Gimme Shelter

I have not been getting out into the woods this year the way I used to. No scrambling climbs up rocky mountains sides, no backpacking to breathtaking views on bald mountain tops. Age has taken its toll on my body. I have all but packed away the backpack and traded skis for snowshoes. I am adjusting to just pulling on boots for a leisurely hike carrying not much more than water and a snack in a day pack.


And so I was looking forward to an LL Bean sponsored group meetup, proposed as a 3 to 5 mile hike, or snowshoe, depending on the weather. What interested me was that the hike was to be in a State park very near to where my oldest daughter now lives, until she moves in a couple of weeks. We had never been there so we both signed up. But just as the pinky toe I injured four months ago was finally getting better, I re-injured it stepping on a dog toy in the middle of the night. Damn. And then we had a ton of snow and my body just cannot do 5 miles of snowshoeing. Nope. Nada. Not anymore.


But I was going up to daughter’s apartment anyway to help pack for her impending move so we decided to go to the park for at least a short walk.


We thought we might walk on the frozen lake but warmer temps earlier in the week rendered that not safe.








And we were definitely not going swimming.


There were many groomed ski trails but the park roadway had been plowed so we decided to walk along it and take in the views of the lake from there.


It was a very cold and blustery day and 30 minutes in my face was frozen, my toe screaming, and I was beginning to regret my decision to go hiking in such brutal weather when we came across this warming hut at the far end of the lake.







A small fire was burning and the warmth gave us much needed relief from the cold and wind.






There was a cozy corner stocked with nature books including many for children, and there were quite a few educational exhibits such as tree specimens and animal tracks. Although I was not pleased with the stuffed animal head.





I planted my butt on this couch for quite a while.

It was a huge improvement to the primitive Adirondack shelters I am used to when backpacking.





I could have stayed for quite awhile in its cozy comfortable shelter but we had to get packing so we hiked back out.. If the State could just provide more of these kinds of warming huts, perhaps with a stocked fridge, in the Adirondack wilderness I would definitely dust off the ol’ backpack and head back out there.