s also still in use by volunteers who stay there and help with upkeep as well as inform visitors about the firetower. 

Here are some of us in the cabin (James, Greg, Sean, and myself) talking to Kevin. (James is often responsible for many of the awesome pictures that I use. Not this one though. I think one of the Mikes took it.) 

This is Kevin, the volunteer who was there to talk to us that day. He is awesome. (Picture credit: Definitely James.)

It was a cloudy day when we went, so some of the views were a bit limited in the grand scheme of views.

However, the hike was still incredibly satisfying. Visiting a firetower that was taken care of and that was in such great shape was gratifying. Also, meeting the volunteers and seeing all the care that other people took made me happy. I really love the firetowers, and I feel a thrill when I reach the summit of a mountain and see one there. Sitting inside one makes me feel so relaxed, up above the world. It felt good to see that others felt the same. 

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Coon Mountain

I did this hike shortly after Belfry with Ethan and Greg. Belfry, as seen in my last entry, is a relatively short hike with a long travel time, so we wanted to add on another hike to make it worth the distance. 

Coon Mountain is an easier hike with just one area that a beginner may find difficult. The views along the way up are gorgeous. 

I love scenes like this, where something has happened to alter nature so greatly. You don’t know the story behind the tree falling over, but as some point it happened. I think about how powerful the storm was, or the melting snow that eroded the dirt that held the roots in place. 

The trees were so interesting to look at. Usually when you’re hiking, you don’t spend as much time looking all around you, too focused on getting to the top. With Coon, I spent a lot of time looking around me.

That isn’t to knock the view from the top though.

There was a large rock at the top too, where we all sat and talked for a bit, admiring the view. It’s not a bald mountain, but the view is gorgeous. It’s a good hike to combine with Belfry, and both are good for beginners. 

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Belfry - Firetower #10

Belfry is the easiest hike I have ever done, and I’m not really sure you can even call it a hike. It’s less than a half mile walk on a dirt access road. It took me less than 10 minutes to reach the Firetower. For such minimal work, the payoff was really worth it. 

I went on this hike with Ethan and Greg. It was Ethan’s first Firetower, and he said, “Man. I should do more of these Firetowers, these are easy.” Bless his little heart. I kind of feel bad for letting this be his first one because it’s so easy.

Look at how happy Ethan looks. So blissful. So innocent. 

 Greg also took a bunch of pictures of us up there, and he also took a video. It’s a silent film called “Ethan doesn’t change facial expressions.” I can’t get it to load in here, which is fine because you can probably imagine what it looks like. 

Instead, have some choice photos from the massive collection. 

Just photoshop things into the background and have a field day. 

Greg was determined to pee off the Firetower, but I wouldn’t allow him because ...gross. 

1942. Same year as  Blue. Neat. 

On a side note, I just mentioned to Greg that I put his dream of peeing off a Firetower in my blog post, and he sent me a link to “Don’t Dream It, Be It” from RHPS. So, that dream is apparently not going away anytime soon. That and throwing up on a beach in Florida so he can watch his stomach acid melt the sand.  Some of us want to hike all the Firetowers, some of us want to pee off them. 

[inthehomeofthesasquatch]

Blue - Firetower #9

Despite being a longer and more difficult hike, this one felt shorter and easier than Goodnow. I think that’s because Greg and I carried on a discussion for a good part of it. Jason was on a speed mission because he had a party to get to. Not that it mattered how fast he went, because I drove. So, I was his ride home. But you know, whatever Jason, run up that mountain and have a heart attack. (It also gives Greg a reason to say, “There’s no chasin’ the Jason.” a thousand times. Never gets old.) 

I also learned some stuff about rocks. 

These curved lines are chatter marks. They occur when a glacier is moving across a rocky surface but skips a bit. According to resident rock guy, Greg, these are not a common find. He went to college to be a geologist, so he is a legit rock guy.

We also saw a Xenolith.

