Wow, it's been awhile since I last posted. My life has been consumed by grad school. I just finished up the Winter Quarter and now only have one quarter left before graduation. Please send job openings my way ;). I'm very excited for the spring quarter because my cousin Kurt just got out of the Marines and moved up to Rochester and will be starting at R.I.T this quarter. It's great to have him around again. In other news, we all celebrated Dad and Amber's birthday on March 2nd. We had a rushed dinner because Mom, Dad and I had to get to the farewell performance of Riverdance! I have seen them 6 times now and can't believe this is their farewell tour. We got great seats and when we arrived we saw Aunt Kathy and Jeff and Brandi and it turns out they sat two rows ahead of us! The performance was amazing, I'd never been that close before. I knew every beat of every song (thanks to listening to the soundtrack non stop since 1998). I would buy the DVD to relive it every day but unfortunately it just can't capture the spirit.
After an insane winter quarter I just wanted to get away on a roadtrip so I decided to head up to the Adirondacks. I grew up only a few hours from the mountains and have never been there. I was supposed to go in 2003 but Don decided to flip a 4-wheeler on his face so that ruined that. With the big snow storm last week, there was plenty of snow for me to go snowshoeing. I left early Wednesday morning and got off the Thruway in Rome to head up. Jack wanted me to go up a steep dirt road but I wasn't feeling adventurous so I jigsawed around before finally meeting up with the route I wanted.I passed through Old Forge, Raquette Lake, Tupper Lake, Saranac Lake, Blue Mountain Lake, and Lake Placid. I also went by Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Lakes. It was an amazing drive. It was sunny and warm and I had the radio blasting and I was driving by frozen lakes and snow covered mountains.
Lake Placid had all the Olympic stuff but it all costs money so I just drove by and took pictures of it.
I ended up hiking Baxter Mountain, just outside of Lake Placid. It was a nice trail up to a gorgeous overlook of the High Peaks. It reminded me a lot of a trail by the Ranch in Colorado. It actually made me a little homesick for Colorado. At that point I texted Jess with a pic of the mountains and she thoughtfully reminded me that it was actually her I was missing because I was hiking through knee deep snow with a half bottle of water and jeans.
I then had to head down to Lake George to find my hotel. Thanks to Eric, I still have discount coupons so I booked a room at the Hampton Inn Lake George. It was a nice hotel with an indoor pool and spa which I made full use of. I brought soup with me and heated that up in the microwave and had a lovely evening. I spent some time in the business center plotting my route for the next day and of course those plans got shot to hell. I headed out to Buck Mountain which was a trail head located off a dead end road on the East side of Lake George.
Kyle and Devin got me a Camelbak for Christmas and I was really excited to use it for the first time so I filled it up with water and it all leaked out. I'm not quite sure what I did wrong but when I put it on to check the fit it promptly soaked the back of my pants. Luckily I had some empty water bottles and a spare bag so I went old school. I drove by the trailhead and saw that it was covered in snow. I debated pulling in or not but there was no place to park on the narrow road and there was another vehicle in the parking lot so there were ruts in the snow so I decided to go for it. As soon as I pulled in I realized it was a bad idea as I heard the icy snow crunching against the underbelly of my car. I got my car spun around and was trying to make it to a dry patch but I got hung up on something and my wheels were spinning.
So I got out and saw that there was icy snow packed up under my car so I grabbed my snowbrush and started attacking it. Right away, the ice scraper portion of the brush snaps off and after finding blood all over the snow, I realized that I had somehow sliced my hand up on the brush. I put gloves on and tried to clear the rest of the snow away. I got back in but the car just spun the wheels. I then decided to ask for help. I wasn't expecting any traffic along a dead end road by a lake in the winter but a lady stopped and I had her push me but I still wasn't going anywhere. I called AAA and they said they'd be out in a half hour. The lady left and sent her husband back with some friends to see if I wanted help but I told them AAA was on the way and not to worry. The guy who was parked in the trail head came back and we chatted for a bit and by then it had been a half hour so I figured AAA would be right there. He decided to wait for them instead of trying to get around me. Half hour goes by and AAA still isn't there. The AAA lady calls and asks if they had arrived and I said no so she called to check in with them and they were just leaving Lake George.
I was pissed at that point. I think the guy was annoyed too because he fired up his car and engaged the four wheel drive and was about to leave when AAA came. They spun me around and had me back it out. My gas light was on and I hated Buck Mountain at that point so I left and went back to the hotel to search for another place to hike. Turns out there's Prospect Mountain that looms over Lake George and is accessible by a toll road in the summer. There's also a trail up to it that starts a 1/2 mile from the hotel. I parked and walked across I-87 and started the climb.
Well it turns out the trail to Prospect Mountain follows an old cable car route. Cable cars are designed to go straight up and down so the trail basically went 2000 feet vertical. I kept looking up and the trail kept looming ahead of me. I had to stop every few minutes and catch my breath. The view from the top was worth it though. I could see all the way to Gore Mountain and all of Lake George. Going down was even worse because the snow was melting so it was slippery and snowshoes aren't meant for downhill. I did pass a hippie couple who had on pajama pants and sneakers so at least I wasn't that ill prepared.
I went back to the hotel and had some lunch and tried to figure out where to spend the rest of the afternoon. I decided to go to Glens Falls because they had a XC ski park that was lit for night skiing. Turns out the trails were sheer ice because of the recent warm temps so I just walked around but it was right off the highway so it wasn't exactly a wilderness retreat. I was over the day at that point so I stopped and bought some postcards and spent the rest of the night in the hot tub.
Friday dawned bright and sunny and I was eager to leave Lake George. I found Panther Mountain, a short trail about 2 hours west of Lake George that overlooks Piseco Lake. Piseco Lake is actually a good sized lake but the shores are surrounded by forest and there are very few houses and no resort town feel which I loved. Luckily the parking for the trail head was on the side of the road and I made sure all four wheels were on pavement. The trail was pretty intense for being such a short distance but the forest was very open and it was intensely sunny so it was a beautiful hike. I spent about a half hour at the top because it was so gorgeous. Someone had built a snowman at the trail end which was really cute.
I took a bunch of pictures and even took a video with a hysterical ending (see below). It was my favorite spot of the whole trip and I would love to come back during the summer to see the Adirondacks in their full glory. On the way home I stopped in Seneca Falls at the Women's Hall of Fame so I could complete the NPS sites of Upstate NY. The funny thing is that site is less than an hour from my house and I've driven by it many times but never stopped. One more off my list! There were some really cool exhibits about the history of women and it's amazing to see how far we've come in only the last 100 years. I had an awesome roadtrip and it was really nice to get away. Despite a few hitches along the way, the good definitely outweighed the bad.
After an insane winter quarter I just wanted to get away on a roadtrip so I decided to head up to the Adirondacks. I grew up only a few hours from the mountains and have never been there. I was supposed to go in 2003 but Don decided to flip a 4-wheeler on his face so that ruined that. With the big snow storm last week, there was plenty of snow for me to go snowshoeing. I left early Wednesday morning and got off the Thruway in Rome to head up. Jack wanted me to go up a steep dirt road but I wasn't feeling adventurous so I jigsawed around before finally meeting up with the route I wanted.I passed through Old Forge, Raquette Lake, Tupper Lake, Saranac Lake, Blue Mountain Lake, and Lake Placid. I also went by Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Lakes. It was an amazing drive. It was sunny and warm and I had the radio blasting and I was driving by frozen lakes and snow covered mountains. 
Lake Placid had all the Olympic stuff but it all costs money so I just drove by and took pictures of it. 
I ended up hiking Baxter Mountain, just outside of Lake Placid. It was a nice trail up to a gorgeous overlook of the High Peaks. It reminded me a lot of a trail by the Ranch in Colorado. It actually made me a little homesick for Colorado. At that point I texted Jess with a pic of the mountains and she thoughtfully reminded me that it was actually her I was missing because I was hiking through knee deep snow with a half bottle of water and jeans. 
I then had to head down to Lake George to find my hotel. Thanks to Eric, I still have discount coupons so I booked a room at the Hampton Inn Lake George. It was a nice hotel with an indoor pool and spa which I made full use of. I brought soup with me and heated that up in the microwave and had a lovely evening. I spent some time in the business center plotting my route for the next day and of course those plans got shot to hell. I headed out to Buck Mountain which was a trail head located off a dead end road on the East side of Lake George. 
Kyle and Devin got me a Camelbak for Christmas and I was really excited to use it for the first time so I filled it up with water and it all leaked out. I'm not quite sure what I did wrong but when I put it on to check the fit it promptly soaked the back of my pants. Luckily I had some empty water bottles and a spare bag so I went old school. I drove by the trailhead and saw that it was covered in snow. I debated pulling in or not but there was no place to park on the narrow road and there was another vehicle in the parking lot so there were ruts in the snow so I decided to go for it. As soon as I pulled in I realized it was a bad idea as I heard the icy snow crunching against the underbelly of my car. I got my car spun around and was trying to make it to a dry patch but I got hung up on something and my wheels were spinning. 
So I got out and saw that there was icy snow packed up under my car so I grabbed my snowbrush and started attacking it. Right away, the ice scraper portion of the brush snaps off and after finding blood all over the snow, I realized that I had somehow sliced my hand up on the brush. I put gloves on and tried to clear the rest of the snow away. I got back in but the car just spun the wheels. I then decided to ask for help. I wasn't expecting any traffic along a dead end road by a lake in the winter but a lady stopped and I had her push me but I still wasn't going anywhere. I called AAA and they said they'd be out in a half hour. The lady left and sent her husband back with some friends to see if I wanted help but I told them AAA was on the way and not to worry. The guy who was parked in the trail head came back and we chatted for a bit and by then it had been a half hour so I figured AAA would be right there. He decided to wait for them instead of trying to get around me. Half hour goes by and AAA still isn't there. The AAA lady calls and asks if they had arrived and I said no so she called to check in with them and they were just leaving Lake George. 
I was pissed at that point. I think the guy was annoyed too because he fired up his car and engaged the four wheel drive and was about to leave when AAA came. They spun me around and had me back it out. My gas light was on and I hated Buck Mountain at that point so I left and went back to the hotel to search for another place to hike. Turns out there's Prospect Mountain that looms over Lake George and is accessible by a toll road in the summer. There's also a trail up to it that starts a 1/2 mile from the hotel. I parked and walked across I-87 and started the climb. 
Well it turns out the trail to Prospect Mountain follows an old cable car route. Cable cars are designed to go straight up and down so the trail basically went 2000 feet vertical. I kept looking up and the trail kept looming ahead of me. I had to stop every few minutes and catch my breath. The view from the top was worth it though. I could see all the way to Gore Mountain and all of Lake George. Going down was even worse because the snow was melting so it was slippery and snowshoes aren't meant for downhill. I did pass a hippie couple who had on pajama pants and sneakers so at least I wasn't that ill prepared. 
I went back to the hotel and had some lunch and tried to figure out where to spend the rest of the afternoon. I decided to go to Glens Falls because they had a XC ski park that was lit for night skiing. Turns out the trails were sheer ice because of the recent warm temps so I just walked around but it was right off the highway so it wasn't exactly a wilderness retreat. I was over the day at that point so I stopped and bought some postcards and spent the rest of the night in the hot tub. 
Friday dawned bright and sunny and I was eager to leave Lake George. I found Panther Mountain, a short trail about 2 hours west of Lake George that overlooks Piseco Lake. Piseco Lake is actually a good sized lake but the shores are surrounded by forest and there are very few houses and no resort town feel which I loved. Luckily the parking for the trail head was on the side of the road and I made sure all four wheels were on pavement. The trail was pretty intense for being such a short distance but the forest was very open and it was intensely sunny so it was a beautiful hike. I spent about a half hour at the top because it was so gorgeous. Someone had built a snowman at the trail end which was really cute. 
I took a bunch of pictures and even took a video with a hysterical ending (see below). It was my favorite spot of the whole trip and I would love to come back during the summer to see the Adirondacks in their full glory. On the way home I stopped in Seneca Falls at the Women's Hall of Fame so I could complete the NPS sites of Upstate NY. The funny thing is that site is less than an hour from my house and I've driven by it many times but never stopped. One more off my list! There were some really cool exhibits about the history of women and it's amazing to see how far we've come in only the last 100 years. I had an awesome roadtrip and it was really nice to get away. Despite a few hitches along the way, the good definitely outweighed the bad.
