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.

Progressing into Fall

Haven’t made an update in a while as my outdoors activities were somewhat setback in August. Tried writing an update a few times but they all came out pretty negative so I chucked them. In truth, my foot has been progressing nicely and I’m now mostly mobile once again and can comfortably walk on nice flat, even surfaces so staying home from work is out of the question (in truth I only missed a day and a half of work so it wasn’t really a big winner in that regard  ) While I was laid up summer came and went. It was really only 7 days long this year so I didn’t miss much in the big picture. In the last 2 weeks I’ve been able to start riding the bike again which has allowed me to stretch the atrophied muscles. It’s surprising how a couple of weeks of absolutely minimal physical activity have destroyed my riding strength. I’m pedaling complete squares these days but am slowly getting some riding shape back under me. Riding up steep rocky trails is still a little much stress for my foot but I’ve taken to riding the Prescott-Russell rail trail where I’m able to manage riding the steep, arduous hills (1% grade over 5 km) without too much pain.

Riding through the archway...

This past weekend was pretty wet but I went out riding regardless. Managed to dodge some of the bigger storms but still got wet. Smells like fall is just around the corner. Surprising how cool the evenings have gotten in the last week or two and its cut the bug population down to size nicely. Certainly the trees are starting to show some colour (colours other than green). With luck I’ll be able to get back to some hiking soon. Don’t want to miss out on the fall season. Went for a short walk off trail near my house on the weekend but my foot expressed its displeasure with that idea so I guess there is still a little recovery time yet. It’s gone all September on me though and thoughts of the coming ski season are starting to fill my head. Don’t want to jeopardize that by reinjuring the foot and going back to square one. At the same time I’ve got to get the fitness level up… so it’ll have to be on the bike for now.

Civic Long Weekend

The name certainly doesn’t inspire much but I guess a long weekend is a long weekend. Still, on a foggy morning bike ride I stopped to give it some thought. All the other holiday weekends in the year have something significant attached to them. Victoria day (to the Queen!), Canada Day (to the Realm!) Thanksgiving (to the harvest!) and so on. Even Remembrance day is taking a bigger role in this day and age (as it should)…. But Civic long weekend? Quebecers (perhaps rightly so) thought this was pretty lame and abandoned this long weekend in favour of St. Jean Baptiste day in June. Solid thinking. Surely there is some honorary citizen(living or dead) or patron saint that is currently under appreciated. What about David Thompson who explored and mapped most of North America before they had personal GPS units. Or perhaps an actor like Lorne Greene (in Ottawa we are aware that Shannon Tweed is not up for discussion). Maybe a politician like Sir John A. or a military hero like Billy Bishop or Laura Secord (heroism and choclate... good combination). Maybe Norman Bethune or Tommy Douglas… What about the Group of Seven (might need a whole week off for them)… And maybe that’s the problem right there. Too many good options and not enough resolve to celebrate one and leave the others out. In Ottawa (the nation’s capital) on the “Main street” we have plinths (tall stone platforms) prepared for statues to stand on celebrating great Canadians. Since I was a kid they have remained empty. The bridge has been renovated twice in my life and the plinths refreshed… but no statues have been positioned. Very Canadian I suppose - better not offend anyone by selecting one over the other. I guess Civic long weekend will remain. Perhaps a little unmotivational but a long weekend none the less.

I took the opportunity to visit some friends at their cottage near Maniwaki (where it wasn’t a long weekend). The weather this summer has been pretty bleak with record breaking rains and this weekend was right on course. Moments of sun were spent on (or in) the lake before the next round of rainfall came crashing down. I took a sunny morning to ride another section of the Petit Train du Nord trail near Mont Laurier. It was just a short hop from the cottage so I slipped out early one morning for a nice ride. Saw a lot of people out riding the full trail – utilizing the shuttle to ferry them and their bikes north only to ride back to their car parked in the south, staying at local auberge’s and enjoying the local cuisine along the route. Certainly looks like a pleasant way to spend the weekend.


