Sleeping Beauty - Not the Classic Story

I'm really starting to think that I may want to change these to Saturday posts - the weekdays are too full for me right now. :-/ I'm not sure, I'll definitely post if it changes for 'real,' haha.

So I really should have posted this forever ago, but on 10/24 Robinson, Lauren and I headed up to Lake George. Our goal? To hike Sleeping Beauty Mt. ... without getting lost on the way there, or freezing to death, or getting caught in the rain, or staying overnight, or meeting terrifying animals, or ... you get the picture.

So around 9:30 I swung by Lauren's and picked both her and Robinson up, we hit the Northway (I-87), took exit 20 and got onto 149. But not in such a lovely order. We got to exit 20 OK, and then we missed the turn for 149 - so we went at least 12 miles out of the way. I've never been to Sleeping Beauty Mt., which is surprising because it's so close and it is such a nice hike. But since I've never been there, I had no idea where we were going or what kind of roads my Ford station wagon was going to be tackling.

We took a left off of 149 onto Buttermilk Falls Rd. and began an entertaining drive. The first part of the road was nice and paved - my car appreciated it. Suddenly we passed a sign saying 'Dirt Road Ahead,' and then there was the dirt road. OK, so it wasn't that bad. It was definitely better than a lot of the unpaved roads I've been on, but my car is old and I was terrified that something was going to break (it would be just my luck too).

The directions said to 'bear left onto Sly Pond Rd.' and then to 'continue on to Shelving Rock Rd.' These directions are technically correct, but I would argue that the descriptive terms of 'bear left' and 'continue on' should be switched. It definitely made us confused in the middle of nowhere. Eventually we found the little parking lot in Hog Town and we celebrated that my car had made it that far.


From this lot there is an access trail that, in good weather, you can drive down to a closer lot. Since it really wasn't 'in season' for hiking any more, the road was closed and we had to hike it. The path was easy going and was much more entertaining than some other access trails I've been on (I didn't do the length of the access path to the Avalanche Pass trail justice in that post), but, adding 1.6 miles to our trip (one way), it almost doubled the length of our hike.

Reaching Dacy Clearing, the second lot, we turned left and hopped a barrier to get onto the summit trail which is 1.8 miles one way. After a short ways up this trail, hikers come to the stone remnants of a building. None of having been here before, and all of us obviously entertained by the ruins, we stopped and climbed around them for a while. I forgot to mention above that when we started the hike, there was another hiker who started just behind us; he had legit trekking poles and, seeing as it's hunting season, was decked out in fluorescent orange. He had a much faster pace and passed us before we reached Dacy Clearing. When we stopped at the old foundation we must have given him at least a 15 minute lead on us.

At this point, it started to rain. Just a light sprinkle, but we still crossed our fingers and hoped for the best. The trail led us up a series of long switchbacks (when the trail doubles back and travels up the hill in a zigzag motion) and the rain progressed. We continued to slip up the mountain for what seemed like way more than 1.8 miles.

At one point the trail turned left and flattened out, we could see the gray sky and a trail marker was spotted that simply stated 'Summit 0.1 mi ↑.' At the same time, the hiker who had passed us on the access trail passed us again. We exchanged friendly 'hellos' and he went down another trail that would loop him back to Dacy Clearing by the longer route that passed Bumps Pond.

We proceeded the 0.1 miles, saying that it was perfect placement for that sign - we had been seriously starting to hate those 1.8 miles. The trees opened up on our left and the mountain opened up on our right. We were greeted to the summit by an insane view of misty mountains and a slap of cold wind in our faces. We scrambled around the rocky summit, took in the view, shot some pictures and hastily retreated to the protection of the trees.


After lunch and lots of marshmallows, the food of champions, we headed back down. We had initially planned to take the route to Bumps pond, but we were cold and tired and absolutely drenched. This direction was a lot of fun, I'm still not sure how Lauren made it back to the car without twisting an ankle, but thankfully she did. We signed out on the registry, piled back into the car and began the long journey down a wet dirt road.

When I got back home and got to look at my car, it was covered with mud. Now, I'm all for off-roading and I was very pleased to see that my car looked like it had just been through the swamp and back. I'm not entirely sure how it got so dirty - our max speed on the dirt rad was probably 30 - but it did. And I would have loved to have taken a picture, but my Dad cleaned it off before I could. I can only imagine what people on the Northway were thinking when they passed a dirt covered station wagon.