This is where a  rock from another area winds up in the middle of another rock. Greg kept jamming his foot or a water bottle in the picture for scale, which really made the picture not appealing. But since he insisted, here it it with my hand. For scale. 

On your way up the mountain you get your first worthwhile view. I’d say we were about 3/4 of the way up. Maybe a bit further. 

And here is the view from up top.

This time I remembered to take a picture of the Firetower too. 

Here’s the cabin:

It has a cage in front of the door. So, it’s probably full of zombies. Eventually someone will pry it open and unleash the apocalypse.

I don’t know what the difference between these two are. I tried googling it, but I can’t find an answer. It just brings up info about all the mountains. If anyone does know and wants to help a sister out, I’d super appreciate it.

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Goodnow - Firetower #8

It had been over a month since my last hike, and I hadn’t realized that fact until long after I planned a day in which I would hike two mountains with Firetowers. Whoops. I also had my flu shot the day before, so I was kind of drained on this hike. You live, you learn, right? 

I completed this hike with Greg and Jason, both from my hiking group. I also totally forgot to get a picture of the firetower when I was up there. 

The trail seemed much longer than it actually was. I believe at one point it was set up to be a nature trail with markers along the path, but there weren’t any guides. So, I didn’t really know what was at each marker. 

If you plan to go on this hike there is a split in the path about 3/4 of the way to the summit. You want to go left on the path that passes this dilapidated little house. I don’t know where the other path goes, so it might be a loop. I didn’t see any signs of it looped around at the top however. 

There is the cabin where the person keeping watch for fires would stay. I am not sure if it is still in use. While we Greg and I were in the firetower, Jason went down and peered in the windows. He said there was some really old stuff in there and some really new stuff. 

I love the view from the firetower, and I love the color scheme of the mountains on a sunny day. It’s just a mental escape for me from everything else I have going on while adulting. 

I think it’s also really awesome that you can see the shadows of the clouds on the mountains. 

Also, I like to find these little markers on mountains. We both have something in common. If you mess with us, YOU COULD GO TO PRISON. (or be fined $250 apparently. Two very different extremes.) I have no clue who the heck could dig one of these out of a rock though. Unless Thor comes around with Mjölnir, I think it’s good. 

[inthehomeofthesasquatch]

August

This month, I went to a whole different gym. There was a groupon for the Y, and I figure why not? At this gym, I tried two different dancing classes - Piloxing and Bokwa. 

Piloxing is a mix of pilates, boxing, and dance. I felt like I was taking Body Combat, pilates, and zumba all at the same time. If you wanted, you could buy Piloxing socks and gloves. 

The gloves are weighted and $25.

And those are the socks. I think they have grippies underneath. These are $15. Some of the people had both for the class, but you didn’t need them. 

Anyway, there was a whole piloxing soundtrack, and the instructor was in all her Piloxing gear. The workout itself was good, and I enjoyed it. It felt kind of gimmicky to me though. I take Zumba classes too, and sure, that has all the swag and everything, so there is a gimmick there too. But, Zumba is more chill than Piloxing, because Piloxing has a motto. And this motto has moves that go with it. 

I kid you not, you have to do this at the end of class. The instructor told us that if she didn’t, she got in trouble with the Piloxing Police. I don’t know how real these Piloxing Police are, but they are probably sleek, sexy, and powerful. Don’t want to meet those guys in the dance studio. Also, I’m not in the above video. If a video existed of me doing this, I am not sure I would want anyone else to know.

Anyway, on to Bokwa. Bokwa is way more chill. It’s dancing based on the shapes of numbers and letters. So your moves reflect the shapes of letters. You learn these moves, and the instructor creates dance patterns based on these moves. All s/he has to do is yell out a letter, and you can do it. I liked that a lot about Bokwa. I found it really easy to pick up, and I had a lot of fun with it. 

I don’t have any pictures of me taking these classes or doing anything with them because I was the only person there. I also didn’t want to be like, “Hey, can you take a pic of me being sleek, sexy, and powerful?” 