Returning home to Ottawa my summer took another unexpected turn. On a random stroll through the woods – during a brief sunny period – I stepped on a log. It promptly broke under my foot wrenching it in all directions. The next thing to break was a bone and I was left hobbling out of the forest to seek medical attention. An x-ray the next morning confirmed that I won’t be climbing any high peaks for a little while to come (not that I've logged any this summer :( ). Tried to come up with a more exotic tale to relate on the blog. One that involves heroism of the highest order on my part (and a broken bone for my effort) but couldn’t come up with anything decent. Perhaps the non-descript nature of the injury is fitting of the non-descript long weekend. Certainly I don’t expect anyone will be naming the August long weekend after me.

Searching for Sunny Skies

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.

At least the flowers are enjoying the wet summer

Canada Day - long weekend?

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.

Another tour along the Petit Train du Nord

Bit of a mixed bag weatherwise this past weekend. Made for difficult plan making but I chose to do a bit of riding in town and in the park to dodge any serious weather. With Monday off I opted to head north to Mount Laurier, Qc to ride a little bit more of the Petit Train du Nord rail trail. This is a bit of a new area for me so even the drive up was interesting (made doubly interesting thanks to an MTQ detour partway along that went nowhere and apparently served no purpose).

Arriving in Mount Laurier the main street was busy with traffic but I found the “station” and headed out along the trail which was pretty peaceful. Nicely paved it made for smooth riding. Inside of a few minutes the town was behind me and the trail continued into the Laurentide forests passing some big lakes and bogs. The trail itself was originally graded for trains so it’s never steep. In fact climbs are almost imperceptible. I had my GPS on so I could spot that – for roughly the same effort - my speed would drop slightly thus knowing I must be going uphill. Other than that it was pretty smooth sailing. I was surprised how little civilization there was along this part of the trail. For the most part it cuts through the bush from little village to little village. This is quite unlike parts of the trail further south with continuous strings of golf courses and cottage properties. I had also expected the trail to parallel roads but – if they were there- you couldn’t see or hear any traffic at all.

For a Monday the trails had a few other riders/skaters out but all in all pretty light. It was only as I returned to Mount Laurier in the evening that locals appeared for their evenings excercise. Spotted an interesting sign that suggests roller skiing is only allowed (on a trial basis) on a section of trail (24km) from Val Barrette to Lac Saguay and then only between 6 and 10am on weekdays. I guess there must be a lot of traffic on the weekends and they want to minimize the potential injuries that flailing poles might cause. Still if this Monday was any indication the odd person every 20 – 30minutes that I met could be easily passed by a roller skier with no ill effect. Too bad as 100km of paved trail from Mount Laurier to Labelle would make for some nice roller skiing.

Stopped for a coke at a trail side depaneur in Val Barrette before the last ride home. The extra sugar was welcome as I approached Mount Laurier. I could see approaching thunder heads but a last hard push got me to the car and safely packed up before the rain started to fall. Grey clouds had seemed to be everywhere all day threatening rain but I managed to dodge them all(or perhaps the trail I was on managed to dodge them…). A nice day out for sure.

Central ADK Firetower weekend

After last weekend’s chaos of showing 37,000 of my closest friends around town I decided that this weekend I would spend some slightly more quiet time in the woods. I did get a few requests for photos of Race Weekend events but alas, while I do carry my camera in the truck, I rarely have time or even think to pull it out and actually take any pictures – too many other things on my plate. That said there are some really nice pictures from Race Weekend here and here and here.

