Hurricane and Cheney

With a day to hike, we went back to one of our old favorites: Hurricane Mountain. We had last hiked it in 2012 but since then had read about a trail reroute and a refurbished fire tower. Since we had fond memories of our first hike, we decided to try the new route.

Right away, the trail included switchbacks which is a rarity for the Adirondacks. We appreciated the soil under our boots rather than the glacial erratics that we remembered. The trail was still steep and since we had been around the ocean for much of the summer, we were huffing.

Arriving at the top, we picnicked and enjoyed the panoramic views of the high peaks and Lake Champlain. We reminisced about the Nundagao Ridge hike that we had done last summer which was directly to the north.

The fire tower is looking good, except for the last step (a doozy) that needs a bit of repair. It's funny that it gives you a slightly higher view of the panorama that you have at ground level.

We found this guy while descending the trail:

On Sunday morning we wanted to complete a short hike before forecasted rain. We headed to Cheney Mountain in Moriah, which is a favorite of local chef and jack-of-all-trades Don Foote. The trail began over an old landfill and then climbed steeply. The "short and sweet" hike offered many interesting viewpoints along the summit ridge but the summit itself was forested. It was a great way to get some exercise in the morning and get to know a landscape that we travel frequently.

The Boreas

After spending the first portion of the summer in the Maritime Provinces of Canada, we were itching to explore the Adirondacks on our return. For our first trip, we picked a real jewel. We read about the newly acquired state land around Boreas Ponds through an article in Adirondack Explorer by Phil Brown. By random happenstance, he happened to pull in behind us just after we parked the car. We chatted a bit before parting ways - his group was going rock climbing and were bringing boats into Boreas Ponds.

The road was well maintained but certainly not flat. We had hornbeck boats on wheels since it was a full seven mile walk to the ponds. The walk was uneventful although we had to don bug nets to keep swarming deer flies at bay.

Arriving at the pond we were treated to our first jaw-dropping view of Gothics from the bridge over the dam. We launched our boats and it only got better from there. The ponds are set in a bowl surrounded by high peaks. The familiar mountains from that vantage point certainly competes with the most beautiful scenery that I have ever seen. We didn't rush through the ponds but instead floated from one side to the other to see which mountains would peek out next. Within a few years, this will become the premier destination for backcountry paddlers in the Adirondacks.

We made the trek out and got to the car slightly footsore but elated at what we had just experienced. We had just enough energy left to make dinner and collapse in our bunks. THUNK.

The next day we headed for the Hudson River in Newcomb for a short paddle before thunder overhead made us get off the river. We will be back to explore this quiet section of flat water paddling between Lake Harris and the Newcomb Park.