The song’s chorus echoes “Aint No Cure for the Summertime Blues.” Fewer people remember the oldies classic every year but the words still ring true for skiers.
My favorite cure to escape the heat of the city has been the collection of parks that make up what is known as “The Gunks.”
It seems there is always something else to see there. The cliff flanked ridge allows unparalleled views of the Catskills to the north as well as the Hudson Highlands to the south.
With an iffy forecast for the summit of Mt Washington, my 2013-2014 season might have gone out with a whimper. Although I was disappointed, at first, I wondered if the balmy temps and fresh leaves and the smell of bbq might put Memorial Day as a win.
Beyond making the adjustment from dynafits to hiking boots, I saw an opportunity to get outside with some friends I don’t see much during the ski season.
The group wanted to get some big miles, and for the first hike of the spring, we set our sights on an empty quadrant of Harriman State Park, opting to hike to Claudius Smith Den from 106 instead of the more accessible, and crowded, Johnsontown Road.
It’s hard for me to play favorites among the winter playgrounds of the northeast because I can find something to get really into at almost any of them.
I love the die-hard ski culture evident at Greek Peak. I dig skiing Plattekill top-to-bottom with the need for speed and no runouts. Gore is a vast and many-tentacled monster, making it fun to get lost and surprising you with new views as you cover ground.
But some ski areas transcend skiing themselves when you look up at the mountains they live on. Driving up to Whiteface, it’s hard not to think “My goodness, THAT is a mountain.” Stowe is like that, placed on Mansfield, the highest peak in Vermont.
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