Cascade-Porter-Blueberry Traverse

Cascade

4,098 feet  |  ranked 36/46 in height  | 2nd peak climbed (repeat)

Porter

4,059 feet  |  ranked 38/46 in height  | 3rd peak climbed (repeat)

I first climbed Cascade and Porter back in 1995.  Then in 2016, I hiked Cascade again with Frankie for his first High Peak.  Erwin accompanied us on that outing, and he has a strict one peak per day policy.  Therefore, even though Frankie wanted to add Porter onto that hike, his Dad outright vetoed it.  I promised Frankie that if he was still interested in hiking Porter another time, I would happily bring him back.  We postponed it a few years, which turned out to be a fantastic decision because by age 11, Frankie's stamina has increased considerably, making the traverse over Blueberry readily achievable.  This was exciting for me because it meant exploring new trails.  I had never been past the summit of Porter, and had read the back side was much less traveled.  This definitely turned out to be true.  

Gothics, Armstrong, and Upper Wolfjaw via JBL

Gothics 

4,736 feet  |  ranked 10/46 in height  |  28th peak climbed (repeat)

Armstrong

4,400 feet  |  ranked 22/46 in height  |  29th peak climbed (repeat)

Upper Wolf Jaw

4,185 feet  |  ranked 29/46 in height  |  10th peak climbed (repeat)

After missing out on stays at Johns Brook Lodge (JBL) for the last several years, I booked two stays for Frankie and I in 2022: one in July to climb Marcy with Erwin, and one in August to climb Gothics, Armstrong, and Lower Wolf Jaws with Erin and Alden.  I hiked these peaks solo back in 2017, using the same trails, but as a day hike, and this loop is one of my favorites.  It would be new for everyone else and I was excited to share it.  Staying two nights at JBL spreads the miles out over three days, making the peaks more accessible for the kids.  We lucked into among the very last parking spots at the Garden; it was very full for a Wednesday yet again.  I had been prepared to drop Erin and the kids and send them on ahead, but was very relieved not to have to do that.  We booted up and made last minute pack adjustments while the kids bounced around the trailhead area, then finally set off.

Mount Marcy via JBL

Marcy

5,344 feet  |  ranked 1/46 in height  |  1st peak climbed (repeat)

Frankie has been wanting to climb Mount Marcy since he was tiny, but was always somewhat discouraged by the length of the approach.  Then in 2018, he picked up an activity book at a National Trust Property in Northern Ireland that inspired him in terms of timing for his goal.  See, the booklet was focused on fun things for kids to do outside, and included a checklist of things to do before you are 11 and 3/4 years old, really great things like dam a stream, go camping, catch a falling leaf, roll down a big hill, play Pooh Sticks, go swimming in the sea, forage for wild food -- and "climb a huge hill."  Frankie has always loved activity books and he was taking this one very seriously, marking off things he'd already done and working on some of the new ideas.  We climbed some pretty big hills on that trip (Slieve Binnian is the third tallest peak in Northern Ireland and Slieve Bearnagh the fourth).  However, Frankie refused to count them, as he had already decided: Marcy would be the huge hill that he would climb before he was 11 and 3/4.  He was only 7 then, and 11 and 3/4 seemed a long way off.  But he never forgot.  Last summer he talked about it a lot, how we had to make sure to get up Marcy soon because his "deadline" was approaching.

Lower Wolfjaw via Bennies Brook

Lower Wolf Jaw

4,175feet  |  ranked 30/46 in height  |  11th peak climbed (repeat)

I first hiked Lower Wolfjaw back in 2009 via the Wedge Brook Trail from AMR.  Shortly after Hurricane Irene, I started seeing trip reports from hikers ascending the Bennies Brook Slide, and my interest was definitely piqued.  It is described as a "starter" slide.  We actually planned to hike it last year while staying at Grace Camp, but Tropical Storm Isaias altered those plans and we ended up hiking Big Slide instead.  We knew Frankie could handle the slide itself, based on his previous hiking experience and feedback from friends who hiked it with their kids, but weren't sure if the distance from the Garden would be out of reach for him.  But the kid keeps growing and is a capable hiker now.  I compared distance and elevation gain, and it seemed like hiking in from the Garden would be no harder than hiking Whiteface and Esther, which he did last summer.  We talked it over with Frankie and he was definitely into it, so we picked a good weather day mid-week and went for it.

Wright Peak

 

Wright

4,580 feet  |  ranked 16/46 in height  |  5th peak climbed (repeat)

Erin and I planned this trip entirely around the notion of enabling Frankie and Alden to camp and climb a High Peak together.  Both boys have previously camped and hiked 4,000-footers separately, but this would be their first big hike together.  I made reservations for the campground at Heart Lake, and nominated Wright as our target summit.  By camping at Heart Lake, we had automatic parking at the busy trailhead, and Wright is the shortest mileage hike among the High Peaks that neither kid had already climbed.  Alden was initially skeptical, since he'd been planning on Giant for his next 46er, but Erin had him look at his map, and he came around to the Wright plan pretty easily.

