Waiting for snow

This weekend is supposed to be quite pleasant and sunny - definitlely not November weather. Had a look at the blog posts from the last couple of years at this time (who knew they'd be useful for something). Seems I hadn't skied much by this point in the last two years either. They turned out to be great ski years... so I remain optimistic that snow will indeed fall this winter. It will be cold. The skiing will be great. All will be as it should. In the meantime I continue to rollerski... and hike... and wait...

Should be a snowcat... soon, very soon

Remembrance Day hike

Well I missed it… The snow fell last week(just 36 hours off my predicted time) and then disappeared almost as quickly! Sadly I must have overslept because I didn’t think to go ski on it… and now it looks like it could be a few weeks before we see any more snow . Back to roller skiing and hiking for me… Wednesday was Remembrance day and - with the day off work - an opportunity to take a hike . Bryan, Mike and I have gone hiking the last couple of years on Remembrance Day and the weather was looking like this year would be another fine one. At the last minute I spotted a new geocache planted deep in the northern end of the park so we headed off to check it out. Met a few other cars full of hikers as we hit the Eardley escarpment road but no one was at our trail head so we had the back woods to ourselves. The route principally followed a high tension hydro easement through the woods. I thought it would be a pretty dull hike but it turned out to be quite nice. The trail dipped and rolled, in and out of the woods and provided scenic and varied views the whole length. The Gatineaus obviously aren’t high enough to have much “above treeline” hiking but in the hydro easement we had all kinds of views so this worked out as a nice alternative. At the end of the trail a sizeable summit presented itself – I dubbed Mount Hydro Pylon – and after a tough scramble up we topped out to great views of the northern end of the park. I had brought the stove so we heated up some soup and had a little lunch in the warm fall sunshine. Took a few moments to remember why we had the day off and relaxed a while before making the call to head back down for the car. All in all another great day out on the trails. I’d rather be skiing but I guess patience will be the word this year.

One more trek in the High Peaks...

I took a quick trip down on Sunday to the Adirondacks to get one last hike in the big mountains before the snow starts to fall. Actually the high peaks have already seen their share of early snow but it has all melted now and for the most part the leaves are all gone. The forecast however was slated to be beautiful so this looked like as good a time as any. Sunday I took a leisurely start taking care of a few errands in town before packing up and making the drive down. Sadly that was bad judgment on my part as – with the switch to daylight savings time – it gets dark incredibly early. Arriving in Lake Placid a little after 3pm it was clear I had less than an hour before the woods would start to get dim and only a couple of hours at most before I’d be in full headlamp mode. With nothing incredibly short in mind to hike I took my time got some gear items and headed off to my favourite secret camp spot near Newcomb. Sadly my secret camp spot is no secret to the local hunters who have erected mini, mobile condos on all the best sites and were busy inside playing cards and (presumably) prepping their ammo. This left me with some slightly less ideal options but still acceptable for my needs. By 6:30 I was tucked in my sleeping bag with this month’s edition of Powder magazine (I read it for the pictures) and a long night ahead of me.

In the morning I woke to cooler temperatures (just slightly below zero) and quickly packed up and headed to the trail head. It was looking like a sterling morning and I was bound for Mt. Adams a firetower peak I’ve had my eye on for a long time. One car was at the trail head but they were bound for Allen so I would have Adams to myself. Much has been written about the disrepair of the Lake Jimmy bridge(crossed early in the hike) and I can report that it is in excellent shape with only minor issues… still totally serviceable. The climb up Mount Adams starts shortly after the fire observers cabin – about a mile from the trail head - and points pretty steeply upwards. Some might call it murderously steep but I was alone on the hike so this wasn’t an issue for this day. After a tough scramble up the trail I got to the treed-in summit and quickly climbed the tower. The view from the tower is probably one of the better ones I’ve had as Adams is tucked into a massive cirque of high peaks. The MacIntyres, Santanonis, Colden, Marcy, Skylight and Allen to name a few all play out around you. The tower itself is a little beat up – the roof having blown off the cab – but it’s still structurally sound. Could have spent hours there but after all too short a while I started to get cold – the temperature just above freezing at that point with a stiff breeze. Descending was no less a challenge as there are some pretty sketchy chutes to negotiate. Soon enough though I was back in the valley floor – round trip including an hour or so at the top was less than 4 hours. After the short walk back to the car I relocated to a sunny spot on the banks of the Hudson River to make some lunch and enjoy the early afternoon.

Mt Adams firetower observer's office

Lunch done I drove over to the entry to the Santanoni preserve and wandered partway up the trail to the “farm”. I had hoped to take the time to go all the way out to the great camp itself but with an incredibly short amount of daylight I opted to turn around after the farm house (about halfway to the great camp). Equally the trail register showed several groups ahead of me all of whom signed in as “hunting” which sealed the deal at a shorter walk in the woods. Fortunately I had left my antler hat at home but nevertheless the woods (particularly in flatter terrain) belong to other users at this time of year. This is truly a beautiful place and I hope to make the full walk out to the great camp next year. With that, another high peak hiking season draws to a close. Snow is forecast any day (most likely on Nov 4th) and soon the skis will be out. With luck I’ll get another hike in the high peaks this winter but we’ll see how that pans out.

Good News

The rain, fog and impending darkness could not discourage me from a quick trip to the park to roller ski. Of course I may need some help from Hans and Franz as my arms seem to be a little ummm, soft. Nothing a few nights climbing some big hills won't cure. Watch out for wet leaves tho'!! Not sure why they closed the parkways so soon - the first snow is still eleven days away.... just sayin'.

Fall slipping away?

This weekend was an epic fall weather weekend. The first few cool nights with a layer of frost on the ground in the morning but lots of sunshine to warm the day. It was Jim Howe cross country races weekend so there was lots to do to get ready. Fortunately most of it involves being outdoors and taking advantage of the sunny weather. Race director Pye and his son were out Saturday afternoon planting course marker flags as we wanted to get them in the ground Saturday afternoon before the ground froze over night. That meant that early Sunday morning there was just the task of putting up some trail blocking "caution" tape and a few trail signs to point runners in the right direction. Thankfully that meant an easy start to the day and then there was nothing for it but to wait for the runners to arrive. Unfortunately it was a busy Sunday with 2 other cross country races as well as a road race so the local running community was spread a little thin. Perhaps next year the race organizers will communicate a little better and spread their races around so runners can come to all the races rather than having to choose just one. That said we still got over 100 runners come out to take part so a good crowd enjoyed the race.



Monday dawned another beautiful day. I had the day off and Bryan decided he was much too “sick” to go to work. Dave and Mike were apparently too “well” to miss work so it was just the two of us who headed up the line to the Eardley escarpment road to check out the last of the fall colours. The brilliant reds are now mostly faded to rusts and the forest floor is a carpet of leaves but it’ll remain pretty colourful out there for a while longer yet. Hiking up to the escarpment we found a good promontory to relax on, take in the sun and perhaps have a cool beverage. Just a hint of a breeze so it was a pretty pleasant spot to enjoy the day. Bryan immediately sent off blackberry pictures to all those that refused to escape their cubicle – a move that I’m sure was appreciated. Some discussion was had that we had chosen too short a trail and perhaps we should head over to another spot to get a longer hike in…. but it proved to be just talk and in the end that was just fine. Just a casual walk in the woods as the leaves drifted lethargically to the ground. Bring on the snow I say…. but not before Nov 4th… Just sayin’.

