Tax weekend

I am not crazy enough to go out with negative temperature even if it is sunny and clear outside. That's why I am stuck at home doing taxes.
The sun is a lie. It doesn't help that next week is going to rain! Winter, you really failed this time. Freezing sunny days and rain? I need natural snow to snowshoe because none of the places around here make snow for snowshoe. This picture is from this time last year. I miss last year.

Beartown State Park

A local camping spot that is open all year around. This place has a nice pond with some off roading trails (not really, just gravel roads that is for snowmobile if we ever get enough snow this winter).

Snow covered pond. Not open for ice fishing because the ice is unstable.










Climbed the Appalachian trail up to a vista. Appalachian white trail blazing really sucks in winter time because it blends into the snowy surrounding. A surprising pond at the top.













Nice view at the top but going back down is hazardous because of how steep the trail is. Resorted to sliding all the way down. Not that bad of a way to go except for surprising rocks under the snow.








Weather much clearer in the afternoon with view from another vista

Sunrise at Benedict pond. Glad I woke up early for it.

Tyringham Cobble & McLennan Reservation

Tyringham Cobble

Hey! A rabbit!



A view of Tyringham MA













A cool looking tree and a busy woodpecker.

 McLennan Reservation. A undeveloped hiking area hidden at the end of a rutted gravel road.


My car in its natural habitat.









Frozen stream

A nice flat area that one might mistake for a field of daisy but in reality is a beaver pond. You can barely see the beaver lodge sticking out of the frozen water.

NJ- view of NYC

Went to NJ for some grocery. Driving through NY was terrifying because drivers around NYC are crazy. Good thing I went before the snowzilla so I don't have to worry about snow adding to the fun.

View of NYC from NJ shore. New towers are up.

Beartown State Park camping 1/15/2016

Call me crazy but I did went camping in the dead of winter. My co-workers were all nervous enough that they had one of them check up on me to make sure I didn't get eaten by bear, frozen in the middle of nowhere, or mugged by strangers. The park ranger just laughed and told me not to stay another night because there was a snow storm coming in the next night.

Fully loaded, snowshoe was completely unnecessary. Sleeping bag only fit in the backseat but everything else fit in the cargo area just fine.










My chosen camping spot, high traffic area but you get a view of the lake












I haven't even unpack anything before this little thing attacked me. At least wait till I get my food out you crazy bird.











First sign of trouble, a nice clear thick layer of ice below the snow. This make walking around the camp ground super fun (and dangerous) and staking impossible. New England soil never helped staking your tent down anyway but ice just made thing even more depressing.







I managed to wack some stake in. The stakes on the left did not stay over night, rest just froze in place so they managed to stay.

I have achieved fire!! All the kindles were wet and frozen so I had to get a little creative (and use some of the kindling that people left in bear boxes)

Since I am here to post this, I did survive the night. Little did I know (till about a week ago) that the temperature dropped to 9 degree F that night. I was cold during the night and decided I rather be warm and not dead than cold. I moved my sleeping bag to my car and slept through the night without any problem even with windows down. Learned my lesson, need to get a warmer sleeping pad to insulate myself from the icy floor.




Next morning I took my car home the long way through the unpaved roads in the park.

Mini trip across RT 90 11/24/2015

Decided to stop by some places along RT 90 on my way home for Thanksgiving (with a turkey chilling in a cooler in the back)

Dinosaur Footprint

















Purgatory Chasm, rock crawling for human (not your car).

















Wells state












Well, I could have just drive up here following that service road.

Rt 112 10/23/2015

Last of major road trips (well, there's one left but I don't feel like going on that one yet).

Just for giggle, these are what I found the day before




The deer had the decency to look both way before crossing and looked back before running off










Glendale Fall. Another waterfall that is probably more impressive in Spring time (if we get any snow at all this winter!)















 Chesterfield Gorge










Knightville Dam

 

Littleville Lake

Mohawk Trail 10/17/2015

Took this trip with a co-worker close to (but slightly younger) my parent's age. Trip start out with light snow on the ground which foreshadow the crappy weather to come.

Cascade Fall, a really obscure waterfall about 30 minutes walk from someone's backyard. Note to self, come here during Spring when it will look much more impressive.

Bissell Covered Bridge

Glacial Potholes, quite cool rock features.

 

 

How did that flower get there? well, see the next part

Bridge of Flower, a foot bridge maintained by a local club. Surprising how many flowers are on the bridge considering it was late Fall. The flowers were frozen which gave them an even more interesting look.

 
















High Ledge.













French King Bridge. A bridge right on the Mohawk trail with a nice view of the river.


Tully trails, just a ledge and the dam because there are too many to visit.
When we get up to the ledge it was a white out condition with high wind and flurry. It took about 10 minutes for the clouds to move out of the way to give us this view




















View from the dam