Mt. Jo

Trip Report: Tackling Mt. Jo...  ...Again!

SUMMARY:

We arrived in Lake Placid on Friday, August 31st, and departed on Sunday, September 2nd.  We decided to hike Mt. Jo to break in the legs and test out our new boots and trail runners.  It was a beautiful day for a hike.  We hiked the short trail up, and the long trail down.  We finished the day swimming in Heart Lake.  It doesn't get better than that!

DETAILS:

In the waning days of a long and eventful summer of soccer, hockey, soccer, picnics, birthdays, drive-ins, family visits, and more soccer, we suddenly realized that we never made it out to the Adirondacks.  We had only one weekend left - Labor Day weekend - and we can't take the full weekend due to the start of school the following week.  Whatever we decide to do, we only have a couple days to do it.  So...  Back we went, to the Adirondacks, intent to hike.  We didn't know "what" we'd hike, climb, or swim in.  We simply knew we were going to do it.  

One slight obstacle...  Teena and I had old hiking boots and trail runners that were suffering the effects of old age and dry rot. As for Liz and Nick?  They outgrow their boots every year.  We get them hiking boots in the summer to hike in, and then they use the boots in winter for kicking around town.  So, we went to Gander Mountain Sports to get new boots for Teena and the tykes, and new Solomon XA Pro trail runners for me. 

We have only a quick weekend, so we departed from home early in the morning on Friday, Aug. 31st, and after a five hour drive, arrived in Lake Placid around 1pm.  During the drive, we kicked around a few ideas for what to do that afternoon...  Do we hike Hurricane?  Pitchoff?  After a lengthy discussion, we agreed to hike Mt. Jo again.  We last hiked Mt. Jo two years ago, and decided it would be a good way to test the new gear, and to see what kind of hiking shape we're in.  

We started our hike about 2:20pm and got to the summit in about 50 minutes via the short trail, stopping often to take in the sights.  after all, we were in no hurry.  We were on the summit for about 45 minutes before someone mentioned swimming in Heart Lake, visible below us.  We headed back down via the long trail, and 45 minutes later, we were

 at the ADK Loj, and Heart Lake.  It didn't matter that we had no swimming gear with us...  We swam for about an hour in the brisk water anyway, and headed out for dinner around 5:30.

It was an AWESOME DAY!  ...Waking up at home, driving to the Adirondacks, getting in a quick hike and a swim at Heart Lake.  It doesn't get any better than that!!!

Click here to view a topo map of Mt. Jo trail from everytrail.com

STATS SUMMARY: 
Date of Summit: 08/31/2012
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:  PERFECT!  Sunny, and mild, with a temp about 70 degrees!!!
Trail Difficulty:  Moderate - short, but somewhat steep

Video:

Pictures:  (21 pictures)  Click on picture to see a larger version.

Wow!  Who knew John Lennon was hiking with us today?

...And a wabbit?

At the Mt. Jo trail head, ready to hike! 

Big rocks are EVERYWHERE! 

Which way?  The short, steep, rocky trail, or the longer, less steep, but still rocky trail?

We chose the short rocky trail!

The young billy-goat mountain gazelle take a break after some fun bouldering.

Lizzard takes the last climb to get to the summit!

Turbo and Teena at the summit.  How'd they beat us?

Lizzard and Turbo pose at the summit of Mt. Jo.  Cascade Mountain is in the background.  Click here for last year's trip report from our hike up Cascade Mountain.

Lizzard and I, at the top of the world...  ...Almost.

Turbo, me, and Lizzard pose in front of the mighty mountains Marcy, Colden, and Algonquin! 

Teena jumps into the picture taking fray.

Our intrepid young explorers plot their next adventure...

Shortly after this picture was taken, someone mentioned "can we swim in Heart Lake?"  Afterward, there was a strong desire to descend to that small lake in the background, and do some swimming!

On our way down, we saw a snake getting in a late lunch.  Look carefully...  Anyone see the toad being eaten?

The end of the hike is a nicely maintained gravel trail to the ADK Loj and Heart Lake.

Turbo jumped into the water first with Mt. Jo in the background.  Lizzard and Teena join us for a swim after they get back from the High Peaks Information Center.

Hiking back to the car from the ADK Loj, Turbo decides to... ...Dance?

All good things must come to an end.  Today was a GREAT day.  Tomorrow hopes to be another.  With either Wright or Algonquin on the itinerary, it's going to be an early start.  They need their sleep.

...And sleep they do!