Lake Placid 9'er

In 2018, James Appleton, host of the beloved 46 of 46 Podcast, created the Lake Placid 9'er, a new Adirondack hiking challenge.  From the website, "The 9er's mission is to attract seasoned hikers as well as those who are new to hitting the trails, offering a chance to explore some of the Lake Placid and High Peaks region's smaller peaks, all of which can be climbed in a morning or afternoon. The peaks were selected to offer some of Lake Placid's most breath taking views, without taking the 4000+ feet climb that the popular Adirondack 46 High Peaks require tackling. The 9'er offers a true Lake Placid experience, including unbeatable views of the surrounding high peaks and the popular Whiteface Mountain, a chance to scale an ADK fire tower, and a trip to the historic Adirondack Loj."

I was very excited when I learned of this challenge, for several reasons.  First of all, it fit perfectly with our hiking style.  We spend time in the Adirondacks every year, and like to mix up the hikes, including both big and small mountains.  Because of this, we had already hiked four of the nine mountains.  Peaks must be hiked after July 1, 2018 to qualify for the challenge, but the thought of hiking them again didn't bother me in the least.  When we hiked Baxter and Big Crow in 2011, Frankie was only 9 months old, so he obviously didn't hiked them himself (he rode in a backpack carrier).  And although he hiked Mount Jo and Mount Van Hoevenberg under his own power, he was 3 and 5 years old, respectively, so had likely forgotten much of those experiences.  And these are *all* great hikes with great views, well worth hiking multiple times.  

Second, all of our previous hikes in the Lake Placid region had been during the summer months, but Erwin and I had long been toying with the idea of trying out some winter hikes.  The thought of repeating short, familiar hikes gave us the confidence to finally make that leap.  We started our Adirondack winter hiking journey on Baxter and eventually hiked five of the nine Lake Placid 9'er peaks in the winter.  Spoiler alert: we LOVED it! 

Finally, the Lake Placid 9'er represented a challenge we could do together as a family.  Frankie and I had previously completed the Fulton Chain Trifecta and Tupper Lake Triad as day trips from home, just the two of us.  However, we generally stay in the Lake Placid area together, and Erwin is not interested in becoming a 46er (he prefers the smaller mountain hikes).  Of course Frankie loves it when his Dad hikes with us, so working on a hiking challenge together that focuses on smaller peaks was just perfect. 

The Lake Placid 9'er website recommends that folks new to hiking the Adirondacks hike the nine peaks by level of difficulty, starting with the easiest in order to prepare for the more difficult hikes.  Our trip reports are listed below in that recommended sequence.  Several of these hikes have more than one approach so mileage and elevation gain will vary based on route selected. 

	Cobble Hill Total mileage: 2.4 miles Elevation gain: 400 feet Trail type: loop Hike date: February 16, 2020
	Mount Jo Total mileage: 2.7 miles Elevation gain: 580 feet Trail type: loop Hike date: February 15, 2020
	Baxter Mountain Total mileage: 2.4 miles Elevation gain: 550 feet Trail type: out-and-back Hike date: February 16, 2019

	Mount Van Hoevenberg Total mileage: 4.5 miles Elevation gain: 750 feet Trail type: out-and-back Hike date: July 2, 2020
	Big Crow Mountain Total mileage: 2 miles Elevation gain: 525 feet Trail type: out-and-back Hike date: February 17, 2019
	Bear Den Mountain Total mileage: 3.6 miles Elevation gain: 1,300 feet Trail type: out-and-back Hike date: September 1, 2019

	Pitchoff Mountain Total mileage: 6.5 miles Elevation gain: 1,700 feet Trail type: traverse Hike date: August 26, 2020
	Catamount Mountain Total Mileage: 4 miles Elevation Gain: 1,500 feet Trail Type: out-and-back Hike Date: September 1, 2018
	Hurricane Mountain Total mileage: 6.8 miles Elevation gain: 1,550 feet Hike type: out-and-back Hike date: January 15, 2021

After completing the hikes, be sure complete the registration form and mail it in with the $12 registration fee.  Each person who successfully completes all nine LP 9'er peaks after July 1, 2018 is issued a finisher number and a set of swag including a patch and stickers.  The set pictured below is mine... the packet included two additional sets for Frankie and Erwin. 

We had so much fun hiking these peaks!  This is a fantastic challenge, highly recommended.