The Road Less Traveled-Skiing Was Awesome After A Month of No Snow
Volume 28-Back to the Pharsalia Woods For Winter Fun
Welcome back. It’s been a month. Hard to believe. A month with little or no snow here in Central New York State. Finally, it’s back! This past week we got 2 storms, the first brought 7 inches last Sunday night, and then a second storm gave us about 3 inches on Wednesday. In December we had a nice base of over a foot of snow, and I was able to get out for 3 ski outings. However, it all disappeared by New Year's. So we had to start from scratch.
So after a busy week of cleaning up snow in the driveway and off roofs, as well as a trip to Watkins Glen, NY for the annual Fire and Ice Celebration held at the Harbor Hotel, I headed out for an awesome afternoon of cross-country skiing.
Back To Skiing Paradise
On Saturday the 28th of January I headed to Coy Street in the Pharsalia Woods NY State Forest (9000 acres!). No, it’s not really a street. It’s definitely not in a city. Pretty much the middle of nowhere. A quiet seasonal dirt road. Perfect for walking, hiking, biking, and skiing.
Even though I’ve skied this road quite a few times, I returned here for several reasons. First of all, it is part of the snowmobile trail system so this time of the year it is groomed and fairly well-used which makes for good skiing. I rarely break trail anymore while skiing, it is tough to do as you get older. However, sometimes I still will venture off the beaten path a little to explore.
Secondly, Coy Street is fairly level but does have some gentle hills which allow for nice gliding. This road also leads to the 9 Mile Truck Trail, the main artery through the Pharsalia Woods State Forest. As I have stated in previous articles, the road system was created by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s and 1940s. I still have much more to discover here and hope to do so this Winter and also during the Summer and Fall via mountain biking.
Snowmobiles and Fat Tire Bikes
I must admit that Saturday was a fairly busy day on the trail. I met quite a few snowmobiles and as usual, they were courteous to me, slowing down as they passed me. At times it gets a little noisy but there is plenty of quiet, peaceful time as well. I don’t mind the snowmobiles as they provide me with a great skiing surface.
As I was nearing the intersection of Coy Street and the 9 Mile Truck Tail, I heard voices. Maybe snowmobilers stopped for a break? As the voices drew closer, I realized who and what it was. Bikes. Yup Bikes. In the snow!
It was 2 men on fat tire bikes pedaling along on the truck trail. Outfitted with 4-inch wide tires, these bikes do amazingly well in the snow. I have seen these bikes before, a few years ago up near Bowman Lake State Park. It’s something I would love to try. If you love Winter and mountain biking this would be for you. The best of both worlds.
I continued for a little bit on the old truck trail, then turned around until I reached Coy Street, then back to my car. Overall, it was about 3.25 miles. A good outing, a good workout.
Since the temperatures were in the mid-30s, I was a little concerned that the snow might stick to my skis. However, this was not an issue and the conditions proved to be awesome.
