March 06, 2012
Jackrabbit Trail in Lake Placid NY
Jackrabbit Trail
After a slow start to the ski season, our late February snowstorm was a glistening offering of beautiful powder. After all, spring has been fast approaching and an increasingly filled-in calendar makes all skiers furrow their brows in worry about how many more skis they will have before all the snow is melted.

My Labrador retriever, Wren, and I lost no time in enjoying the new-found winter playground. While the snow was still falling and blowing we headed out to the Jackrabbit Trail - a favorite among local cross country skiers. We found that others had the same idea and a few folks had kicked in some ski tracks ahead of us. New, deep snow is often slow and sticky – and this snow was just that - but the tracks helped expedite our exploration.

Starting at the trailhead on McKenzie Pond Road in Saranac Lake, we snaked our way along the narrow winding trail. The Jackrabbit in this section is of intermediate difficulty, and the trail passes through a small clearing with powerlines before reentering a mixed deciduous- coniferous forest. Balsam firs drooped beneath their weight of snow and many branches hung low on the trail. Once again I was thankful that someone else came through before me and did the hard part of clearing a path of snow-laden branches.

That said, Wren and I love fresh powder and we happily made our own trails – pushing through deep snow and tiring ourselves out. Wren gets particularly fatigued as she must bound along to get through deep snow. Eventually she tired of this and took breaks from her frolicking by following on my heels – allowing me to break through the snow and clear a better path for her. It is her usual practice when she is tired (who can fault her? – it's smart!), but she does have the annoying habit of stepping on the tails of my skis when she follows me like this.

McKenzie Pond near Lake Placid NY
McKenzie Pond

About a mile into the ski, the trail dropped abruptly on a rather fun hill to a small stream before reclimbing the far side. We bombed down and up and continued until we reached McKenzie Pond – a picturesque point about two miles from the trailhead. It offered beautiful views even as the snow blew across the ice, and the pond is a common destination for users of the trail.

Having absorbed the beauty of the pond, we headed on up the long, slow hill. We were quickly warm again in our efforts after cooling down while stopping at the pond. At this point on the trail, there was only one set of tracks from someone who had gone as far as we had on this blustery day. We climbed and climbed – the many-tiered hill felt like it could go forever – until oncoming darkness compelled us to turn perhaps a half mile from the junction of the Jackrabbit Trail with the McKenzie Mountain Trail (which meets the Jackrabbit 3.6 miles from McKenzie Pond Road).

The great thing about climbing a big hill is that you get to go back down it on your return, and the mile up flew past us as we shot back down through the powder, Wren enjoying the race as I yelled "mush" at her heels.

We met a few parties of skiers entering the woods with headlamps (I had brought mine, but never needed it) as we skied out, and all were abuzz about the beautiful new snow which has blessed us with good skiing in the days since. As spring approaches skiers never know when their last opportunity to ski might be – and none of us were taking any chances. 

 

-Alan Belford

Jackrabbit Trail in Lake Placid NY
Jackrabbit Trail
McKenzie Pond near Lake Placid NY
McKenzie Pond

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