A VERY DIFFERENT WINTER 2015-16

Since I moved to Syracuse, a little over 26 years ago, we have not seen such as winter as we just had, Winter 2015-16. This has been a winter with the least amount of snow in a very long time. Some said this winter was similar to that of 1966. On the other hand, I do remember the other extreme of excessive amount of snow in the winters of 1993 and 1994. One of those years we had a 4 day blizzard during which school was cancelled for its duration. 

This past winter we were in the El Nino weather system. In the Northeast we generally see more bitter cold and less precipitation during the El Nino winters. However, it was a very mild pattern in the sense that we didn't see much of the bitter cold, only about 3-4 times and we were definitely light on the precipitation aspect. 

According to Goldsnowball.com here are the stats for this past winter: Syracuse

GSB Cities

This Year 2015

Normal Average to Date

This Time  Last Season

Normal Seasons Average

All Time Season  Snowfall Record

---

Syracuse	80.5	122.1	119.1	123.8	192.1 inches (1992 - 1993)
Rochester	63.7	97.5	101.4	99.5	161.7 inches (1959 - 1960)
Buffalo	55.1	93.4	112.9	94.7	199.4 inches (1976 - 1977)
Binghamton	31.9	81.3	92.9	83.4	134.0 inches (1995 - 1996)
Albany	16.9	59.2	75.9	59.1	112.5 inches (1970 - 1971)

When speaking to your average Syracusean, almost everyone was excited that we had a very mild winter. On the other hand, those that snowmobile and ski, weren't very thrilled with the snow levels. 

Looking back at all of the months starting in October 2015, we had at least one 70 degree weather day with an additional 2-3 days of temperatures in the 50's and 60's. 

12/18/15

12/19/2015

I was excited about a potential weather system hitting Syracuse but as seen on the Doppler, both systems missed us by a long shot. 

12/24/15

Christmas Eve: I had to run some errands and it was in the low 70's so it was nice to wear some shorts.

January 1st 2016

With the snowmobile all ready to go, I finally got my first snow. It started on first day of the year and over the course of 4 hours (photo below) we had 5 inches fall. In less than a week were back to green grass and no snow. 

1/5/16

We barely had snow and the deer were already on our property pick at our decorative pear trees. Apparently there were still some dried pears on the branches which they picked off pretty well. 

1/12/16

We had a litte clipper system on 1/12/16 which brought a minimal accumulation. 

1/13/16

 The meteorologist got most of the folks excited in the Syracuse area that we were going to get 7 plus inches but as seen on the Doppler above, the cloud stayed a mile northeast of my house and we got nothing out of it.

1/17/16

At last we got our snow. The predictions made on 1/17 were correct and we got almost a foot of snow on 1/19. Some snowblowing in the morning and a nasty commute to work. I was eager to get back home and go sledding.

1/19/16

1/19/16

1/19/16

Although we had so little snow, Lesya, my lovely wife, expressed an interest in learning how to snowblow. With the kids in bed, we had a little date on the front driveway, taking care of the fresh snowfall. 

1/20/16

With so little snow this past winter, I didn't have to get on my garage roof and shovel off 2 plus feet of snow. A week later it was all gone. 

1/26/16

2/2/16

2/12/16

2/13/16

A day before Valentine's we got a few more inches of snow. There was enough to go sledding for the last time this winter.

2/14/16

2/19/16

From this point forward we had very little snow, instead it was rain. 

The first week of April we had a few inches of wet snow for 3 days however it has melted since then. We are back to green grass, as we have seen so often this past winter. 

HIKING PLAN 2015

Today was one of those days when I just couldn't help myself but look over some of the Adirondack peaks that I haven't hiked yet. In fact I created a list of those peaks, 26 left. Out of that list I noticed that there were some pairs that would make a good day trip as well as a couple stand alone's.

1. Colvin and Blake

2. Street and Nye

3. Sawteeth and Gothics

4. Tabletop

5. Esther

I hiked Gothics a couple of years ago with Lesya, my wife, via the southern approach (Beaver Falls). However, it would be nice to hike up the northern steep trail and experience the cables. 

Tabletop is more or less a stand alone and not too exciting of a peak on the way to Marcy. I have contemplated adding Tabletop to a Marcy hike but I would much rather add Gray peak on the other side because it is so isolated. 

A while back I thought it would have been a nice trip to do Esther and Whiteface but since I did Whiteface via car it doesn't make sense doing it again. Thus Esther is a stand alone for me.

