Moreau Nature Trail and Mud Pond
I've been wanting to give myself a little time in the woods with Quinn and without Sunny so that I can give him my undivided attention. In the Winter, I want to make sure the trails are familiar, accessible, and less challenging. The Moreau Nature Trail and Mud Pond fits the bill perfectly.
The weather has been warm and the trails were a little damp from surface melt, but still quite firm. Quinn enjoys wandering and exploring. Unless there's some kind of dire need to move, I leave him alone and try to be interested in what he's doing. I want these hikes to be fun for him even though I know it can sometimes be a chore. I guess that's true for all of us.
The whole time around the back half of the trail, we were singing one of Quinn's favorite books, "Going on a Bear Hunt". He helped me improvize new verses to reflect the things we came across. The beaver lodge on Mud Pond was looking pretty healthy, so we weren't gonna go over, under, or through it.
One of the good things about hiking Moreau with kids is that the beach and playground make for great rewards at the end of the hike.
Ushers Road State Forest
I wanted to get Sunny out for some exercise since I knew I'd be taking Quinn by himself on my next adventure, so I brought him to a trail that is very local to me. Ushers Road State Forest Trail is one of those hikes that you can hear car traffic most of the time and you can see the adjoining properties for about 25% of the hike. It's about a mile and a half of muddy, flat, upstate NY woods.
The most pleasant part of the trail is the pine stand in the first third of the hike (counter clockwise).
The trail through the pines is flat, clear, and fairly well marked. I believe lots of people use this section of the trail to start an adventure on the Zim Smith trail which is accessible through here.
The rays of sun filtering through the pines is pretty almost any time of day,
Most of the crossings through this section are bridged and well-maintained.
Some, less so. And the entire back half of the trail is very muddy. In the spring, it is very buggy back in these woods, with black flies, mosquitoes, and ticks. I much prefer to visit this trail in the Winter.
There is a little camping area on the North side of the forest with this bench and plaque.
There are a few ruins in these woods, and this is one of them at the end of the loop (counter-clockwise)
Sunny met up with Korra after his hike and they played in the cold and wind until the humans were ready to go.
Wet dog!
Dickinson Hill Fire Tower
Quinn and I joined some friends in Grafton to hike the Dickinson Hill Fire Tower. Throughout this hike, there are a number of well-maintained information stations talking about the history of Fire Towers in New York State in general and Rensselaer in particular.
Quinn wore his wool socks, snow boots, synthetic long johns, synthetic pants, shirt, snowpants, light jacket, puffy jacket, gloves, hat, earmuffs, and some vaseline on his facial extremities. He also carried our snacks.
Quinn hiked the entire way up to the tower himself. He did ask to ride on my shoulders several times, but I rebuffed these requests. The trail is extremely well-maintained and I believe it is used by snowmobiles. The first up is stony, then during the first down, you start coming across ice. The next up is first a spring, then a stream.
Towards the end, as we neared the fire tower, Quinn and I had a discussion about whether he should continue on his own. I held his hand until we reached the tower and he ran for it and started climbing. We made it up past the tree-tops before he was a bit scared of the cutting wind. I carried him the rest of the way.
It was super windy at the top of the fire tower.
The views to the East towards Vermont on the left and Massachusetts to the right were pretty, if distant.
Most of us donned our microspikes for the return trip. I certainly did, mainly because I thought it would be best to acquiesce to Quinn's request to ride on Daddy's neck. He was in good spirits the entire way back. Since we were able to keep up and chat with the other adults, I was, too.
What treat do you ask for after spending 3 hours in 20 degrees Farenheit with wind? An ice cream sandwich, that's what.
Hudred Acre Wood
Malta has a trail system, one section of which is called Hundred Acre Wood. It is a great area for a quick walk in the woods. The trails are all paved with crushed stone dust and well-marked.