day-hikes Archives - Page 9 of 9

January 20, 2020March 10, 2022

Dial and Nippletop

December 17, 2019, St Huberts

A pre-dawn breakfast

The journey to Dial and Nippletop began with a 5:30 am drive through a snowy and blustery Cascade Pass, descending down towards Keene and Keene Valley. The plan was to arrive at the Noonmark Diner for their 6 am opening (per Google) and then scarf down some eggs before hitting the trail. To my dismay, the diner was completely darkened when I arrived. I stood there a few minutes, slightly panicked that my breakfast would be reduced to a few sad, frozen Clif bars. I decided to drive back up the road, north towards Keene.

January 19, 2020March 29, 2022

Tabletop Mountain

December 16, 2019, Adirondak Loj

Almost Winter

More than halfway through my Adirondack high peaks journey, I still manage to encounter many “firsts”. In fact, one of the best parts of trying to become a 46er is that it forces you to always explore something different: different trailheads, different ridgelines, different types of weather, and different seasons.

For my journey to Tabletop Mountain, those “firsts” would include winter hiking. Well, almost winter hiking. December 16 fell just under a week away from the official season. To become a winter 46er, you must summit each peak between the winter solstice and the vernal equinox (late March). But I harbored no such ambitions at present, and timed this hike to a wonderful winter hiking informational seminar the prior day at the Adriondak Loj.

January 12, 2020March 10, 2022

Street and Nye

October 14, 2019, Adirondak Loj

Full moon over Heart Lake

I arrived before dawn to the Heart Lake Trailhead to bag Street and Nye. It was my first time back to this popular trailhead in two years! This marked my final day-hike of Columbus Day Weekend 2019, and I was feeling sore from my adventures on Lower Wolfjaw and Giant the prior two days.

January 1, 2020March 30, 2022

Giant & Rocky Peak Ridge

October 13, 2019, Chapel Pond

Starry Skies at Chapel Pond

I arrived at the parking for Giant via the Ridge trail around 6 am. The Autumn days were rapidly growing shorter. And on arrival, I was treated to a clear sky full of stars. How beautiful! This was my second day-hike of Columbus Day Weekend, and my second high peaks adventure post-knee surgery. Lower Wolfjaw had gone well the day before. And so I decided to graduate to Giant and Rocky Peak Ridge.

December 30, 2019March 30, 2022

Rematch with Lower Wolfjaw

October 12, 2019, Rooster Comb Trailhead

A failed first attempt

14 months had passed since my attempt to traverse the Great Range during a late June heatwave. After five summits, I ran out of steam in the col between the two Wofjaws. I was exhausted, low on water, and lugging a full menagerie of camping equipment. I decided to bail before Lower Wolfjaw.

December 23, 2019March 10, 2022

Cascade and Porter

October 6, 2017, Mt Van Hoevenberg Trailhead

Arrival

They say life is more about the journey than the destination, and that’s obviously true of the quest for 46 high peaks. But as I push on to climbing more of the Adirondacks’ tallest mountains, I really am struck at all the weird places it’s brought me and all the interesting things I’ve seen. My trip up Cascade and Porter certainly provides an example of that.

The “normal” trailhead for Cascade is right off route 73 just after the stunning drive towards Lake Placid along Upper and Lower Cascade Lakes. And from that trailhead, it’s roughly 1.6 miles directly up the slopes of Cascade to its bare rock summit. This unusually easy access to a high peak with a gorgeous view makes Cascade one of the most popular hikes in the region.

To summarize: short trail from the roadside. Gorgeous views. Crowded summit.

But my experience with Cascade and Porter would involve none of those things.

Continue reading “Cascade and Porter”