Monday’s weather was looking good. Clear skies and cool but warming temperatures. In fact the overnight low in Lake Placid was supposed to be -4C so Mike and I figured that would do a number on the blackflies… perfect! Plenty of sunshine as we drove down from Ottawa but the high peaks were still overcast. No worries as we were sure the clouds would blow through as we climbed giving us warm sunny skies when we reached the summit. Decided to do a shorter hike as one more tune up for the full on big peak hiking season and Mike had one on his list… but damned if I can remember the name. Sadly it appears on my map right on the fold so the name is a bit obscured… can’t quite recall what the trail head sign said… ah well.

For the most part the climbing was good. Nice soft trail. There was a beautiful waterfall just off the trail as we got up higher. Bit of a narrow gully to scramble in to the falls made worse by spring times higher than normal water level but it was well worth it. Equally big scramble out of the gully but soon enough we were on our way again on the main trail. The trail had many switchbacks making the ascent more gentle than the terrain implied. Also made it tricky to spot all the twists and turns as clearly many folks missed the back and forth turns making little extensions of the trail at each bend before retracing their steps to the trail proper.



The climbing never really got terribly steep as we went along. Just prior to the summit the mountain tried to impress us with some rocky rooty trail but it was over before it got too tough so all in all a pretty easy hike. Tremendous view as we came out on the open ridge. High peaks galore spread out before us and all were resplendent in their spring time shades of green. No sun though as the clouds remained locked over the high peaks. Not much wind either so while hardly warm it wasn’t too cold to sit and enjoy the view. We found a spot on the rocks to have a bite to eat while sharing the summit with a couple of ladies from Quebec (not a holiday in Quebec was it?). Apart from them we didn’t really see anyone else all day – work day for the Americans I suppose. I’m sure they’ll all be out next Monday.


After lunch and plenty of photos we headed down again, pretty smooth sailing as the trail was smooth and soft. Back to the car in plenty of time to make the drive home and watch Sid take down the Canes. Wish I could remember the peak name as I would definitely hike it again – pound for pound it’s probably one of the better hikes I’ve done in the high peaks. Oh and on the drive home we got brilliant blue skies as we drove into Saranac Lake. Just where we'd left the blue skies when we drove down in the morning, sigh...