Eileen was awake early, as usual, but had slept until almost 0430 before starting her day. Meanwhile, I slept for another hour and then came upstairs to find her making scones. We talked for a little bit and then played a (partial) game of Scrabble (we had trouble because of a missing piece). We also worked on one of her crossword puzzles. At 0730, she had to leave to get together with her workout friends so we said goodbye. After she was gone, I got ready and packed up my car. By 0815, I was on the road, bound for home. I used NY-72, NY-11B, NY-458, some back roads and then NY-30 to reach the VIC, an outdoor activities center maintained on the Adirondack State Park lands by Paul Smith's college. It snowed all the way there but I drove carefully and made it to the parking lot by about 0915. After talking to some people who were getting ready to ski too, I figured out that I needed to go inside the Main Building to get a ski pass (0925). After I paid, I quickly made my way out onto the complicated trail system. Three days of intermittent, fluffy/powdery snow in the ADK made for amazing skiing conditions! I spent almost two hours skiing around on well marked trails named “Heron Marsh”, “Jenkins Mountain”, “Boardwalk Express” (took a tumble), “Barnum Brook”, “Boreal Life” and “Logger’s Loop”. The latter trail had groomed tracks and it was interesting to shift from backcountry to my normal style. For about 80% of the morning, I was the first and only skier on each trail. The temps were good (low 20s) but there was an icy wind in places near the lake. At a few points, I followed the signs and found myself on sections that weren’t groomed. Sometimes, I had trouble seeing my skis (they were buried in eight inches of snow) but enjoyed the different conditions. Could have stayed out all day but continuing snow and the required drive home curtailed the fun... Reluctantly wrapped up my day in the snow at 1205. In the car again, I left the VIC on NY-30 and drove to Saranac Lake. Along the way, I encountered more heavy snow - then used NY-86 to get to the Lake Placid area. Google Maps tole me to drive around town on the Old Military Road (NY-35) and NY-73 to reach Keene and the eastern side of the Adirondack Range. Listened to audiobooks as I drove, trying to ignore more nasty weather. I reached NY-9N and followed it through Elizabethtown, across I-87 and to Westport. After that, I continued south around the southern end of Lake Champlain until I could use NY-185 and the Lake Champlain Bridge at Crown Point. In Vermont, I had to use a detour for VT-125 (VT-17), due to construction but eventually got on VT-23 and drove into Middlebury. Got gas at Shell (1400) and lunch (including a Shamrock Shake) at McDonalds on US-7 (1410). From there, I took VT-125 to VT-100. Inclement weather on the pass across the mountains prevented me from stopping to hike the Long Trail at Middlebury Gap, as I'd hoped. Later, Google Maps took me on a route across the mountains east of Rochester, VT. This ended up being a shorter route but included crazy snow conditions as I drove through Rochester Gap. Ultimately, however, this shortcut (Bethel Mountain Road and Camp Broom) brought me into Bethel on VT-12 from the north side. From there, I was soon able to get on I-89 and finish my trip. Reached my condo by about 1530 and unpacked. Checked in with with Mollie and Eileen and relaxed for the rest of the day. Had a GREAT time in the Adirondacks this weekend - it is always nice to get outdoors and enjoy the winter weather - but even nicer to spend time inside a warm house as the snow falls!
