I slept well again and was awake at about 0615. Spent part of the morning cleaning up my hotel room (prep for checkout). At about 0730, I picked up some snacks for the road in the lobby and checked out of the hotel. I drove over to Walmart to try recycling some more cans (no luck). Eileen texted and suggested we meet for breakfast at Old Market Coffee so I drove over to a large parking lot near the Village Diner and parked. It was close to 0 degrees F again (brrr) but I walked to the coffee shop. Arriving at 0815, I had a wait for a little bit before Eileen arrived. Ultimately (0830), we ordered some "breakfast" crepes (we shared a "fruity" one) and hot chocolate and coffee. As it has been all week, it was wonderful to be able to spend some much time talking. We were done by 0930) and, after saying goodbye, I walked back to my car. Almost immediately, Eileen called with some news about her dogs. By 0945, I started driving out of town on NY-11B. I then took NY-458 (used Wait Road cutoff) to NY-30 (listening to audiobooks). It was very snowy, with tricky roads, but I arrived safely at Paul Smith's and stopped at the VIC. Got all my gear and walked to the lodge, where I paid for a pass to ski their trails (1050). I've always thought that a winter visit to New York’s North Country wouldn’t be complete without an outdoor activity in the Adirondacks. With temps at 0 F, however, the idea was easier said than done today… The VIC has a trail system I’ve enjoyed in the past and today was even better than I remembered! I’d managed to ski two hours in the single digits yesterday so decided to go for three hours today. This wasn’t hard, since the trail system was so extensive that I didn’t seen the main lodge again until I was finished. In the meantime, I did a full circuit of Logger’s Loop, raced through the challenging Competition Loop, checked out the campus of Paul Smith’s College and skied the first few hundred yards of the Jackrabbit Trail. I rarely saw anyone and managed to navigate some BIG hills (up and down) without issue. Skis have been great this week! The temps stayed cold and the snow kept falling - by the end, my whole face (including eyelashes) was nearly frozen in place! Fortunately, I still could manage a smile. My day on skis lasted from 1100 to 1400 - it was cold but not windy and I saw few people (but I did see more deer in the woods). In the end, I spent a bunch of time "thawing" in the lodge, sitting in an Adirondack chair and listening to the “Holy Donuts” (pickers, mountain music). I was glad to think about how I'd skied six of the last seven days - what a great week! Reluctantly, I departed the area at around 1445. I used NY-30 and NY-86 to reach Saranac Lake and then continued towards the east. Then used the Old Military Road (NY-35) to avoid Lake Placid and got on NY-73. I reached NY-9N in Keene and took it towards Lake Champlain. Just about when I was passing I-87, Eileen called but we weren't able to talk for long (poor signal). Listened to audiobooks while I tried to be patient with slow drivers. Continued south to NY-185 and then used it to reach Crown Point. Crossed into Vermont and got on VT-125 to reach Middlebury. Then took US-7 to VT-125 on the other side of town. Eventually reached VT-100 in Hancock, just as it was getting dark. Fortunately, Google didn't send me on any roads that traveled above the valley so I didn't have to worry about winter weather too much. Taking a "cutoff" in Stockbridge (Blackmer Road), I arrived at VT-107 and made good time from there. Before reaching the Interstate, I stopped for gas at Irving in Bethel, VT (1750). Continued to I-89 from there, I reached my condo by about 1825. Unpacked and met up with Monte (he told me about the saga of our lost power). The rest of the evening was spent in cleaning up my apartment and doing laundry. I also watched some movies and relaxed before bed (2210). This whole week was an unbeatable alternative to the hellish situation last weekend and I am SO glad I left Hanover!
