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May 9, 2012
 wild columbine This much-needed rain will surely foster the growth and development of the late spring wildflowers on the Preserve. To date, we have observed the following species, mostly by keeping to the lower trails (Red Gate, Snicket, Flatlanders, Trillium):
| Coltsfoot |
| Hepatica, sharp-lobed |
| Bloodroot |
| Plantain-leaf Sedge |
| Dog tooth Violet (trout lily) |
| Lance-leaf Spring Beauty |
| Downy Yellow Violet |
| Dutchman’s Breeches |
| Blue Cohosh |
| Purple trillium |
| Two-leaf Toothwort |
| Bellwort, perfoliate |
| Wild Ginger |
| Early Meadow Rue |
| Jack in the Pulpit |
| Squirrel Corn |
| Dog Violet |
| Periwinkle |
| Kidney-leaf Buttercup |
| Golden Alexander |
| Wild strawberry |
| Long Spur violet |
| Canada violet |
| False Miterwort (foamflower) |
| Miterwort |
| Dwarf Ginseng |
| White Violet |
| Showy Orchis |
| Early Saxifrage |
| Cutleaf Toothwort |
| False Solomon’s Seal |
| White Baneberry |
| Canada Mayflower |
| Red Columbine |
| Indian Cucumberroot |
| Yellow Lady’s Slippers |
| Herb Robert |
| Golden Ragwort |
| Wood Betony |
While many of these species are past flowering, you can still catch a glimpse of late bloomers by hiking higher on the mountain. This includes spring beauties, dutchman’s breeches, squirrel corn, a few trout lilies and bellworts.
The next wildflower walk is this Friday, see you there
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April 21, 2012
 Dutchman's breeches (L. Dillmann) The spring wildflowers are out in abundance, despite the dry weather. A hike from the Red Gate parking lot, up the Blue summit trail to Trillium (near the Thompson cabin) will reward you with views of periwinkle, trout lily, dutchman’s breeches, wild ginger, perfoliate bellwort, blue cohosh, miterwort, two-leaf toothwort, spring beauty, jack-in-the-pulpit, dog violet and golden alexander. Wild leeks are up along many trails, but not flowering yet.
Several of these species are indicators of the rich hardwood forest community, including bellworts, wild ginger, blue cohosh, trout lily and wild leeks.
The spring wildflower survey walks continue through the end of May. The weather forecast for rain this weekend should produce more flowering for next week.
Enjoy your time on the Preserve.
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March 14, 2012
 The Equinox Preserve geocaches are back in place after having been removed for the winter. Look for the “Mt Equinox Pest House” and the “Trout Lily Foundation”, along with the mystery “Trillium” geocache by logging on to www.geocaching.com and obtaining the coordinates for your GPS unit or smartphone.
 coltsfoot on the Pond Loop In addition, you can spot the first wildflowers of the spring. The coltsfoot is up along the Pond Loop. While not a native wildflower, it is a sure sign of spring.
Enjoy your time on the trails!
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February 24, 2012
 Mt Equinox landslide “Mt Equinox Landslide Hike: Saturday, March 3rd”
Dave De Simone of De Simone Geoscience Investigations will lead a hike to the Upper Spring and the base of the Mt Equinox landslide to explore the geology of Mt Equinox and the underlying hydrology. De Simone, PhD., is an adjunct professor at RPI and is an expert in geologic mapping for site investigations and interpretation of geologic data.
Join us for this hike on Saturday, March 3rd (meet at the West Union St Red Gate parking lot at 9 am). This is a strenuous hike; micro-spikes or other traction devices are strongly recommended! Bring lunch, snacks, water bottle and dress in layers.
This event is FREE and open to the public and is generously co-sponsored by The Mountain Goat. For more information or questions on trail conditions contact Equinox Preserve Forest and Trails Steward Rick LaDue at 366-1400 or via e-mail at rick@equinoxpreservationtrust.org
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January 28, 2012
The trails remain exceedingly icy, despite the recent rain and warm temps. Traction devices are recommended. If the weather pattern persists the lower trails should be more “user friendly” by next week.
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January 24, 2012
This trail update is really simple…it’s quite icy on all the trails and traction devices are strongly recommended. The icy conditions look to remain for the better part of this week.
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November 22, 2011
On Saturday, November 19th, the Equinox Preservation Trust hosted our annual Fall Trailwork event. As always, our purpose was to rake debris from the waterbars which protect the trails from erosion. Armed with rakes, seven volunteers participated this year as we cleaned waterbars on the Maidenhair Trail, SVAC Loop, and part way up the Blue Summit Trail.
 2011 waterbar work crew Waterbars are structures designed to re-direct water off the trails, thereby reducing soil erosion and making the trails easier to hike, walk, ski and bike. During the fall, waterbars accumulate leaves and sticks which tend to limit water flow off the trails. Once all the leaves have fallen, we head the trails to prepare the waterbars for late autumn rain and the snowmelt of next year.
Posted below are photos of the volunteers, as well as before and after photos of the waterbars. A significant amount of effort goes into making the Equinox Preserve trail system such a wonderful place to visit and we thank all the volunteers who make this possible.
Enjoy your time on the trails
 water bar (before)
 water bar (after raking)
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October 7, 2011
 A series of three new geocaches has been developed and placed on the Preserve by the Equinox Preservation Trust. Each geocache (Mt Equinox “Pest House”, Trout Lily Foundation and the mystery Trillium geocache) is placed at a site of historical significance. Locate the first two geocaches in order to assemble the coordinates to the mystery third geocache.
 Trillium 'mystery' geocache Each geocache is kid-friendly and features a relatively easy walk to locate. Coordinates to other natural features in close proximity are included.
These geocaches are NOT permanent and I will be removing them when snow arrives. The geocaches will be returned to their locations after snow melt.
As always, please tread softly and respect the significance of these sites by leaving no trace of your visit.
To participate and for the coordinates to find these geocaches, go to the Geocaching website at: www.geocaching.com.
Good luck and enjoy your time on the Preserve.
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September 7, 2011
A section of the Red Gate trail is now closed due to flooding. Due to the recent heavy rainfall, the stream flowing down the mountain from the Upper Spring has been running at a higher than normal volume. The volume of water has exceeded the capacity of the culvert under the Red Gate trail, and has partially filled the culvert with debris. To help maintain the integrity of the trail hikers can detour around the flooded section using the Snicket and extension of the Mt Bluff trails. All other trails remain open.
 
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September 3, 2011
All trails are now clear of fallen trees and limbs, with the exception of one rather large oak tree down on the Maidenhair trail. The summit trail is clear up to the Maidenhair Trail, beyond that hikers are reporting scattered fallen trees and limbs, but passable.
Each trail had at least one tree down, with the exception of the Trout Lily trail. Interestingly, the majority of the downed trees were white ash. It also seems to be a heavy mast year for white ash on the Preserve and perhaps that additional weight somehow contributed to the number of fallen trees.
Enjoy the trails and have a fine holiday weekend
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