So there is the account of that hike. When you think of Sleeping Beauty, either the Mt. or the story, rain and marshmallows definitely do not come to mind. ;) I'm not sure what's in store for me next with the outdoors, but I will definitely keep you posted. The best I can say about anything is that it's looking like Mom and I might head up to Hadley again this fall.

Happy trekking,
G

Hopping to Hadley

Yay for midterms eating my time!

But anyways, on the 16th, my mom and I headed up to Hadley Mt. again. I'm starting to think that whenever she and I go hiking, there is a strange pull from the house that never lets us leave. At 9:00 we stuffed the car with out ski poles, jackets, gaiters, lunches and gloves, then we climbed in and pulled out of the driveway. Oh wait - did I say gloves? No, we realized 100 ft down the road that we had both forgotten them; so we turned around, parked back in the driveway and went into the house to find our gloves. Five minutes later we were back in the car and 100 ft back down the road. My mom couldn't find her sunglasses, so we turned around and idled in the driveway while she went to look for them. She didn't even make it to the door before she felt them hooked into her back pocket. So, try three, we were 100 ft down the road and we were laughing so hard about how everyone must think we were crazy.

So after our fabulous dance, we headed out to Hadley. Driving down Tower Rd. (the dirt road that the parking lot for the trail head is on) we passed some hunters and mom gave them quite a look, I'm just glad she didn't seem paranoid about getting shot for the rest of the trip! :)

We pulled into the parking lot around 10, and we proceeded to bundle up. I was rocking my gaiters, a three in one jacket, a ski pole and some fleece gloves (I had an extra windbreaker in my pack). My mom was rocking gaiters, a fleece pullover, a fleece vest, a heavy duty wind-resistant jacket, and two ski poles. We sprayed up to protect ourselves from the doom-bugs (aka: ticks) and we headed up the trail.

It had rained a few days the week before and the weather kept telling the high elevation regions to 'watch for snow.' Fortunately we never saw any snow, but we sure saw a lot of water. The trail follows a stream up the mountain for most of the time and it was as high as we had ever seen it. In a few places where it crossed the trail, I got to try out my photography skills ... and my waterproof shoes. Everything went swell and my feet remained dry. :)

Quite a few people passed us as they were coming back down. As with every time I have hiked this trail, they reassure us that the summit is worth it. I guess it's a polite thing to say, but hey - don't we look like we hike often (with mom's fanny pack and my heavy jacket)? ;)

One thing that I just couldn't get over during this hike was the leaves. Not just the colors, but more of the way that the trees changed. Leaf color was so dependent on elevation it was insane! One tree could have no leaves in it's top branches, A few red leaves below that, more yellow below that, and the lots of green near the ground. I know that temperature is a main factor in the leaves changing, but this was fabulous! Or at least I thought it was, being a biology major and all. ;) I hope the first picture and the picture above can do the idea some justice.

Almost at the summit there is a trail that heads off on the right that leads to an old ranger's cabin. We stopped there and had lunch (we bought subway on the way to the mountain) before venturing up to the cold summit. The wind was bitter and the bare rock offered no shelter. I debated climbing the fire tower, and decided to go halfway up. I was willing to subject myself to even harsher wind just for some pictures, but I wasn't going to be too crazy.

I'm not sure what way these photos are facing, I'll have to figure it out.

I must admit, we didn't stay on the summit long, and we were definitely glad to get back into the protection of the trees. But it was definitely a nice hike, and one that I needed. The outdoors is definitely something that calls to you. I'm not sure how to explain it if you don't know what I mean, but it's a call that you need to answer.

So here's to me hopefully remembering to post this coming Friday and to tell you about my hike with Lauren and Robinson.

Peace,
G

I Must be a Hobbit

"For all Hobbits share a love of things that grow." This line is from The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (it's in the film, I'll have to check if the exact line is in the book).

My mom and I are heading up to Hadley Mt. tomorrow, given that the rain is polite; I told her that even if it does rain I'll still be happy to go. For the last week I have been stuck in the woods of Troy where the gray mountains can be scaled with the push of a button and the air is heavy with the stink of human. I need to smell the earth, I need to hear my footfalls on the root-laden dirt, and I need to feel the ache in my muscles and the excitement in my heart.

