Spruce Mountain - Lake George Wild Forest - 1/21/18

There's no doubt that there are a lot of fantastic viewpoints overlooking Lake George.   On the east side of the lake, one of the best is from Spruce Mountain, a little known location near Huletts Landing.  Today was my third visit here; all in winter.

It was a warm day and a fleece and microspikes were all that was needed for extra gear.  I parked at the end of the plowed portion of North Road and Rev and I started out.  We followed the unplowed potion of North Road until we came to the Richard Phillips Hayes property and his marked trails that lead to state land.

The steep portion of this hike is near the beginning.  Once you get up on the ridge, there is not too much more elevation gain and you are treated to a series of viewpoints.  The best viewpoint is just before the true summit, near where the airway beacon used to be.

There are several trails in the area.  Some are marked with red discs and there is also a white blaze trail that hugs the western edge of the ridge.  There are also some signs.  That being said, portions of the marked trails are not well marked.  If you go, make sure you have map and compass. 

 

Today's view.  Some ice this year.

This photo was from 2 years ago 1/18/16 

It was overcast at the start, but luck was on my side and the clouds began to break just as I was getting to the viewpoints.

  

Interesting sign at the start

The seasonal portion of North Road

Richard Philips Hayes has a vision.  Thank you!

Choices, choices.

A first look

Sugarloaf Mountain back left, Black Mountain back center.

A closer look

Blue skies beginning to emerge!

Mother Bunch islands in the distance

The hamlet of Huletts Landing is tucked on the cove on the left.

My trusted scout... Rev 

Framed!

A zoom view

Remains of the airway beacon

Rev on the descent

Richard Philips Hayes does a great job with his signs.  He also did the Shore Owner Association (SOA) signs in Lake Placid 

The old schoolhouse.   There is a #2 on the other side.

Hike Stats:

Hike Distance:  ~ 4 miles

Hike Time:  3 hours, including stops

Elevation Gain:  ~ 1000'

The route

The route on the Nat Geo map.

Project 100 - A Highly Impressive and Admirable Fundraiser

Why Fundraise?
How many of you have participated in an organized sporting event to raise money for your favorite cause?  Perhaps a walk or a run?  Maybe even a cycling or kayaking event?   Not only do you get exercise, you gain friends and raise money for something that matters to you.

Often you can support many of these types of activities with very little preparation. Sure, a full marathon requires an advance training regimen, but the majority of the "support a cause" events can be done with very little forethought...just sign up, show up, and have fun!!

Then there's Herculean Efforts and Passion
You know what I mean: those endeavors where you have to plan the entire event and train, train and train until you can train no more... and then go back and accomplish the entire set of obstacles you have set for yourself... perhaps in the worst of weather?  Yes there are a few crazies who do these things.

Neil Luckhurst is no stranger to fundraising, and no stranger to punishing his body through a set of physical and mental obstacles that energize others to pledge money to support his favorite causes.  In this case, the ADK High Peaks Foundation is the lucky recipient of his passion.

This Year it's Project 100
Neil's "Project 100" will be taking place this winter and will surely raise some hard earned funds for the foundation.   I'm not going to give away Neil's secrets here, just spreading the word so more of us adventure seekers can be in the know.  You can find out all the details on Neil's Project 100 blog for the event.  He's put just as much effort into his blog as he has to training (well maybe not, if you've seen him train)!     

In case you want the the whole link revealed, here it is:
https://project100singlewinter.wordpress.com/

It's sure to be a spectacular fundraiser.  Neil's got a fire and passion to make this happen.  There are many ways to help.... and once again make friends along the way.  Don't miss out.  Project 100 is coming to the ADK's this winter season!

 

   

Sleeping Beauty and Erebus Mountains - Lake George Wild Forest - 9/2/17

To kick off the Labor Day weekend, Leesa and I were invited to join Dan, Joanne, Cole and Eric for a trip to Sleeping Beauty and Erebus Mountains in the Lake George Wild Forest.  These two peaks are part of the relatively new Lake George 12ster challenge.  The challenge, of course, draws additional hikers to these peaks.  What some people don't realize however, is that both true summits are only reached via bushwhacks.  While trails pass nearby, there is a bit of orienteering needed to find the true summits.  Each peak now has a summit sign, which helps hikers validate that they've reached the high point.

We were happy that the group wanted an early start.  We met at the Warren County Municipal Center at 7 AM and were on the trail by about 8 AM.  The woods road to Dacy Clearing has been "improved" by DEC.  They've added crushed stone where needed and have smoothed out the road so 4WD is not needed.  Any vehicle should be able to make the trip from Hogtown to Dacy Clearing at this time.

There were already almost a dozen cars at Dacy Clearing.  Most were probably from people who had claimed the campsites there.  We only saw 1 person ahead of us on the trail.  

The weather was cool and clear and really ideal for hiking.  The trails were dry since it hadn't rained in awhile.  Our dog Rev was also with us and she appreciated the cool weather.

          

Looking at the Tongue Range from Sleeping Beauty

We reached the Sleeping Beauty open rock viewpoint and had the location to ourselves.  

Little Buck and Shelving Rock Mountain from Sleeping Beauty/

Some of this area was burned by a forest fire a few years ago. 

Dan and Rev 

Rev on one of the lower ledges

I like this spot!

We hung out at the viewpoint for quite a while and also explored the ledges below before moving on.  The group goal was to hit the true summit, which was actually a short distance away.  I had been there before and knew where to veer off the trail.  The summit is perhaps a couple hundred yards off the trail; no real effort was needed to find this one.      

The new sign on Sleeping Beauty.

Proof that Dan made it....

After we all took pictures at the summit, we went northeast to regain the trail and continue towards Bumps Pond.  Once at the pond, we looped around the north end and visited the old chimney that remains near the west shore.   