Catskill Sampler

It’s been a tough leaf peeping season. Lots of rain made optimal mountain hiking difficult and picking a sunny day when the views are "the thing" wasn’t easy. I had a trip to cover last week anyway and I thought maybe I could squeeze in a day or two of hiking during prime fall foliage if the stars aligned correctly. At first I aimed for a day or two in Maine but that became a no go with the dark clouds locked over the northern mountains. In fact Vermont, New Hampshire and the Adirondacks were all looking sketchy. There was a window farther to the south in the Catskills where I could maybe luck out with some sunny days. I have a few “list” peaks in the Cats that I have wanted to hike and had been wondering when I would ever get there. The drive is long and it bypasses a lot of other attractive hiking peaks but with all of them currently masked by rain clouds I figured now was the time to venture onward and see what the Cats had to offer. Indeed the Catskills is a little bit of a different world in many ways. It’s quite a bit different from the wilds of the Adirondacks. Being located 1 ½ hours from one of the largest cities in the world (with a population of almost 2/3 that of Canada’s alone!), a lot of people have been coming to the Catskills for a long time to recreate. Clearly the forever wild policy hasn’t been adopted whole heartedly here. While the park was formed in the 1800’s there was only a first attempt at a master plan in the 1970’s. A lot of development has gone on in that time frame and a lot has changed since people first started coming north to “take the air”. The mountains have a wilderness feel but the valleys are choked with resorts and cabins some from another era and many left abandoned and deteriorating. The driving is never dull though as I went from trailhead to trailhead. Never quite got the swing of it as towns might be labeled on the map but the villages seem to bleed from one to the next making it tough to know when you’ve arrived and when you’ve left. Add to that the narrow winding valleys and it makes for fun navigating.There is still a lot of beauty in the hills t so it was well worth the trip.

After my long drive down on Monday I had just enough time to make a quick climb before dark. I chose Hunter mountain, picking it because, well… it was the one I could find relatively quickly and with a setting sun time was the most important thing. I took the Becker Hollow trail up to the summit. Perhaps not the most scenic way up but it was the shortest. Climbing 2000ft in less than 2 miles soon enough I was up high looking over the valleys. With a fire tower on the summit I got a good look at the surroundings. Looking across the summit to the Spruceton valley and further south to Slide mountain I saw rain coming in but the sunlight seemed to hold around me with golden light on Black Dome to the north. A short visit and a fast descent meant I was back at the base just as nightfall was closing in.

I camped a couple of nights at a cheery place called the Devil’s Tombstone. I figure if it’s his tombstone… he’s surely not gonna be coming for another visit so it should be quiet. Right I was as only two other groups camped there that night. Morning dawned clear and it was off early for a full agenda with my one full day of climbing. Started the morning going up a short trail to Red Hill in the southern part of the park. This was a nice little summit with a firetower which gave me a good view of the Hudson valley and Connecticut to the east. From there it was a short drive up to Slide mountain (made famous by John Burroughs). The summit was beautiful with views to the north and east but I can’t say the trail up it inspired me. Not overly hard it was primarily an old Jeep road filled with loose, rounded, rubble sized rocks. Made for tough going as each step (on the way up and back down) was a potential ankle roller. The true summit is treed but there were two outstanding ledges on either side of the peak that gave great views into the heart of the Catskills. Mr. Burroughs is immortalized at the summit with a plaque quoting some of his work - certainly a nice touch. Surprisingly I only met one small group of hikers as I was coming down which I thought was strange as the sun was shining and the leaves were nearing peak colour. After a quick lunch break it was off to Balsam Lake mountain for one last tower climb. The hike again was on an old Jeep road but this one was in better condition and the summit was soon reached in a fragrant Balsam forest. On this trail I finally met a few other hikers but they were mostly off on the herdpath to nearby Graham mountain so I had Balsam Lake mountain all to myself. Overall a full day with three hikes totaling 15 miles and roughly 4000ft of elevation gain. Certainly happy to get back to camp, cook up some food and relax by the fire with a cold beverage.


After a very rainy night in camp I figured I would get up early and race off to my appointment elsewhere but I found the eastern edge of the park still bathed in sunshine so I decided to squeeze out another hike. This time I climbed Overlook mountain just north of Woodstock. The trailhead was conveniently next to a Monastery, handy for a quick prayer before climbing – it is Woodstock afterall and some folks apparently never actually left. In fact I had my choice of monasteries within a short easy drive. As it turns out the prayer wasn’t needed as the “trail” was a reasonably well manicured gravel road that led all the way to the summit. Just shy of the summit is the now abandoned (and deeply eerie) Overlook hotel. I’ve seen the Shining (which of course took place out west... or not at all if you believe it to be fictional) so I had my concerns as I walked up the front steps. Fortunately this place has been abandoned since the 30’s. It was never actually completed running into financial difficulties during construction. Still I was glad to see there was no hedge maze to be found and the trees in the front lobby looked inviting right next to the fireplace. Sadly at the summit I could see my window of sunshine was ticking to a close with dark rainclouds marching over the hills to greet me. Time to head off.


