[Bill Menke’s Journal Entry for February 25, 2006] I snowshoed from the Adirondack Loj to Marcy Dam. The Loj is part of the Adirondack Mountain Club facility that is located on the eastern outskirts of Lake Placid, New York. After chatting with one of the staffers in the hikers’ lodge, and after signing in at the trail register, I hiked southward along the blue-blazed Van Hovenburg trail. It ascends gently through birch and evergreen woods. Some of the stands of pine, especially those of hillsides, are quite tall, though without the girth that might signal old growth. In places the trail crosses streams and marsh areas, via low bridges of planks. Snow fell steadily as I hiked, with perhaps six inches having already accumulated. The air temperature was around 15 Fahrenheit. I encountered several people along the trail. I stopped to chat with one man with a tote sled. He said that he had camped out with some children, but that the low nighttime temperature of minus five had caused them to cut short their stay. I reached Marcy dam in about an hour. It’s made of concrete, is about twenty feet tall, and impounds a smallish lake. I crossed the dam, and stopped at on one the lean-tos on the eastern side. A couple of skiers were just leaving. They too had a sled. As I ate lunch, more people arrived, including a couple of guys with a German shepherd (that seemed overly interested in my lunch) and, after they left, a couple with a child, a girl of about twelve years. The lean-to commanded a nice view of the lake, but the snow was falling heavily enough that I could only barely make of out a lean-to on the opposite shore. After finishing my lunch, I crossed back over the western shore and visited the lean-to there. Someone had hung a tarp across its open side. I guess that it was being used overnight. The walk back through the snow was very pleasant. I stopped briefly at the Loj before I left. Its common room has a wonderful hearth, with a stuffed moose hanging above it, and interesting old chandeliers. About two and a half hours, overall.