Seward, Donaldson, and Emmons

Seward

4,361 feet  |  ranked 24/46 in height  |  37th peak climbed 

Donaldson

4,140 feet  |  ranked 33/46 in height  |  30th peak climbed (repeat) 

Emmons

4,040 feet  |  ranked 40/46 in height  |  31st peak climbed (repeat)

Erin let me know a few weeks ago that she'd have this weekend available for hiking in the High Peaks.  Her partner, who is a highly driven newly aspiring 46er, was unable to join her due to work obligations.  Would I like to go?  Ahem.  Of course!  We were both excited about the prospects of a fall hike in the mountains, as most of our previous High Peaks hikes have been solidly in the summer months.  Cooler temperatures with lower humidity?  Yes, please!  Fall colors?  Icing on the scenic cake!  However, we were also very concerned about the parking situation, as COVID restrictions have resulted in records crowds in the region.  I suggested heading to the Seward Range.  I have been in there twice before, when Erin and I hiked Seymour, and a solo outing where I camped on Corey's Road and hiked Donaldson and Emmons in the rain, orphaning Seward. 

Big Slide via Grace Camp

 

  Big Slide

4,240 feet  |  ranked 27/46 in height  |  8th peak climbed (repeat) 

 

I have been itching to get back to John's Brook Lodge (JBL) ever since Frankie and I enjoyed our first magical stay there in 2018.  Unfortunately, I waited too long to make reservations last year, and they are closed this year because of COVID.  However, my interest was piqued when a friend told me her family had just returned from a stay at one of the cabins associated with JBL; apparently JBL staff are providing meal options to guests of the camps.  Erwin is ever reluctant to stay anywhere without a shower, but I convinced him he could handle a couple nights in the back country, if there was no need to lug a tent, stove, bear can, etc.  I booked us two nights at Grace Camp, with two dinners and one lunch, arriving on a Monday afternoon to hopefully increase our odds of securing parking at the Garden.

 

Nippletop and Dial

Nippletop

4,620 feet  |  ranked 13/46 in height  |  35th peak climbed 

Dial

4,020 feet  |  ranked 41/46 in height  |  36th peak climbed

This hike was rather spur of the moment, which for an Adirondack High Peak, is very unusual for me.  Normally I plan things out obsessively, reading and re-reading trip reports and poring over maps and buying special foods.  None of that happened here (except maybe the obsession part, that is ongoing).  What happened is this: I got a text from Erin Saturday saying that Alden was spending the night at his Dad's house and she couldn't stop fantasizing about driving up north and climbing a mountain.  She'd have very little time available, as she'd need to pick Alden up the next day, but was still sorely tempted.  Hmm. Lovely notion, right?  Initially, I dismissed it as pure fantasy, but the idea was lodged like an ear worm -- a mountain worm.

Algonquin

Algonquin

5,114 feet  |  ranked 2/46 in height  |  6th peak climbed (repeat)

This is the fourth consecutive Labor Day weekend that Frankie has wanted to climb a High Peak, so of course I was thrilled to take him up another mountain.  He really wants to do Marcy, just because it is the biggest, but the length of the approach intimidates him, so he decided to wait until he is 10.  But Algonquin is a short hike for such a big mountain and he was sure he could handle that.  I tried to steer him toward Wright, leaving Algonquin to pair with Iroquois later, but for various reasons, that did not work out.  But we did make it up Algonquin...

Gray and Skylight via the ADK Loj

 

Gray

4,926 feet  |  ranked 7/46 in height  |  33rd peak climbed 

Skylight

4,840 feet  |  ranked 4/46 in height  |  34th peak climbed 

 

In what has become an annual tradition, Erwin took Frankie for a summer visit to the beach and family in South Carolina, and I stayed home to work... and snuck off to the mountains for a solo hike.  I waffled a bit, indecisive about where I would hike.  Last year I car-camped off Corey's Road and felt a little self-conscious showing up at the alpine flora workshop afterwards so unwashed; Corey's is primitive camping with no running water, so I was several days without a shower, inclusive of climbing Donaldson and Emmons on a muggy day where I sweated buckets.  Irregardless of the baby wipe "bath", I surely reeked with a vengeance.  I thought perhaps I should stay somewhere with water this year.  Then I struck on the brilliant plan to stay at the Heart Lake.  The campground was already fully booked, but I could get a bunk at the Loj for two nights.  Sold!

