Summer Wishlist 2018: Waterfall

I checked the first item off our summer bucket list this past weekend: hike to a waterfall. There are a lot waterfalls in the region, but none of them are on my side of town. Because we are still restricted by my son's nap schedule typically we hike first thing in the morning, then head home for a late lunch and nap. Google told me we could get to the county park that features a 137 foot waterfall in 37 minutes. I've spent a lot of time over the years at this park, including running a nature day camp there during college, but I haven't been in many years. I was so happy to see it again!

Mother's Day on the Bog

What better way is there to spend Mother's Day (or any day) than with a hike at Second Home Nature Center? That's what we did, returning to the favored Bog Trail. The weather was perfect, starting cool and warming more than 20 degrees while we were out. We saw tadpoles, a giant snapping turtle, several painted turtles, fish, and frogs. We threw LOTS of rocks and sticks and watched people paddling in canoes.

Throwing rocks.

Bog in March, Snow

Saturday morning and with it, snow. But we needed to get outside and Little Man was in good spirits, happily agreeing to go for a hike. As always he hoped for his aunt and cousin to join us, but they were otherwise occupied. He didn't even balk at the snowpants, big coat, or big mittens. I was overly optimistic at how smoothly it all was going.

The "I've got boogies" complaint started only a few feet down the trail. Spirits sagged. I wanted to throw myself face first into the snow and cry. Here we were in such a beautiful setting and I couldn't even appreciate it. I suggested we go back to the car (multiple times), but he kept choosing to go forward, even though clearly no one was having any fun.

We made it to the observation tower and carefully climbed the snow covered stairs. The wind whipped off the lake with such ferocity the snow stung my face. I tried crouching down below the height of the railing but it didn't help, so I dragged my very resistant child back down the stairs. Fortunately, it was at this point that we made a discovery that turned things around. There was open water under the tower and snow is fun to throw and kick into open water.

Eventually we got out to the end of the island where I mentioned the possibility of pancakes and sausage back at the building. We very rarely go inside the nature center, so this was a big departure for us. But dude LOVES sausage (eew). I buy the fake sausage to eat at home, but I suspected he'd be more than happy to eat the real stuff too. So that motivated him all the way back to the building. After we ate he ran around the exhibit area looking at the animals and playing with the touch & feel table. When it was time to leave, I steered him into the gift shop. I know this seems like an odd decision, but I wanted some maple candy. I was prepared to buy him a small (not edible) treat in order to satisfy my sweet tooth, but it ended up working out better than I could've have hoped for. He settled on a small rubber snake and after paying I suggested he show Mr. Snake where our car was. And that's exactly what he did, with enthusiasm and no fuss about leaving the super fun building.

Let's try not to worry about what happens next time when there is no sausage and Mommy does NOT want to go inside the boring, overly heated building.

Saturday Morning Hike

My sister and I took advantage of the mild temperatures to get the four of us out for a hike together. It was the first hiking I've done in 2018. It was not without challenges, but all I can hope is it's worth it in the grand scheme of things. I'm not in the best place mentally, so it's easy to see how TV and fast food would be the easier option.

Boys Hiking

On Saturday morning my sister and I met at Second Home Nature Center for a hike with our boys. We got off to a somewhat rocky start (car sick barfing in the parking lot) and had a few rough patches as is bound to happen with toddlers (and kids in general), but it was still worth the effort of course. I was too chilled (even with polypro top and bottom) to attempt much photography, plus the lighting was not ideal for my old cell phone, so these pics are courtesy of my sister. There was rock and stick throwing, playing in the leaves, and some vigorous stomping of puff balls, in addition to running and rolling around. The boys are rather fond of each other, despite the age difference.

Solo Thanksgiving Hike

On Thanksgiving morning I dropped my son at his father's house and continued about five minutes north to one of my favorite local hiking spots. My plan was to hike the 5K trail and pick up my son on the way home. This was my first time hiking without my son EVER. And the first time I've walked farther than his legs will carry him since abandoning the stroller and baby carriers. It was both weird and wonderful to be in the woods by myself. I'm predictably out of shape but was able to complete the trail in exactly my goal time (1 hour), even with stopping to snap pictures.

Old pumphouses

Owl's Head & Olympic Ski Jump

I'm still working my way through our camping trip to the Lake Placid area in early August, so this post will cover two activities: our hike up Owl's Head and our visit to the Olympic Ski Jump Complex.

I wasn't up for any major hiking (and my husband never is), so Owl's Head seemed ideal. The trail is 1.2 miles round trip and the summit provides lovely views of the surrounding High Peaks. Our first attempt was thwarted by giant road construction vehicles using the road to the trail head as a staging area. So we went back the next day and were able to squeeze past and find a spot to park. The trail is quite popular and we saw lots of other hikers, but we managed to have the summit all to ourselves. The hordes arrived just as we were heading down.

We've been meaning to make it to the Olympic Ski Jump Complex for the last couple years, but bad weather has caused us to put off our visit. Not this year. We got to watch some young ski jumpers jumping into swimming pools (crazy!). Then we rode the chair lift up to the base of the ski jump and then took the elevator to the top. It boggles my mind that real people intentionally propel themselves down those jumps. Good grief.

