Find the Hiker...

Night skiing at PineRidge Tuesday Jan 27th 6 - 9:30 pm on 4km of groomed trails under the lights. Headlamps OK. See Jan 13th Pics below.

Have a Happy Chinese New Year! By the Chinese Calendar 2009 is the Year of the Ox, which is also known by its formal name of Ji Chou.

"Some hae meat and canna eat, And some wad eat that want it; But we hae meat, and we can eat, Sae let the Lord be thankit." Rabbie Burns

Grafton Lakes Winterfest, Saturday, January 24th

At 10am the Taconic Hiking Club will meet at the park's Maintenance Building for a 5 mile snowshoe trek out the Spruce Bog Trail with a return on the Nimo Trail. If there is interest, a cross country ski outing will start at 2pm from in front of the Park Office.

Grafton Lakes Winterfest offers free activities for families and outdoor enthusiasts all day long. Call Liz Wagner, Park Naturalist at 270-1155.

Lapland Lake has Two-fers on non-holiday Fridays! One pass is the regular price, the 2nd pass at equal or lesser value is free.

Animal Tracking, Thacher Nature Center, Feb 28th

Basic Tracking Daylong Intensive at Thacher Nature Center with Dan Yacobellis on Feb. 28th. Sharpen your eye and hone your tracking skills in a daylong tracking trek through the woods and swamps at Thacher Nature Center. Dan is a local tracker, naturalist and environmental educator. This is a great way to get started tracking or deepen your understanding of the animals and forests. Cost $25, 9:30- 3:00. Bring lunch. Dress in layers. Limit 15 people.Pre registration required. Minimum age 12. contact Thacher Nature Center at: Nancy.Engel@oprhp.state.ny.us or call 872-0800. Dan Yacobellis, Tamakoce Wilderness Programs, 518-658-0328 www.tamakocewildernessprograms.com

Excellent Skiing at Prospect XC Area as of Jan 15th

Pine Ridge Ski Area Has Excellent XC Skiing as of Jan 13th and There is occasional night skiing!

Aldo Leopold said, "There can be no doubt that a society rooted in the soil is more stable than one rooted in pavements."

Nature is ever at work

Nature is ever at work building and pulling down, creating and destroying, keeping everything whirling and flowing, allowing no rest but in rhythmical motion, chasing everything in endless song out of one beautiful form into another. -John Muir, Naturalist and explorer (1838-1914)

ADK Meeting, Tuesday, January 13th

This Tuesday January 13th is the monthly meeting of the Albany Chapter of the ADK. The meeting and accompanying program are held at West Albany Firehouse (Station #1), 113 Sand Creek Road, Albany. Click <http://www.adk-albany.org/meetings.html> here for a map.

At 6:30 PM, there will be an Education Committee workshop:

Used Gear Sale - Takes the place of the Education Session. Starts at 6:30 p.m. and continues before and after the regular meeting. Bring your used gear and clothing. Label your goods with your name and selling price. Ten percent of the proceeds goes to the Chapter as a donation.

At 7:30 PM, there will be a brief business meeting, followed by the program:

January 13, 2009 - Tackling 'The Grand' Teton by Jean Quattrocchi and Phil Seward. ADK members Jean and Phil decided to try something a bit different. Getting to the top of "The Grand" includes some rock climbing in addition to hiking. Neither is a rock climber. Learn how they prepared with Rock and River in the Adirondacks and Exum Mountain Guides in Wyoming. Even if you have no desire to tackle this one, come see their slides of this spectacular

peak and its environs.

Refreshments will be served.