Thacher Park

I cannot say enough how much I love living in Albany. I am, of course, biased because it is my home town. But I have traveled a bit and still find I love coming home to Albany and continue to love exploring it.

So reason 367 I love Albany: it is about 20 minutes away from Thacher Park! Thacher Park has been a place I have loved since I was young. On clear days, the view is incredible, looking out over Albany from the cliffs. Hawks nest in the cliffs, as well, and are constantly putting on little arial displays. The Indian Ladder Trail terrifed me as a child and as I grew, became a short trail of great fascination: you get to go into caves and walk under waterfalls! Part of the trail merges with the Long Path, which Chris and I want to hike someday.

Anyway, all these reasons and more are why I love Thacher Park :). So, now, we get to bring Koda there and share it with him.

Koda's favorite reason for loving Thacher Park.... it still has snow! He ate it, played in it, and just plain enjoyed it.

The creeks melted a bit and so Koda got to put his face into moving water for the first time. Adorable when he bit at it!

He also cannot stand when Chris explores something and he isn't with him. He follows Chris everywhere. So when Chris got up on the table, so did Koda, ha.

It was a gorgeous, blue-bird day! No one else was really at the park, because it is colder up there than in Albany. It is usually crowded on a hot summer day because it IS cooler.

We got to run and play and be silly. It was good for all of us.

And, now that Koda is growing up, he isn't tired out as quickly as he used to be. He didn't fall asleep on the ride home this time!

Until next time!

The city is covered in ice!

The city of Albany itself has been hit pretty hard by snow, ice, rain, and hail for the past couple of weeks. And while Koda is very much enjoying the weather (I've had shepherds that have loved the snow before, but he just seems as if his mother was a snowman!), it has been increasingly difficult to find ways to get him outside.

I love just our daily walks around the city during the week, but literally every sidewalk is a sheet of ice, or has never been shoveled, or is in some other way dangerous as all heck.

Soooooo... off to the Pine Bush it is! It's only a 15 minute drive from my house, and while it adds a lot more steps to the process of going on a walk, it is so worth it because I have one happy puppy when we go!

Shoving his face into the snow is a huge favorite ^

Heheh.

Also, I adore watching him jump off trail because he likes walking on the high snow banks, and 1 out of 3 times, he falls through, gets this surprised look on his face, and keeps on going! It's adorable.

I love watching his feet as he glides over the snow. I flounder like a fish if I go off trail without snowshoes, but his weight is distributed so perfectly and his paws spread out just so that he is completely comfortable! (the wonders of nature never cease to amaze!)

Well, this was just a quick update on what we are doing to battle the elements here in NY and still enjoy an active lifestyle with the new pup!

Nap Time!

A chunk of the Taconic Crest trail: Hopkins Forest!

So, January 2nd. Not my best of best days! We had just gotten back from a Philly New Years run and were a little worse for wear. Didn't eat or sleep the best and wore myself out!

However, keeping my promise to Koda, I made sure we got our butts out of the house to take him for a weekend hike. We chose a simple little chunk of trail in the Taconics that we had done before. We actually had taken this trail to the Snow Hole, which I highly recommend as a super easy day hike to a pretty awesome natural wonder. But I only had about 3 miles in me this day, so we didn't make it that far.

It was a nice, warm day and the snow was melting all around us. It wasn't too muddy at this point yet and neither cold enough to get icy, so the best of both worlds!

Koda saw we were not at full energy, even though he was, but we all still had fun.

The first bit of the trail we did doesn't have the best landscape views, but the forest is beautiful. However, if you get in a few miles, there are overlooks (which we didn't make it to this day, whoops! I am sure Koda didn't mind!).

We met several dogs and other hikers enjoying the day and weather, it is really beautiful to get out and meet other people who love what you love!

Christman Preserve

Christman Preserve is a gorgeous local hike in Delanson, NY, less than an hour's drive from Albany! It can be a short hike or longer depending on the loops you choose to follow. There is a map posted at the beginning of the trail. Lots of information is included in the link I gave you, so I am just going to continue talking about the trail from Koda's POV. :D

This hike starts out in low brush, but soon gets to the beautiful creek (which is obviously iced over at this time of the year in Albany).