This will probably be the last of the posts from this trip, but is you haven't done so yet, you can also read about our visit to Ausable Chasm and our Ben & Jerry's Factory tour.

Hiking Phelps

This past Saturday found us once again heading north to the mountains. We met at our usual time of 4:15am, although our driving route differed, as did our intended trailhead. The parking lot at the High Peaks Information Center was nearing capacity when we arrived, but we were early enough to grab a spot without difficulty. We hit the bathrooms (running water!) at the HPIC before signing the register at 8:12am.

We had only one peak as our goal for the day: Phelps Mt., the easiest of the Adirondack High Peaks remaining on my list. As such, we took full advantage of our time, hiking slowly, stopping often, and lounging on the summit. The trails and summit were crowded, no surprise on a rain-free Saturday in late July. The summit is without markers of any kind: no signs, no benchmarks, only 3 holes.

One of the gentlemen we met on the summit was particularly loquacious. He and my sister happily discussed the surrounding peaks and previous hikes until I dragged her away. He was super sweet and charming, but I felt anxious to get underway after two hours on the summit. I love how genuinely friendly most hikers are.

We got back to the car with plenty of time to drive into Lake Placid for a sandwich. Neither of us could stomach the thought of fast food for dinner. My only regret is that we were so full after our tasty sandwiches that we didn't have room for any Ben & Jerry's!

Details:
Phelps Mt., elevation: 4161, order of height: 32, order of ascension: 21

Hiking with kids: Tinker Falls & Labrador Hollow

This past weekend my sister and I took her son hiking with us. We selected a destination that offered attractions to him. He is 3.5 years old and obsessed with numbers, interested in "mysteries," and loves any opportunity to throw rocks into water.

We started our two-part hike at Tinker Falls, near Tully, NY. The short trail into the falls follows a stream, which allowed us to pause for some rock throwing (and hippy-bug-dope application). While I regretted my lack of hat, at least the boy was well-equipped.

We climbed up and behind the falls, where we hung out and took pictures.

The boy enjoyed a snack of pretzels and red pepper slices. Eventually we climbed up above the falls and headed back down to the car. This trail was marked with painted blazes on regularly spaced trees, so the boy could search for "clues." His sharp little eyes lead us down the trail and back to the car.

We then drove a short ways up the road to Labrador Hollow Unique Area and started down the boardwalk.

The boy enjoys boardwalks, but he was over the moon when he spotted a number 1 sign. He didn't care that we didn't have the interpretive material that goes along with the signs; all he cared about was finding the next one. We hunted down all the numbers and enjoyed the beautiful surroundings.

Our awesome little hike was topped off with milkshakes for them and ice cream for me, locally made by one of our old favorites from the farmer's market.

Hiking Sawteeth

This past Saturday my sister and I made another one day up and back trip to the Adirondack High Peaks. We met at the same time at the same park-n-ride and followed the same route to the same trailhead in St. Huberts that we hiked from exactly two weeks before. Given our relatively late arrival on a holiday weekend, we felt the parking lot at the Ausable Club was most likely to still have available spots. And fortunately, it did!

We geared up and left the car at 7:33am, hitting the trail register 15 minutes later. This time there were a few golfers on the course, even though some of the sprinklers were still running.

After we passed the Gill Brook Trail, we were in new territory for me (my sister had been in the vicinity both hiking and swimming at the boat house as a guest of a club member). We reached the dam at the end of the Lake Road at 8:58am, where we paused to take pictures and to deploy my trekking poles.

Shortly there after, we turned onto the Scenic Trail, which follows the Lower Ausable Lake shoreline for awhile. We paused at most of the scenic overlooks to take pictures (because isn't that the point of the scenic trail?) and generally took our sweet time. Neither of us had gotten much sleep the night before, which is fairly typical the night before a hike but this was more extreme because of the 4th of July fireworks that kept us both awake.

After climbing up and over several "teeth," we reached the summit of Sawteeth at 1:24pm. Two gentlemen from Connecticut who had passed us earlier graciously vacated the summit rock for our enjoyment after some casual chitchat (hikers are, for the most part, such friendly folk). Two other parties arrived from the Gothics Trail approach and we all sat around eating lunch and then taking pictures.

We enjoyed the summit, with its absolutely breathtaking views, for about an hour before starting the trek out. We both prefer to make loops whenever possible, so we headed down the other trail towards the junction to Gothics where we picked up the Weld Trail. We were greatly anticipating Rainbow Falls and it did not disappoint.

From the Falls, it was only 0.3 mile back to the Lower Ausable Lake Dam, which we arrived at at 4:16pm. All that was left was the 4 mile walk down the Lake Road and through the golf course to the car. I was so excited to remove my boots I forgot to record the time, but it was in the neighborhood of 5:48pm. That means total time on the trail was about 10 hours 15 minutes and total distance was about 13.2 miles (including a foray to an overlook that turned out to be too far from the main trail and so our pursuit was abandoned). The weather was perfect and the bugs were minimal.

Details:
Sawteeth, elevation: 4100, order of height: 35, order of ascension: 20

Not pictured: our celebratory to-go milkshakes from the Noonmark Diner.