COVERING FREE! UPSTATE NY MAY SINCE 2000 2020 Celebrating 20 Find Your Own Years! Trail Ride GERALD LALONDE OF GLENS FALLS AT THE GREAT REDOUBT OVERLOOKING THE HUDSON RIVER AT SARATOGA NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK. DAVE KRAUS/KRAUSGRAFIK.COM CONTENTS 1 Bicycling Be Active and Find Your Own Trail Ride 3 Paddling Avoid the Crowd Lessons I Have Learned By Dave Kraus s social distancing has become the “new normal” 4 From the Publisher for a while, bicycling alone or with loved ones has become one of the few ways to get together, exercise, CHAMPLAIN CANALWAY 5 News Briefs A TRAIL FROM WATERFORD TO and get out of the house. Across the country, thousands of HALFMOON. DAVE KRAUS/ 7 Running long-neglected bikes have been hauled down from attics, KRAUSGRAFIK.COM Running Reinvention up from basements, out of garages, and returned to active duty on close-to-home urban bike trails across the country. 9 Hiking & Backpacking But there’s just one problem with this two-wheeled resurgence: businesses nearby. If you’re planning to stop for ice cream, a drink or to Big Bad Luck everyone else seems to be doing it, too. Certain sections of urban multiuse trails are so popular that it’s almost impossible to keep see a visitor center, call first to make sure they are open during the 10-11 Athlete Profile safe social distance from the crowds looking for the same benefits. pandemic. We’ve included phone numbers here where appropri- But there are a number of trails in the Capital Region and ate. Stay safe – Don’t let this be your final ride. Wear your helmet! Mountain Biking with beyond, which offer a variety of riding experiences to suit just Now for the trails. Some are short. Others are long. There’s Anna Laloë about any kind of rider, while avoiding most of the crowds. Check something for everyone. out our list below. Just make sure to be prepared before you go Champlain Canalway Trail, Waterford to Halfmoon, 5 miles 12-17 CALENDAR OF EVENTS seek them out: one-way – Any wide-tired bike, gravel, all off-road, dogs allowed Canceled, Postponed, Watch the clock – Consider riding at “off-hours,” such as early on leash. This newly renovated urban-rural trail follows the tow- path of the 200-year-old Champlain Canal north from Waterford Virtual & Happening mornings, evenings or weekdays. Step aside and keep your dis- tance – Don’t be afraid to pull over off the trail to allow others and is a great option for families with children. Park at Brookwood Events! to pass while maintaining at least six feet of distance. Bring your Road in Halfmoon and explore in either direction. Go north to see mask – Even if you decide not to wear it while riding, tuck it into a large beaver dam and walk down into historic Lock 26, where in 19 Great Walks & Day Hikes your jersey pocket, or keep it around your neck, in case you stop the early 1800s mule-drawn barges passed through on their way Close to Home: to meet others or go into a local business. north to Lake Champlain with the products of a growing nation. Swift Wetland Know your trail etiquette – This is not the Tour de France. Or go south and find an even larger beaver dam and views of the Momentive chemicals factory. In either direction, you’ll find and Van Dyke Preserve Ride at a reasonable speed and call out before you overtake other cyclists or pedestrians. No reaction? They’re probably wearing wildlife including geese, ducks, turtles, muskrats, and in the early AdkSports.com earbuds, so act accordingly. Let others know you are “passing left” morning you may get a glimpse of beavers at work. Facebook.com/AdirondackSports or “passing right.” Call ahead – Many of these trails have local See BICYCLING 18 ▶ 2 Adirondack Sports Cold Water Kills! Come Visit NYS Navigation Law: Must wear your life jacket from November 1-May 1. Old Forge Smart paddlers wear their life jackets Your Adirondack Base Camp! if the water is less than 60°F Eagle Bay • Stillwater Big Moose • Beaver River It’s Our Nature! To our Adirondack Family: Wherever you are, we know the Adirondacks are in your We Wear heart. But if you are elsewhere, now is not Ours! . the time to bring your heart home to the Do You? Adirondacks. Your Adirondacks will not be Wear Your Life Jacket! diminished by this crisis. Our nature and our communities will be here to welcome you back on the other side of this. Stay safe, stay healthy and remember – we’ve got your Adirondacks Scan for a