Beginning A Hike On The Taconic Crest Trail

I'd attempted to hike the Taconic Crest Trail (AKA the Snow Hole Trail) on Christmas day but arrived at the parking area only to discover that I'd dressed quite imprudently for the high altitude weather and had forgotten my camera. So I returned the very next day, better prepared, and happily discovered a warmer day. I drove east on Route 2 through Rensselaer County until I passed through the tiny town of Petersburgh, New York. I could see the Taconic Crest straight ahead of me. That's where I'd be hiking, from right to left as it shows in this photo. You can see Route 2 winding its way up and over the mountains on the right hand side just below some telephone wires:

I parked in the parking lot at Petersburgh Pass, the highest point on Route 2, just a stone's throw from the Massachusetts border and pretty close to Vermont also. There once was a ski resort here, but now it's just a parking lot for hikers and outdoor enthusiasts. There were many people using the old ski slopes for sledding on that day. They sure were having fun:

From where I parked I could see Mount Greylock, the highest mountain in Massachusetts. You can see the War Memorial Tower at its peak if you click the photo to enlarge:

The dogs and I crossed the highway (there's very little traffic) and climbed up that steep slope to begin our hike:

The first several hundred feet are rather steep, but it's actually a rather easy hike after that. The dogs were all excited and running in circles:

When we reached the top I looked back at the people sledding on the other side. I could hear the children's laughter clear across the valley:

I signed the trail register and began the hike. All the sounds became muffled and a sense of serenity and peace  enveloped us as we entered the forest. Even the dogs seemed to sense it:

With all the leaves off the trees I could see mountains in every direction. Notice Fergus' ears flopping as he joyously romps along the trail:

Everything was snow covered but neither slippery nor deep. It was just right - except, that is, for the howling winds:

On and on we hiked through Hopkins Memorial Forest, now owned by Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts:

The trees are never very tall or old looking and I suspect that is a result of their rugged, mountaintop environment. But the forest is stunning nonetheless:

There were so many trail markers as to be almost silly. At times they seemed almost to be defacing the forest because there were so many of them. But I figured that too many was better than too few, especially for wintertime hikers. But we were just getting started. I'll post more tomorrow:

The Taconic Crest Trail - Part 4

This is the final post of my Taconic Crest Hike to the Snow Hole. I'd hiked up there with Fergus, Seamus and Daphne. We'd arrived at the Snow Hole and I descended down into it with Fergus and Seamus. Daphne was too busy flirting with some students from Williams College to go with us. My foot at one point broke through the crust and plunged down several feet into the snow. The same thing happened to Seamus. I guess that's because we're both a bit portly:

We emerged from the Snow Hole and allowed another couple down into it with their Miniature Poodle. I unglued Daphne from her new friends from Williams College and we began our return hike to where we'd parked the car several miles across the mountains. This is a good view of the Snow Hole, showing what one sees walking through the woodlands. I suppose many people wouldn't even notice if it wasn't so well known for holding snow into the warm weather:

We began hiking back toward the car parked at the trail head. I stopped for a photo along the way. That green carpet on the forest floor was Trout Lilies in full bloom:

And of course we stopped at every scenic overlook. Seamus was by this time panting desperately and attempting to curl up pitifully beneath shady trees. I began to fear he might be near heat stroke and allowed him many rests. Seamus weighed in at 119 pounds at his last visit to the vet who also suggested it was time I cut back on his food a bit. That's hard to do with 6 dogs in the house, but I'm now working on it:

Seamus is only 2 and a half years old and, I thought, getting lots of exercise. But he began suffering on that hot day and I could never have carried him out. So I let him take numerous rests. Once we were back in the shady forest and had found a muddy place for him to get a drink, the crisis was eased:

We passed a family traveling towards the snow hole and they took our picture with the Taconic Mountains spread out behind us. I took a family photo for them:

Daphne hopped up on a fallen tree and gave me her "wolf pose:"

And I posed with the dogs beneath the blooming Shadblow trees:

We made our way back down the mountainside with breathtaking scenery in every direction:

And almost to the trail head, we met a young couple with whom we exchanged photo shoots. Notice the muddy feet on Fergus:

We finally arrived at the trail head. A group of Harley riders was resting there and they got all gooey eyed over the dogs. I'm always amazed how big, tough looking men often get weak in the knees over dogs. Well, I shouldn't be so amazed. A good dog affects me that way also.

