Cross Mountain Crusher 2024 Recap

Posing For a Selfie at the Beaver Kill

Ever since discovering the Cross Mountain Crusher a few years ago, I have been intrigued by this ride. During marathon training season, I will often schedule my weekend long runs around the Pepacton reservoir, since it is relatively flat, and traffic is relatively light. B will typically provide support to me on these runs, driving ahead every couple of miles and waiting for me with Gatorade and snacks on hand. It was during one of these runs that I first discovered the Crusher. Continue reading

Autumn!

The leaves are changing in the Catskills! I put together the collage above from some of the leaves I saw around the yard this week. One of my drones is also now perched (probably permanently) in the top of one our tallest trees. But that is a story for a different day. I have uploaded a 10kx10k px version of the photo over here, for any other nerds who might be interested.

Catskills Leaf Action

Sunrise on Beylleayre Mountain

By my estimation, we are still about a week away from peak leaf peeping action in our neck of the Catskills. But we had such a beautiful sunrise this morning that I had to dust off the drone and make a quick vid of the changing leaves.Continue reading

October 2023 Playlist

For the beginning of marathon season, I’m posting a running playlist that I have been working on all year. I was meant to run the NYC Marathon again this year. A few weeks ago, I began to have some soft tissue problems and have been sort of taking it easy since then, testing the waters with easier runs and several rest days in between each of them. Ultimately, since I’m trying to avoid a relapse of a serious injury (because surgery sucks), I’m bowing out of the marathon and taking a break from runningĀ  for a few weeks (perhaps months) in an attempt to heal up. I’ve logged a little over 600 miles this year soundtracked by this playlist. I hope that some other runners can enjoy it as much as I have.

Fall Camp-Hike-Fish Photo Dump

Britt Enjoying Some Autumnal Blue Hour Views at Little Pond

A couple of years back, we scored some very decent camping gear through a Burton promo. Britt decided that it was time to finally actually put it to use. She booked a campsite a the Little Pond Campground, a short drive from our house in the Catskills. We opted for one of the “primitive” sites (means that you can’t just pull up and camp next to the car) mainly because it was the only option available on the last weekend of its operating season. The campground was a good way to ease back into “real” camping. It was only a half-mile walk to the camp site from the parking lot. So it was very easy to bring a wheeled cooler, bundle of fire wood, etc.. The campground also had hot showers and flushing toilets. We didn’t take advantage of the showers, since we only stayed one night. But the plumbed bathrooms were a nice amenity.

In the morning, we broke camp, sat in the truck for 30 minutes to let a rain squall blow through, then hiked the Little Pond trail with Lola. The leaves were intense. The rest of this post is a mix of photos from camping, hiking and fishing over the course of that weekend. The handheld shots were this (for camping) or this (for fishing). The aerial shots were with a DJI Mini drone. Enjoy!Continue reading

Fall Foliage Mornings With Droney

My commute upstate from NYC took about an hour longer that usual last night. I couldn’t figure out why until Britt reminded me that there was a three day weekend for a lot of people. Separately, it is getting darn close to peak leaf peeping season in our part of the Catskills. I woke up to this on Friday morning. Wild how much it has changed even from last weekend. I feel spoiled to be right in the middle of it all!Continue reading