March Snowshoeing

This winter, March is going to go down as the best snowshoeing month of all. The three feet of snow that fell on Valentine's Day has settled and has been packed down by hardy Adirondack snowshoers. If you're into snowshoeing, March is the time to do it! This snow will be here all month. Call 518-251-3006 to reserve your own snowshoe safari.

First Time Snowshoeing? No Problem!

Gosh, Saturday was a gorgeous day! Not a cloud in the deepest of blue skies. Even on a cold day as Saturday was, the sun was warming and all the active snowshoers stayed toasty warm.

Saturday's safari was on the shores of a beautiful lake in the northern realm of the Siamese Ponds Wilderness. I had the pleasure of guiding a couple who had never snowshoed before and were eager to try it. They were amazed to see how easy snowshoeing is, and what a great workout it is for both the upper and lower body. They were fascinated by Adirondack animals, and between all the animal tracks and the beaver lodge, there was alot to talk about. It was a peak experience kind of day, when the weather showed off the wilderness for the beauty it is, and everything we did was fun.

Sunday I guided a snowshoe-experienced, adventurous woman deeper into the wilderness, and I mean deep, in every sense of the word. We reached a point where no one has trekked since the Valentine's Day blizzard, and that meant breaking trail. It was fun, and I was delighted to discover that unlike the day after the storm, I was no longer sinking down three feet with every step. More like two feet, and that's a big improvement. And did we see tracks! Otter, mink, and probably pine marten near Peaked Mountain Brook and near the beaver meadows. We were awed by the beauty, and it was rewarding to share the majesty with a kindred soul.

Animal Tracking Workshop--Otter Tracks!

Red Squirrel Tracks
Evelyn Greene, Adirondack naturalist par excellence, gathered a group of tracking fanatics for a workshop with Ellen Rathbone, an animal tracking expert, at the Newcomb VIC Center yesterday afternoon. We had an hour of instruction indoors followed by a two-hour snowshoeing tracking expedition on the VIC trails. Lots of fun people all sharing the same interests made for an exciting day. We're investigating red squirrel tracks in the photo above.

We saw oodles of mink tracks, and a few pine marten tracks, but I was most excited by the otter slide tracks we saw. Otters love sliding down slopes and banks into icy water. It's their favorite winter sport. We didn't see any otters--I'm still waiting for that big moment--but the slide marks were remarkable, as you can see from the photo below. Well, they're remarkable if you're into otters, that is!

Easy Mountain Snowshoeing--Sun. Feb. 25

People are already signing up for next Sunday's "Easy Mountain Snowshoeing" event. With slightly warming temperatures by mid-week and plenty of snow, the conditions should be perfect for the hike. If we could just order a cloudless day, everything would be perfect!

Easy Mountain Snowshoeing sounds like an oxymoron, and, in a way, it is. Hiking up any mountain, whether one's in snowshoes or not, has a measure of difficulty. But the "Easy" in the title refers to the fact that the trail up this beautiful southern Adirondack mountain is not steep and is never narrow. It's considered by many snowshoers to be the easiest mountain climb around, and people do not need advanced skills to manage it. If you've always wanted to tackle a mountain on snowshoes, this is the safari for you.

That said, the hike is physically demanding and requires that a person be in good physical shape, i.e. exercising aerobically on a regular basis, at least 3 times a week.

What happens if the mountain trail has not been blazed by other snowshoers? Rest assured, we will not be climbing any mountain where our snowshoes are doomed to sink with each step in 2-3 feet of snow! I'll be inspecting the trail two days before the trip. If the trail is not seasoned by Friday Feb. 23, an alternate adventure will be scheduled. For more information, follow the link to my website, or contact me. (Contact information provided on the Adirondack Safaris website.)

Three Feet of Snow!

If I ever finish shoveling out our doorways and exits covered by 9-foot drifts, I'll be out snowshoeing and skiing. In these parts, people are hard pressed to name the last time a storm of this magnitude dumped a similar depth of snow. Three feet in 24 hours, whew!

Getting High on the Scent of Balsam Fir--Yoga & Snowshoe EscapeYesterday I put on my snowshoes and started to blaze a trail in the afternoon. It was incredibly difficult because with each step my foot went down so deep that I was covered with snow up to my mid-thigh. Usually I'm less than pleased when a snowmobile whizzes past me, but right now, some packed snow will sure come in handy. With the February vacation around the corner, the snowmobiles will be out in full force.

Yoga and Snowshoe Escape!

Next Snowshoe & Yoga Escape: Sat. March 10

Susanne Murtha, owner of Yoga in the Adirondacks, and I had a fantastic time on Saturday with our Yoga and Snowshoe Escape. We had eight people--both men and women--participating. Everyone arrived a little before 10 am and warmed up with some hot herbal tea before the yoga practice.

