Farming

Some photos of the team doing some spring planting at Bob (asst. coach) and Flips farm, Little Grasse Food Works http://littlegrasse.blogspot.com/.

War at 7 Springs

The other weekend (when the sun was out for once) I took a trip to Seven Springs with friend-of-the-ski-team George Flynn. Seven Springs was at one time the Clarkson Snowbowl where carnivals were held, jumps were thrown and XC ski races were contested. These days SLUSKI uses the alpine slope and hilly roads nearby for uphill running and bounding workouts, but there's also a network of mountain bike trails running through the woods. George and I went to check on the snowmelt and see if biking was even possible. When we flew around the bend and into the old (and always empty) parking lot we were met by rows of backpacks, firearms, tents and giant military vehicles. A man in uniform came over and warned us that the ROTC from Rochester was up doing exercises and shooting paintball guns in the woods. We could bike around, but we had to be wary of getting caught in the crossfire. We could see snow littering the alpine slope, but decided to bike up anyway since we had driven all the way out. We looked closer at the hill and noticed Humvees driving straight up the steep, rocky incline. As we were dreaming of rallying George's old '92 Corolla over the hill a Hummer pulled right up next to us. "You guys want a lift up to the top?" asked the Marine inside. "Hell yeah!" we replied. But it turned out that no matter how we tried, we couldn't fit our bikes in the back of the Hummer. It was already packed with gear, so we just rode up to the top and watched the Marines speed up the mud and rocks. We could hear paintballs popping in the distance, and at the trail intersection we even ran into the target, a marine dressed head to toe in robes and turban. Likely the only "terrorist" to ever set foot in Pierrepont, NY. The trails were too snowy to ride, and we left wishing we'd just asked for a trip up in the Hummer the fun of it.
George's car was the smallest vehicle for miles...
A hummer in the distance speeds up the hill