Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Rain was in the forecast and the skies had been overcast throughout the day, but it was after five and it was still dry. In my mind, that meant try to ride…so I did.
First…a little history. About twenty years ago, I was playing with Jason in our yard in Willowick when, for no explainable reason, I became extremely dizzy and fell to the ground. It was grass and I managed a soft landing so I didn’t worry about it too much until it happened again a couple of days later and Holly saw me go down. I went to the doc’s, but everything seemed okay and life went on.
About a month ago, I had another spell in the living room and went down slowly and under control. It’s a weird feeling and like nothing I ever experience. My head just feels cloudy and starts to spin…like I’m on an amusement park ride and then I’m turning upside down. It went away quickly and that was that.
I felt fantastic on the ride. I was riding my course through Waite Hill and was heading east on Eddy when I felt my first wave of dizziness. I thought I was imagining it at first and kept riding, but quickly decided to pull to the side of the road. I nearly fell before releasing my feet from the pedals, but managed to stay upright while my head cleared…which it did in 10 seconds. It was the first time I’ve had an incident in a situation where I could actually get hurt, so it had me a little concerned…but I hadn’t ridden in two weeks and I wanted to do the workout…which supersedes all else…so I continued on. I had a couple more incidents, though not as bad, as I rode up Sperry and crossed Chardon Road headed for Mulberry. I was beginning to question the wisdom of my judgment and imagining myself whipping down Wilson Mills at 50mph and having another spell when I pulled to the side of the road and called Holly. She was shopping at Heinen’s and I told her to finish and that I’d ride along Mulberry. “You’re not riding anymore. You wouldn’t have called if you didn’t think it was a bad idea. Stay where you are…I’m on my way,” she said. So I did.
I don’t know what to think. I’ve had a serious head cold for the past two weeks and I’m still congested. I never gave it a chance to clear up…going from kayaking in cold water to camping out in cold night air. I suppose it could be messing with my equilibrium, but I think its time to let Nilesh know what’s going on and see what he thinks. I took a good tongue-lashing from Holly on the ride home…I had it coming…and spent the rest of the night just sitting quietly writing blogs and looking over Facebook. The good news for me at least is that I finally got in a ride of over an hour. Got that goin’ for me.
Bike workout: 75 minutes
Training Heart Rate: 130 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 1,000.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Working out again...
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Finally…a workout! I made it to the park thrilled that I’d be working out. I could have come yesterday, but knew that the trails would be under water, though a mud workout would have been fun. I’ve still got that that lingering head cold though, and getting soaked to the bone would not be the first choice of the medical community in trying to get better…as if hiking in rain by day and sleeping in the woods by night was. Anyway, it was good to be pushing, moving, and lifting things again. I had a limited amount of time since Jason wanted me in Kent to let some realtors into his place, so I ran between stations to get done more quickly. I felt like it had been weeks since my last complete workout, but found that I was doing everything at the level I had when last I’d been here…which was only a week ago.
The trails were muddy but mosquitoes seemed to be gone. With the forecast looking like rain for the next few days, I may be returning for a run or two over the next couple of days, which would give me an excellent opportunity to find out where the knee stands in relation to surgery. It had done well in all the climbing, though I had noticed on one descent that, after a slip and bending into an awkward angle, I still had pain and a limited range of motion.
I completed the workout, hitting all my expectations though falling a little short on the push-ups with a three set total of 161. I’m crossing my fingers for some good weather tomorrow so I can get in a longer ride. With only one month to go before the time changes, we’re running low on days to ride after work.
Survival Workout duration: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 100 to 150 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 600.
Finally…a workout! I made it to the park thrilled that I’d be working out. I could have come yesterday, but knew that the trails would be under water, though a mud workout would have been fun. I’ve still got that that lingering head cold though, and getting soaked to the bone would not be the first choice of the medical community in trying to get better…as if hiking in rain by day and sleeping in the woods by night was. Anyway, it was good to be pushing, moving, and lifting things again. I had a limited amount of time since Jason wanted me in Kent to let some realtors into his place, so I ran between stations to get done more quickly. I felt like it had been weeks since my last complete workout, but found that I was doing everything at the level I had when last I’d been here…which was only a week ago.
The trails were muddy but mosquitoes seemed to be gone. With the forecast looking like rain for the next few days, I may be returning for a run or two over the next couple of days, which would give me an excellent opportunity to find out where the knee stands in relation to surgery. It had done well in all the climbing, though I had noticed on one descent that, after a slip and bending into an awkward angle, I still had pain and a limited range of motion.
