First hike of the year

We went on our first hike of the year yesterday. We had to do something quick because I had to work at 3 and we couldn't leave Gabby for too long, so we decided on Shelving Rock Mountain. We were the first ones there that day and there were a few inches of fresh snow. It was a great walk!

I love hiking in winter because it's so much easier to see what critters have been up to. Here's a big area where it looks like a deer was rummaging around. At the far end we could plainly make out cloven hoof prints.


The views from the top were great, although somewhat gray due to the snow and overcast skies.

It only took us an hour to get to the top and about half an hour to get down (and we really take our time). I love this hike though. I still have yet to do it when there isn't snow on the ground!

Butler Pond

We went on a short walk around Butler Pond on Wednesday.

Gabby was suited up in her winter gear and we were on our way! There wasn't enough snow for showshoes, but we still had fun.


Gabby gets cold pretty quickly, so we were only out for an hour or so, but we all enjoyed ourselves!


We're hoping to find someone to take Gabby out tomorrow so we can go on a slightly longer hike up Shelving Rock Mtn before I go to work tomorrow.

Where did I go?

I'm not exactly sure how long it's been since my last update, but I know it's been a while! I've been kind of anti-internet lately. However, I really want to get back into blogging because I like keeping track of my cooking, baking and hiking. Obviously I'm not doing much biking these days.

What have I been up to? Working mostly. I'm still cooking and baking a lot, but I've been slacking in the picture-taking department.

Here are some pictures to sum up this year. My next post will be goals for 2010.

January 10th: Here's me hugging a big grandpa tree when we went bushwacking around the road to Dacy Clearing.


January 16th: Nine Mile Swamp on West Mountain.


January 17th: Hiking St. Regis. There was a ton of fresh snow and the trail hadn't been broken. It took forever to reach the summit, but it was totally worth it! We saw a deer and a bear print. I'd like to try this hike in warmer weather.


January 17th - 19th: Winter camping in Paul Smiths, NY.


March 14th: Riding at the polo barn.


March 28th: Hadley Mountain. This was one of my favorite hikes ever.


April 5th: Goodnow Mountain. It was warm when we left home. By the time we got to Newcomb it was really cold and snowing! We were definitely not dressed for the weather. And I fell on my butt right off the bat. We ended up having a great time as usual though!


April 5th: View of Goodnow Mountain from the Newcomb VIC. It's hard to tell, but you can see the firetower we climbed from there!


April 10th: Canoeing on the Schroon River. It was my first canoe trip.


April 11th: The summit of Severance Mt.


April 11th: Trail to Spectacle Pond.


April 17th: Mt. Marcy from the summit of Mt. Redfield (our 4th high peak).


April 18th: On the summit of Mt. Marcy. Unfortunately it was cloudy and snowing, so we didn't get any pictures of the view.


April 25th: Canoeing on the Hudson.


May 29th: Relay for Life.


June 6th - 7th: Camping at Tioga Point for Pat's birthday.


June 11th: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society Pirates and Mermaids Masquerade Party. We dressed as box jellies, met lots of new friends and got to see Captain Paul Watson!


June 11th - 13th: Camping at Glen Rouge. Toronto totally rocked my socks!


August 2nd: Buck Mtn.


August 16th: From Giant Mtn. (our 6th High Peak).


October 18th: Inman Pond


October 21st: Biking the trails off Hogtown Rd.


December 11th: VanDusen Tract with our newest addition, Gabby.


That was our year in a nutshell. As you can see, we started out hiking and camping a lot, but slacked off as the year went on. I hope to do lots more next year!

Buck Mtn and Taco Salad

Today I finally conquered Buck Mountain. We attempted this hike on New Year's Day using snow shoes, but my stomach was so full of Taco Bell (my pre-vegan days) that I couldn't make it. I felt disgusting and thought I'd barf if we kept going. So we went back home to save it for another day.

Today was the day. Finally! It was super steep in some places, but the views from the top were great! It was really windy when we got higher up and it poured the entire way down. But we did get to see a deer when we were signing out at the trailhead! What a day


That's the whole bunch of us! It was great. I hadn't been hiking since Mt Marcy way back in April! I missed it so much. We were going just about every weekend for a while. I just love being in the mountains and it's such a great feeling when you finally get to the top!

We were ravenous when we got home! I decided to make something simple, so I went with a new twist on one of our old favorites... taco salad! Usually this includes lettuce, Amy's Organic Low Sodium Refried Black Beans (my all time fave!), peppers, tomatoes (for Pat only... I don't do tomatoes) and taco sauce. But today I added quinoa. I love the stuff. And it was delicious in the salads! Gave them a really neat texture, too!


I plan to post updates with all of my hikes and fabulous vegan food here. I may post some updates with past hikes and food, too, depending on my mood. :)

That's all for now. Pardon my updates if they're a little, well, awkward for a while. I'll get better at all of this! I promise!