Saturday, August 13, 2011

 

Adirondacks - Day 3 - Cascade



Summit of Cascade - 4098'
Another beautiful day dawned, and it was off to Cascade Mountain. Except for me, as my knee buckled on the descent from Giant the day before, forcing me to hobble down the mountain at an excruciatingly slow old lady pace (which was, unfortunately, exactly how I felt.) I took off with a couple other hikers for Baxter Mountain, an easy hike. Baxter looked, felt, and smelt, just like hiking back home, complete with humidity and bugs, so with an attitude of "why bother?" we bagged the hike, and headed for the ice cream shack that we had passed back on the road. It seemed a much more noble pursuit. Katie and Matthew, however, enjoyed Cascade and the summit.

Then it was off to Lake Placid to see the sights. Matthew and I snuck into the Olympic Ice Arena complex and gave ourselves a tour.


Here we are on the ice of the 1980 Rink, where the "Miracle on Ice" occurred. Shortly after this photo was taken, we were kicked off the ice by a skater who yelled at us in German.





Many thanks to Val and the Adventurer's Group: Ben, Jan, Jill, Becky, Nick, Lindsey, Maria, and Becky, for an excellent adventure. And no bear ever disturbed our camp or food, although I think a couple of chipmunks did.





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Friday, August 12, 2011

 

Giant - Here We Come! Day 2

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.




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Thursday, August 11, 2011

 

Matthew, Katie, and Sue's Excellent Adventure - Day 1

Top of Falls
After an extensive car ride, featuring a scenic by-pass through downtown Schenectady for reasons that escape me, we arrived in the Keene Valley, home of the High Peaks. After a quick jaunt to our campsite, at the base of Roaring Brook Falls, we set up the tent under a canopy of tall hemlocks, packed our food in the bear canister, and off we went in search of the top of the falls some 400 feet above our campsite. You can't really see the falls from the top, as the water just drops straight down from the sheered off bedrock. We hopped across the stream, stood on the rocks, took pictures and enjoyed the view. (On the ride home, I read that people have slipped, plummeted, and died doing exactly what we weredoing. Ignorance is sometimes dangerously blissful...) We gazed to the southeast towards the summit of Giant-of-the-Valley Mountain, our goal for the next day.

Back at our campsite, we had a Moroccan themed dinner and dined on Falafels with Hummus, and Fruited Chicken with Couscous, which were a big hit. The hummus had a nice hint of lemon, which paired well with our pan fried falafels. The chicken, studded with currants, apples, and sun-dried tomatoes, melded with the curry and coriander spiced couscous as we dined under the hemlocks.

We topped off the evening with hazelnut chocolate fudge, a nice fire, and sighs of contentment. Lastly, I crawled into my fluffy sleeping bag, tired and satisfied, between my two kids, and stretched out, discovering the tree root knot that would be my constant companion through the night right under my lower back.


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