August was really dance themed for me, because I also started taking a hip hop class with my friend Abbi. She’s been going for a while to Movefitness with Lenny, and there was a groupon for his dance classes. I have wanted to try hip hop for a while, and so I threw my money at groupon and went. 

Here we are, at his studio. The floors in his studio are fantastic. Also, I like the bright colors and the lights. Stuff like that makes me happy. 

By the end of the month, I was able to move kind of ok. You know, somewhere in between Beyonce and a mom chaperoning a school dance. Not flawless, but not totally embarrassing. I think I can live with that. 

[inthehomeofthesasquatch]

Firetower #7 - Vanderwhacker

I did this hike with my usual hiking group. I wasn’t feeling 100% that day since I had recently started using an antibiotic for a bug bite that had looked suspicious. (Nothing to worry about fortunately. It all turned out okay.) I felt kind of worn out, so this hike was more difficult for me than I had expected it to be, and it felt incredibly long. I was not the only one in my group who felt this way. In fact, I think we all did. However, we survived. 

The path was relatively level for quite a distance. It didn’t start to go up until we reached the shack, which was probably in use back when the Firetower served as a Firetower. 

I don’t think anyone actually uses this, so I was surprised to see how much stuff was still in there. The porch was really falling apart, and it was filled with cobwebs. Also, the fridge was locked, which isn’t suspicious at all. 

From this point, things began to get steeper, and I found myself pausing more frequently than normal. It was a well-shaded path, which was pleasant. As we approached the top, I recall there being patches where the ground remained level for enough distance to kind of reset and prepare for the next ascent. 

The guidebook I use promised a solid view, even from the base of the Firetower, but that book was written about fifteen years ago, which is enough time for trees to grow in and partially block that view. 

This is the view from up in the Firetower. I love being up in a Firetower. You feel so incredibly high up, with everything laid out before you. 

It’s just so impressive and gorgeous. Those colors are unfiltered, and they’re just so stunning. 

This is the view looking down. I can’t quite tell who is down there, but we were held hostage up in the tower for a bit because Jason had to change his clothes, and he was down below. Jason is a mountain diva. 

This is the view from down below:

It was hard to get an image of the tower because you can only stand really close to it to see it, otherwise it’s mostly hidden by the tree line. 

But there it is. It wasn’t even one of the tall Firetowers, but it still gave us a wonderful view. 

[inthehomeofthesasquatch]

Firetower #6 - Kane

This was a very quick hike. It’s located by Caroga Lake, which was beautiful. I had a hard time finding it at first because my GPS took me someplace where the trailhead wasn’t. So, I would up driving around until I came across it on my own. 

It was fairly muddy in one spot on the trail, but overall not too bad. The hike is a 2 out of 5 according to my guidebook, and I thought it was easy peasy. 

I really like it when you have to go under or over fallen trees. It makes me feel like an explorer. Or like some woods fairy person. 

I also like seeing gianormous rocks, because it reminds me how small I am in the world, and how many big things are out there for me to see. 

I suppose I should mention that this was my second solo hike. 

I didn’t get a picture of the actual firetower, but I got one  of its shadow from  the firetower, looking down. 

The only real views from this firetower come from inside of it.

Inside the firetower people have painted murals that are actually kind of pretty. Unfortunately, other people have grafitti’d right over it. 

Kind of unfortunate. There were a couple others, but they might have some crude language on them, so...ya know. Gotta keep this clean.

When I hike, I also like to look up sometimes. You spend a lot of time looking at where you’re going to make sure that you don’t twist and ankle or run into something, and you don’t look up at the canopies or how the sun filters through the leaves. It’s gorgeous. Looking up at all the leaves calms me sometimes.

Kane would be a good beginner hike, and it’s well worth the little time it takes to do. There’s also another trail nearby that takes you around a couple of lakes, but I didn’t have time for that since I was going to the ballet that evening with my friend Sarah. If you have the time, it might be neat to do those too. In fact, I’d like to go back and hike them if I can find the time. Maybe bring some friends, make a day of it. So much to do, such little time.