Summer has truly arrived. Almost to the day (June 21st ) things got hot and humid (and a little bit buggy) so it finally feels like summer. In fact, the days are getting shorter now so we are on the downslope. Not quite time to get the skis out and prepped but…. Well maybe even too soon for thoughts of skiing. Yesterday was a day off for Canada Day and with the judicious placement of 1 extra day off work I was able to put together a 5 day weekend – sweet! Sadly the weatherman worked against me with promises of heavy rain most days. That coupled with a concert ticket on Sunday night – mid long weekend – and I decided not to make any trips away but rather stay close to home. Kicked it off with a great show at the
Black Sheep with Bryan. From there, in spite of the weathermans dire predictions (“Have Ark ready at hand!”), it didn’t actually rain that much. Oh it was certainly gray and menacingly cloudy at a few points but it only actually opened up a couple of times and even then only for a ½ hour or so. No big lose though as there was a lot to do around town and I got a lot of good riding in.
Tuesday I rode out and around Lac Phillippe on some of the great trails in the northern end of the park. Had my first run in of the season with a bear up there which seems kind of late this year. I've usually crossed paths with a few bears by this point in the season. It was a strange run in too as I usually meet bears as I come roaring downhill and they are suddenly scrambling to avoid me. In this case coming to a bend in the trail I was faced with a short steep climb… and quite a big bear walking at the top of it. My first thought was to pull my camera out of the bag as it would have made a great shot just a 100 meters or so in front of me. Alas, as I pulled my brakes to stop they made a short squeak which alerted her to my presence. A moment later – ursine synapses crackling - she bolted into the woods.
I gave her a few seconds to escape deeper into the trees and then stepped on my pedals to continue on my way… only to have her re-cross my path running the other direction – What the?! Okay, I’ll give her a few more seconds to get into the trees on the other side before riding up the short hill. At the top of the hill I could see her deep in the trees and it was then that I heard the skittering of claws as her two cubs dropped out of a nearby tree and scampered after her. Seems in her haste to evade me she had forgotten her cubs… so she came roaring back to collect them. Glad I had given her some space – because after all I have slightly above-average ursine intelligence. Ah well, now that I know this spot – and can bet the family will be back – I may try (at a safe distance) to come back for some photo ops.
I also stopped in on my neighbours at the RCMP stables. They had been putting on their annual sunset ceremony this week as a dress rehearsal for their summer tour. Living so close to the stables I’ve seen the show dozens of times and typically don’t bother but coming home from my ride I spotted the horsemen in the back pasture warming up and decided to head over and check it out. No glorious setting sun at the show tonight but no rain either so the weatherman was wrong again. The show of course never changes but the riders and horses do. I looked for a few of the “old guard” of horses I remember from a few years back in the stable but I couldn’t find any. I guess they’ve moved on to a well earned retirement with green pastures and healthy stud fees.
Wednesday was Canada Day. After helping out with the Canada Day road races in the morning (Run Ottawa's first event under the new structure) I went for another long ride in the park. No bears and no rain either (despite 80% chance of showers) so another good day. Tried a new spot to watch the fireworks in the evening. It was certainly an easy spot to get to - no traffic, easy parking, minimal overall effort. The angle was a little off but there’s always next year to keep looking for the optimum vantage point. Maybe next year the weatherman will have a more encouraging (or at least accurate)forecast.
This past weekend was shaping up with a good plan. Saturday evening I was scheduled to be at my uncle’s cottage in the eastern townships for his 70th birthday celebration. Saturday morning dawned gray and rainy so I casually watched the Tour de France on TV before heading off to the townships in heavy downpours. Good visit to the country as most of the family had managed to make the trip out and we don’t get many opportunities to get everyone together in the same place. Haven’t been down in a while and was eager to see the new addition to the cottage which turned out beautifully.