I completed the workout, hitting all my expectations though falling a little short on the push-ups with a three set total of 161. I’m crossing my fingers for some good weather tomorrow so I can get in a longer ride. With only one month to go before the time changes, we’re running low on days to ride after work.
Survival Workout duration: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 100 to 150 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 600.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Heavy rains and another day off...
Monday, September 26, 2011
I left work in the midst of another pouring rain. The streets were flooding and cars were crawling along as I watched any hope of riding swirl down the drain. It was raining so hard and had been for some time that I doubted the Metropark trails would exist as anything but streams. Still I felt that I had to do something and drove there hoping it would subside…but it never did.
I gave it up and headed for home to clean up the camping gear I had spread throughout the rec room. I doubt I’ll have another opportunity to use the tents this year and I like to make sure they are 100% dry before storing them for the winter. I actually don’t put them back in their bags, opting instead to put them loosely in the attic so if there is any moisture left, it will finish the drying process. I had noticed a couple of spots with leaks in the rain fly, so I should probably seal the seams this winter anyway.
I miss the long rides…the ‘exercise fix’ I was getting throughout the summer. I talked to John about buying whatever we need in cold weather riding gear to keep riding as long into the winter as we possibly could. As much as I dislike riding on the trainer, I do need to get it ready since the rains appear to be in the forecast until Thanksgiving…and I for sure won’t ride in a cold rain.
I left work in the midst of another pouring rain. The streets were flooding and cars were crawling along as I watched any hope of riding swirl down the drain. It was raining so hard and had been for some time that I doubted the Metropark trails would exist as anything but streams. Still I felt that I had to do something and drove there hoping it would subside…but it never did.
I gave it up and headed for home to clean up the camping gear I had spread throughout the rec room. I doubt I’ll have another opportunity to use the tents this year and I like to make sure they are 100% dry before storing them for the winter. I actually don’t put them back in their bags, opting instead to put them loosely in the attic so if there is any moisture left, it will finish the drying process. I had noticed a couple of spots with leaks in the rain fly, so I should probably seal the seams this winter anyway.
I miss the long rides…the ‘exercise fix’ I was getting throughout the summer. I talked to John about buying whatever we need in cold weather riding gear to keep riding as long into the winter as we possibly could. As much as I dislike riding on the trainer, I do need to get it ready since the rains appear to be in the forecast until Thanksgiving…and I for sure won’t ride in a cold rain.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Driving home with no chance for a workout...bummer.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
And now another great disadvantage to not having hiked in to a campsite…I’d have no workout on the day we were leaving from a hike back out. We packed the car and were on the road by 8 a.m. for the nine-hour drive home. I was feeling a strong urge to do something but I’d just have to live with it. I knew Holly would have dinner waiting…it was family night at our place…and there would be no opportunity to work out. I suppose that was a good thing. I’d been pushing myself pretty hard for the last seven days and the cold that had struck me down a week earlier during my kayak training still had a death grip on me.
We made it home by six and after emptying and spreading out all my wet gear, sat down to a delicious chili dinner. I was pretty tired and after downloading all the photos I’d taken on the trip, headed off to bed. I had hopes that I’d feel better in the morning and since I had a lot of catching up to do at work…and that would be a good thing. I felt the emptiness that comes at the conclusion of each summer…my last camping trip gives me the same feeling I used to get as a school child when I know vacation is over and I must return to the books. It had been an amazing last few months, with the changes in my diet and the new workout making a substantial difference in my ability to climb and hike. I know I’ll need to be diligent this fall and winter to be certain that I maintain what I’ve achieved and move into next spring prepared to knock the final pounds off and reach the fitness goals I set for myself eighteen months ago.
And now another great disadvantage to not having hiked in to a campsite…I’d have no workout on the day we were leaving from a hike back out. We packed the car and were on the road by 8 a.m. for the nine-hour drive home. I was feeling a strong urge to do something but I’d just have to live with it. I knew Holly would have dinner waiting…it was family night at our place…and there would be no opportunity to work out. I suppose that was a good thing. I’d been pushing myself pretty hard for the last seven days and the cold that had struck me down a week earlier during my kayak training still had a death grip on me.
We made it home by six and after emptying and spreading out all my wet gear, sat down to a delicious chili dinner. I was pretty tired and after downloading all the photos I’d taken on the trip, headed off to bed. I had hopes that I’d feel better in the morning and since I had a lot of catching up to do at work…and that would be a good thing. I felt the emptiness that comes at the conclusion of each summer…my last camping trip gives me the same feeling I used to get as a school child when I know vacation is over and I must return to the books. It had been an amazing last few months, with the changes in my diet and the new workout making a substantial difference in my ability to climb and hike. I know I’ll need to be diligent this fall and winter to be certain that I maintain what I’ve achieved and move into next spring prepared to knock the final pounds off and reach the fitness goals I set for myself eighteen months ago.