Anyway, we got back into the car and began to drive home. We were all hot and dirty and I was still concerned about Seamus and his heavy panting. So as soon as I got to the Little Hoosic River, I stopped to let the dogs swim, drink and cool off. Daphne, of course, immediately slipped and fell in:

Seamus didn't need to slip. He plunged right in for a much needed cool down:

Fergus needed a bit of encouragement, but he went in also:

And alongside the Little Hoosic River we passed these small blue flowers which I have been unable to identify. I believe they are not Bluets because they have 5 petals instead of 4. I think they are Forget-Me-Nots, but which species I cannot say:

After a stop to cool off the dogs, I stopped for a couple of Diet Cokes to cool myself off and we were on our way home. But before I end this post, I have one more brief video clip. It was taken at a scenic overlook on the return part of our hike. I made two errors in my narration, however. Massachusetts and Mt. Greylock are, of course, to the east instead of the west. And the highway seen crossing that mountain pass is Route 2, not Route 22 (though both highways were visible from up there),

The Taconic Crest Trail - Part 3

We were well on our way along the Taconic Crest Trail on the border of New York and Massachusetts as I hiked with Fergus, Seamus and Daphne. We'd done a lot of deep woods hiking and seen plenty of spring flowers on the forest floor, but now we'd emerged into a high clearing where spectacular views of the valley below were spread out before us. This view is looking southeast and that curving road you see on the left is New York Route 2, the road on which we arrived. The parking area is just about where it curves around that mountain hump. That's American Shad, or Shadblow, blooming on the mountainside:

Little Daphne, with her muddy legs, was having a grand time and all excited. But she agreed to hold still for just a moment so that I could photograph her sitting beside some blooming lowbush blueberries:

The air was still and quiet, with not even the usual high peaks winds rushing by. Vultures soared soundlessly in the high spaces between mountains:

More Shadblow blooming on the hillside as I viewed the Taconic Mountains towards the southwest:

This has become one of my favorite photos as it shows all three dogs climbing the mountain up into the sky:

More scenic views, more blooming Shadblow, more Taconic Mountains, more peace and quiet:

The valley below is where I used to live and where New York Route 22 traverses in its long span from north to south. Standing up here all alone with my happy dogs with no other people anywhere was a bit like soaring:

Directly below our mountain where New York Route 2 runs east and west between Massachusetts and New York:

Fergus, Daphne and Seamus took a rest with the high altitude miniaturized trees behind them:

And I discovered some Red Trillium plants in bloom:

When we arrived at the Snow Hole, our destination, I was shocked to see a large group of hikers from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. We'd been totally alone on our mountain trek until then. They were resting and cooking lunch. You may notice Daphne getting chummy with the woman in the white tank top. But her main love affair was the man in black to the left. She was all over him like white on rice:

That's the snow hole on the right and the woman with the black tank top was cooking right on its edge. I warned her to watch carefully lest my goofy dogs topple the propane cookers down into the grotto. Then another couple arrived with a Miniature Poodle who looked much like Fergus. My two Poodles went bananas with excitement and ran over to see her but her owners picked her up quickly, not sure if they were friendly or not. It was just a matter of moments before all the dogs were playing together happily (the Williams College students had a dog also):

You may be wondering what happened to little Daphne in this photo taken down inside the Snow Hole. Well, she glommed onto that young guy resting near the entrance to the Snow Hole and was licking his face like shameless hussy. So I left her to her infatuation and descended down into the grotto with Fergus and Seamus:

There was indeed snow down inside, though less than I'd expected for early May. On the other hand, I suddenly broke through the crust and one leg dropped down several feet through the snow, so it was deeper than it at first appeared. Also, the temperatures above the Snow Hole were in the mid 80s, so the contrast was striking:

And I'll end with a short video clip taken at a scenic overlook just before we reached the Snow Hole: