Huletts Landing

Despite some of the best water and most stunning scenery in the Adirondacks, Lake George can be a difficult paddle. With the deluge of motorboat traffic that chops up the lake after New York schools close for the summer it can be dangerous. We took advantage of a beautiful weekday in early June to explore around Huletts Landing.

With no destination in mind and a kayak full of treats, we headed south from our launching point into the northern portion of Lake George's narrows. We scouted campsites and found an island church. Lunch was served while floating in a sunny bay with turtles sunbathing on logs around us.

We continued to follow islands to the south and the pace was more determined by wind speed rather than our desire to get anywhere in particular. All went to plan until I tried to disembark at a high dock. One perfectly placed wave sent me in the water for my first Adirondack swim of the season. I spent the next twenty minutes bailing my boat before we could start heading north again.

The marina at Huletts Landing provided some much needed ice cream to fill in the gaps left by the cookies and chocolate covered pretzels that we had snacked on for the day. Our sugar crash seemed to coincide with sunset and we headed home, leaving Lake George for the hordes for the rest of the summer.

Big Hollow

For a quick jaunt in Crown Point we headed to the Coot Hill trail which has been newly listed on the CATS website. This would have normally been a twenty minute hike, but we were accompanied by Ben - our nephew who had recently turned three. Therefore, it was a two hour adventure with fresh baked cookies as the reward for summiting.

We followed the road through Stantonville and past the graveyard which contained a stone for "Leafy Winters," one of the best names we had ever seen! The trail started from there, but was probably about a half mile to the summit of Coot Hill.

I brought my trumpet and got a triple echo out of the big hollow between Coot Hill and Bulwagga Mountain! The wind started to come up, but we enjoyed the view of the Crown Point peninsula and Vermont.

After making our way back down to the car, we naturally headed to Gene's in Port Henry for the first michigans of the season!

Black River Country

On a cold February day, we packed the car and headed to North Lake at the headwaters of the Black River for a few days of skiing. It turned out to be some of the best backcountry skiing conditions that we have ever experienced!

On our arrival, we tried in vain to warm the camp but the negative outdoor temperatures were working against us. While the wood stove cranked out heat, we headed to South Lake to ski on the snowmobile trail on the southern shore of the lake. With the powdery snow and wide snowmobile tracks it turned out to be much like a groomed trail. We turned around after a couple hours to return to camp and stoke the stove.

After the arrival of my parents we departed to a longer ski the next day from North Lake to Sand Lake Falls which lies roughly 5.5 miles northwest of the lake. After the previous day's experience on the snowmobile trail, we were looking forward to another day of groomed trails. We were not disappointed, although we did see our share of snowmobiles that day. All riders were courteous and friendly as we made our way over the rolling hills, through the woods and into the open floodplain of Woodhull Creek. We ate a lunch in the sunshine at the lean-to, admired the falls and skied back to North Lake for a perfect winter day!

The next day we left North Lake with maps in hand looking for another backcountry ski in the powdery conditions. We found a trail circling Cascade Lake, just north of Eagle Bay. Being Wilderness, we didn't have the groomed trails from the previous two days but enough people had skied ahead that we had a packed path to follow. We eyed the area as a potential camping spot for Hornbeck boats in the summer!

We were glad to take advantage of the perfect winter conditions but being the end of February, we are certainly looking forward to warmer weather!

Coon Mountain

With the temptation of Dogwood Bakery Pizza in Wadhams, we boarded the ferry on a clear and cold Friday afternoon. To work up an appetite, we headed to Coon Mountain. With only patches of icy snow on the ground, we went in our boots and followed the partially marked trail. It was an easy ascent to a great view of the southern portion of Lake Champlain.

Since we had a bit more time, we followed the Hidden Valley Trail on our way back to the car. It brought us under some rocky ledges, but the trail was difficult due to navigate despite the level terrain due to recent blowdown.

We had successfully worked up an appetite and headed to the Dogwood Bakery for delicious pizza!

Newcomb

With a few days off after Christmas and no snow in the Champlain Valley, we decided to head into the Adirondacks in search of some outdoor fun. We snagged a reservation at the Hoot Owl Lodge in Newcomb, which is a great staging location for adventures in and around the High Peaks Wilderness. After checking in, we were told that the road leading to Great Camp Santanoni was snow covered. We strapped on our cross-country ski boots and headed to the parking lot.

It turned out to be an icy glazed snow, so it was certainly a noisy ski. We made our way steadily past the farm, but decided to return just before the hill started to climb. It would have been tricky with the ice, and we would then be pushing sunset. We returned to the lodge, ate our dinner and spent the evening playing pinochle and music.

The next morning, we awoke to frigid temperatures. With the mercury reading -2, we made a pact not to leave the lodge until it read double-digits. Luckily, we had a fantastic breakfast with the wonderful hosts of the Hoot Owl Lodge to fill our time (and bellies). We ended up on the trail from Upper Works by the crack o'eleven.

This trail was well trodden, but still icy. We donned our microspikes and carried snowshoes just in case. We headed on the Indian Pass trail, but turned west, towards Duck Hole. We had a picnic lunch at the lean-to on the northern shore of Henderson Lake before following the trail a bit further. We intended to hike to Preston Ponds, but again didn't want to be out after sunset. It was an excellent jaunt through the woods, and we were certainly able to find some solitude in the wilderness.

We headed to the Adirondack Hotel in Long Lake for dinner that night, and followed it with more music and games back at the lodge before bed. After another amazing breakfast, the next morning we were sorry to leave. We will be back though, with more Adirondack adventures in the New Year!

South Boquet Mountain

Since we seem to frequent the ferry from Charlotte to Essex, we have been eyeing a pair of mountains that seem to rise right behind the village. The Boquet Mountains are a pair of low lying hills in the Champlain Valley, and the southern one has some great views.

We parked the car on Brookfield Road and left the snowshoes in the car due to the recent thaw. We found some snow on the trail, but not enough to merit the heavy gear. We made our way up the trail through a young forest, trying to avoid stepping on the copious amounts of dog feces in the middle of the path. After a slightly steeper section, we were at the top with a fantastic view of Lake Champlain, Split Rock Mountain and the farmland of the Champlain Valley below. 

It was an easy hike that took just over an hour and a half. We will surely be back for warmer weather!

Dix

This was it - our final ascent to reach our goal of forty-six high peaks! We awoke at five and must have really improved our "get-up-'n'go" because we found ourselves sitting in the dark at the Round Pond trailhead before 6:00AM. We munched on banana bread and waited for the sky to brighten a bit.

Once we had enough light to see our footing in the woods, we headed up the trail. Within minutes, we found ourselves looking at Round Pond - a large pond with a nice campsite right off the trail. We made a mental note to return here with our Hornbeck boats someday...

We continued on a pleasant stroll through the autumn forest, which was just past peak foliage. Our footing was mostly visible under the debris, but we found the occasional slippery pile of leaves. By the time we made it to the Boquet lean-to, we had some snacks and started to climb.

The ascent was gradual until we found ourselves on the bottom of a long slide. It must have been old, since there was no visible debris at the base. Looking back, we could see Noonmark, Giant and Rocky Peak Ridge in the morning sun. The soft light brought out the reds that were still clinging to the trees.

Following to the right of the slide through the woods, the trail became unrelentingly steep. There were no cliffs or scrambles, but we gained most of our elevation for the day in this relatively short section of trail. We were happy to see the grade of the path lessen when we arrived at the intersection of the Hunter's Pass trail.

The last part of the trail was rocky and steep, but not nearly what we had just climbed on the slide section. We had to jump over and through some mud puddles and were happy to find very little ice on the summit. Considering that we were hiking in October, we were very lucky in this regard.

The view on the summit was clear and breathtaking in all directions. I kept snapping pictures from the summit where we stayed for an hour taking in the sights. We counted twenty-five of the high peaks that we could now easily identify and we could see large stretches of Lake Champlain and the Champlain Valley in the distance. It was the perfect day and the perfect peak on which to finish our 46!
 

As clouds just started to roll in, we descended the trail the same way that we had come up. Picking our way down the slide section was slow-going, but from the base we had a long but easy stroll through the woods. We got back to the car just as the muscles started to hurt and headed to Gene's Michigan Stand in Port Henry to celebrate!

By looking back at our 46er journey, we have certainly taken a slow but steady transformation. Two years ago, we were casual hikers, content to be on afternoon jaunts and beginning experiment with backpacking. We have refined our skills so that we are now comfortable packing in and out of the backwoods for multiple days (with declining standards of cleanliness as time goes on though...). Our map and compass skills have improved as well, especially when we became unsure of the path!

Most of all, we have gained a deep appreciation and love of the Adirondack Mountains. Their charm lies in their inaccessibility. With the dome shaped range, mountains are obscured and peaks are sometimes not even visible until you find yourself in the thick of it! With an increased understanding of the region's topography with each hike, it becomes more rewarding (and more addicting) with each peak.

We look forward to exploring some of the other wilderness areas both by foot and by boat, and try some new approaches to some of these now familiar high peaks!

7/18/2012 - Porter - Our first Adirondack High Peak

10/5/2014 - Dix - Our Forty-Sixth Adirondack High Peak