High on Peaks

Is there a hiking hangover pill? Still feeling the burn in my quads after a weekend hiking in the Adirondack Mts. 18 miles in, up, down, up-down again, and back out of the High Peaks near Lake Placid, NY. While we certainly have great hikes here in the Green Mountains of Vermont, there’s something almost mystical about the ADKs, as we call them. There are 46 High Peaks 4,000’ or higher, and I crossed #46 off my life list in August 2011 - yay! So now I hike just for the fun of it - accompanying others who are trying to finish, or just starting on their quest. This summer I climbed seven peaks on Round 2 - like getting re-acquainted with long-lost relatives: Phelps, Algonquin, Sawteeth, Gothics, Armstrong, Upper Wolf Jaw, Haystack. I’ve become a charter member of my sister and brother-in-law's hiking group in Western Mass - Pioneer Valley Hiking Club, joining them on two weekends this summer. This past weekend 20 of us convened at the John’s Brook Lodge, a rustic hiker’s lodge 3.5 miles up the trail from a remote parking area in Keene Valley, NY. Great company, amazing Sat. night dinner, bright stars at night, doe and her fawn munching in the yard Sunday morning. The young caretaker, Brandon, and his black lab Khyber helped us settle in and use their industrial kitchen. Of course I brought Green Mtn Coffee, which tasted amazing brewed in old-fashioned percolators! Running cold water and gas-powered lights/stove, but otherwise no frills (as in showers). In addition to tending the lodge almost year-round, Brandon is working toward his PhD studying climate change in northern Ontario. Impressive. Anyway, here are a few pix of our JBL gang and some views from the top of Haystack Mountain (also posted on FB).