This post brought to you by the letter J

I led a group hike in the northern Adirondacks. We climbed Jay mountain ridge. It was a perfect day for a hike ... sunny and warm with a breeze which kept bugs from bugging. Moved at a slower pace than I'm used to, but I wasn't in a hurry. Decided not to go to the actual peak because of time constraints. As usual, Howie led the way.

Round-trip Distance: 5.5 mi
Elevation Change: 2300 ft

Jay mountain

Rain, rain, finally went away

After 3+ inches of rain this week, I thought I would check out a waterfall nearby. Howie and I went to Huyck Preserve in Rensselaerville. We did a loop hike around the lake ... about 3 miles total. A very nice afternoon to not be at work.

Huyck Preserve

Hmmm...

Dog Days of Summer

It was forecast to be a hot, humid day (in the 90s). So, I decided to do some short easy hikes in the Southern Adirondacks and hopefully try get to a lake to cool off. Howie had company on this trip (Cora).

The first hike was up Kane mountain. We went up the trail from Green Lake side. It was a short, easy climb. There was a fire tower at the top and the cab was open. Views were nice, but a little hazy.

Summit Elevation: Kane 2180 ft
Round-trip Distance: 1.5 mi
Elevation Change: 600 ft

Kane mountain

The second hike was to Nine Corner lake. We explored the paths around the lake and did some swimming ... Well Cora did a little bit... Howie doesn't swim... I just waded my feet. Walked about 3 miles. Dogs are now dog tired.

Nine Corner Lake

Extreme to the max!

So, today I went with a group to the Adirondack Extreme course ... a high-wire adventure course set in the trees. After a quick safety introduction, you are set loose on a series of increasingly difficult courses. You wear a harness, and are always clipped in to a safety line, so there is no real chance of falling. But, it's quite another story when you're 50 feet in the air trying to move across swinging logs. When on the rope bridges, I had the Indiana Jones theme song stuck in my head. I made it through the first three levels (yellow, blue and red), but skipped the last one (black). It was a lot of fun, but not something I need to do again.

This mountain is just Wright

I took the day off and did a hike with Howie today in the high peaks. Climbed Wright Peak from the ADK Loj. We ran into quite a few groups of hikers - especially young kids most of whom liked Howie. One even refering to him as sexy. Umm ... ok. It was breezy and cool on the top. Unfortunately, the sun never really broke out while I was there (it waited until I was back on the highway). I was able to check out the old airplane crash just below the summit.

Summit Elevation: Wright 4580 ft
Round-trip Distance: 7.0 mi
Elevation Change: 2400 ft

Wright