I had hoped from there I could jump out on Sunday to do some hiking – maybe in Maine or New Hampshire which are both just a couple of hours drive from the lake. But Sunday dawned gray as well. Instead I relaxed and watched the Tour de France with the family and then had a casual lunch on the deck as the day finally started to brighten. The rain clouds looked to have passed but they were drifting lazily east and it was perhaps too late now to justify a trip east to hike the mountains which I would likely find still under heavy rain clouds. Not to be undone I decided to head just a few minutes south to an old favourite - Jay peak - in Vermont. This is a nice hike to an exposed summit which – while sullied with ski trails and summit tramway stations - provides excellent vistas of the northeast kingdom…. You just gotta keep your back to the manmade structures on the summit to keep the wilderness feel It has been a few years since I laced up the boots on the Long Trail in Vermont so it was nice to be back on familiar terrain. On the summit I spied Big Jay (a sub summit of Jay peak) nearby and decided to hike over there as well on a much less travelled herd path. Big Jay had suffered a great injustice a couple of years back when two individuals illegally cut thousands of trees to create a backcountry ski chute down the side of the peak. Fortunately the perpetrators were caught and great efforts have been made to repair the damage done and stabilize the slope. From what I saw of it things are looking good and in a few more years there may be no sign at all of the slash down the mountain. My run of weather luck however (with regard to sunny outdoor activities) drew to a close as I summited Big Jay and the rain started to fall. In a moment both summits were encased in clouds and the skies opened up. Made for a pretty soggy descent down the mountain but fortunately I survived and got back to the car and dry clothes in short order.
Monday – a day off for me – was forecast to be more of the same in the Northeast – clouds and threats of rain. I decided to head south through Vermont in hopes of finding some better weather. Camping at an old favourite spot I awoke to sunny skies. I debated a few options for hiking and finally decided on some southern ADK fire tower peaks. When I had packed up on Saturday I had thrown in my New Hampshire maps, the Maine mountain guide and even my Long Trail guide… but I had left my Firetower guide book at home. No matter… with my trusty GPS and some recollection of peak names I was able to navigate myself to the Black Mountain Firetower trailhead where I loaded up and headed up the trail. With all the rain we’ve had it was pretty soggy climbing. Where the trail was flat it was water logged and where it was steep it became a running stream. Forward progress was slow rock hopping most of the way but on top the payoff was worth it with beautiful views of Lake George and the southeastern Adirondacks. The fire tower on the other hand had been cannibalized (Frankensteinized?) into a communication tower with sturdy fencing and a large noisy windmill to generate power – bit of a letdown (but the view made up for it). 
Black mountain was a relatively short hike so after a lunch stop and a little more driving chaos sorting my way through Glens Falls I found myself in the parking lot for Hadley mountain. This ended up being a beautiful choice (and the only other southern firetower name I could remember so that was fortuitous). The trail was not overly long but it started steadily uphill from the first step out of the parking lot. Unlike my hike in the morning this trail was pretty dry and had nice long open slabs making climbing easy. Lots of people out today on this trail including many small climbers likely on their first big mountain. Only a few tears echoing through the woods from these young hikers, for the most part everyone I met had a big smile on their face. And why not as the summit opened up to wonderful views of the southern ADK peaks. I was actually able to spot a few peaks I now know which was fun. Strong (cold) winds on the summit made for a short stay but I found the summit steward in the old fire wardens cabin catching up on his reading and we chatted for a bit He’s up till September (with a few days off here and there) as an interpreter for visitors and showed me around his digs. Pretty cozy spot and he proudly told me in the quiet of the evenings he’s getting a lot of reading done. He’d finished his second book in his first two weeks! That might not impress my sister-in-law though who is often finished her second book by lunchtime… Ah well, I can think of a lot of worse summer jobs to have. With a long drive home ahead of me I didn’t spend as long as I would have liked on this beautiful summit. As it turns out I was able to make short work of the descent. Smooth trail – in particular the rock slabs – made for a speedy walk and after a quick change to dry clothes it was off to the Northway and the drive home. Rainy clouds opened up again as I hit Lake Placid so I guess I made the right choice to look for some hikes in the south and avoid the sketchy weather closer to home. 