Susanne's yoga studio is a dream. Huge picture windows look out on the majesty of Eleventh Mountain, and students face the incredible view as they exercise. My toes get all excited about the toasty warm, heated wood flooring. So welcome on a cold February morning!

While everyone stretched, I drove to North Creek to pick up the catered lunch prepared at Cafe Sarah's. At twelve, we talked and ate, and then I outlined the hike into the Siamese Ponds Wilderness we were all about to take. No one needed snowshoes, so we all used Yaktrax Pros or crampons as well as trekking poles.
It was a beautiful afternoon. The mountain views were clearly visible. We hiked all the way to my favorite spot on the trail, down bordering the Sacandaga River. (See photo.) I was glad the golden-crowned kinglets decided to tseet-tseet for everyone.

On the hike the group carried on several conversations. Susanne talked in greater detail about some health and wellness topics relating to the morning's yoga session. I chatted with folks about chickadee language, which I've been studying lately.

We studied trees, including beech trees afflicted with Beech-Bark Disease, a scourge that will one day wipe out the beeches.

After the hike, everyone was tired, but in good spirits. Back in Susanne's studio, as I warmed the milk for our hot chocolate and cookies, I asked people to choose a word to describe what they were feeling. "Exhilirated," "Content," "Energized," "Happy," and "At Peace," were a few of the responses. And for me? I felt "Ecstatic" because we had a great day and everything went without a hitch!

The Blue Jay, on the Decline, Gets a Bad Rap

Upcoming Safaris:
Easy Mountain Snowshoeing Sun. Feb. 18

February Vacation Week: Family Nature Hikes
"How do Adirondack Animals Survive the Winter"?
Offered on 3 separate days:
Wed. Feb 21, Fri. Feb. 23, Sat. Feb. 24

The much-maligned blue jay is on my mind today. Lots of people rag on blue jays because they tend to take over feeding stations at times and make it difficult for smaller birds to get seed. It's true; like any large bird or animal, they have first dibs on whatever food is available.

Yet blue jays urgently need wintertime feeding as much as the smaller birds. The number of jays have been declining in recent years, particularly in the East, though ornithologists are not sure exactly why.

The other largely unfounded accusation hurled at blue jays is that they steal eggs and newborn birds from the nests of other birds. Fact: A comprehensive study of blue jays discovered that only one percent of blue jays had either egg or nestling remains in their stomachs. Blue jays predominantly dine on insects and nuts.

As far as managing the gluttonous appetites of these handsome birds, why not try broadcasting seed on the ground over a large area, or hang feeders specifically for smaller birds.

I love having my eight bluejays in the yard and hope when spring and summer comes they turn their gluttony on the mosquitoes!

Searching for Otters

Upcoming Safaris:
Easy Mountain Snowshoeing Sun. Feb. 18

February Vacation Week: Family Nature Hikes
"How do Adirondack Animals Survive the Winter?"
Offered on 3 separate days:
Wed. Feb 21, Fri. Feb. 23, Sat. Feb. 24


The day that Sophie and I skiied on Cod Pond (Well, I skied and Sophie ran), we searched for otter tracks. Last summer while paddling all over the pond I observed otter scat on some of the largest boulders dotting the shoreline. Try as we might, though, we didn't see any tracks or other evidence of otters. Although there is open water nearby, they may have moved to another body of water for the winter.

The Snowshoe & Yoga Escape is this Saturday, February 10. Susanne Murtha (owner of Yoga in the Adirondacks) and I have at least eight people signed up with room for a few more. After a morning of yoga and a catered lunch, we'll snowshoe along the East Branch of the Sacandaga River, which is a perfect winter habitat for river otters. I'll keep my eyes out for tracks.

Winter Wilderness Birding with the Naturalist
Sun. Feb. 4 and Wed. Feb. 7

What's Happened to the Evening Grosbeaks?

Last week when I was out birding in the Siamese Ponds Wilderness, a number of people mentioned that they don't see evening grosbeaks at their feeders anymore. Years ago, evidently, they were plentiful, and now it's rare to see them.

Ornithologists are quite concerned about this, too, and are studying the question. Some scientists believe that when the spruce budworm population declines in an area, the evening grosbeaks move on. I'm going to have to research this further, but I thought that the spruce budworm is doing very well here, which is unfortunate for the spruce forests.

I have only seen a few during the past year, but I wonder if there may be more contributing factors at work than budworms.

Did you know that there's a way that you can help scientists with these issues? Participate in The Great Backyard Bird Count on Feb. 16-19. If you don't have a feeder, you may want to purchase or make one so your family can participate. Kids love this project!