Overall I certainly lucked out in dodging the northern rainshowers and the Catskills proved an interesting place. Much more civilized than the more northern mountains (for better or for worse). Most of the hikes were relatively short day hikes. They still had some significant elevation gain to cover but most could easily be done in a half day. The “list” peaks I was chasing may not have shown the best the park has to offer but it certainly gave a range of what is available. I’ll most likely come back one day now that I have a bit of a feeling for what it holds and where some of the highlights are hidden.

Kicking off Fall on "McKnz Mtn"

Finally it was time to take the bad foot back to the Adirondacks and see how it fared. I had hoped to go down sooner but preparations for last weeks Army Run had some last minute adjustments and we had to take some time to fix them up which ate into my free time. Finally though I was free and none too soon either as the cool bug-free weather has arrived and the colours are starting to bloom. Mike and I had debated a weekend trip to hike Snowy and Blue but Sunday was looking like a big storm was going to roll in so we opted for the one day trip on Saturday instead hiking under blue skies. Somewhere along the lines Bryan got the green light to come along so we had a trio for this hike. Snowy and Blue are a bit of a long drive for a day trip so we tossed around thoughts of Whiteface from the south side or possibly Moose and McKenzie. As we drove down the Moose/McKenzie option seemed to have more going for it. First it was a slightly shorter hike (which I liked as my first hiking trip since early July) and add to that it had options. After the hike up McKenzie we could turn around and come back, or we could head over the top and down the other side. Another thought would be to continue along the ridgeline to Moose for a bigger loop. Add to that it was likely to be less popular with the crowds so we wouldn’t be fighting the leaf peeping mobs on this trail. Sounded like a perfect plan so we opted for that.

It took us a few minutes to find the pullout for the trailhead on the Whiteface Inn property. This trailhead isn’t a heavily advertised parking spot on otherwise private property and the non-descript pullout has room for only a couple of cars. Luckily we were the first to arrive on this morning! The register box a few feet up the trail confirmed we were in the right place so off we went. The grade was pretty easy to start. It follows the Jackrabbit XC ski trail before passing a leanto and then junctioning with the trail up McKenzie. From there things got decidedly steeper and we all fell into our own rhythm – the casual banter on the easier trail now a memory. Fortunately the steep trail had its payoff as we arrived at a good lookout on the first of several sub summits. Fall colours may not be at their peak but they are certainly on their way. For the next little while we strolled from one viewing point to the next across the ridgeline finally reaching the true summit which had a nice opening on each side giving views of Saranac Lake to the west and Lake Placid to the east. Good spot for a lunch break and maybe time to shoot a few pictures. After lunch we headed down the other side in hopes of great view of Whiteface which was just "around the corner" from our lunch spot… but the 4 star Whiteface view never materialized.

Just below the summit of McKenzie we were forced into a decision point. Do we head on to Moose or do we head down to the shores of Lake Placid. There was much debate and in the end we decided to head down making it a lighter hike and leaving more time to grab a bite on the way home. On the descent of the mountain we were using the “Shore Owners Association” trails. Presumably maintained by… you guessed it – the Shore owners. These trails were excellent. Perhaps they get a lot less foot traffic but for the most part they were soft and uneroded and strolled down along a stream to the lake shore. Once we reached the Lake things got a little more complex. The Shore Owners trail seemed to weave in and around the houses on the shore. Somewhere along the line we got off track and stumbled out onto the Shore Owners access road. Lots of "No Trespassing" signs on the entry ways to the individual properties we walked past but the trail we were on is open to the public and I don’t think walking on the road would cause anyone distress (I hope). At any rate we didn’t see anyone along here at all and in fact we didn’t see anyone hiking all day.

Rest stop at Bartlett pond on the descent

Post hike we detoured down to the public access of Lake Placid (looking for a Whiteface view which still didn’t materialize) and then headed off to the Deli in Saranac Lake for a bite of dinner before the drive home. All in all a great hike and my foot performed well. Occasional tweaks to remind me that the tendon is still a little sore but nothing too overwhelming. Now it’s time to plan some more hikes as the fall colours will be well in bloom in the next few weeks. Add to that I’m well behind in preparations for ski season so it’s time to get to work.