While this past weekend was not slated to be the best weather wise I still loaded up the car and headed south on Saturday morning. I think in the end I cashed in a lot of karmic chips as I scored some pretty great weather for hiking. As I pulled out of Ottawa it was raining but the clouds started to part as I hit Tupper Lake. I was headed a little further south this weekend with hopes to climb a few firetower peaks. With that in mind I headed towards Indian Lake and then over to the Cedar River dam to hike up Wakely Mountain. Wakely has been one of the firetowers I’ve wanted to hike to for a while. It’s remote location and commanding view of the “little great range” were attractive but it is also the highest firetower remaining in New York which sounded cool. The hike itself was a good one. First a 1 ½ miles through relatively level hardwood forests and then another mile or so straight up the peak. Clearly this trail was cut before anyone thought of switchbacks as the trail climbed right up the fall line with little or no respite from the steep climb. Getting to the summit I was greeted with the 70 foot tower – the only one I’ve come across with guy wires to provide additional stability. Once I climbed it I realized they were certainly needed on this day as a heavy wind was blowing. In the cab of the tower I discovered it rocking and swaying back and forth – very much “Mister Fire Wardens wild ride”. The views were stunning with light clouds floating by so – while my stomach stayed with me - I grabbed some photos of Snowy and the other mountains to the east. Bit of a newbie down in this part of the park so I wasn’t sure exactly what I was looking at … but it all looked nice. Back on the ground I checkout out the firewardens cabin(creepy) before heading back down. Bugs were mostly a non-issue as the strong breeze kept them at bay.

From there I decided to check in to Lake Durant to set up a base camp. At this point I discovered I was out of cash so I drove (quite a distance) to Old Forge for the nearest ATM and then – as luck would have it – I was near Rondaxe peak for another firetower hike. This was a much shorter hike of only a mile and very limited elevation gain. Getting there around 6 in the evening I discovered a dozen cars in the lot and many hikers met me coming down the trail…. But I ended up on the summit by myself. I guess the hiking community all had dinner engagements to get to. Took my time and enjoyed the summit before heading back down as the sun started to dip. Back at camp I made dinner and got a fire going. Been a while since I sat in front of the campfire and it was a very peaceful way to spend the evening. It was quite cold however with a temperature of +2C as I went to bed. The cooler weather was doubly appreciated though as it meant the bugs were non-exsistant (frozen in their homes?) and it certainly meant for a great nights sleep tucked in my tent.

Around 5 am I was awoken by rain on the tent… okay, no early hike. When I did get up the rain had mostly stopped but nearby Blue mountain was encased in low cloud. The weather lady on NPR kept assuring me that more clouds and heavy storms were coming so I decided to skip climbing Blue in the morning and instead headed north to Long Lake. Once there I found Owl’s Head summit free of clouds so I pulled into the trail head, loaded up the pack and headed into the woods. Again this hike started out quite peacefully with a mostly flat woodland trail before making a right angle turn straight up the fall line. What’s with these fire rangers anyway? When I reached the summit I was quite stunned to find brilliant blue skies. To the east the morning clouds were headed out to sea and there was nothing but blue skies to the west. Blue mountain was completely clear. Drat(quietly cursed the NPR weather lady )!! Enjoyed the summit – again strong winds were blowing but the Owl’s head tower is considerably shorter than Wakely so no swaying in the breeze. After enjoying the summit for an hour I headed back down to the car, got cleaned up and drove in to Long Lake to grab a bite to eat. To my surprise, as came out of the shop with a sandwich in my hand, I could see dark clouds cresting Owl’s Head summit. Where had they come from? Sure enough, not 5 minutes after driving out of town the rains started to sheet down(quietly recanted my curses of the NPR weatherlady). When I drove through Tupper Lake the whitecaps were huge and the temperature had dropped about 10 degrees. As I passed through Tupper Lake the rain turned to snow! It didn’t stay on the ground though so I was wise not to pack my skis. I guess that’s the closest I’ll get to snow in June (missed it by a day) which I’m told happens all the time. All in all a great weekend of hiking and I managed to luck out with beautiful weather while I was hiking and crappy weather while I was in the car. Somehow I know I’m gonna pay for that down the road…

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