I would probably have to do at least 3 trips in order to hike these 7 new peaks. Definitely looking forward to the later spring, summer, and fall to do some hiking. One of these years I will invest in some cold weather gear and do some winter hiking. 

Absolutely love the beautiful ADK! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2015!

Happy New Year 2015 to all of my blog readers! Thank you for reading up on all my outdoor adventures in 2014. I had a great time enjoying the great outdoors and looking for to many more this year. I hope that you have an awesome and blessed 2015.

Some things to look forward to:

HIKING: As my kids are getting older, my wife and I are hoping to get out more to our beloved Adirondack mountains and continuing to check off the 46er list. I have 26 more hikes to accomplish in the next 16 years before I'm 46. My wife has 37 more to hike as well. Maybe we can even out the hikes this year a little more.

KAYAKING: After my last kayaking trip down the Tioughnioga Creek, I have only done the middle section. I would love to go back and do the beginning and end as well. I would like to revisit the Onondaga Creek in the spring as well with some friends. And there is the kayaking at our annual camping trips.

BIKING: This past year I hyperfocused on road biking and didn't do any mountain biking. But it would be nice to revisit some of the old mountain biking spots and maybe even check out some new ones.

 FISHING: I have yet to go and do some Steelhead fishing. Maybe this year will be the year when it will happen. Then there is always salmon fishing in the fall.

FOOD: If you haven't noticed I love to smoke fish and all the good meats. I learned some new things about salmon smoking this past year so I hope to put into practice some new techniques. I'm hoping to continuing cooking, especially after a some recent inspiration from people at my workplace.

TRAVEL: Our family has 2 trips planned in the new year. A trip to Hawaii has been on our list for many years and we are hoping to finally take this trip later this year. We have also always wanted to visit our national capitol, Washington D.C. Plus we will have our annual camping as well.

As our kids get older, it is fun to see them begin to enjoy more and more of our adventures together as a family. I really grateful for a wonderful family that loves adventure especially in the outdoors. I'm also grateful that they allow me to get away occasionally to enjoy the outdoors on my own or with friends.

Happy reading to all of you!

DUKE: OUR FAMILY DOG!

This December our family had a new addition, Duke, a goldendoodle dog. It was a nice Christmas gift to every member of our family. We have always wanted to get another dog since we had to give our old dog away 1.5 years ago. And last winter when we got a English Springer Spaniel we quickly realized that our 4 year old daughter was allergic to dogs and we had to bring the dog back to the breeder. We attempted to get an allergy work up but Alexis didn't want anything to do with needles.

Over the past few months I did some research regarding "hypoallergenic" dogs. We found out that the second and third generation crosses in goldendoodle dogs are more suitable for people with allergies. Another great find was a breeder in Ithaca, NY. A month ago when visiting family in Binghamton we decided to take a detour and see the dogs. Our family quickly fell in love with the dogs especially the Orange one. This puppy just hung out with us while the other dogs ran around, only intermittently interacting with us. 

After coming home we made a decision to wait until spring to get a dog. However, after speaking with the breeder again and having more family discussions we decided to get the dog this year. Lesya and I were worried if Alexis will have a reaction to the dog. But after a few days she was doing well. One evening Alexis gave us a scare when decided to bury her face in the dogs neck and about 2 hours later her eyes became blood shot and puffy. However, after some Benadrly and essential oils she was fine in the morning. Thank God she has been doing well ever since. 

Over the past two weeks we have been enjoying Duke as our family pet. The kids have been constantly playing with him and including him in their everyday activities. Lesya and are working on the training part. Overall Duke is learning the basics of potty training and simple commands. We are looking forward to many more great times. We hope to include him in as many outdoor activities as possible in the months to come. 

A PROMISE TO SELF!

I have to admit that its been fun blogging since March 2013. I had 70 posts and over 1200 views. Although the posts have not been plenty and the views not excessive its been fun sharing my outdoor experiences with the few people that have read my Savich Trek Blog. Thank you for reading. I hope to blog more and in a timely fashion following my adventures this year 2014.

There a few more adventures that I would like to have in areas like road cycling, kayaking, and especially hiking in the ADK High Peaks this coming year. So I raise my glass to all of the fun adventures that will come this year and hopefully in a large quantity than last year. I hope more of these adventures will be with my awesome wife and beautiful kids.

I'm in the process of working on 4-5 short videos of my adventures such as kayaking the Moose River, hiking Blue Mountain, ocean kayaking in St. Lucia, and mountain biking in Limekiln Campground.

