Thursday, May 29, 2008

Giant Steps

I took another day off from work and went hiking with Howie. We climbed Giant mountain in the Adirondack high peaks. It was a great day ... very sunny with blue skies. There was a strong wind (20 mph+) which kept any bugs away. Some patches of snow could be found off the trail just past the summit.

Summit Elevation: Giant 4627 ft
Round-trip Distance: 6.0 mi
Elevation Change: 3050 ft

Giant

Monday, May 26, 2008

Ich bin ein Berliner

I did a hike with Howie in the Taconics. We climbed Berlin mountain. Started on the MA side at the trailhead on Berlin Rd. Went up the "Class of 33" trail to the top and then back down the Williams College old ski slope ... which I would guess was an expert run judging by the steepness. It was a nice sunny and warm afternoon for a short jaunt. We saw nobody else in the woods.

Summit Elevation: Berlin 2798 ft
Round-trip Distance: 4.0 mi
Elevation Change: 1500 ft

Berlin mountain

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Friday, May 23, 2008

While you were working

I got an eary start to the holiday weekend and did a hike with Howie in the Catskills. We climbed Panther mountain from the north. Parked at the trailhead on Fox Hollow Road and started out. It was a nice day - cool, breezy and partly cloudy skies. There were no bugs out and I saw only a few other hikers on the trail. I also got to try out my new digital camera (Canon PowerShot A590, 8 megapixels, 4x optical zoom).

Summit Elevation: Panther 3720 ft
Round-trip Distance: 9.8 mi
Elevation Change: 2600 ft

Panther

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Blodget Hill

I did a quick walk with Howie in the Louise Keir Wildlife Management Area - a small state forest just south of Albany. There were woods roads criss-crossing the area with some recent logging activity. We did a loop over the top of the hill and then back around the east side. There were some bugs around, but they went away when it started to rain lightly. Walked about 2 miles total.

Blodget Hill

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Stick out your tongue and say ahhhhhh

Howie and I did a hike near Lake George today. Did a loop over the Tongue mountain range. Started at the Clay Meadow trailhead and followed the trail up to the ridge. Continued along the ridge trail over Fifth Peak, French mountain and First Peak, and then back down to the tip of the tongue. Returned by the trail along Northwest bay. It was a nice day for hiking: sunny and warm with a light breeze.

Summit Elevation: Fifth Peak 1813 ft, French mountain 1756 ft, First Peak 1586 ft
Round-trip Distance: 12.0 mi
Elevation Change: 2800 ft

Tongue mountain

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Fruity Peebles

I did a quick hike/walk with Howie after work. Went to Peebles Island state park. Walked about 2 miles doing the complete loop.

Peebles Island

Saturday, May 03, 2008

Treadway

I lead another hike today. Climbed Treadway mountain in the Pharoah Lakes wilderness. Group size was more manageable this time (7 people). Rained lightly on drive up, but didn't rain much at all during the hike. It was otherwise cloudy and foggy which created kind of a surreal feel to the woods. No views at all from the top.

Summit Elevation: Treadway 2240 ft
Round-trip Distance: 7.8 mi
Elevation Change: 1000 ft

Treadway