Garnet Hill

The girls had their midwinter school break last week and M took the week off from work. He’s been obsessed with cross country skiing this year so he decided to book us a stay at Garnet Hill Lodge in the Adirondacks. The closest place that was guaranteed to have good conditions, according to him. Still a 4.5 hour drive…

We stayed in the Birches house, not the main lodge so we had to walk up a short hill for breakfast and dinner but our room was nice, very spacious.

It was snowing quite a bit when we arrived Tuesday night so we had gorgeous light fluffy snow the next day. Since it was the girls’ first time on skis, we did an easy loop first. It was a lovely 3km loop in the woods, very easy. Then, we did an intermediate one, down to the lake and back up. E and I went through the woods while M and V took another trail. Our trail hadn’t been groomed since the snowfall so it was a little more challenging for E to keep to the tracks. But it was so beautiful! I wished I had my camera (did not bring it while skiing).

The next day got cold. Well, colder. I guess how cold it was depends on what you’re used to. -10C, a little colder than that in the morning. We were fine. Even removed our hats every so often because of the physical activity.

We went snowshoeing in the morning and I did bring my camera. The trail we followed isn’t accessible to skiers so we were alone. Saw what woodpeckers do to trees…

We got to a pond that supposedly had a beaver house on it. I think I saw it. There was this snow covered mound with a few branches sticking out. I took a picture but it’s hard to see. I didn’t want to get too close. The snow was deep. I was sinking, even with the snowshoes. Also did not want to scare the beavers.

Our trail took us all the way to the old garnet mine and back down to the ski shop. The girls were not huge fans of the snowshoeing, probably because it’s like walking and much slower than skiing. So we went skiing again in the afternoon. Conditions were a little more challenging but still very good. I’m not an excellent skier by any means but I had no issues staying upright the whole way. Our trail was also a little more technical than the first day’s trails.

The girls really enjoyed themselves. In fact, we added a mini loop after that last trail because they wanted to keep going! We may have budding cross country skiers on our hands…

About deuxsouriceaux

Creative mommy at home to two wonderful little girls, trying to juggle family, sewing, exercise, family, knitting, photography, and did I mention family?