Outbound Dan's Outdoor Musings

Who would have thought that the largest snake I ever saw in New York would be in the Niagara Gorge.   Yesterday I went hiking with a friend from the SAR team down into the Gorge.  Yes, we hiked under the guise of "physical conditioning" and getting ready for the work-capacity test, but in a place that is wild and unique as the Gorge - it is the best design I've even seen for a gym.   After descending the ailing Whirlpool stairs and making the rounds by the Flats we headed down the trail toward the old Great Gorge Railway stop in the rapids.  As an old hand in the area, I was leading the way and then something large moved on the ground just ahead of my feet. I stopped dead, then turned to Jamie, saying "look, it's a snake!"  We both stared at the slithering snake sunning itself on a patch of open ground.  Its unblinking reptilian eyes stared back at the two hikers, probably wondering if they were going to hurt it.  It curled itself in...

High winds, heat, and a potential storm - great day for a bike ride along the Erie Canal and Niagara River.  Though I'm not a cyclist, I like riding my bike for recreation as well as transportation.  Why am I not a cyclist?  Probably because I identify myself as a backpacker, a mountaineer, and a kayaker - those are the schema around which I base my life.  Also, I've never really embraced the cycling culture, I look ridiculous in bike shorts, my bikes are ill suited for what I do, and I don't hang out with other cyclists.  I'm just a guy that rides a bike.  Of course, I'm training to tour the Erie Canal from Albany to Buffalo next month so I guess I am kind of a cyclist; however, I wear my bicycling shorts underneath a pair of hiking pants. Anyway, I started from my home in North Tonawanda, weaving through the sleepy streets riddled with bike flipping potholes till I reached the relative safety of the Erie Canalway Trail, which is paved and generall...