The Tri-Village Greenway Committee of the Mohawk-Hudson Land Trust hosted members of our fledgling Normanskill Roundtable at their February 9, 2010 meeting. As Chaired by Dan Lewis and attended by MHLC Executive Director Jill Knapp and a fair number of Land Trust members the meeting was an opportunity to inform and learn about mutual interests and activities. There was a general understanding of the concept of watershed associations and an appreciation of the small steps the Normanskill Roundtable and the other organizations associated with us have accomplished in developing a "voice for the Normanskill". Laura DeGaetano, Tim Lake and Dan Driscoll were present to contribute their knowledge and insight into the need and possibility of watershed management and planning. The Town of Bethlehem is home to five Land Trust Preserves including Normanskill East and Normanskill West. There was discussion on trail links especially the lower river using the proposed rail trail, Graceland Cemetary, Albany's Normanskill park, the MHLC Preserves, and the Albany Public Golf course. After the meeting Laura DeGaetano mentioned to me there was a linked trail potential in the Town of Guiderland for the Normanskil
l's path through Tawasentha Park crossing Route 146 towards (and perhaps along) the Watervliet Reservoir. Canoe access and use of the Normanskill was also discussed with downstream trips starting at Krumkill Road or State Farm Road bridges, depending on waterlevels and pulling out at park near the first Route 85 round-about where there is a launch point. It would be a good task to collect water recreational access information from those with the experience to tell the tale. Other news from the meeting includes the June 5, 2010 Trails Day to be sponsored by the Tri-village Committee. Also the Stormwater Coalition of Albany County has a meeting on the Normanskill Watershed on February 25, 2010, 7 pm at Five Rivers Environmental Education Center, 56 Game Farm Rd. Delmar and on Krum Kill Watershed, February 18, 2010, 7pm at Holiday Inn Express, 1442 Western Ave. Guilderland. Thanks to this meeting the voice of the Normanskill got a little louder.
THE NEXT NORMANSKILL ROUNDTABLE
Open to all with an interest in the Normanskill Watershed
TOPIC:
Vital Signs of the Normanskill Watershed
DATE: Tuesday, April 13, 2010
PLACE: Pine Hollow Arboretum, 16 Maple Avenue, Slingerlands, NY
TIME: 5:30 pm for Arboretum Tour led by John Abbuhl
7:00 pm Roundtable Begins
Contact Alan Casline at
ACASLINE@AOL.COM
Please comment insection below.
The trail to Mine Lot spring has been on my to do list for quite awhile now. As my exploration of the Normanskill watershed continues finding the named springs has been one of the side objectives. There is the bathtub spring on Bennett Hill and I'm aware of a Mine Lot spring. I am also interested in seeing all the confluences of smaller streams into larger and eventually into the Normanskill. For example Black Creek and the Bozenkill merge before the Bozenkill then connects to the Watervliet Reservoir. The Watervlient Reservoir is made from a dammed and flooded valley of the Normanskill. I planned on tracing these spring sources and perhaps finding new ones. I read somewhere the native peoples knew of six sacred springs in the Pine Bush. Anyone have any more information on them?
Mine Lot spring starts a creek that is found in John Boyd Thacher State Park. It flows and drops off the escarpment after passing under Thacher Park Road (Rt. 157) On Sunday January 16 it was a clean winter day with little wind and deep powder in the woods. I told my wife I was going someplace wild and dangerous to which she said "Well, I'll guess you'll be leaving Delmar." 
I and a lot of other people picked Thacher Park as a place to enjoy wonderful winter conditions. My daughter Liz had bought me a new pair of snowshoes and I chose the contemplated but never attempted Mine Lot trail for my walk. The trails in Thacher Park are well packed for cross country skiing and snowshoeing. 
I followed the packed trails uphill for awhile until I saw one snowshoe path cut off into the woods. It looked like the kind of undisturbed trek I was interested in and I thought maybe this person has a loop in mind that would reconnect with a main trail later on. I traveled towards a steep hill and then along the hill's base. At a not too steep part my leader went up the hill and I followed in the shoe prints going ahead. After about 30 minutes of going deeper and deeper along this other person's trail, I started thinking maybe this other snowshoe walker had more experience and was better conditioned than me. Maybe I should turn around and retrace my steps. I decided, since I did not really want to do that, to go on longer in the hopes of hitting a main trail soon. I didn't but instead I came upon a small flowing winter stream. 
It did turn out to be Mine Lot creek and as it was headed I felt sure towards the escarpment and road I decided to cut my own trail by following it for awhile. I stayed high on the banks and found a way down the ridge of hill I had climbed earlier. It came out in a snow covered picnic area and from there the main trail was close. I still have not found the spring, which is good because I can come back in the early spring with a clearer idea about the landscape and trail.
