Garnet Hill was my destination today; it was high time I went all out for cross-country skiing. In general, this winter has been disastrous for the sport in the Adirondacks--just not enough snow, with a few exceptions. Mid-December was great, but, of course, I couldn't ski then while in the midst of moving. The eight inches of a week ago breathed new life into cross-country around here.

I had so much fun today skiing at Garnet Hill. I was amazed by how well groomed the trails are; they're the best of any I've ever skied. Observe the photograph closely--this is one of Garnet Hill's famous grooming cats. Notice the appendages that allow the cat to groove two sets of cross-country ski tracks on every trail.

I warmed up on the beginner loop called Old Faithful and then took a series of intermediate trails down to Thirteenth Lake. I had a wicked wipe-out on the way down and narrowly averted running into a tree. Gosh! Guess what? I tried to make my 1971 wooden Norwegian skis (oh, they're beauties, all right, and the envy of many veteran cross-country skiers) act like my downhill skis, and that simply did not work. I bruised the hell out of my right knee, but otherwise I am still intact. The knee did not hold me back any. After a number of minutes paralyzed by pain while sitting in the snow, I was able to pick up and keep skiing.

The setting of Thirteenth Lake reminded me of Fish Pond. As is the case with Fish Pond, Thirteenth Lake is surrounded by hills that seem to rise right out of the lake. Of course, it's much larger than Fish Pond.

It was frigid today. The high temperature was about 16 degrees, but the windchill was ten below to zero, due to the blustery winds.

Am I too tired to have an adventure tomorrow? I'd love to go back to Garnet Hill, but I'm concerned I'm a bit worn out from the massive amount of energy expended on these trips. I hiked with Sophie 30 minutes in the morning, followed by 2 hours of intense, aerobic cross-country. Whew!

It did cross my mind to head up the trail toward Eleventh Mountain tomorrow, but I think that if I do anything, I'll go out early to Gore for some alpine skiing or to Garnet Hill.