Koda had a ton of fun crossing the frozen creek. I had made Chris test it out before I risked getting the pup dunked in frozen water (good job, Chris!) Koda is definitely an explorer and doesn't have much fear when it comes to natural obstacles!

My favorite part of Christman Preserve, however, is the waterfalls, which are stunning in the spring, but frozen in time as they are right now, they are doubly as beautiful.

Koda wasn't too impressed, however, by the majestic landscape and just wanted to go play. "Less pictures, more romping!!" I can just hear him chiding me, hehe.

Koda got to explore a lot of different things on the trail, including a lean-to and lots of bridges.

One warning: The trail to get to the lean-to can be steep and icy and so, a little treacherous. However, this was an early snowfall and no ice had formed in mid-December. Chris and I have been to the preserve in deep winter (without the pup!) and had a tough time navigating it safely. It is easy enough to avoid the trail to the waterfall if need be, but wow, it's so beautiful, it is hard to resist!

As per usual, this hike ended with the little guy all tuckered out. Two miles seems to be about his limit. He was just shy of being three months old at the time of this hike and wanted to stop walking about 50 feet from the car! I urged him on and he was fine, but I am aware of his limits. We continue to go on long daily walks to get his endurance up!

Obligatory sleepy in the car picture:

(Sidenote: Chris owns an Element which has been touted as very dog-friendly, and I would have to concur! It's a great car for Koda and I can see him growing into it very well in the coming years. It is easily cleaned after his muddy paws get everywhere and has lots of space for our gear and Koda's!)

Koda's first hike!

Koda is still very young, but has been exploring the world and growing strong, so this past weekend, we decided to see how he would do in the great outdoors!

Chris and I chose a hike that was very mild, but still a challenge for a 10 week old pup. Vroman's Nose out in Schoharie County seemed perfect for our little group. It is about a two mile loop to get up to the top of the cliff area and back to the car, with about 400 feet of elevation to the top. Koda had already walked that far in the city with no signs of slowing down, so we figured as long as we went at his pace, the hike and the climb would not be a problem.

Plus, he is so small that I can still carry him! (not for long, the days of puppyhood pass by too fast, especially for German Shepherds, they grow like weeds!)

Despite my fears that he would tire out quickly, Koda raged on like a little machine. As you can see in the picture above, he had some pretty good hills to walk up, and he didn't hesitate for a second. His favorite part, however, was climbing over rocks, roots, and other obstacles. This gives me great hope that he is going to love hiking more than anything, because there are sure some obstacles in the Adirondacks! He got mad the first time I tried to pick him up and help him up a rock climb, grunting and swinging his legs. I didn't do that again!

The view from Vrooman's Nose was great! We got to see lots of the valley, big open farmland. For a short hike so nearby to home, it was a beautiful payoff. Perfect place to have a lazy day picnic, we will surely be coming back in the nicer weather.

Koda seemed to really enjoy the view as well!

I made sure to bring food and water, which he gobbled up, having earned himself a big appetite. We were so worried when he got home that he was so small and the vet was concerned he was underweight, but no more. He is a little barrell of strength!

We even worked on good manners on the top. He was very well behaved, staying near to Chris and I and being relatively calm for so young a dog. The one thing he won't do is pose nice for pictures with me, always licking my face and wriggling around!

We got down to the bottom and Koda still wanted to play, so we hung out, ate more dog food and eventually went to the Carrot Barn where Koda was allowed to come in while we got sandwiches! He was a hit with all the customers and workers there, and we got complimented on his good temperment (which felt really nice, we have really been trying to socialize him and I am glad it is paying off).

All in all, it was a success, Koda loved it, and we loved having him as a companion. It is more beautiful than I ever knew to see the forests and the trails and the world through brand-new eyes! There is much more exploration in our future, that's for sure.