Chocolate & Craft Show, Saranac Lake Winter Carnival

I'd just visited the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival and had seen the Arctic Golf, the Ice Castle and the Curling demonstration (previous posts). I found my parked car and began navigating the icy hills and narrow, winding roads of Saranac Lake. I was just about to head back home when I got stuck in traffic in front of this impressive building, the Harrietstown Town Hall. The village of Saranac Lake is partially located in the town of Harrietstown:

I was stuck in traffic anyway and couldn't move, so when I saw these signs in front of the town hall, I pulled to the curb and parked. They were holding a Chocolate Festival and a Lutheran Church Women's Craft Sale. How could I resist?:

It was quite crowded inside and there were lots of baked goods, though only some were chocolate:

The crafts seemed to consist primarily of fabric items such as place mats, table runners and mini-quilts:

I saw more people looking than buying or eating, but one man was certainly enjoying the brownies he'd purchased:

I saw this elegant stairway and walked downstairs to see if there were more crafts and chocolates:

There were no more crafts or baked goods, but a group of young people was rehearsing for a concert, obviously in connection with the Winter Carnival's "Groovy 60s" theme:

I walked back upstairs and discovered that the crowd had thinned. I did not, however, buy any sweets, however tempting they might have been:

It was time to go home, so I began driving through Saranac Lake to get back on the main road. The streets were hilly, narrow and winding. At one point, I saw this mountain just ahead of me and snapped a photo because I felt pretty sure it was Mount Baker, about which I blogged here and here:

Mount Baker On A November Day - Part 3

We arrived at the summit of Mount Baker and the views were as advertised:

I could see out over the valleys, forests and lakes below. I could even see Lake Flower and the village of Saranac Lake down below:

We walked around on the summit and explored:

And looked out over the landscape in all directions:

Someone had put up prayer flags to bless the surrounding countryside and I found it a welcome, even touching, gesture:

The dogs continued to investigate as I snapped pictures:

Clover is quite fearless in such places:

Daphne is slightly more reserved, but still a little too reckless for my comfort:

But I stayed away from the edge and enjoyed the beauty from a safe place:

The high peaks in the distance, I have read, were the Adirondacks' McKenzie Range:

But of course the time soon came to begin the downhill climb. I started descending the rocky ledges very carefully:

My hands and attention were fully engaged in keeping me from slipping and falling, so I took no pictures all the way down - at least until we reached the level, easy walking near the trail head. It had been a lovely, invigorating hike and I hope that you enjoyed the photos:

Mount Baker On A November Day - Part 2

The trail up Mount Baker, which had begun as such easy walking, had turned more rocky and more steep. The small dogs found it great fun to run and play on the rocky ledges, but Seamus and I were slowing down a little more with each climb:

But always the bare trees afforded us spectacular views off into the valley below and the blue sky overhead. It felt good to be alive:

Seamus was slowing down and stopped at this ledge as if to say, "Really? How am I supposed to get up there?":

The three smaller dogs walked to the edge as if to encourage him. And, in the end, Seamus maneuvered the ledge with a bit of help from me. I did also, though my leg braces made climbing a bit awkward:

We'd reached a height which made it increasingly easy to see through the trees to the valley below:

We kept climbing. There were more rock ledges:

And the winds suddenly picked up, blowing hard enough that I wondered if we were in for a major windstorm. Little Daphne and Clover braced themselves against the wind and a dead tree crashed down right behind us, startling us all:

But we stayed on the trail and kept climbing upward:

It was a wonderful day in a beautiful place:

I could tell that we were nearing the summit:

There were some steep ledges to negotiate as we got closer to the peak, some of them a little worrisome because my braces made me clumsy and there were steep drop offs below:

But we continued to climb. Seamus appeared apprehensive as well, and stayed right by my side most of the time. The little dogs, as you can see, waited for us at the top. We were almost to the summit and I'll post photos of that in Part 3, tomorrow:

Mount Baker On A November Day - Part 1

We had a surprisingly clear, warm, November day and I decided to take the dogs to Mount Baker in Saranac Lake. I located the trail head, parked and began the hike. Daphne immediately found some interesting hollows beneath a couple of White Pines:

The trail was easy walking at first, though it became increasingly rocky as we gained altitude:

Daphne was a very happy Papillon:

The scenery was magnificent and we proceeded along the trail without difficulty. This was billed as one of the easy hikes, so I expected a day of carefree fun in the woods:

The trail continued uphill, but mostly at a very gradual rate:

Given my age and leg braces, however, I confess that I was becoming tired enough to say, when I saw that peak ahead of us, "Gee, I hope that isn't Mount Baker." Of course I don't have to tell you what the answer turned out to be:

But it was scenic and invigorating. Seamus, it appeared, had lost enough weight that he was trucking along like a much younger dog:

And we continued uphill, enjoying the loveliness all around us:

The dogs continued to run and play (notice Fergus in mid-leap):

I kept calling them back to me, insisting that they stay close:

They could still run and play, but they were not allowed to get very far from me:

But then the trail got rockier and steeper. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: