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| Main waterfall from end of spur trail (All pictures mine) |
Having just finished my only exam of the semester, I was in no mood to do any more work and I wanted to spend the remainder of the beautiful day outdoors. A friend of mine had told me about the Christman Sanctuary a couple months ago and I had yet to check it out, so I figured I'd head over there instead of my typical nearby short hike destinations. The Christman Sanctuary, managed by The Nature Conservancy, is located in southwestern Schenectady County in the Town of Duanesburg, with the main attraction being the waterfalls along Bozen Kill.
I pulled into the parking lot around 3:30 PM on a warm Tuesday afternoon. The small parking lot can hold 4-5 cars, but there is also some room to park along the road. Leaving the trailhead, the main loop trail, marked with blue blazes, proceeds through a grassy area. Planks cross some muddy areas.
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| Near the trailhead |
Running along the edge of the woods, the blue loop begins. While not readily apparent, one can follow the loop clockwise by ducking into the woods or continue straight along the wide path (the most direct way to the waterfalls). Soon enough, this trail too bends into the woods
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| Blaze near the beginning of the woods |
Not too far into the woods, we reach a bridge with plaque next to it. The plaque dedicates the bridge to Doris Saunders Plant.
Continuing across the bridge, the path begins a hard to follow winding trek through the woods
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| Yeah, that's the trail |
The occasional blue blaze served as reassurance that I was indeed on the trail.
Eventually, the trail makes a sharp turn to the left and we begin the descent into the Bozen Kill ravine.
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| Down, down, down we go |
Near the bottom of the ravine, there is a junction. Straight ahead, the blue trail follows Bozen Kill downstream. Sharp right is the yellow-blazed spur trail to the falls. I turned right.
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| Looking down the falls spur trail |
The yellow trail wastes no time getting up close and personal with the cliffs, narrowing and descending through cracks in the rock.
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| Yup, that's the trail |
Ropes in much of this area help one to keep their balance and, in a couple places, the trail is under rock overhangs.
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| Did I really just walk under that? |
By this point, we're walking right along the edge of Bozen Kill and a small waterfall is to the left.
Continue down the trail a bit and we reach the main attraction, a 30-foot waterfall, less than half a mile from the trailhead.
The waterfall cascades into a shallow pool rimmed by cliffs. Swimming and wading are expressly forbidden. A shelter containing a table is also located here.
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| Shelter |
Having viewed the falls, I was ready to continue on.
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| Looking downstream along Bozen Kill |
Retracing my steps back to the blue trail, I followed the blue trail downstream to complete the loop.
A ways down, the orange trail breaks off to the right, crossing Bozen Kill on a set of stepping stones. This trail loops through the southern half of the preserve.
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| Orange Trail's crossing of the creek |
Some more small falls and rapids are located downstream of the Orange Trail.
The blue trail turns away from the creek and a spur trail departs on the left, leading to the Christman Memorial.
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| Spur trail to the Christman Memorial |
The trail enters a more open area near the road before turning back into the woods.
Soon enough, we're back at the point where the blue trail splits.
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| Approaching the loop split point |
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| Looking down the other side of the Blue Trail loop |
Turning right here leads back to the parking lot.
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| Approaching the parking lot |
While not a ton of effort, the Christman Preserve makes for an excellent short hike if you'd like to see some waterfalls and don't have a lot of time to do it.
Getting Here
The Christman Sanctuary is located along Schoharie Turnpike in Duanesburg, about halfway between NY Route 7 and US Route 20.
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