Pharoah Lake

On a particularly warm February day we (Lisa, Tom and yours truly) packed the car and headed to the trail head on the northern tip of Brant Lake. Thinking that we would finally beat Jeff and Lisa we pulled in ten minutes early to see them completely geared up and conversing with the forest ranger. Better luck next time...

With skis strapped on, we set off on the trail which wound through tall softwoods and over bogs (on skinny bridges) before following the outlet of Pharoah Lake. The snow was a bit sticky and we occasionally had a tough time getting a glide, especially where the sun had been shining. We made it to the lake as the forest ranger was getting ready to leave after his lean-to inspection.

We followed his tracks on the lake to a great view of Treadway Mountain from the number two lean-to. There we ate our sandwiches and compared our ski experiences of the day while drinking in the sunshine.

Following our tracks on the return trip made for an easy ski since we lost a few hundred feet in elevation. The snow seemed less sticky somehow and we managed not to fall off the skinny bridges. This was a very enjoyable ski that we will gladly do again. We were lucky to follow it with a trip to North Creek for dinner followed by an amazing concert by Charles Cornell and the Square One Project at the Tannery Pond Community Center.

Mackenzie Pond

With minimal snow in the valley and an intense desire to ski, we headed to Saranac Lake to try some new trails. My parents decided to join us and luckily seemed to trust our trip planning skills...

Our first destination was the famed "Jackrabbit Trail," a cross country ski trail that connects Saranac Lake to Keene. We strapped on our skis and headed east from the route 33 trailhead. After a few bruises and bumps on the hills, we got the hang of it and enjoyed when the trail widened after a mile or so.

Our destination was Mackenzie Pond and the scenery did not disappoint. With gently falling snowflakes we admired the mountains and ridges surrounding the pond while we snacked. In the winter, breaks don't last long though and we needed to get moving before our teeth began to chatter. The trail back to the car was smooth as we now knew where all the moguls, rocks and steep sections were.

We then headed to Saranac Lake, where the first weekend of the Winter Carnival was taking place. We met the Henrys and Vincents and were happy that our nephew Ben was willing to give us a personalized tour of the Ice Palace. The theme this year was "Adirondack Wildlife," and we even enjoyed the ice lean-to facing the lake. It would be nice to have in the summer for some air-conditioning on those hot nights...

In the afternoon, we wanted to get on the skis one more time before heading home. We went to the John Brown Farm in North Elba and although we had to look closely, we found a ski loop. The fluffy snow was denser now and the trail took us through some nice woods as the sun started to set. It was the perfect bookend to a fine ski day.

As we begrudgingly drove back to the Champlain Valley, noticing the disappearance of snow our stomachs started to grumble. To amend the situation, we capped off the day with a fine meal at George's Italian-American Eatery in Port Henry. Yum.