Sunday, October 21

PED178: Overnight'er in the Hurricane Wilderness

On October 20th, nine brave soulds from North Country Community College embarked on an overnight trip into the Hurricane Wilderness.

We saw an amazing Red-spotted Newt on the trail; encountered a bagel-eating squirrel; and were attacked by a nest full of hornets at base camp.

After hiking along the Nundogia Ridge for several hours, we reached the peak of "Big Crow" and saw an amazing view of the cluster of 46er peaks nestled about Heart Lake.

Saturday, October 13

Day Hike: Baker

I took a quick walk up baker at noon today. And I realized something beautiful. And it is this: that God's beauty and wonder-filled earth is still amazing in the rain and what I would call a nasty rainy day. Thank you my Jesus.

Saturday, July 28

Day Hike: Heart Lake

Yay! Finally got to go out to the ADK Loj with my fam. :). We went from the information center to the ADK Museum to the start of the old ski trail up Nye Mountain. Lol, we tried to go up Mount Jo but ran out of daylight. :(. It was still a great day with people I love.

Sunday, June 24

Camping Trip: Owl Hoot

Friday and Saturday, June 23rd and 24th

Hiked, cut down some trees, made camp, roasted marchmallows, talked through the night, eggs for breakfast!, widdling :), canoeing, hiked out, got sick :(

Lady Slippers!, bear encounter, heard loons through the evening and night

Saturday, June 16

Nary's 46R List

46R LIST

1 Cascade (4098, 36th) on Friday, May 25th, 2007
2 Giant (4627, 12th) on Friday, June 8th, 2007
3 Rocky Peak (4420, 20th) on Friday, June 8th, 2007

Friday, June 8

46R Rocky Ridge Peak

Date: June 8th, 2007
People in Group: Jordan, Josh Clement
Location: Keene Valley
Peaks Reached: Giant and Rocky Ridge Peak
Start: 7:15am
End: 4:45pm
Length: 10 miles, 3375 ft. ascent up Giant, 1500 foot descent and re-ascent to Rocky Ridge Peak
Pictures: PicasaWeb Album

After eating lunch at the top of Giant, we continued the hike by descending down the Rocky Peak Ridge Foot Trail and then ascending to the ridge at Rocky Peak. The total hiking distance from Giant to Rocky Peak was 1.1 miles and, I might add, the hardest mile of hiking I have ever experienced in my life. It should also be pointed out that about halfway down the Rocky Peak Ridge trail there is a small creek that carries water from the nearby faces of both peaks. At the creek, the trail changes from a descent down Giant to an ascent up Rocky Peak.

46R Giant

Date: June 8th, 2007
People in Group: Jordan, Josh Clement
Location: Keene Valley
Peaks Reached: Giant and Rocky Ridge Peak
Start: 7:15am
End: 4:45pm
Length: 10 miles, 3375 ft. ascent up Giant
Pictures: PicasaWeb Album



Giant is the 12th largest mountain in the Adirondacks, with a peak at 4,627 feet above sea level and 3375 vertical feet above the trailhead on Route 73. Josh Clement of Cloning Cooper (a local band) and I woke up just as the sun was rising, to conquer the "Giant of the Valley," that towers over the Keene Valley.

We hiked up the Roaring Brook trail to the junction of the Roaring Brook and Ridge trails, and then continued the 3.6 mile ascent to the peak of Giant. We reached the top at 10:30, 3 hours and 15 minutes from when we started, and took a break for lunch. The view was unfortunately exceedingly hazy as it was very humid this Friday.

After climbing Rocky Ridge Peak, we continued down Giant Mountain via the Ridge trail. At the washbowl we took the mile long connecting trail back to the Roaring Brook trail. After a quick swim in the Roaring Brook, we finished the hike and reached our vehicles by 4:30.

Saturday, May 26

46R Cascade (first 46er!!!)

Date: May 25th, 2007
People in Group: Jordan, Alese
Location: McKenzie Mountain Wilderness
Peaks Reached: Cascade Mountain
Start: 1:40
End: 7:30
Length: 2.4 miles, 1990 ft. ascent
Pictures: PicasaWeb Album

Bible Verse for Cascade: Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted. Isaiah 49:13

The hike started at 1:40 in the afternoon at the trailhead on Rt. 73, about 7 miles from Lake Placid. We saw several beautiful flowers, toads, and a birds along the way. We reached the peak after about three hours of hiking. The trail was mostly dry with only a handful of wet spots. We saw snow about a half-mile from the peak!!!! :-o The peak was very windy, but a cleft in the rock face afforded enough protection for a mid-day meal. The hike back down the mountain was fairly easy; the only real challenge being the large rocks on the trail.

This was my first Forty-Sixer! I really liked the experience and can't wait to do another one. If you want to hike Cascade and eat at the top plan about 6 hours. If you are alone and going fast, you should be able to go up and come back down in about 4 hours.

Monday, May 14

Day Hike: Scarface

Date: May 14, 2007
Time: Start at 6:30pm; End at 9:15pm
Distance From Parking Area: approx. 3 miles
Ascent: 1,500 feet
Elevation at summit: 3,060 feet
Pictures: PicasaWeb Album

Friday, May 11

Rock Climb: Beer Walls

Yep, Jewels and Gems part of the Beer Walls, I think. Last week of Basic Rock Climbing class :'(

Climbed three routes after setting up a proper top-rope setup.

Saturday, May 5

Rock Climb: The Deadwater

Climbed three routes in "The Deadwater" area. Remembering the good times there last year. First route was a 5.8 climb; a challenge and beautiful at the top. Second and third climbs were the same ones I went up last summer.

Pictures: PicasaWeb Album

Friday, April 27

Foot Trail: Northville-Placid

Date: April 27th, 2007
People in Group: Jordan and Carlton
Location: McKenzie Mountain Wilderness
Start: 7:00pm at LAT 44.262836°N LONG 74.013519°W
End: 8:00pm
Length: ? miles
Pictures: PicasaWeb Album

Carlton and I hiked down the Northville-Placid trail for about an hour right as the sun was going down. We had a blast figuring out how to traverse the mud, water, snow, and ice. BTW Carlton, you did an AWESOME job going across the creek :)

Rock Climb: Hidden Waterfall

We started the day at 1pm at the Mountaineer in Keene Valley, then headed out to a climb near Route 87. Upon arriving we turned around because the climb was too wet. Our class (NCCC PED 129) then headed to this beautiful spot and made several anchors and rappelled down about 80 feet to the forest floor below.


We also spotted an awesome waterfall. It is a seasonal waterfall, meaning that it only exists when in the spring, when the snow melts, or when there is a large rainfall.



I took two trips rappelling down the face. For the first rappel, Steve was on-belay. On the second trip down there was no belay person, but I did use a prussex for added safety.

Check out the pix here.

Tuesday, April 24

Day Hike: Haystack

Date: April 21st, 2007
People in Group: Jordan, Keaton, Travis, Camille, Stetson
Location: McKenzie Mountain Wilderness
Start: LAT 44°17'33.41"N LONG 74° 3'2.95"W
End: See map.
Length: 1 mile

This was a fun hike that started at 2:40 in the afternoon. The beginning of the trail had some residual snow and ice, but about 10 minutes into the forest we began hiking on dry ground. We had planned on going all the way to the peak but our plans changed when we went to cross the small creekthat Keaton and I saw on our hike in November (2006). The 'small' creek was now a raging river and could not be crossed. Disappointing, yet still a great day of being out in the sun after a lonbg winter and enjoying God's creation. We arrived back at the trailhead at 4pm.