Summit of Giant-of-the-Valley 4627'
The trouble with climbing Giant, the 12th highest peak in the Adirondacks, is that you have to start at the bottom. Now this probably seems obvious, but with most of the other peaks, once you drive your car to the trail head, you are already at 2000+ feet. With Giant, or its full title, Giant-of-the-Valley, you start in that valley at the bottom and climb up for 3 miles. Up, up, and then up some more. You scramble over rocks, you hoist yourself up over boulders. You grab onto trees, worn smooth from countless other hands, and pull yourself ever upward. Near the top we entered into an alpine forest. The trees changed, the flowers changed, the aroma changed. The views are magnificent. But I made it, scraped hands, scraped knee, with every ski injury I've inflicted on my body screaming for attention, I made it. I could see Whiteface, including the ski trails. I could see Mt. Marcy. I could see the Lake Champlain Valley. I could see Vermont. I could see New Hampshire. I could see my children, gazing in wonderment.
Labels: Adirondacks, Katie, Matthew, Sue
# posted by Susan @ 10:22 AM
Summit of Giant-of-the-Valley 4627'