You don't realize how attached to something you have become until you don't have it.
G

Brain Cells

I think that as I learn more in college this year, I am losing the brain cells that make me remember things. :-/ Gah, so I'm posting this now in hopes that I will come back later today and update this into a real post.

Peace,

G

Fall Getaway

SOoooooooo, this weekend I am heading out to Seneca Lake for a retreat with Campus Crusade for Christ. I was hoping that there would be some nice geocaching out there, but there's nothing really within walking distance. :-/ Oh well.

Looking forward: I'm hiking Hadley Mt. again with my mom on the 16th, and it looks like I'll be heading out with Robinson and Lauren on the 24th. Yay!

Just keeping you posted,
G

Image Success!

Sorry about the delays with this post and the forgetfulness this past Friday.

Sooo, a little under a month ago (8/24) my mom took the day off to hike up Hadley Mt. with me before I left for school. I'm not sure what time we left, but we got to the mountain later in the day and the parking lot was more than half full.

Let me give you a little background - my mom is paranoid of ticks. Why you ask? Because ticks = Lyme disease. So a few weeks before we headed out my mom went to Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS) and got us both some gaiters and some intense bug spray. (I'm going to take a quick moment to mention that I also bought a very nice Garmin Dakota 20 at EMS for about $100 off. EMS and I currently have a very nice, budding friendship). ;D

So we pulled off the dirt road and into the tiny parking lot just at the base of the trail head and proceeded to prepare for the hike ahead. We Velcroed and buckled on our gaiters, and sprayed down our pants with DEET bug spray; no ticks are gonna get on US! During this time two other groups pulled in, parked and headed up the trail.

We took a picture at the trail head, signed the log book and finally got started well into noontime. I mentioned in Into the Sky that I was now equipped with a hiking pole; this is just a simple, old ski pole that no longer has a mate. My dad took off the basket at the bottom and gave it to me to use (it's bright yellow so I can't loose it). Anyways, I gave this to my mom just after we passed the log because I didn't feel like carrying it, she griped a bit at first but was lenient to give it up later. :)

Now geocaching. My mom is NOT a fan of this, she is convinced that some evil-doer is going to lie in wait at a cache and kidnap me. OK, I admit, it could happen - but anyone who has gone geocaching knows that it most likely won't. So despite her dislike, I came prepared with my Garmin Dakota 20. There are five caches along the Hadley Mt. trail and I intended to find them. One of them I had already found on my last trip up Hadley Mt. with MD and I knew it would be a good example to calm my mom's fears. The first cache is a little ways up the trail and off to the right, unfortunately it was hidden nicely and I wasn't completely used to my new GPS yet so it took me a little while to find it (a fact my Mom was NOT happy with), but find it I did and we continued on up the trail.

My mom is a much slower hiker than I had imagined, but it gave me time to crawl around on the rocks looking for caches. Next was the one I had found with MD and the third was a cache with three parts; you had to find the first cache which contained coordinates to the second which contained coordinates to the third. This multi-cach led you up the trail, stopping fabulous 'resting rocks' and ending just off the trail on the left at a beautiful spot I didn't even know existed! As my quest for these caches continued, my mom began to trust the geocaching pastime a little more. I can only hope that she will accept it more as time goes on.

During all this, we passed many people coming down the mountain; they all assured us with the fact that 'it's worth the hike.' We knew that, but thanked them anyways for their encouragement and plugged on. The day was beautiful, initially we had feared a little bit of rain, but we never got any. :) (MD and I joke that whenever we go hiking it's bad weather, and I'm starting to think it's true. The combination that we make must disturb the atmosphere because I haven't had that problem with anyone else).

There was one more cache on the trail (and one at the summit): the 'Ranger Trail Cache,' it is just off the path on the right. There is the remnants of an old trail that used to be the ranger's trail, a pile of logs lie across the front of it so hikers don't travel down it unawares. I hopped the pile and headed to the coordinates while my mother waited on the trail near the logs (she continuously tells me that rule #1 is: don't leave the trail). This cache eluded me for the longest time, long enough that a group of maybe 6 women hiked up behind us and passed us. They stopped to talk with my mother and were thoroughly interested in what on earth I was doing in the woods. We tried to explain, they wished me luck and headed up the mountain. Unfortunately I couldn't find the stinking cache, so we hiked to the summit and concluded that I would find it on the way down.

