Street summit
Originally uploaded by kenmore_photos.

“If we don’t get some snow soon, I think I might Nye”. Those were my words – more or less – last weekend and we have no snow as yet so I decided there was nothing for it. True to my word I headed back this Saturday to the Adirondacks and hiked up Nye mountain (and Street Mt. which is on the same ridge). The hike to these “lesser” peaks (lesser in popularity) is relatively short, which was good considering the hours of daylight we have these days. A 5 hour round trip hike almost makes me question the 6 hour round trip drive down to Lake Placid but it was a great hike that turned out much better then I had expected it would. Nye Mountain has a wooded summit so there’s no view to speak of. That said the trail approaching the ridgeline has a few areas of significant blow down which open up the views along the way. The trail up is not too long but unrelentingly steep so it seems like there is never a chance to catch ones breath. Finally cresting the ridgeline I overtook a group of hikers who decided that the fork in the trail (right to Nye, left to Street) was the spot for lunch and they had spread out all their gear mid trail (to make it homey I suppose). Took me a minute to see the continuation of the trail – behind their clothesline of gear - and head over to Nye mountain (5 minutes away). When I came back to the junction they were gone but when I reached the summit of Street they had taken up residence there and had again spread all their gear around forcing me to pick my way over them to get to the view. Fortunately Street Mountain has a little opening just beyond the summit (probably cut by disgruntled hikers) that looks over the McIntyre range. It made for a nice spot to have lunch and take a few shots. My colleagues (for the day) didn’t seem interested in the view and instead remained seated in the wooded summit area. Their loss.

This time of year is always strange. The days seem to get incredibly short and often the daylight hours are gray and rainy. Today’s sunshine was a rare treat – about 0C when I started, and +3 or 4 when I got to the summit. As I was heading down the mountain the alpine glow of twilight overtook me and I started to pick up my pace thinking I would shortly run out of daylight. Moments later I did a double take on my watch as I realized it was only 1:15pm!! Hardly time for the sun to set (we don’t live that far north!) but the low angle of the sun at this time of year makes it feel like perpetual impending dusk. Returning to the car, it felt more like fall then winter. I lounged a bit around Heart Lake in 8C conditions enjoying the warmth of the sinking sun. December is around the corner so this certainly didn’t feel quite right…. But all the other hikers I saw had no complaints and for that matter, nor did I… so perhaps I was glad to Nye without snow….

Street 21 of 46
Nye 20 of 46