Bumps Pond.

Next was our final goal for the day - Erebus.  The Erebus Mountain Trail passes west of the true summit and it is very steep from the trail to the top.  I suggested we work our way up the ridge from the south and the group agreed.  This choice wasn't bad,  There were areas that were moderately dense, but the grade wasn't bad.  We reached the true summit without any issues.    

Another new sign...

We had lunch on Erebus.  This summit, like Sleeping Beauty, has no views to offer, but we had seen the views early in the day from the Sleeping Beauty viewpoint.

Our next task was to get back to the cars.  The group had to get back by mid-afternoon and it was 11:30.  We retraced our steps for awhile before turning east to regain the trail south of Fishbrook Pond.  This is when we had our only incident of the day... bees.  I was in the lead and made out OK, but I believe Eric, who was behind me, stepped on a yellow jacket ground nest.  He received several stings as did Dan, Cole and Leesa.  Joanne and I were the only ones not stung.  It put a little damper on our otherwise great day.

When we got back to Dacy Clearing the parking area was overflowing with cars.  There was no room left.  The Hogtown lot was full also.  We were thankful that we beat the crowd.  

Thanks Dan and Joanne for inviting us to join your group.  We had a great day. 

Hike Stats:

Hike Distance:  7.2 miles

Hike Time:  5.5 hours, including stops

Total Vertical Gain:  ~ 1500'          

The route

The route on the Nat Geo map

Wakely Mountain Firetower - 5/5/12

Saturday was the day before my big 7 Sisters Trail Race.  I wanted to do a half day hike and get some exercise without making myself tired for Sunday's race.  Wakely Mountain, just west of Indian Lake, NY, down off the pretty Cedar River Road was just the hike.  The trailhead is at a parking area just off to the right from Cedar River Road.

The hike started out with our dog, Rev,  jumping out of the car and finding some fresh dog poop to roll in (not pretty).  We let her go on ahead up the trail hoping she would wash off in a stream.

The hike was 6 miles round trip.  The first 2 miles follow an old jeep trail, perhaps the old road to the firetower observer's cabin.  The trail only only climbs about 450'.  Once at the 2 mile mark the trail turns to the right and becomes a foot trail.  Unfortunately, Rev must have kept going straight.  We lost her at that point.  Leesa went up the trail, I continued on the old jeep trail, which quickly faded out.

Trail sign at the 2 mile mark indicating the trail leaves the jeep road

I retraced my steps and caught up with Leesa.  The trail climbs roughly 1200' in the last mile.  Once on the summit, there is what appears to be a new observation platform in the progress of being built.  Continuing on a couple hundred feet is the firetower and the observer's cabing.

A new observation platform, or something else?

View from the platform

The fire observer's cabin

The firetower has all new pressure treated stair treads and is in good shape

The firetower is in good shape, and hikers are currently able to go up into the cabin.  We saw no other hikers on the way up, and we had the summit to ourselves.  The observer's cabin is in good shape also, but was locked.

Views from the firetower.  The platform is in the clearing.

 

 

 

We enjoyed the summit for a few minutes, but then we wanted to go find Rev.  As we made our way down the steep section, we saw 3 other groups on there way up (2 with dogs).  None had seen our dog.  We got back down to the trail split and looked around again, to no avail.  Discouraged, we hiked back out to the car, and wouldn't you know it, she was laying right next to the car!  Thank goodness, smart dog!  We were quite relieved.  It was a good day afterall.


Hike Stats:

Hike Distance:  6 miles (plus dog searching)
Hike Time:  3 hours, 30 minutes
Trailhead Elevation:  2125'
Summit Elevation:  3750'
Total Vertical Gain:  1920'

Our route in blue

My Wakely Mountain & Firetower GPS track at EveryTrail

Lake George Half Marathon - 4/29/12

I prefer trail runs to road races, but with a half marathon being held right in the town where I live, I had to do it.  The Lake George Half Marathon is an almost new event.  This was only the 2nd year for the event. 

I had no idea what to expect from a road race at this distance.  I had done some longer trail runs before, but they are different from the speed of a road race.  I decided to go a little slower than my capacity in the beginning, to make sure I had something left at the end.

The weather was perfect for running.  It was about 35 degrees at race time, but no wind and full sun.  I wore light running pants and two light layers on top and I was fine the whole race. 

The view of Lake George from the race start on Beach Road

I started in about the middle of the pack.  The pace was a little too slow for me in the beginning, so I passed probably 50 people in the 1st mile.  After the 2nd mile I only passed a couple people, and in the last half of the race about a half dozen people passed me.  There wasn't a lot of movement.

 

The steamboats are getting ready for the summer season

I didn't have a watch and there were no time displays, so I had no idea how I was doing.  I felt pretty good at the finish.  It was good that the last 2.5 miles were mostly downhill.

 

The runners are off... and I'm ready!

I finished in a time of 1 hour, 47 minutes and 50 seconds. That put me at a pace of 8 minutes, 15 seconds/mile. I finished 82nd out of 365 racers and 7th out of 12 men in my age category. I was happy with that for my 1st half marathon.

 

20 seconds left to the finish, and I could see it!

At the finish, I had a bottle of water, a Gator Aid, a banana and a couple chunky chocolate chip cookies.  I was then ready to rest and wait for the results to be announced.

 

Resting afterwards with Rev while waiting for the results to be announced

I still like trail races better, but I'll continue to run select road races of interest.



Lake George Half Marathon at EveryTrail

Next weekend, on 5/6/12, I plan to run the much harder 7 Sisters Trail Race in Holyoke, Massachusetts.  It is a littler shorter (12 miles vs 13.1 miles), but it has 3700' of vertical gain and is a real gut buster.  Hopefully I will live to blog about it.