Saddleback Mountain via Johns Brook Lodge

  Saddleback

4,515 feet  |  ranked 17/46 in height  |  32nd peak climbed 

I have long been curious about Johns Brook Lodge (JBL), the backcounty hut run by the Adirondack Mountain Club.  I thought I might walk by it last summer when I hiked the Gothics-Armstrong-Upper Wolfjaw loop from the Garden, but I turned left by the second register and passed by the rangers cabin instead.  After hearing a favorable report from friends who stayed there with kids, I told Frankie about it and asked if he wanted to go.  Of course he did!  Erwin was less enthusiastic; he was deterred by the prospect of shared sleeping quarters and no showers.  However, he said he didn't mind if Frankie and I went for a few nights - he would meet us in Keene for some shared adventures afterwards.  So I booked Frankie and I for two nights, with the rough plan of driving up and hiking into JBL on Wednesday, hiking a high peak on Thursday, then hiking back out to meet Erwin on Friday.

Donaldson & Emmons

Donaldson

4,140 feet  |  ranked 33/46 in height  |  30th peak climbed 

Emmons

4,040 feet  |  ranked 40/46 in height  |  31st peak climbed

 
Erwin and Frankie are off in South Carolina visiting my mother-in-law; we've decided to make these single parent trips to visit with grandparents an annual tradition, with me taking Frankie camping at Memorial Day weekend to see Mary and Keith, and Erwin taking Frankie to play in the ocean in August to see Ellen.  It just works so well for everyone: Frankie gets more time with his faraway grandparents, I don't use up precious vacation time, the boys get to enjoy more beach time then I could handle, and I get the chance to sneak off to the Adirondacks.  I worked Wednesday, so I would have Friday off, and drove up to Tupper Lake last night, setting up camp in the dark in one of the primitive sites along Corey's Road.

Giant Mountain

 Giant Mountain
4,627 ft.  |  Ranked 12/46 in height  |  7th peak climbed (repeat)

In 2015, we spent a long weekend in Keene Valley, at a rental house with a direct view of Giant Mountain.  Frankie, who was four at the time, immediately declared that he wanted to climb "that mountain."  He was not remotely discouraged when we told him it is a very hard hike.  Over the course of the weekend, and continuing back at home afterwards, Frankie repeatedly expressed his desire to climb Giant.  He talked about it persistently, adorably calling it "Gigantic" for a while.  He was not to be deterred.  I didn't want to rush into to anything though - Giant actually is pretty gigantic.  I have taken Frankie hiking pretty regularly his whole life, but they were/are typically short hikes close to home, hikes without significant elevation gain.  At that point he had climbed only very small Adirondack mountains fully under his own power: Bald Mountain and Mount Jo.  His longest hikes had been a pair of four milers, in Tuscany and at Highland Forest.  Nothing remotely comparable to a High Peak.

Gothics, Armstrong, and Upper Wolf Jaws

Gothics 

4,736 feet  |  ranked 10/46 in height  |  28th peak climbed 

Armstrong

4,400 feet  |  ranked 22/46 in height  |  29th peak climbed 

Upper Wolf Jaw

4,185 feet  |  ranked 29/46 in height  |  10th peak climbed (repeat)

I have been itching to get up into the Adirondack High Peaks for what feels like forever; it is more or less a permanent affliction.  So when Erwin planned a short trip with Frankie to South Carolina to visit my mother-in-law, I saw a potential opportunity.  I didn't have enough vacation time to join them on the trip, but would still have one day off while they were gone.  Obviously I wanted to hike!  This happened once before, in 2015, and I was able to hike Santanoni and Panther with my Dad, so there is established precedence.  Erin wouldn't be able to join me due to logistical issues, and I'd felt my Dad out for general interest earlier in the summer.  Unfortunately, he's been dealing with some back pain, of the same kind that bothered him on our hike in the Santanonis, and didn't think it would be wise to attempt a High Peak.

Cascade Mountain: Frankie's First High Peak

Cascade

4,098 feet  |  ranked 36/46 in height  | 2nd peak climbed (repeat)

Last year at Labor Day weekend we rented a big house in Keene Valley with Jason and Susie and their girls.  The house had a huge wrap-around deck with views of Giant Mountain.  Frankie immediately began asking to hike it: "I want to climb Gigantic."  Giant as a stand-alone (without Rocky Peak Ridge) is generally accepted as one of the easier of the Adirondack High Peaks.  However, it is still about 6 miles round trip with more than 3,000 feet elevation gain.  Since Frankie was four at the time, and hadn't yet climbed any High Peaks, we deferred.  I told him I wanted him to climb Cascade Mountain first, and if he liked that, we would consider taking him up Giant.  And he did not forget... he's still talking about "Gigantic."  So this year at Labor Day weekend, we rented a little house in Keene with views of Cascade Mountain.  And Frankie climbed his first High Peak!

