Training Log Archive: Fanatic

Parked at the top of Reservoir Road and decided to try hiking at least some distance along The Finger trail. That's hard enough to find and stay on even when there's no snow, so I was expecting some difficulty. Surprisingly, I only stepped off trail a couple of times and quickly stopped and back-tracked to find the right way each time.

After that I headed south and up the bike trails to Yokun Ridge and then back to my car.

http://www.movescount.com/moves/move326764689

Winter tracking session at Benedict Pond in Beartown State Forest, organized by Massachusetts Appalachian Trail Management Committee, Berkshires Natural Resources Council, DCR State Parks, and Great Barrington Land Conservancy. There were about 18 participants.

Unfortunately, the snow only arrived last night, so there weren't a lot of tracks to find; that will be much easier tomorrow.

We started off spotting a lot of mouse tracks, then a nice find of a track by a mink. Later we'd observe racoon, porcupine, and grey squirrel tracks as well.

I'm always amazed at the knowledge that these guides possess, especialy since it is so diverse and includes the flora and the fauna. As one example: if you find a lot of wood chips at the base of a tree, courtesy of a Pilieated Woodpecker, it behooves you to search through those chips to see if you can find some scat from that bird. If you do, it would be about an inch to 1.5" long and about a quarter inch in diameter. Open it up and you will find the exoskeletons of carpenter ants, neatly arranged in the order that they were eaten. Cool, no?

Day off. Not sleeping well, so perhaps time for a little break.

Short walk on the condo grounds, just to get out of the house.

Walk out past the black cows a bit, then turned around and did an out-and-back on Willow Street before heading home. Rain just starting as I finished.

http://www.movescount.com/moves/move326383717

Some variation of my normal counter-clockwise loop. Out to Woods Pond and past Lenox WTF, but then I turned south along the powerline and through a field to the cemetery. Up Delafield and south on East Street where I crossed the road and got on the Cranwell Golf course for a couple of holes. Took a shortcut to Golden Hill Road and then back to the condo.

http://www.movescount.com/moves/move326265171

Walk along Reservoir Road, an out-and-back. Very pleasant 45°F when I started, but it cooled down quickly as the sun dipped behind the clouds.

Walk with Colette out past the black cows and back. It's so nice to have clear roads in the middle of winter.

Walk out to the black cows, then west on Willow Hill Road and into Lenox Dale. Then over to Golden Hill and back to the condo.

http://www.movescount.com/moves/move326065990