Cascade and Porter Mountains

I recently failed in starting one of my goals (visiting all the national parks) so I figured to make my self feel better I would recount the start to another goal that was more successful. In the first weekend in November my brother Alex, my friend Tim, and myself started our task of hiking the 46 high peaks of the Adirondacks.

On the one hand we wanted to keep things simple because we are all fairly ignorant. On the other hand we wanted to just go for it and start our quest before the onset of winter killed our progress. So we decided to make a day trip out of Porter and Cascade mountains (considered the easiest of the high peaks). 

We take "day trip" seriously even though we live 5 hours from the high peaks region. We left our house at 3:00 am on a Saturday and rolled into Keene around 8:00. We were dressed in layers but still mildly surprised when there was snow even at the bottom of the mountains. It snowed lightly on us a we hiked up the mountain, and by the time reached the top of Porter we were hiking through about 6 inches of snow. The weather never dampened our spirits, not even when we couldn't see much at the top. We got small views on the top of Porter, but nothing but clouds on the top of Cascade. 

View from Porter

If you are visiting Cascade I highly recommend taking the short off-shoot and visiting Porter at the same time. The trail to Porter is near the top of Cascade an it only about a half mile to the summit. We got to the top of Porter at about 11 and then got to Cascade at about 11:20. We sat and had a nice lunch but then got cold and were off the mountain 1:45. 

Tim was the hero of the day for bringing the coffee percolator up the mountain so we could enjoy a hot victory cup of black coffee. Probably one of my favorite cups of coffee ever. 

To round out the day we had dinner in Lake George and made it home by 9:30. I highly recommend these two beautiful mountains if you are starting to explore the Adirondacks. I do see how they could get pretty crowded in the summer though. 

Lessons Learned from the Mountains:

1) Day trips are doable because attitude is everything

2) We didn't know exactly what we were doing or what to expect, but sometimes you just gotta go for it

3) Coffee tastes better on mountains

If Hikers Ruled the World

Reason number six...


6. Learning to Take the Danger Trail While hiking in Letchworth with my brother and a bunch of my friends over Columbus Day we were enjoying the views, but the walk was pretty boring so we were keeping our eyes open for adventures off the beaten path. Somewhere in the beginning of the day we coined the phrase "danger trail" to refer to off shoots we wanted to take that seemed like they would offer more adventure than the trail we were on. Mind you, some of the danger trails we took were not actually trails at all, but they also were not all that dangerous either. Danger trails are adventures beyond the status quo that give life spice and it can be applied to more than just hiking. If you are scared to do something, you should probably just do it and bask in the adventure of trying something new. Take a few moments to access the true danger, but keep in mind that most things aren't going to kill you. Also keep in mind that our biggest regrets are the stuff we wish we had done but didn't, not the stuff we did and later had regrets about. 

Top Ten Mistakes *New* Hikers Can Make

I stumbled upon this list from Backpacker.com on mistakes that "noobs" fall prey to while hiking. Here is an abridged version of the list followed by my commentary in italics as a new hiker who stumbled on this list after considerable time having to figure things out on my own:


1. Wearing denim like Johnny Depp on 21 Jump Street. I have definitely done this and to be fair, hiking in jeans is not as bad as everyone says (especially if its all you got). But they have a point about the whole not-drying-very-quickly part. Now I'm feeling self-conscious and wondering if everyone was judging me the times I wore jeans.


2. Buying your tent or sleeping bag at Wal-Mart Two comments about this one. First, as a new hiker it sure is tempting when you look at the intimidating prices of gear... but after experiencing the joy of good hiking boots, I understand this one and am no longer tempted to skimp on the important stuff. Secondly, I do think that some stuff is over priced in the hiking world. We are wired to automatically think that the more expensive something is, the better the quality it is and this isn't always the case. You don't have to break the bank to have a quality experience. (I like the Department of Goods motto... Full Price is Dead)


3. Hiking a trail with a road map I have never been tempted by this one... getting the trail map always made sense to me.


4. Packing a first aid kit as if you’re landing on Omaha Beach I feel like my day hike first aid kit is pretty light... but I can't say its complete either seeing as I just stuck a first aid kit from camp in my bag without much thought. Perhaps I fell prey to the opposite problem for this one. 


5. Being overhead saying, “Lightning can’t strike me—I’m not carrying anything metallic.” I am pretty sure I wouldn't be this cocky... but I just made a mental note to research lightning more before my next hike to be savvy about the dangers.


6. Going ultra-light without ultra-experience Score one for me because I have never been tempted to go ultralight... yet. But simplicity does appeal to me so I'll make another mental note to not try this till I am experienced. 


7. Wearing boots fresh from the box Luckily getting your boots in the middle of winter gives you plenty of time for breaking them in (**breaths sigh of relief for not breaking another rule**)


8. Starting too late in the day This is another one I haven't broken. Sometimes I wonder if I have bitten off more than I can chew in a flurry of over-zealous planning... but no catastrophic failures yet.


9. Ignoring the weather forecast I look at forecasts, but I will be the first to tell you that I don't put much stock in them. Also, so far the weather forecasts don't really deter me. In fact, most of my favorite hikes have been in poor weather. Never the less, I made another mental to note to find out what kind of weather is dangerous to hike in.  


10. Skimping on Leave No Trace This is one I have definitely broken considering my knowledge of leave no trace consists of "take nothing but pictures leave nothing but footprints". I assume there is more to it. My list of mental notes is growing.  

If hikers ruled the world...

Here is reason number five that the world would be a better place is everyone hiked.


5. Learning to clean up after yourself. You have a serious impact on other people and the environment. That is something hikers know well. Hikers hate it when other people ruin things for the next people down the line. Nothing kills a beautiful hike like seeing some Starbucks litter on the trail. Nothing is more disappointing than a trashed campsite. Hikers know the impact they have on others and they know the golden rule applies in this situation. Leave No Trace exists for the good of our environment, but also for the good of hikers.