Lake Tiorati Paddle

As much as I would have loved skiing the bumps at Killington this past weekend, I was coming off of two long drives — one to central Pennsylvania last Saturday to pick up a new minivan I’d ordered ten months ago and then an eight hour round trip on Friday to help my son move out of his dorm. I wasn’t ready for another marathon drive, I was looking for local adventures to get outside.

Lake Tiorati parking

Last year I spent a lot of time paddling at Harriman State Park but I was too late to register my boats for one of the limited number of spots in the paddlers’ parking lots at Lake Tiorati and Lake Welch. Parking is a problem during the summer so having access to the boaters’ parking is a big advantage.

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Sterling Forest Ramble

It’s been a weird summer. I spent most of June and July working and schlepping stuff to a self storage unit as I prepare for an impending divorce. I managed to choose the hottest day of the summer to move out of the place I’ve lived for 25 years and into a garret apartment in a nearby town.

McKeag’s Meadow Trail

For a couple of months, it’s been nothing but upheaval, and I’ve scrambled to get any sort of training in. Finally, I’m sort of settled down, and the opportunity for a long run presented itself.

Last Thursday, I drove up to Sterling Forest, just over the New York state line, to take another shot at a route that eluded me last fall.

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Ski, Ski, Ski Catamount

This winter, I bought season passes for myself and my two sons at Catamount Mountain in Hillsdale, NY. Deciding what pass to buy is never easy but I was confident that we would get our money’s worth this year.

skin setup

In addition to Cat, the pass gives me access to Berkshire East (which I love) and Bosquet (which I’ve never skied).

Even better is the fact that Cat is on the Indy Pass so you can buy an add-on that gives you a couple days each at lots of other northeast resorts like Greek Peak, Magic Mountain and Jay Peak.

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