No chance for climbing as the rains continue...
Saturday, September 24, 2011
After two days of hard climbing, I was quite pleased to wake up with no aches or pains. I was displeased to wake up to rain, though. I’d been getting up throughout the night to push water from the tarp that had been accumulating in the low spot created when one of our support logs snapped and fell. I had clothes lines with my climbing wear hanging to dry and didn’t want the whole tarp to collapse under the weight of pooling rain and re-saturate them. We had also placed our shoes there in hopes that they would dry a little, as well. With the humidity near 100% there was little chance of this, though.
By 6 a.m. I was up and moving about. Donnie doesn’t stir unless prodded…which I did around 7:30 a.m. We needed to get over to Noonmark for another fantastic breakfast and develop a plan for something to do in the rain. Ron the firefighter was there again and suggested a trip to Baxter Mt. It is a seldom used trail that has only a 700-foot elevation change over a 1-mile hike…very doable for Donnie the non-climber. Since it was still drizzling at the conclusion of breakfast and visibility was zero, we elected to return to our campsite and wait for better conditions. They would never come.
We made an excursion to a McDonald’s in Lake Placid specifically for their smoothie. I wanted one and figured it would be cheaper than Ben & Jerry’s. It was…by two dollars. We returned to the campsite and after shooting the bull for another hour, my frustrations began to show. I asked if anyone was interested in doing the Survival Workout with me. “What are you going to use for lifting?” John wanted to know. “I lift myself. Push-up, pull-ups, dips and there are plenty of rocks in these old woods,” I said. I told him I felt fresh and could probably break my push-up record of 63. “Dude…no way you can do that many push-ups,” he said…and that was all I needed to hear. I changed into my damp hiking clothes and dropped to the pine needles and began pushing with Paul counting. I hit 57 and struggled through 58, but that was it. “Dude…impressive,” was all John could say.
It was clearing some and I encouraged the group to join me on a hike to Marcy Dam. Apparently the flash flooding had breached the dam and I wanted to go there and take some pictures…doing the Survival Workout as we hiked. It was a 45-minute hike with only a slight elevation change and I really needed to do something before returning to the Noonmark for another meal. On the trail, I found the rocks I needed and was lifting one overhead when some hikers came from the other direction. John tried to explain my odd behavior, but they were having none of it and skirted us quickly. Paul and Donnie turned back about half way, but John and I hiked on. The dam was breached and the pond it had once created was now little more than a large creek running through a sea silt that had been deposited there for the 100+ years the dam had been in place. The ‘forever wild’ laws of the Adirondack Park wilderness areas, as this was, would dictate that the dam should be left to fall apart. I suspect though that the breach will be repaired and this popular camping area will once again have a small lake…of sorts.
We returned and headed to the ADK Loj to get a hot shower…which felt amazing after 3 days without. We did return to both the Noonmark Diner and later to Ben & Jerry’s, but I refrained from ordering any ice cream, though it looked amazing. In all, it was a day without views and a sorry excuse for a workout. That night, I enjoyed a restful sleep without the patter of rain on my tent. I was awakened on a couple of occasions by the howling of a coyote family…its haunting sound a brief reminder of how close we were to nature and to whom the woods really belonged.
Hike duration/Survival Workout: 90 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 70 to 120 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 500.
After two days of hard climbing, I was quite pleased to wake up with no aches or pains. I was displeased to wake up to rain, though. I’d been getting up throughout the night to push water from the tarp that had been accumulating in the low spot created when one of our support logs snapped and fell. I had clothes lines with my climbing wear hanging to dry and didn’t want the whole tarp to collapse under the weight of pooling rain and re-saturate them. We had also placed our shoes there in hopes that they would dry a little, as well. With the humidity near 100% there was little chance of this, though.
By 6 a.m. I was up and moving about. Donnie doesn’t stir unless prodded…which I did around 7:30 a.m. We needed to get over to Noonmark for another fantastic breakfast and develop a plan for something to do in the rain. Ron the firefighter was there again and suggested a trip to Baxter Mt. It is a seldom used trail that has only a 700-foot elevation change over a 1-mile hike…very doable for Donnie the non-climber. Since it was still drizzling at the conclusion of breakfast and visibility was zero, we elected to return to our campsite and wait for better conditions. They would never come.
