Hike of the Week 3/3/2005

Canopus Lake: Cross country skiing

Location:  Fahnestock Winter Park, Putnam County

Length:  As long and as far as you want to go

Rating:  Flat

Dogs:  dogs

Map:  You don't need one to ski the lake, but to ski the Winter Park trails pick up a trail guide at the park office or at the Winter Park facilities.

Features: A great ski and a good workout on a scenic lake.

Watch out for: Falling over. Chris Carmichael, Lance Armstrong's coach, once fell while just standing on his cross country skis and broke his leg in three places. This was the end of a promising cycling career. On the positive side, it was the beginning of a super successful coaching career. Do not ski on the lake if there are signs indicating that it is not safe!

Background:

Editor's note: Since hiking trails are covered in yet another fresh coating of snow, this week hiking maven Ralph Ferrusi of Stormville will guide us on a cross-country ski expedition.

When the winter snows reach a certain depth, hiking becomes difficult and impractical. It's not fun "post-holing'' through a couple feet of snow. Cross country skiing and snowshoeing make your favorite trails accessible again. When the snow cover is not quite deep enough on the trails and in the woods, but deep enough to make walking not fun, lake skiing is a way to get some mileage and exercise in. Fahnestock Winter Park has an amazing, elaborate trail system through the woods and on the lake: 4.75 miles of beginner trails and 9.0 miles of advanced trails. It also has a snowshoe trail that traverses part of the Appalachian Trail. The ski trails are all packed and groomed: Wide for ski-skating and tracked for the traditional "kick and glide.'' I enjoy trackless, back-country skiing and have a pretty good "kick-and-sort-of-glide.'' There was not enough snow coverage for good woods skiing, so I headed for Canopus Lake. I was surprised by the number of other skiers I saw on the lake and discovered that there was a groomed track on the lake that was part of the super Winter Park trail system. I had no desire to ski on the groomed track, and enjoyed the heck out of cutting my own track around the perimeter of the lake.

Hike Description:

I parked in the "ice fishermen's lot'' by the lake on 301. I put on my skis and headed east along the south shore of the lake. There are two lakes, divided by an earth dam. I crossed the dam where the "official" trail crossed and skied along the south shore of the upper lake to the beach area where the Winter Park facilities are. It was a glorious, sunny day and I took a sun break for about 30 minutes at a picnic table near the beach where I talked to two guys from Queens and a woman from St. Petersburg, Russia. She was surprised and delighted that I spoke her language. I then skied down the north side of both lakes and back to the car. To ski on the official trail system, park at the Winter Park facility, buy a ski ticket and pick up a map of the 13.75-mile trail system. Pick from trails with enticing names like the CCC Loop, Hemlock Grove, Old Pasture Loop or Mountain Laurel Loop.

How to get there: 

Taconic State Parkway south to Route 301 west. Winter Park is about a quarter-mile down 301 on the right. Canopus Lake is about a mile or so on the right. Also: Route 9 south to Route 301 east (left turn at traffic light). Fahnestock Park is about 7-8 miles on the left.

About the New York - New Jersey Trail Conference : The NY-NJ Trail Conference is a federation of hiking clubs, environmental organizations and individual members who volunteer their time and resources to build and maintain hiking trails and protect related open space in the bi-state region.

Information : For a more detailed description of this hike including a map, visit www.nynjtc.org and click on Hike of the Week. For information on NYNJTC activities, call 201-512-9348 or email info@nynjtc.org.

Hike of the Week is a regular feature in the Poughkeepsie Journal Players section, call 845-437-4848. This hike is contributed by Ralph Ferrusi of Stormville.

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