Henry's Woods as you may know is a trail system made up of 5-distinct trails with true variations on each. The weather as of late has been all but cooperative for people who love the snow and the outdoors, but lucky for us we managed to get out just before the rain and just after a nice bit of snow fall.
We hit the trail with our Nordic skis clipped on tight and off we went kicking and gliding up the Connector Trail. This trail as we expected had been well trampled before us, but that was all fine and dandy, the day was near perfect for having a set of sticks tied to our feet. We quickly came to the Loop Trail Intersection and decided to hang a right and head in a counter-clockwise direction. We always did have an act for going against the flow, but what we wanted was the downhill on the other end of the loop. We have a method to our madness, we may be the only ones who understand it, but it's a method no less.
This is one of my favorite sections of trail. We coasted on a slight downhill to cross a narrow bridge then to a sharp turn and small hill climb. We passed by the Blue Trail which is also referred to as the Switchback Trail, for obvious reasons. I tried to ski this short trail once, it's kind of a blur, and I think I blocked it from my memory. It's a steep down from the top side with hairpin turns over a narrow path – enough said.
We continued on along the Loop Trail for a bit longer to where the Red Trail comes in on the right, also referred to as the Rocky Knob Trail. We decided to attempt this upper loop trail on skis for the first time. I felt a few butterflies in my stomach as we kept climbing, switchbacking and climbing some more along a narrow and somewhat intimidating trail. We topped off on Rocky Knob with amazing views of Lake Placid before we started out aggressive descent off Rocky Knob. Just below the top was another great view for which we walked to, located atop a small ledge. This view had some clouded in views of the bottom portion of the Great Range. Clipped in again we started a soft descent which brought us by a small rock face and back into the open forest. The descent wasn't as steep as I had expected, it was actually moderated by side hills and distance which was very comforting for me. It's not as much the steepness of the terrain I was worried about, but the rocks that poked out through the snow and icy patches that had developed from boot-packing.
We swept our way through the open forest and cut a corner or two on the hairpin turns and quickly found ourselves back on the Loop Trail just a bit further up from where we left it. Continuing on the Loop Trail we climbed steadily up to the plateau where another small loop comes in on the left. This small loop is the Plateau Trail or Yellow Trail. We were very excited about this, we would have a few inches of powder here, and no one had used it since the last snow. The Plateau Trail follows along the edge of a very flat upper ridge, making this trail quite flat. Flat was OK with us though, we got to have fresh snow under our feet and the opportunity to just kick and glide our way through the upper forest and taking in some unique views out toward the Village of Lake Placid.
Once we came to the end of the Plateau Trail we were back at the Loop Trail at the top of the hill we saved till last. Unfortunately it was very icy in spots so we had to keep one ski to the edge in the unconsolidated snow to slow us down. The hairpin turn at the bottom gave us both our first and only tumble of the day. From here we enjoyed a nice moderately pace downhill all the way back to the parking lot.
The Henry's Woods Trails are also a very convenient place to play. They are located just outside of the village far enough to remove you from the craziness of weekend Main Street. But close enough to retreat back to a warm hotel, a hot shower and all the amazing places to chow down on some red meat – or whatever your appetite desires after a day in the woods. We decided to indulge ourselves at Liquids and Solids with a couple double burgers and fries with a side of warm liquid happiness, if you know what I mean.
For more information on the Henry's Woods Trails and other destinations near Lake Placid, pick up a copy of Adirondack Trail Runner by Spencer Morrissey and Corenne Black at a local gear shop, bookstore or at the Lake Placid Visitors Center.