free online Paddle Safety Course when the time is right. WearItNewYork.com Make your own fun, or let us help you! Info-Webcams-Vacation Guide nysparks.com OldForgeNY.com Fall Adir Sport and Fitness AD.indd 1 3/27/15 10:34 AM New York’s Largest Canoe, Kayak & SUP Dealer Over 1,000 Models in Stock • Shop Local & Save! We’re Open for Curbside Pick-up in Old Forge and Saratoga Springs MountainmanOutdoors.com • Old Forge (315) 369-6672 • Saratoga Springs (518) 584-0600 MAY 2020 3 PADDLING Lessons I Have Learned By Rich Macha here are numerous ways we can learn about a sub- ject, but for many of us, there is nothing like first-hand experience to really drive a point home. However, T A KAYAK WANDERS some of those experiences are best avoided and we can learn AWAY ON CHUB LAKE. by listening to the voice of experience whether it be in print, PHOTOS BY RICH MACHA video or in person. There are a few paddling-oriented things that I do not think get enough attention and I will touch on some of them here. The weather – There are several ways we can get a weath- er forecast these days, and thanks to the internet, it’s possi- ble to get a forecast for the exact location you are planning to paddle. Knowing that it will be warm and sunny is nice but it will be the strength and direction of the wind that will affect your paddling day the most. The wind, and resulting waves, will be a greater factor when paddling large lakes and less important when paddling small streams. I have changed plans from the former to the latter when I saw that moderate to high winds were in the forecast. The greater the fetch, the distance over which the wind travels unimpeded, the more you will feel its effects. When the forecast is predicting winds of 10-15mph, I usually anticipate it to be 10-20mph once I get out on open water, and I question whether that would be WIND WAVES ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN advisable to paddle. AT AUSABLE POINT. The direction of the wind is also very important. For DOWNED TREES, OR STRAINERS, CAN BE A PROBLEM. example, if the lake is oriented in a south-north direction, and the wind is coming from the north or south, it will affect the conditions much more than if the wind was from the west or east. A number of years ago a small group of us kayaked out to Valcour Island on Lake Champlain, and camped on the island’s east side, only to find that the wind had turned to the south the next morning – and waves were in the three-foot range. None of us wanted to return to the Peru boat launch small opening and aggressive maneuvering is necessary. This in those conditions, even though it was only two miles away. was the case at the time of the incidents on a stretch of the I also wondered if I had brought enough food to stay another Schoharie, across from the cliffs of Vroman’s Nose, and the day and wait for things to calm down. Luckily, by late after- kayakers were unable to paddle past successfully. Rescue noon, the wind direction changed to westerly and we were personnel included fire and ambulance, swift-water rescue, able to paddle out uneventfully. search and rescue, police and homeland security – not good If you must paddle in the wind, you will have an easier in these days of Covid-19. time of it if you paddle along the same shore that the wind When exploring moving waters for the first time, I highly is coming from. For example, if the wind is coming from the recommend that you go with someone who knows the river west, then paddling along the west shore should be fine. I well, learn and practice some maneuvering strokes like draw have often paddled a longer but safer distance by following strokes, and do some research before venturing out. the shoreline, plus I find that there is always more to see there Painters – A painter is just a rope that is attached to your anyway. Mornings are usually the best time of day to paddle canoe or kayak, most often to the bow, but it does not hurt to when the lake surface is often calm, and special memories have one attached to the stern too. A painter can be used to can be created while experiencing sunrises and morning line a boat through shallows, pull it over beaver dams, and to mist. Kayakers have the advantage of choosing to use a spray secure it on shore when you stop for a break or at a campsite skirt to keep water from entering the cockpit area, and there so that it does not wander off when you are not watching.