ADK EXPLORER SEPT/OCT 2013 Issue

Since singing up for the magazine in the beginning of the year, this current issue is by far the most interesting reading with great articles on kayak trips, hiking trips, and just simply good ol' Adirondack news.

Raquette River looks like a nice 2-3 day trip with the family or some friends. Camping on the shore, fishing, and just relaxing after paddle all day. 

Our family really enjoys camping at Rollins Pond not too far all of the mountains that are seen above. The info below really looks like some of them could easily be done when the kids get older. 

Over the past 10 years the ADK PARK has been working on attracting more mountain bikers, hikers, and snowmobilers. Parallel to this time there has been a debate whether or not to keep open a rail for the train traveling from Old Forge to Lake Placid. The cost of maintaining an open rail that has not brought any revenue over the past few years has steadily increased and it was in need of a solution. These two ideas merged and a very attractive solution has arisen. Hopefully the debating is over now and things can start moving in getting the rail removed to create the 90-mile trail. 

I was never interested in the Appalachian Trail because I would never be able to get 4-6 months time to take the trail. Although interesting but not doable. A more appealing trail is the Northville-Lake Placid trail which is 122 miles but definitely doable with friends or even family when my kids get older. 

THE QUESTION: TO HUNT OR NOT TO HUNT 2013?

Over the past 2 years I have not gone hunting in the fall for whitetail deer. Although I didn't hunt, my younger brother did and successfully harvested deer every season, thus providing the tasty delicacy of venison.

Reasons for not hunting previous years:

1. Too busy with house projects

2. The kids are really young

3. Started salmon fishing when it runs in the river

4. Didn't have enough time to practice with the now or shotgun

5. Super busy with church projects and church ministry

6. There may have been other reasons that I can't think of right now

Looking at the above reasons, truthfully this year leading up to this hunting season has not been any different and those very same reasons stand strong. 

The additional reasons may be the following:

1. My son is the new addition to the family.

2. Picked up a new hobby and form of exercise--road biking.

I suppose the gun and bow will have to stand in storage another year and hopefully I will use them next year. 

ADK 46ER-TO-BE

A few years ago I was inspired to conquer the 46 ADK high peaks and I had made a goal to, Lord willing, do all 46 by age 46. On one of the trips to Lake Placid, my wife and I discovered patches of the all of the high peaks. So I decided to purchase a few of the ones that I have hiked. Originally I had planned to purchase the patches as I hike the peaks. Later I came across the patches sold in bulk, so I decided to get them all at once. Then it occurred to me that these patches are just going to sit in my desk and only be displayed when I have hiked the mountains.

After some thinking, planning, and some more planning, I decided to design a display canvas to hold all of the patches. It was fun but it took longer than anticipated. However, I really like the end result  and its hanging in my office. So now its even more inspiring because I see it everyday, several times a day.

I keep track of the peaks that I hiked at peakery.com. The link to my page is on the right column under websites.

TEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY!

This summer 2013, has been 10 years since I had ventured out into the ADK. The interesting part is that I would have probably never enjoyed the mountains so early in my life if it wasn't for my adventurous friends at the church youth group.

In the summer of 2003, 4 curious individuals in the youth did some research about the high peaks and decided to drive out there and see if for themselves. My younger sister, Oksana, was among the group of 3 guys Vitaly, Ruslan, and Roman. Well adventure they did find when they attempted their first hike in the middle of a rain storm. To this day we still can't figure out which trail they were on or what peak they had attempted to climb. To make the long story short, the trail that they were on crossed a rushing mountain river several times. They crossed it several times going up the trail but realized that it was becoming more and more difficult to cross it because of the persistent rain. Later I found out that my sister was almost swept away if one of the guys didn't grab her hand in time. 

Since that time, the church youth group camped at Marcy Dam and on that trip I climbed the first peak in the ADK--MT. Marcy. Why not start with the highest? Since then I have hiked 14 more peaks and  became inspired to hike the remaining 31. 

I live a lovely 4 hrs away from the peaks and can't hike as often as I would like but I try to get up there at least 2 times a year and hike a few at a time. 

My adventure buddies have been: Andrey M, Ruslan P, Andrey T, Vitaly B.

Ever since I got married 6 years ago, my favorite traveling companion has been my wife, Lesya. She is equally as adventurous as myself and has become even more so since we got married. She is a great leader in the hike, and I just follow her to the summit. She has hiked 8 peaks with me over the past few years.