Kane Mountain Fire Tower

I was still a little disappointed about not climbing any mountains at Labor Day weekend, so decided to try to squeeze something in this fall.  We can drive to the Adirondacks foothills in about two hours, so that is manageable for a day trip with the boy.  However, Frankie was not enthusiastic about the idea of a two hour drive (each way).  I'm not proud of it, but I found a solution: I let him play with "his phone" in the car, an old retired smart phone that no longer has service.  Erwin loaded it up with a bunch of games for Frankie to play with on long flights.  He has never before used it outside of an airport or airplane, and he was very excited for the additional opportunity.  I'd rather he look out the window as we drive and talk to me, but it worked: we arrived at the trailhead happy.  

The Shoebox

We had the Keene rental for the entire long weekend, so of course I wanted to hike again.  I simply can't be in the Adirondacks and not feel that call.  However, in order to be accessible and appealing for our whole group, the trail would need to be fairly short and easy (no High Peaks!) and include a swimming hole of some kind.  I have not typically included swimming as a hike criterion, so decided to consult my High Peaks Trails book.  There are six places listed in the index under "swimming," including Copperas Pond, which we visited yesterday.  The Boquet River immediately caught my eye because I've read a number of trip reports from folks using that herd path to access the Grace Slide, and without fail, everyone spoke highly of the river and it's pools.  

Adirondack Ponds: Owen to Copperas Traverse

Copperas Pond

We rented a house in Keene Valley with our friends Jason and Susie for the holiday weekend.  Labor Day in the Adirondacks is a treasured tradition for Erwin and I, and Jay and Susie have joined us every year starting in 2009.  This trip was the first time we met their twins, Scarlett and Veronica, and the girls first visit to the Adirondacks.  Susie is not really a big hiker, but she loves swimming.  We had taken them up to Copperas Pond in 2012, and they wanted to go back.  Although this was to be Frankie and Erwin's third trip there and my fourth, we were all on board.  Copperas Pond is a really special place, and it's a great family hike.

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. 

Shortcut Trail, Highland Forest

After the scorching hot field hike at Green Lakes last weekend, I wanted some deep shady woods.  I love the glacial hills south of Tully, and although we'd been to both Morgan Hill and Tinker Falls this year, we hadn't been to Highland Forest since Frankie was still riding in the carrier part time.  It's been on my potential hike list for a while, and I finally decided we'd make it happen.  I briefed Frankie the day before so he'd know that we'd be leaving essentially right after breakfast.  He could play toys while I made breakfast and got ready (filled water bottles, peeled carrots and gathered snacks, packed the car bag with a change of clothes, etc.), but then... out the door.  A little mental preparation goes a long way in warding off a Lego time-suck. 

Deer Run Trail, Green Lakes

Today felt a little off kilter.  When we checked WeatherBug this morning, rain was forecast.  Since I generally only take Frankie out hiking in fair weather conditions, we just hung around the house all morning.  I had been away for work most of the past week, and Frankie had a lot of plans for our Frankie-Mama day yesterday.  While that included a bike ride around the neighborhood (Frankie biking, me walking), these plans mostly involved Legos and other indoor activities.  By lunchtime today, when there was still no hint of impending storms, cabin fever set in.  I checked the radar and decided we could check out the western trailhead at Green Lakes State Park.

North Rim Trail, Pratts Falls

When we hiked at Pratts this spring, we took the Falls Trail loop down to see the full view of the waterfall at high water conditions.  By the time we got over to the western trailhead, Frankie's little legs weren't too fresh, so we just hiked the shorter Crossover Trail loop.  Today we went back to hike the longer North Rim Trail.