[Bill Menke’s Journal Entry for February 27, 2006]. The town of Lake Placid, New York is extremely cold this morning, minus five Fahrenheit, but clear and sunny. I dress warmly: show boots, three layers on my legs (long underwear, pants and an insulated bib), and five on my upper body (long underwear, two fleece shirts, and two fleece jackets), heavy gloves on my hands and and a balaclava and ski mask on my head. I snowshoe to Connery Pond, a small pond located south of the Lake and west of Whiteface Mountain. The short (0.6 mi) access road branches off of Route 86, just south of the point where it crosses the Ausable River. About a foot of fresh, powdery snow is on the ground. The road passes through low woods, dominated by birches and evergreens. I pass several small streams, all of which have open water, despite today’s cold temperatures. The pond is reached via a short trail that branches off the road. It parallels one of the Ponds inlet streams. The stream is steaming a little, with nearby bushes encrusted in frost and with beautiful rosettes of ice crystals growing along its banks. Judging from occasional patches of grass that poke through the snow, the inlet must be a marshy little delta. The main area of the lake is completely covered with ice and snow. Whiteface Mountain is visible to the east. Puffs of clouds cover it summit. I guess that it is still snowing there. After standing a few minutes out in the bright sun, I turn an head back. Cobble Mountain, a smallish hill located just north of Lake Placid village, is visible from the trailhead. About an hour, overall.