Cascade and Porter

It looked to be a nice day (no rain!). So, I decided to take the day off and head north with Howie for a hike. We climbed Cascade and Porter mountains from Route 73. They are two of the easier Adirondack high peaks to climb. We had lots of company on this hike, as there were many other hikers on the trail ... including a handful of dogs. The trail was a bit wet and muddy, but not the worse I have seen. The bugs came out in the afternoon ... they must have been sleeping in.

Summit Elevation: Cascade 4098 ft, Porter 4059 ft
Round-trip Distance: 6.2 mi
Elevation Change: 2360 ft

Cascade and Porter

AT

Over the fourth of July weekend, I hiked part of the Appalachian Trail in Shenandoah National Park with my sister. On Friday morning, we started out from the Lewis mountain campground. We head north, taking a side trip on the Bearfence trail. It was a bit of a scramble on the rocks, but there were nice views to be had. We continued on over Hazletop mountain and then down to Milam Gap. We ended the day at Big Meadows lodge where we stayed the night. The next day we continued on the AT past Franklin Cliffs. I caught a glimpse of a bear up on side of the trail. I took the Salamander trail up to Hawksbill mountain and then down the lower Hawksbill trail. Anne continued on the AT and met me on the other side. We ended the day at Skyland lodge where we stayed the night. The following morning, the weather was less than perfect. It was raining lightly, but we continued on anyway. Unfortunately, it never stopped sprinkling and got foggier as the day progressed. We went over Little Stony man and then up Pinnacle mountain. On the other side of Pinnacle, was a shelter where we stopped for a bit. We continued on past Mary's Rock and then down, down, down to Thornton Gap. Tom was nice enough to drop us off and pick us up. All together, my sister and I hiked 26+ miles over three days.

Shenandoah