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...

Sun setting on Meech lake
Originally uploaded by kenmores

Pretty weak long weekend considering it is proclaimed the unofficial start to summer. Saturday it rained most of the day - sometimes a bunch. I still managed to go for a (wet) ride in the park as the mountainbike trails officially opened on Friday. This after a month to let the snows melt and the tracks dry out a little. On the plus side, the showers kept the ever increasing population of blackflies at bay. I hadn't been up to the park since Easter weekend so it was nice to get back in the local woods for a - somewhat soggy - ride. In the evening I had hopped to find some fireworks to photograph but was clearly unprepared, looking in the wrong spots and found nothing more than a few neighbourhood local roman candle fests. Some hope (weatherwise) did appear at the end of the day as the clouds started to push out but Saturday night was pretty frosty with the mercury dipping below zero. Another ride on Sunday felt more like November but so it goes. Lots of people taking in the sunny weather to get in a hike or a ride in the park.

Mike and I had debated heading down to the Adirondacks on Monday to get in another early season hike. With cold overnight temperatures forecast this bode well for killing off the black flies and providing cool weather to climb in. Things were finally looking up...

Sunday I headed down to the Adrirondacks to get in an early season hike. Saturday was spent marking ‘k’ markers for the upcoming Race Weekend so I wanted to take advantage of the predicted rain free weather and get in a hike on Sunday. As it turns out Pete had finally cleared his schedule and wanted to get in a winter hike! I know, I know... Pete’s schedule is sometimes a little... umm, shifted. I recommended he start work on freeing his schedule for a hike next weekend and maybe he’d be ready to go in January. While this would be a “winter hike” for Pete I recommended that he leave the snowshoes at home… you know, take a chance on bare booting. I was looking to do a relaxing hike and – opposed to my long day hike in March – a shorter one to ease into the hiking season rather than do a trial by fire marathon type hike. Fortunately the Adirondacks have lots of great options for some excellent short hikes. Pitchoff, Hurricane, Hopkins, Jay, Ampersand... – all great climbs. On the drive down we discussed some of the options, weighed the pros and cons and settled on the idea of Catamount. It’s definetely a shorter hike but it purportedly has some really nice scrambly bits and a nice open summit - and it didn't dissapoint.

Unfortunately overnight rains left the morning sky overcast and gray. But it was no longer raining so we loaded up and hit the trail. Temperature was a brisk +12C - perfect weather for a winter hike. Tricky trailhead to find as it doesn’t have a sign but rather just a couple of red painted trees by the side of the road. We were the first to arrive so no parked cars tipped us off but we found it none the less. The first kilometer is dead flat but soon enough it started up in a pretty steep manner. Nearing the top of a nice little sub summit the trail goes pretty vertical with a cool little chimney to claw up and then some nice little crags to clamber through. At this point the views opened up as well with a nice look over to nearby Whiteface and Esther. Once on the sub summit we took a break. Had to find a sheltered spot as a cold wind was blowing(to be expected on a winter hike) but behind some scrubby trees we were quite comfortable.

The climb up to the summit was equally nice with lots of rocky little chutes to negotiate through and in short order we were on top. Had a little stroll around and took some photos before sitting down for an early lunch. At this point there was no sign that the clouds were going to break up – so after a good rest on the summit we started down. Equally fun descending the crags and boulders. Back at the chimney we met up with our first group of hikers coming up. It was certainly nice having the peak to ourselves but we would discover that Catamount in springtime is no secret with local hikers as we met some 30 folks in different groups working their way up. We even came across some guys clearing the blowdown. They had some little hand saws with them and while there were only a few trees across the trail they were pretty big ones so it must have been hard work – many thanks. Roundtrip was only 11 or 12km so we were back at the car by 1:30. This left us plenty of time to hit the patio for a post hike beverage and watch some of the Wings/Ducks games… wrapping it up like any good “winter hike” with a little hockey on the big screen. Excellent day out. Sadly the sun broke out as we drove home but the morning hike was a good one in spite of the cloudy cool weather. We’ll get you out in your snowshoes yet Pete!

Catamount - definetely worth the trip