The Corning Preserve Trail, Part 2

I was hiking on the Corning Preserve Trail which traverses north and south between the western shore of the Hudson River and downtown Albany. I had my four youngest dogs with me and clearly they were having a wonderful time:

The trail was difficult to walk, pock-marked with foot prints which had softened in the sun and then re-frozen. Beneath it all was water which soaked quickly through the shoes I thought were waterproof. So we didn't go far and soon turned back toward the car. But when I saw footprints heading from the trail down through the snow towards the riverbank, I just had to explore. It led us down along a little feeder stream where we could see the downtown railroad bridge in the distance:

The two Papillon puppies, Clover and Daphne, were having a grand time and were light enough to float right over the crusted snow:

For Seamus it was more difficult. He, like me, kept sinking in the snow:

Fergus is perfectly designed as a snow dog. He has a thick, waterproof woolly coat and lots of energy. He and Daphne were great playmates:

Clover insisted on stopping to watch the Mallards. Seamus didn't much care, but I think that Clover would have trekked down there to see them if I'd have let her:

As we got near the parking area, the two pups ran ahead:

The parking area is beneath this elevated highway (Rt 787) and protected from the rain and snow:

The railroad bridge appears to be very old and spans the river between Rensselaer and Albany. Instead of one section raising when a tall ship passes, it pivots and turns sideways. It's quite a sight to see. I walked across this bridge once and found it a bit intimidating with big spaces between the timbers and a much bigger distance down to the water below than you would think looking at this photo:

I put the dogs back in the car and snapped this final photo of some of Albany's buildings nearby. It had been a brief excursion but much needed. I can hardly wait for the snow to melt so that we can get back out into the forests and mountains:

The Corning Preserve Trail, Part 1

Our temperatures had reached a relatively balmy 30 degrees and I was getting cabin fever. I knew the hiking trails had several feet of snow on them, but perhaps the paved city trail along the river would be plowed. So I loaded the four younger dogs into the car and headed across the river. I found the trail unplowed, but passable. So we set off on a snowy adventure along the Hudson River on The Corning Preserve Trail:

Having been photographing Albany from the eastern side of the river just that same morning, it seemed odd to be doing the reverse. But this is the city of Rensselaer (in Rensselaer County) on the eastern shore of the Hudson River as seen from the city of Albany on the western shore. You may notice that road climbing steeply up the hill out of the river valley. I travel that road to and from work every day and it's quite hazardous after a snowfall:

The Corning Preserve Trail is quite narrow at the beginning, squeezed between a multi-lane highway and the Hudson River. It soon widens into a park, but we had some awkward walking through crusty slush before we got that far:

That green square is the top of a sort of lighthouse/warning buoy alerting ships to a rocky peninsula:

Once we left the parking lot, I let the dogs off of their leashes. This made them very happy:

We passed a quiet, unfrozen inlet filled with Mallards:

And a closer view of the ducks. I think there were other species also, but I couldn't see them very well and my identification skills are rusty anyway. But most of them were Mallards:

The quiet inlet seemed to be a continuation of another stream feeding the Hudson River and it curled to the right and around a rocky peninsula before it joined the bigger river:

But the dogs saw none of this. For them it was play time. Even Seamus roused himself into a frolicking mood:

When we arrived at the spot where the park widens out, we all stopped for a look around. That's the I-90 bridge off in the distance on the right. It's just about one mile north of my house and of where we were on the trail. I'll post more tomorrow: