Owl's Head Mountain

Trip Report:  Our 10-Year Anniversary on Owl's Head Mtn.

SUMMARY:

HOLY CROW!!   Teena and Mike have been married for 10 years!  WOW!!!  So, what should we do?  What do other people do?  Cruise?  Nah.  A night at the opera?  Not likely.  Dinner?   Hmmm...   That's an idea.   I know....   How about a nice hike up an easy trail in 90-degree heat to a tiny but oh so cool mountain summit we've passed a million times on the road?  Perfect!  That's exactly what we did.  ...And of course, we went out to dinner too!

DETAILS:

It was *ANOTHER* HOT HOT HOT melt the lead off your pencils kind of day. Even on the summit, the heat was oppressive. But, it was cooler on the summit and the hiking path than it was anywhere else, and it felt pretty darned good to be back on a peak for the second time this week.

This is the 2nd time this week that we're taking the kids out (click  here for that trip report), and what a great idea it turned out to be.  Through all the heat, the tree-covered trail was relatively cool, and the mountain breeze made it feel even cooler.  ...Or at least as cool at 91 degrees can feel when hiking up a mountain!

The hike up the mountain was a quick 30-minute jaunt, passing several scenic overlooks.  The summit sits atop a south-facing cliff of about 30' to 40'.  The summit itself is partially treed, with GREAT views to the south and east.  The summit was also...  ...VERY HOT!  The breeze had died down, and the summit was baking under the hot mid-day sun.  We stuck around for 20-to-30 minutes taking pictures and exploring, before we decided to leave.  The hike down was just as quick as the ascent.

When we finished our hike, we drove out to the High Peaks Information Center where Liz and Nick received their pins and patches for climbing Owl's Head.  We hung around for awhile, ate some lunch, hiked around the Adirondack Loj, and then headed back to Lake Placid.  At that point, we finally got out to that nice dinner at the Steak and Seafood restaurant.  We both agreed...  What a great way to spend our anniversary!


Click here for a link to more information on Owl's Head Mountain.

STATS SUMMARY:

Date of Summit: 07/08/2010

Team:  Mike, Teena, Liz, Nick

Location:  Adirondack High Peaks (44.250179,-73.822117)

Summit Elevation:  2,120'

Vertical Ascent:  ~460'

Approach: Owl's Head Road, off Rt 73, about 2-3 miles east of Lower Cascade Lake

Trailhead to Summit: ~0.6 miles

Time to summit:  ~30 minutes

Weather:  Sunny, and HOT enough to melt rock!!!  91 degrees!!!  The heat index was over 100 degrees!!!

Trail Difficulty:  Easy and FUN! A perfect starter hike for young kids.

Pictures:  (24 pictures)  Click on picture to see a larger version.

Liz demonstrates her gymnastic talents at the trail head.

Does Nick look just a little bored?  The trail was pretty easy. Most of it was dirt path with sections of boulders and loose stone.

See all that shade?  It felt pretty good out there!

Lizzard & Turbo pose with Cascade Mountain in the background (left). We'll probably come back in the autumn to take them up Cascade or Algonquin.

This is definitely a "family-friendly" trail with many forested sections.

At the summit.  Pitchoff Mountain is in the background.  ...And that rock is REALLY HOT!!!

Lizzard & Turbo on the summit of Owls Head Mountain. Cascade Mountain is in the background.  Hey...  Are those clouds coming our way????

It was a gorgeous day.  Porter and Cascade Mountains are in the background. 

Hopefully, there will be many more pictures like this one over the next five years than there were over the past five years!

HAPPY 10th ANNIVERSARY!!!

Mike is caught looking at Cascade...   "I think the kids are ready to climb it!"

Turbo attempts to find shade, only to realize that 90 degrees in the shade is only slightly better than 90 degrees in the sun.

Taking a break.... Or was that... BAKING on a rock!!! (Did I mention that it was HOT!!?)

I think this is my favorite picture.

"What do you mean it's time to go?"

Our favorite stretch of highway in the world runs between Cascade and Pitchoff mountains.

The vegetation at the summit looks a little like still art.  All the trees and bushes are funky and small.

Time to go.  It was another day of scorching heat and sunshine, so we couldn't stay long. :-(

After the hike, we drove to the High Peaks Information Center at the Adirondak Loj to get Owls Head pins. Since it was after 2pm, we figured it was a good time to get some lunch too.

Um...   Do you think Lizzard was hungry?

Turbo's looking a little gassed. 90 degree hikes will do that.

Yep... Both tykes were wiped out by the heat. Time to go back to the air-conditioned hotel room, and swim in the pool.

When we got back to our hotel room, our furry little friends were waiting there for us.  Oh...  And it was only 70 degrees in the room.   "YESSSSS!"

"Where are we going for dinner?"

Mt. Jo

Trip Report:  Mt. Jo - The First ADK Hike for the Tykes!

SUMMARY:
After a 6-YEAR hiatus from hiking in the High Peaks for Mike (see here for Mike's last hike) and 10 years since Teena last hiked (see here), we finally got our tails out to the Adirondacks to bang out the rust and prepare for larger hikes in the fall.  Unlike a decade ago when we hiked the hills with reckless abandon, we "re-enter" the High Peaks with the intent of introducing our tykes - Liz (8) and Nick (7) - to them.

DETAILS:

We picked a heckuva week to go hiking.  The temperature in Lake Placid was 91 degrees, and the forecast says it's only getting hotter!  We had an "Adirondack" vacation this year, spending time in Old Forge (to visit the Enchanted Forest and Water Safari), and then in Lake Placid to introduce the kids to High Peaks hiking.  We've camped in the Adirondacks every summer for the past five years, specifically in the Old Forge/Inlet area.  Last year, the Adirondack 4th of July weather was 55 degrees and raining.  We swore at that time that we were going to "hotel camp" in 2010.  With the temps in the 90's all week this week, *THAT* turned out to be a GREAT idea as we very much enjoyed sleeping in air-conditioned rooms instead of swealtering tents!

We decided to "keep it easy" this week by tackling Mt. Jo today, and maybe another small peak or two later this week.  We drove out to the Adirondack Loj around 11:00am. Once in the parking lot, we went through our checklist...

• Water?  Check.  
• First Aid kit?  Check.
• More water?  Check.
• Hats?  Check
• Sunscreen?  Check.
• Bug Spray?  Check.
• Water?  Check.

As is probably typical of parents who take their kids hiking in the High Peaks for the first time, we spent too much time worrying about how well the kids will scamper up the hill. In the end, it was MOM AND DAD who had trouble keeping up with the kids!  It took us us about an hour to ascend the peak (Teena & I did it in 30 minutes a decade ago).  Once there, the kids were surprised by the spectacular views.  But with the sun beating down, the summit was very hot - and we learned how quickly heat saps energy from kids!  So after a brief 30 minutes on the summit, we headed back down.

On the way back to the Loj, we stopped at the Heart Lake Nature Museum.  There the kids checked out the exhibits, used microscopes, and listened to bird and frog audio recordings.  They also held on to bones and teeth of various animals and checked out the butterfly garden.  The naturalist on duty also showed them how the mountains and boulders were formed.  From there, we went to the High Peaks Information Center where Liz and Nick chowed down on ice cream, and celebrated their first hike with a Mt. Jo pin.It was a good end to a good hike.

What will we remember?  The views...   The hike...   But more importantly, that this was the kids' first mountain hike, and they LOVED it!!!

STATS SUMMARY: 
Date of Summit: 07/06/2010
Team:  Mike, Teena, Liz, Nick
Location:  Adirondack High Peaks (44°11′23″N 73°58′05″W)
Summit Elevation:  2,876'
Vertical Ascent:  ~700'
Approach:  ADK Loj short trail
Trailhead to Summit: ~1.2 miles
Time to summit:  ~60 minutes
Weather:  Sunny, HOT!!!  91 degrees!!!  The heat index was over 100 degrees!!!
Trail Difficulty:  Moderate - short, but somewhat steep

Pictures:  (25 pictures)  Click on picture to see a larger version.

Liz & Nick arrive at the ADK High Peaks Information Center.

Liz points the way to Mt. Jo.

Er...   Never saw this before...  Even wilderness hiking seems to be getting more...  Civilized.

"YESSSS!" Lizzard says as Teena signs us in at the trail head.

Hmmm...   Notice the "little" boulders.  These are prevalent on most ADK hikes.

Liz & Nick enjoyed the bouldering aspect of the hike.

Turbo showing off his bouldering skills.

Mike, Liz, and Nick pose during a quick rest.

"What?  MORE boulders?"

The trail is getting steeper...

...And of course, there are boulders.

We arrived at our first open view of the mountains.  Liz had that exact same expression when she saw the mountains from there...

"I'm smiling now, but I'm going to kill you later for taking my picture!"

Turbo points out the local wild life.

"The ground is one big rock!"

Liz and Nick prepare for the leg of the ascent!

Mike, Teena, Liz, and Nick at the summit.  Colden is the mountain with the rock slides.  Whale's Tail is the short mountain on the left.  Wright (4,580') and Algonquin (5,114') are the big ones on the right.  Algonquin is the 2nd tallest mountain in NY.  Mt Marcy (the tallest mountain) is just left of this picture.

Liz and Nick bask in the 91 degree heat and beating sun.  Mt. Marcy (5,344') is the cone-shaped mountain in the distance, just right of center.

Time to go...   It is REALLY HOT atop that mountain!  It's much cooler in the trees.

"MORE boulders???"  Yep...  Had to hit them all over again on the way down.

Mike shows Liz how the trail register works.

Not to be outdone, Nick takes his turn learning about the trail register.  "Can I draw a picture?"  Um...  Sure...

The ADK Heart Lake Nature Museum is on the trail between the ADK Loj and the Mt. Jo trailhead.
Liz looks at an inchworm in the microscope.  She also looked at a leaf, and several other things.

When Nick took over, he looked at an inchworm and asked "Do you have anything cool to look at?"  The ADK naturalist didn't miss a beat, replying "We have some teeth and small bones" and pointing at a bin of "touchable" bones, rocks, etc.  "AWESOME!" was the most commonly heard word for the next twenty minutes!

Liz and Nick pose in front of the High Peaks on the Adirondack Loj road.  The Loj road is basically a 5-mile driveway to get to the ADK Loj and a few houses along the way.  The field at the start of the road has this AMAZING view of the high peaks that you see here.  The picture doesn't do it justice.