Piqued by a Peek at the Peaks

Last Friday through Sunday Charlie and I took a trip to the Adirondack High Peaks Region by way of Cranberry, Tupper, Saranac, and numerous other lakes. On the way we took a short "warm up" hike on Moose Trail which runs adjacent to the Oswegatchie River from Wanakena to Inlet. We saw a group of canoers trying to navigate the very rocky waters, grabbed a sub in Cranberry Lake, and arrived at our destination in Keene Valley about 4:00 Friday afternoon. On Saturday morning, after much research, we decided to hike the Cascade-Porter Mountains trail - the "easiest" of the high peaks hikes, about 4.6 miles round trip and an overall vertical climb of almost 2000 feet. As you can see from the trail photos below, it was no "easy" climb. At times I felt I might not get to the top but we finally made it. The view was astounding - the photo above does not do it justice. While resting at the summit we saw what I think was a juvenile bald eagle lazily soaring above us. Even though we were sitting on rocks I think I could have easily fallen asleep. We returned to the trail head about 5 hours after we started hot, tired, and achy so we returned to the B&B, took a quick swim in the nearby river followed by a warm shower and relaxing in the front porch hammock. Believe it or not neither of us was terribly hungry so we settled for PB&J sandwiches for dinner. And just an "FYI" - The Snow Goose B&B was great. If you are ever in Keene Valley I highly recommend it.

On Sunday we chatted with our hosts and co-guests then headed for Whiteface Mountain. This climb was a "cheat" - we drove most of the way and climbed the last half-mile or so to the summit (hey, gimme a break - we could have taken the elevator).

So we snagged two "high peaks" patches and have started thinking about which peak we will try next. Giant? Dix? Sawteeth? While we might not make all 46 of the high peaks, it'll sure be fun trying.