Whiteface Mountain - Part 2

My sister and I were climbing toward the summit of Whiteface Mountain via the "fifth of a mile nature walk" they'd told us about when we paid our toll. It was scenic, all right, but rugged and steep. That lake below us is actually considered three lakes, all in the village of Lake Placid. Also, you can see hikers rather far below, on their way up to where the other people are standing:

At this point, the "nature walk" was merely a narrow rocky ridge with railings. I saw several people slip and fall, so I held on to the railings as tightly as I could:

I looked back, towards our starting point:

And out again over Lake Placid:

It was at this point that I decided my age and lameness necessitated that I abandon the effort. So my sister continued on upward alone, though she brought my camera with her:

My sister made it to the summit and headed for the buildings there:

Inside were more informative signs such as this one. The average January windchill factor at the summit was minus 62. The coldest summit temperature was minus 43:

And the summit, of course, offered its own spectacular views:

She looked out over the surrounding landscape and down at the Memorial Highway below. Hey, tht little red car parked there might well have been ours!:

Magnificent views in every direction:

Rugged scenery:

And again, far below lay the village of Lake Placid. My sister rejoined me and we traveled back down the highway, taking small county roads through the Adirondacks towards home:

Whiteface Mountain - Part 1

On the second day of my sister's visit, we drove to Whiteface Mountain, the only Adirondack high peak which has a highway, enabling non-hikers to experience the wonder and beauty of a mountaintop. We began by paying a toll at the bottom of the Memorial Highway, where they told us that the elevator was not working, but we could get to the top via a "fifth of a mile nature walk:"

The long, winding, steep Memorial Highway took us gradually higher, and I stopped frequently so we could get out and gaze out over the beautiful Adirondack Mountains:

And indeed, every vista was breathtaking, not to mention sweetly scented with Balsams:

When we began to near the top, we could see the highway below us, the one on which we'd just traveled, with tiny cars beginning their own journey up the mountain:

With the aging process and my need for leg braces, I'm not likely to hike these mountains ever again as I used to. It's a blessing to be able to have these views available from a road:

My sister has spent plenty of time hiking in the Rockies and in Oregon, so she's seen mountains much higher than this. Nevertheless, she too found it beautiful and inspiring:

At the top, we drove beneath the castle, through that passage on the right, and then circled around through the passage on the left and continued back down to the first available parking space:

Once out of the car, we investigated the interior of the castle. They had a cafe and a gift shop:

And then we began walking up the trail toward the summit, stopping frequently to enjoy the views:

We'd climbed steeply for some distance when I took this picture of the "fifth of a mile nature walk" they'd told us about. It was long, steep, slippery and treacherous. But we soldiered on:

We looked back at the castle and admired what a feat of engineering it had been:

And we kept climbing. Sometimes there were stairs made of stones and sometimes there were just rocks, but a steel cable had been placed there to grab onto. We continued upwards. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

A Surprise Thaw And A Hike To Moose Pond - Part 3

I had hiked with the dogs to Moose Pond (see Parts 1 and 2, previous posts) and we'd walked through the forest along the water's edge. When we discovered another good place to access the water, we went there:

The dogs played and sniffed everything. I took one more look at the high peaks which surrounded the lake:

I found the alternate trail and we began hiking back toward our parked car:

The trail was varied and always lovely and interesting:

Pines, birch, fir, balsam and beech lined the edge of the trail:

And the dogs were as excited as when we'd begun:

But I knew we were getting close to the trail head:

The dogs gave everything a most thorough sniffing:

It wasn't long before I could see the Saranac River up ahead through the trees, and I knew we were almost there:

We arrived at the footbridge over the river and returned to the car. The hike in to Moose Pond had been lovely, one I hope to take again:

A Surprise Thaw And A Hike To Moose Pond - Part 2

The dogs and I were hiking the trail to Moose Pond in Bloomingdale, New York (see also Part 1, posted yesterday). We arrived at an unmarked fork in the trail but luckily, I'd read that the easiest access to the lake was to take the left fork. The dogs wanted to take the right fork, but they gave up when it became clear I was going the other way:

It didn't take long before we could see Moose Pond ahead of us, as well as an old fireplace and chimney, a reminder of a cabin which once stood at the water's edge:

The lake was as lovely as I'd read, a wild, Adirondack treasure, surrounded by high peaks:

We walked out onto a large, flat rock to see and experience Moose Pond:

It was quite a wonderful place to be, and all the more so on a miraculously warm winter day:

Daphne and Clover, AKA "The Silly Sisters," ran and played at the water's edge:

Fergus, always more nervous than the others, was more hesitant. But he soon came out to join us and explore the shoreline:

My eyes were on the high peaks. I couldn't identify a single one of them, though I suspected that pointed one with the slide was Whiteface:

But I wasn't ready to stop exploring, so we began trekking through the forest along the edge of Moose Pond. I was hoping to locate that alternate trail which we'd passed by on our way here:

Fergus is a sensitive soul and checks with me often to be sure everything is OK and he's not in trouble. Clover is quite the opposite, and if I holler at Clover, she's unperturbed - but Fergus gets upset. I have to be careful. We continued exploring this lovely forest, following the shoreline and hoping to chance onto the alternate trail. But I'll post about that tomorrow:

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: