Wanderings

We went out yesterday for our annual New Year’s day stroll.  We went up to Zindel Park and hiked about 8 miles.  Jim’s arm is still in a sling from his shoulder surgery so Panther Run was not an option this year. 

In the morning the sun was shining and the temperatures were in the mid forties.  It doesn’t feel like winter.  But by the time we started our hike at noon the clouds had rolled in and yes it rained during our hike.  Showers on and off.

This year it was Carole and I along with Jim, Kathy, Boyd and Melissa.  Randy is still recovering from a broken ankle and Lynda has a very bad cold so they were not able to join us.

Here is the route we took…

This year we plan on continued training for the events we enter and we plan on getting back up to the Lake Placid area to hike more peaks.  And, whatever else come up…

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Today a group of us went up Pine Creek to Ramsey and did a 7 mile loop on the Tiadaghton Trail.  It was a good day to hike…. at least for me.  Cool temperatures… low humidity!  The trail is very well kept and has some wonderful views of the Pine Creek Valley.

Here is a look at the trail we hike today…

I didn’t get a chance to post the hike we did last week.  Jim, Carole, Boyd and I went up to McElhatten and did our Cat Flats Loop.  Here is the track of the trail…

Well Jim, Jerry, Carole and I started off with the idea of hiking up Wright first and then we’d head up Algonquin.  We stopped at the ranger station at the LOJ and talked to the gal in the service station.  She told us that conditions were very icy and would not recommend going up either peak without micro-spikes.  We all had Yaktrax but she said even they wouldn’t give us the traction we needed.  So… luckily for us we were able to rent them for the day.  She also told us that the wind chill at the tops of the peaks was minus 4 degrees.

The first part of the trail was pretty good but the higher we got the icier it got.  Carole was running out of steam and it was getting worse.  She decided not to go on at about the 4100’ mark.  There was a small icy ravine we had to cross and she just wasn’t up to it.  Not much farther up the trail conditions got even worse.  Ice covered the trail.  If it weren’t for the micro-spikes I’m not sure I would have gone any further.  But we made it to the top.  Pictured below are Jim and Jerry at the peak with Algonquin in the background.

Getting down from the peak was even more treacherous.  Again, thank God we had the micro-spikes.  We met a couple of people at the top who made it up in Yak’s but as they headed down they were having a lot of trouble.

After getting off the peak we made the decision to let Algonquin go and come back when the weather is a little nicer… although you never know… now that we’ve had time to think about it…

What a great weekend.  Jim, Randy, Jerry, Carole and I headed back to Lake Placid with hopes of getting to the top of 4 more peaks.  We had are minds made up on Cascade (4098″’), Porter (4059’), Wright (4580’) and Algonquin (5114’).

The first day we all headed off to get the first two on our list.  We didn’t know what to expect.  The temperature at 7:00 am was a frigid 19 degrees.  The trip up went well and we all made it to the top.  Here’s a picture of four of us at the top of Cascade.  The trip to Porter was a bit trickier because of the ice covering the trail but we all made it there as well.

We had a mishap on the way down.  Randy fell and sprained his ankle.  He was in a lot of pain but did manage to make it down.  The ER’r x-rays confirmed that he would not be joining us the next day.  Here is a snapshot of our journey.

If you’ve read some of my earlier posts you’ve noticed that the weather does not always cooperate.  Carole really hates the cold and rain and thinks we’re crazy for walking around the woods in such adverse conditions.  Her opinion is shared by many.  And I respect her but then… I’d like to share with you my thoughts as I’ve shared with her and others.  The adverse conditions are what stories are made of.  If everything, especially the weather turned out perfect for every event, then every hike would be just like the last.  Sometimes the things that we cannot control make those events unique therefore… making for good stories.  I ran across a quote the other day that I think is perfect in explaining my thought process…

Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain!

Think about it… what are your stories?

Well it’s been awhile since I’ve written anything here.  It’s not that I haven’t been hiking… it’s just that I’ve hit a wall when it comes to writing about the hikes.  I’ve made up my mind to at least bring you up to date…

One of the most interesting hikes we’ve taken was in the High Peaks region in New York state.  We climbed Mt. Marcy.  Instead of rewriting everything you can see about that adventure here.  Just look for our Lake Placid vacation.  We loved it so much we will be going back to Lake Placid to hike a few more peaks in late October.  The plans have been made.

I also participated in the Mega Transect again this year.  Like the Hyner Challenge earlier this year, the Mega was a cold and rainy day.  To top things off I was going on 3 hours sleep.  I was at a trade show in Orlando the week of the event.  My flight home was delayed and I didn’t pull in the driveway until 3:00 am the day of the event… which started at 7:00 am.  All things considered I think I did good… just by finishing.  Jim stuck with me most of the day and we ended up finishing together.  Under normal conditions he would have beat me to the finish by a large margin however with the rain, mud and a cold settling in on him, we were both glad to finish and enjoyed the 25 miles of hiking together.  BTW – the course was even tougher this year… less road time and more climbs…on top of the weather conditions.

Oh well.  I’ll get back to this more after our trip back to Lake Placid…

Hot and humid… That’s the best way to describe our hike up Panther Run. You can see the trail here.

Our weather has turned from nothing but rain to hot and humid.  Today’s temp got into the high 80’s.  Even with the heat the hike was good.  The trails were in good shape with the exception of some fallen trees.  There must have been a pretty good size storm pass through the area because in some areas the tops of trees seemed to be snapped off.  If you kept moving the flies and other bugs weren’t too bad.  So, as I said a pretty good hike.

Well… it has been one heck of a week. 

I didn’t do as well as I would have liked at the Trek but I did finish.  Here is my gps data.  Again… rain… rain… and more rain.  Although it eventually stopped the trail was very messy.

I started off feeling great.  Jim and I hit Keller’s bench like we were shot out of a canon (an older canon but what do you expect).  The Goat Path was a challenge as usual but it felt pretty good.  That’s when my trouble started.  Jim took off around a couple of people but I just couldn’t find the energy to pass.  That’s the last I saw of him.  By the time I topped the Lightning Bolt my stomach was feeling upset.  I don’t know whether is was something I ate or the drink concoction I put together to try to prevent cramps.  Either way it was slowing me down.

By the time I got to seven mile mark cramps had set into my legs (so much for my concoction). I had S-Caps with me and took one every hour but still cramped… mostly in my right leg.  Calves and quads – they would come and go.  I could run in short bursts but it was really slowing me down.  I made up my mind do whatever I needed to do to finish.

I finished at 3:46 which was 1/2 hour over last years time… not good… I really got to get working here.

Today was our first day back out after the Hyner View Challenge.  We decided to do a more casual walk just to stretch our legs out.  It was a beautiful day.  The sun was out, it was it the 70’s and there was a nice gentle breeze blowing.  By far the nicest day of the year to date.  I can’t remember the last day we had without rain.

Jesse joined Carole, Jim and me.  It was his first time out with us.  Here is the route we took.

Rain… Rain… Rain… Wind… Rain…

Here is how I made out… more later.

Well that just about explains the day.  The weather was horrible.  Jim and I finished at the 5 hour 18 minute mark.  We really wanted to try to get under 5 hours but all things considered are happy with the results.  Carole came in at 6:08… and she wasn’t wearing her usual smile.  She slipped and fell a couple of times and was pretty much soaked… as were all of us.

Overall… it was another great adventure!