Winter Camping

  If it's March, it's time to camp in the Adirondacks, at least it has been for me for the last 20 years.  This being a COVID year, it was for Gail too.  She tested out her sleeping bags on our back porch and was satisfied she wouldn't freeze, then she got busy packing and unpacking several times, a ritual I take part in almost every year as the forecast changes in the last day or two.
 

  It poured during 210 miles of the 230-mile trip.  I silently contemplated spending Thursday night at Glenn's on Lake George with him and Roy to avoid getting soaked during the hike in, but it let up as we neared the exit for his house and/or Pharaoh Lake.  Gail couldn't mask her enthusiasm about joining us

  I tried the old trick of hooking my sled to Gail's as we set out on the four-mile-hike in, but she caught on right away and I had to pull it myself.  Conditions were good, a little soft from the rain and warm temps, but our spikes dug in enough to keep us moving along at a good pace.

  The ice was smooth and solid when we got to the lake.  We didn't let a few inches of standing water bother us since we'd packed expecting to face some rain and all our stuff stayed dry.

   The temps plummeted overnight, with wind gusts of 30 mph at regional airports.  We were in a sheltered lean-to and felt no discomfort.  The boys would later thank us for choosing the one we did.  Since we had our heads down and didn't admire the sights on the way in, we headed back towards the parking lot to meet the boys coming in.  

  Does this look more like a coffin, or an angel with wings?  It's obvious to me.

  Gail with her first good look at Pharaoh Mountain from the beaver pond.

Winter Camping

   Just as in 2019, I got a perfect day to climb Pharaoh Mountain.  When I compare the pictures of the Green Mountains from the two days, I see this year was actually clearer.  The perspective was also different this year due to the wind direction, I don't think I spent any time at this clearing last time, instead taking in the western view and a less direct perspective of the High Peaks.

 

  Gail decided not to put her healing elbow to the test of coming down some of the scrambles on this route so turned back near the top.  I got a pleasant surprise when Glenn decided to go all the way up instead of turning back when he got cell reception part way.  

   

Yes, I'm taking this opportunity to brag a bit as I reflect on my hike from last summer.  I went much of the way to Marcy, near treeline on the other side, then turned to go up and over Haystack on the right, down below Marcy on this side and up Skylight on the left.  The last summit of that day was Gray, between Skylight and Marcy.  Had I added Colden, the snowy peak partially hidden on the far left, it would have been over a 20-mile day, or just too much to look back upon fondly.

Winter Camping

  A new diversion this year was hitting golf balls on the lake, a brilliant idea by Roy.  He brought a seven-iron and a club similar to a driver from back in the day when each of us played regularly, and we picked out a bush on the other edge of the lake 135 yards away.  Over the course of three days Roy and I both had shots within a yard of the target, but Glenn thought I made a better target and hit one within a few inches of me on his first swing in 20 years.  I hit a few down the lake with the driver and way overestimated how far they went.  It was only 600' not the 1000' I thought.  No balls were lost.

   Gail sat in the sun and read, until the shade ruined that.

  The skating was quite good, some cracks and a few areas of punky ice that my skates sunk into.  I had several excursions to the far end of the lake and back.  And Gail took a spin in the sled while I towed her.

 

  I tried to take advantage of some strong winds and make a sail, but I didn't go as fast in the sled or on skates as I expected.

Winter Camping

  All packed up, we sat for the group photo and headed out just after the sun came over the hilltop across the lake.
 

  On a whim, Gail and I decided to stop to visit Chips and Ann in Piseco.  Luckily, they were there and have both been vaccinated so we actually ate lunch inside a house other than ours, a first since last March.  We stopped to see them in August on our way to Lake Placid and ate outside on the porch.  Even though the weather was pleasant enough on this March day, the porch really took a hit from all the snow they got this winter, and the snow was still taking up a bit of space. 

My Green Soapbox

   Here's a city street that I've asked traffic engineers and elected officials to consider adding bike lanes to, as I'm sure many others have.  It is a major north/south corridor and a couple hills and sharp turns necessitate measures to make it safer for the many bicyclists who use it.  I've been told it's a priority, but the city has failed to secure federal grants to rebuild it thus far.  

  This winter it was made considerably narrower by ice/snow for almost three months, yet traffic didn't come to a standstill or result in dozens of collisions.  Seems to me that space could be used as bike lanes for nine months of the year, and drivers would survive if they went 20 mph for 12 months.  Driving time would change about a minute for over a mile, probably less since only a few drivers actually go 30 mph for the entire stretch.  Now that we have a Green New Deal Tsar, I think I've got someone who might get it done.

  Maybe this stop sign will even get moved so drivers don't pull up to it while pedestrians are in the crosswalk.  Considering it's between two schools, I think that's reasonable.

    Reasonable to not plow snow into crosswalks and curb cuts?  I ask for a lot.

Biker

 

  A student wasn't using her bike anymore so I repurposed it by getting it to Salome`.  Now she's got a bike and a banjo, what an American experience she's getting. 

Ay Caramba

   I'm still going in to work at the high school.  We've done quite well keeping the COVID infections at bay.  As the number of students in person increases, I keep getting displaced from rooms I've been using.  No respect.  The current room is normally used by a Spanish teacher and one morning I found a couple sombreros in a closet: perfect attire for Maria, who is with us from Guadalajara, Mexico.

  Ole`.

Escaping Town

   We were fortunate to spend a night at Connie and Andy's house when they went to Florida for a few days.  It's always a pleasure to visit them, and their house is one of the finest.  We're looking forward to going when they are there after all of us have been vaccinated, but just being in a different space for roughly 24 hours was wonderful.  

  The sunrise was worth getting out to see.  It was quite cold and we just walked on top of the snow without sinking in.

  Nina wondered what the elevated tracks in the snow were all about.

  It was a great day for watching geese and swans migrate.  Along with thousands of Canada Geese, there were hundreds of Snow Geese.  I was able to pick out some swans, but I couldn't tell if they were Tundra or Trumpets.

   I got to ski both after dinner and twice in the morning before it warmed up into the 40's and we put on snowshoes to visit the neighbors.  Even though it got warm and the sap was running, nobody was boiling yet so we missed out on a trip to the sugar shack.  

  Nice to ski though, especially on the down hills.

Winter's End

As the snow melted, activity everywhere increased.  The Town of Ithaca got to their project of adding and additional water line passing underneath Six Mile Creek.  They brought in some big equipment to drill a hole under the creek.

Feeder streams increased in volume for some lovely scenery, and Six Mile Creek really got flowing, but the melt-off was gradual enough that flooding was never a concern despite how much snow and ice there was.  We were fortunate to not get much rain, just warm, sunny days over the course of a couple weeks.

 Gail finished her activity of walking every block of every street in the city and is now trying to get to all the public murals around the city.  This is quite daunting considering there are several dozen painted electrical boxes in addition to some large-scale wall murals.