By Larry Hertz • Poughkeepsie Journal • link to original article
The snow-covered trails in the Winnakee Nature Preserve were dotted with deer and rabbit tracks Saturday afternoon. And as a contingent of hikers approached a grove of hemlock trees, five young deer scampered to higher ground.
“That’s one of the advantages of winter hiking – it’s easier to spot animal tracks,” said Seth Lyon, a member of the Hyde Park Trail Committee and leader of Saturday’s mile-and-a-half trek on the network of the Winnakee trails, located east of Route 9 in Hyde Park.
Nine local residents joined Lyon on the one-hour trek that began and ended at the western edge of the 105-acre nature preserve. Lyon, who also leads hikes on the Dutchess County portion of the Appalachian Trail, said he especially enjoys winter hiking. “Most of us are indoors too much in the winter,” he said. “Most of us need to get out and exercise after the holidays.”
The most experienced hiker at Saturday’s event, 85-year-old Jane Geisler of Verbank, said she had been navigating trails in the mid-Hudson Valley since 1949. She said she kicked off 2009 with a two-mile hike in Wappinger on New Year’s Day. “The advantage of winter hiking is the scenery is different almost every time you go,” said Geisler, who used a set of cross-country ski poles to steady herself on the slippery, uneven terrain.
Two other hikers, Lois and Michael Skelley, said when they decided to move from Westchester County 21/2 years ago, they bought a home in Hyde Park in part because the town had so many hiking trails.
Shortly after moving here, they joined the Hyde Park Trail Committee and took part last spring in a cleanup of the trails in the Winnakee preserve. “We hauled a lot of stuff out of there, including, I believe, a kitchen sink,” Michael Skelley said.
Lois Skelley said the snow and ice had enhanced her enjoyment of Saturday’s hike. “Some of the patterns of ice in the creek looked like blown glass,” she said.
Lyon said he and other members of the Hyde Park Trail Committee planned to host other hikes at some other trails in the town throughout the year. “Too often, we think of hiking as something you do when you travel to the Adirondacks or other places far away,” he said. “But there are plenty
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