Santanoni and Panther

Santanoni

4,607 feet  |  ranked 14/46 in height  |  26th peak climbed

Panther

4,482 feet  |  ranked 18/46 in height  |  27th peak climbed

Frankie was in South Carolina much of this week, visiting his grandmother and enjoying the ocean.  I'd been checking the long-range forecast constantly, hoping that serendipitous timing would give me a window of good weather for hiking.  The earliest available forecasts called for rain, but I kept watching and ended up with perfect weather.  My partners for this hike were my Dad, Bruce, and his 9-month old Australian shepherd, Daisy.  He takes her for walks averaging about 3 miles a day, but in the flat lands, and no single hike has exceeded 5 miles.  When I first discussed the possibility of teaming up for a hike, he was interested, but conditioned his agreement on no 4 am departures.  As a result, I'd been thinking we might drive up Thursday night, hike Friday, and then drive home first thing Saturday morning so I could pick up Frankie and Erwin at the airport. 

Phelps Redux

Phelps

4,161 feet  |  ranked 32/46 in height  |  4th peak climbed (repeat)

With both our previous High Peaks hikes of the year out of the AuSable Club trailhead, Erin and I were ready to switch things up a bit.  On the hike out the Lake Road after Sawteeth, we'd discussed our next options and were tempted to take on something more challenging.  Luckily, there are many such options.  Possibly a return to the Sewards?  Or maybe knocking of the rest of the Dix Range?  However, as the middle of the week rolled around and I was drooling all over the weather forecast for the upcoming weekend, Erin expressed some hesitation due to a physical complication that had cropped up since our last hike.  After she consulted her doctor, who wasn't terribly concerned about her going hiking, we talked again.  We both really wanted to get back in the mountains, but weren't entirely sure her doctor fully understood what kind of hike we were contemplating.  The Seward Range is not your average stroll in the park. 

Scenic Sawteeth

 

Sawteeth

4,100 feet  |  ranked 35/46 in height  |  25th peak climbed

Knowing we would be driving to the trailhead that morning, and hence not arriving super early, Erin and I were even more worried than normal about finding available parking.  Hiking on holiday weekends is oft-espoused as something to be avoided, and while I can certainly understand that perspective, our opportunities are few enough that we have to seize them when they come, holiday or no.  We decided we'd have the best chance of finding parking at the AuSable Club trailhead, and Sawteeth has been on the short list for a long time.  I'd wanted to hike the Scenic Trail specifically since hiking a loop of the East and West River Trails in 2008, when I first saw the mountain's profile with the jagged teeth to clamber over.  Erin and I had even set a date to hike it in 2011, but in a case of very bad timing, were derailed by the destruction of Hurricane Irene. 

Colvin and Blake

 

Colvin

4,057 feet  |  ranked 39/46 in height  |  23rd peak climbed

Blake

3,960 feet  |  ranked 43/46 in height  |  24th peak climbed

Although we were disappointed not to have managed any May hikes, Erin and I were super excited to finally get up to the Adirondacks for our first hike of the summer.  We decided on Colvin and Blake for our season opener because our four High Peaks hikes last year had been at four different trailheads, but none of them were from the AuSable Club.  We have several hikes left that are traditionally accessed from the Club lands and don't want to leave too much Lake Road for the end.  We selected Colvin/Blake over Nippletop/Dial and Sawteeth, because I'd read on the Forums that both Elk Pass and the Scenic Trail along the Lake were flooded, and avoiding wet feet is certainly as good a reason as any. 

Three MacIntyres

 
Algonquin

5,114 feet  |  ranked 2/46 in height  |  6th peak climbed (repeat)

Iroquois

4,840 feet  |  ranked 8/46 in height  |  22nd peak climbed 

Wright

4,580 feet  |  ranked 16/46 in height  |  5th peak climbed (repeat)

Since we were both staying in the Adirondacks over the holiday weekend, Erin and I planned to meet up for a High Peaks hike.  Erin and her husband Brian were campering in Wilmington, while Erwin, Frankie, and I were staying in the Notman Suite at the Keene Valley Lodge (which is perfect for traveling with a little one – it’s so handy to have a kitchen, and a separate living room for nap/bed time).  Jason and Susie and a big group of their friends were staying at the Phelps Cottage next door, a big house that is part of the Lodge property.  When he found out I’d be meeting Erin for a High Peak hike, Jason was super excited to join in on the fun; Susie and an indeterminate number of the larger party also expressed somewhat lukewarm interest.  Erin and I are pretty slow hikers and were somewhat intimidated by the prospect of hiking with much fitter companions.  That consideration weighed heavily into our peak selection – we didn’t want anything too long or too challenging.  We also wanted something with impressive views, to wow Jason on his first official Adirondack High Peak.