The summit was fabulous! Visibility couldn't have been better and there was little to no wind! There is ALWAYS wind on top of Hadley Mt., which makes climbing the fire tower kind of scary at times. Today the tower didn't blow in the wind at all and I had to get a picture of me at the top. (When MD and I went up Hadley Mt. last time it was raining, foggy, cold and windy, and I was not a happy hiker at the top of the tower, so I had to show her I was alive at the top this time). We had our lunch of PBnJ, almonds, water and a flavorful juice box at the base of the tower.

The group of women that had passed us were having their lunch a short ways off and a few of them seemed like avid hikers (my mom said they sounded like school teachers). They were still interested in this 'geocaching thing' and when I went off to look for the cache on the summit they asked me some more questions and watched me wander around looking for benchmarks (the one pictured is kind of boring-looking, but it marks the summit of Hadley Mt.).

Unfortunately I still wasn't completely used to the new GPS, my batteries were dying and I couldn't figure out how to set a heading with relation to the compass. So I gave up and sat back with my mom; Hadley Mt. isn't too far and I know I'll be back soon. A few moments later one of the women came up to me and asked if the cache was a Tupperware container; she had found the Hadley Mt. letterbox. I don't do letterboxing, but I know a bit about it and I explained it to them. It was really interesting to get to expalin these things to muggles (that's what geocacher's call people who don't know about the pastime) and I think that, since I gave them the geocaching website, they may actually check it out! :)

After a while that group left and my mom and I relaxed at the summit for a little longer before heading back down. When we did I was able to find the cache I had missed before (ugh, looking at something in one wrong angle can really screw things up) and I was definitely pleased with the GPS I had bought the day before.

On the way down we passed three groups heading up. The first was a guy and his dog with what looked like a lawn chair / daypack on his back, the second was a guy who said he takes this hike 2-3 times a week (impressive) and the third was a younger couple. We passed this last group about 15 minutes from the trail head and the girl asked us 'how much further to the top?' We responded with something to the effect of 'about a mile.' They continued on up Hadley Mt., but I'm not so sure that they made it to the summit, it was getting late and they already looked exhausted.

We signed out of the log, tossed our gear into the car and headed to Panera for dinner. Let me tell you, there is nothing like some warm soup and a hearty sandwich after a day of hiking. :) Later, when we got home I handed my GPS to my dad and let him play around with it, and of course he found the application I needed to find the cache on the summit of Hadley Mt.. I was a little annoyed about that, but definitely happy that I now know how to set a new heading. (You'd think this would be easy, but it was hidden at the end of my menu under a strange title that I'm forgetting now).

So for the future: I am planning to hike Hadley Mt. again with my mom some time in October. Robinson, Lauren and I are trying to figure out a weekend that we can go somewhere, and I hope that more outdoors opportunities open up to me during school. Unfortunately MD is out of state for college and unless we make an elaborate feat of planning, we won't be able to do anything until Christmas break (considering she will go hiking in the snow).

Well that's that, I hope it was worth the wait. In Sticks and Stitches, I mentioned that I would only be posting when things happen, but I'm hoping to keep this thread going despite the lack of outdoor activities. I will find something to fill the empty Fridays for you. :)

Any suggestions for easy, beginner winter hikes?

Peace,
G

College

Hey guys,
Sorry about those last couple posts that I missed. I moved into my dorm last weekend and things are still getting settled. Since everything has been hectic and crazy here, I haven't had any time to post, yet alone blog. :-/

I still have to post about my hike up Hadley with my mom; but the memory card that I used doesn't even show the images when I plug it into my computer. So I'm not sure what's going on there. I used my mom's camera, so I'm hoping that when I go home either today or tomorrow that I can put the card back into the camera and them hook that up to my computer. I'm not sure what's going on with it, but I know that the camera registered us taking the pictures. So they have to be there somewhere, they are just hiding.

Once I find those pictures, I will post a review of our hike. I'd rather the pictures be with the post than separate. So look forward to seeing that this coming Friday (no promises though, technology hates me sometimes).

Sorry again for the delay, but sadly I am a student first and a hiker second.
G