October 9, 2023
Headed back east, away from Lake Ontario, and stopped along the way to do Historic Champlain Canalway Trail in Halfmoon, NY. This NRT is supposed to be six miles long, but the southern three miles are currently inaccessible as the path is under active construction/improvement (see last photo).
This is a gravel path following Old Champlain Canal through Halfmoon. Fairly basic and flat with enjoyable water views most of the way. There were a ton of woolly bear caterpillars crossing the path all along the route. Lots of brown showing, so if you believe the folklore, this means a mild winter for the Albany/Mechanicville region.
After my out-and-back walk, I headed toward another campground…one which I will not name. This one was not as nice as the one near Lake Ontario. It had advertised WiFi, but when I got there I was told it sometimes worked and sometimes didn’t. The firewood I had preordered was soaking wet since they didn’t store their wood under any kind of shelter. The long road leading to the tenting area was so rutted and eroded that a low-clearance vehicle would have had trouble. My site was slanted and I could not find a flat space for my tent. The owner was never around when I looked for him, and the phone number he left for people to call in order to find him was useless because there was no cell service. There’s a little store there, but “it’s never open” according to the campground helper someone tracked down for me when I arrived so I could check in. This helper introduced herself as a social media influencer and gave me her card. I later saw her drive around in a golf cart filming sites and people (without asking)…she drove right by the porta-potty by the tenting area without checking it…it needed to be cleaned and restocked with hand sanitizer. Anyway, I was less than enamored with this place. I won’t publicly name it…but I won’t be back.