Summits, Slides and Castles in the Air

There is a lot to love about being on a mountain top.  Refreshing breezes, a flow of puffy white clouds that tow splotchy shadows across ridge lines, and a lush carpet of contrasting peaks and valleys stretching across the land.  I can see every shade of green in the forests below and several gray cliff faces.I’ve been training in Lake Placid the last couple weeks and this camp has been one of the best yet for exploring the Adirondack high ridges.  Usually I end up hiking on rainy days with no view, but the weather this past week has been fantastic! My new favorite place in the region is an area of new rockslides above Johns Brook in Keene Valley created by hurricane Irene.  Hiking up a slide combines many of my favorite things: spectacular views, rock hopping, bush whacking, waterfall scrambles, and the thrill of possibly getting lost. I like to marvel at the power of water.  In just minutes last August, a small forested stream became a 50 m wide corridor of exposed bedrock littered with uprooted trees.  Unfortunately I forgot my camera during that hike, but I took pictures of other recent mountain adventures.

Hanging in there on top of Giant Mountain.

The team at the top: Tara, Corrine, myself and Annelies

Luka trying to steal a snack from Sophie.

One evening, after the toll road closed for the day, we rollerskiied from downtown Wilmington to the top of Whiteface.  Over halfway there!

We gained about 3500 ft of elevation.  It was an almost constant grade, as you can see from Hannah’s HR monitor data.

Visiting the granite castle at the top.  It was built by NY state during the “New Deal” era of Great Depression projects.  FDR himself attended its grand opening.  Among XC skiers, the castle is better known as the finish line of the annual painfest: the “Climb to the Castle” rollerski race.

The gals: myself, Hannah and Corrine

Looking down at the road below and enjoying a sense of accomplishment.