Last Sunday we took our first trip to the Adirondacks to hike our first two 46ers.  We parked in a lot called “The Garden” and hiked a back way up to two popular peaks, Porter and Cascade, which could have been an easy 4.5-mile round trip hike, but we don’t do easy!  Our hike was 10, and utilized rough trails. 

While hiking up from the Garden, we hit Little Porter Mountain first (see the panorama photo).  From here to big Porter it was only a 2-mile hike, but those two miles hadn’t been maintained recently and it was a 2-mile uphill creekwalk through thick brush and heavy blowdown.  It took us nearly an hour and a half to do those two miles, but the view when we got to the top of Porter was breathtaking.  From there, it is a mile out to Cascade’s summit.  This part of the trail had HEAVY traffic and deep mud with some spots of ice and snow still holding on from the long Upstate New York winter.  When we got to Cascade (see the first photo) it really reminded me of hiking in the Whites for two reasons: being above treeline in an Alpine Zone and ALL THE PEOPLE!  The summit was incredibly crowded with more than 50 people, including small children, most of whom spoke French.  We enjoyed the sunshine and the views from here (third photo) and then headed back up and over Porter and Little Porter and back to our car at the Garden. 

For an 8-hour round-trip drive, the feeling of being in the woods and conquering mountains more than made up for it!  I can’t wait to get back out this weekend!

New toys! I recently purchased a 5-tray Exalibur dehydrator and the book “Lip Smackin’ Vegetarian Backpackin’” in anticipation of my 2015 PCT thru hike.  No, neither I nor NoKey are vegetarian, but by purchasing this book, we have more meal options than just Lipton sides and Ramen noodles.  Good nutrition is important on distance hikes because you’re really an athlete.  You’re working your body hard up to 16 hours a day with very little rest time.  Sure, you’ll take an occasional zero day, but any hiker knows that a zero just gives your body time to say “holy crap, I’m tired!” and you usually feel more sore after a day off!

When we were hiking the AT in 2012, I noticed that around 1000 miles in my body really started to feel awful.  I wasn’t used to a diet high in processed food and quickly started feeling weak and tired most of the time.  I did chew Flintstones vitamins before bed at night, but that only really helped me for a little while.  NoKey started to experience the same “shutting down” around New Hampshire (around 1700 miles).  For the PCT, we knew we wanted to do something different.  Eating nutritious food does require a lot (I mean A LOT!) of prep work, but we’ll test recipes all summer throughout our 46er hiking to see what works and what doesn’t for us.  Having the vegetarian option of the book, we have the ability to add more meats to any of the recipes, making our diets much more diverse.  Again, anyone who has done any type of distance knows that eating the same foods over and over again really grates on you.  

I’m hoping to test, review, and create recipes throughout the summer. Here’s to hoping the experiment is successful!

Recap of the past few months - late 2013 and early 2014

Since leaving Maine and moving to New York for a little while I haven’t had time to get much hiking done. Being that I’m now working two jobs to save up some cash and the fact that, despite it being mid March, there is usually a foot of snow on the ground at any given time, hiking has taken a backseat as of late.  I’ve done some exploring of the Central New York region, going snowshoeing at Beaver Lake, hiking at Clark Reservation, and exploring area greenways all while trying to find my way around the area.  One place I haven’t been yet is up to the Adirondacks!  I’m definitely looking forward to some warmer weather so getting up there won’t be such a big challenge. 

Speaking of big challenges, time to announce the next one of mine: Becoming a 46er!  Here in the Adirondacks, we have 46 peaks measuring 4,000 feet or higher.  Hike them all, you’re a 46er!  My challenge is going to be to peak bag all 46 this year, preferably before the end of autumn.  I’ve been doing some research on the area, as well as talking to people I work with who are or are actively on their way to being a 46er and learning all I can about permits, fees, etc. before embarking on this challenge in about six weeks.  I’m glad to say NoKey will be doing this with me to help us get in shape for bigger and bolder plans in the spring of 2015 (more on that at a later time!)

During the next few months, the blog will be busier again and I’ll recap all my hikes and backpack trips like I did before.  I feel sad I didn’t have the time to do so on all my hikes in Maine, but will be definitely making the time for it somehow as I document the trails of the Adirondacks.  I can’t wait to share my trips with you guys!

A few photos above: Snowshoeing for the first time at Beaver Lake; Max Patch in October 2013 on our roadtrip following leaving Maine; Katahdin from Turtle Ridge Trail in the 100-Mile Wilderness in Maine, October 2013. 

New and exciting things!

My poor, neglected hiking blog is about to get a lot busier!  Stay tuned later this week for announcements of fun things yet to come!