We made an excursion to a McDonald’s in Lake Placid specifically for their smoothie. I wanted one and figured it would be cheaper than Ben & Jerry’s. It was…by two dollars. We returned to the campsite and after shooting the bull for another hour, my frustrations began to show. I asked if anyone was interested in doing the Survival Workout with me. “What are you going to use for lifting?” John wanted to know. “I lift myself. Push-up, pull-ups, dips and there are plenty of rocks in these old woods,” I said. I told him I felt fresh and could probably break my push-up record of 63. “Dude…no way you can do that many push-ups,” he said…and that was all I needed to hear. I changed into my damp hiking clothes and dropped to the pine needles and began pushing with Paul counting. I hit 57 and struggled through 58, but that was it. “Dude…impressive,” was all John could say.
It was clearing some and I encouraged the group to join me on a hike to Marcy Dam. Apparently the flash flooding had breached the dam and I wanted to go there and take some pictures…doing the Survival Workout as we hiked. It was a 45-minute hike with only a slight elevation change and I really needed to do something before returning to the Noonmark for another meal. On the trail, I found the rocks I needed and was lifting one overhead when some hikers came from the other direction. John tried to explain my odd behavior, but they were having none of it and skirted us quickly. Paul and Donnie turned back about half way, but John and I hiked on. The dam was breached and the pond it had once created was now little more than a large creek running through a sea silt that had been deposited there for the 100+ years the dam had been in place. The ‘forever wild’ laws of the Adirondack Park wilderness areas, as this was, would dictate that the dam should be left to fall apart. I suspect though that the breach will be repaired and this popular camping area will once again have a small lake…of sorts.
We returned and headed to the ADK Loj to get a hot shower…which felt amazing after 3 days without. We did return to both the Noonmark Diner and later to Ben & Jerry’s, but I refrained from ordering any ice cream, though it looked amazing. In all, it was a day without views and a sorry excuse for a workout. That night, I enjoyed a restful sleep without the patter of rain on my tent. I was awakened on a couple of occasions by the howling of a coyote family…its haunting sound a brief reminder of how close we were to nature and to whom the woods really belonged.
Hike duration/Survival Workout: 90 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 70 to 120 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 500.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
More great climbing on day two...
Friday, September 23
The rain continued to fall into the early morning hours, but when it stopped I climbed from my tent to do what guys do in the middle of the night and noticed that the skies had cleared and were sparkling with stars. I tried to get John up to witness the splendor, but he snored through my efforts. I was up for good by 6 and began packing the gear since we would be moving to a different site where my cousin, Donnie, could join us that night. Donnie camps out of the back of his Acadia and frowns upon hiking and sweating.
We returned to Noonmark Diner, but this time John and Paul got a full-blown breakfast. I ate my Kashi cereal at the car, using powdered milk…that didn’t quite dissolve. Ron, the firefighter, appeared for breakfast again and told us that the trail we’d wanted to climb the day before was now open. John looked at me to see my reaction. “I’d like to climb Gothics, Armstrong and Upper Wolfjaw, but that trip could take 9-10 hours and that would have us descending in the dark with headlights…which I don’t think is a very solid plan,” I said. He agreed and we headed for Heart Lake and the tent camping sites on Meadows Road just east of Lake Placid. These sites were free and could be accessed right from your vehicle, which made them very convenient for camping and climbing some of the best peaks in the Adirondacks, but offered nothing close to the peace and serenity of the back country.
We arrived there and set up our tents with the sun shining. By noon, we’d completed our tasks and were prepared to climb Wright Mt., which was the peak I’d climbed 11 days earlier with Savannah and Heidi. It was a fabulous peak for a workout and great views and could be done in a reasonable time…having us back well before dark. I’d made the climb with the girls in 3 hours, but Paul and John were in great shape and we ascended much more quickly, reaching the summit in 2 hours. Though not the deep blue skies I’d experienced with the girls, we still had excellent views in every direction and stayed on top for an hour eating our lunches and exploring for the remains of the B-47 that had crashed into the mountain in January of 1962 killing all four airmen aboard.
The descent was treacherous because of the wet rocks and took as long as the ascent had. We made it in two hours, but still had to hike the mile back to where our car was parked before retuning to the camp site.
I was disgustingly dirty and sweaty and with John in tow, headed for the creek running a couple of hundred yards from our site. The water was moving quickly and having originated high in the mountains was anything but warm. John screamed like a little girl as he entered the bone-chilling waters, echoing his distress off the distant peaks and leaving other climbers wondering what form of torture he was enduring…the sissy. I, of course, sat manly in the cleansing waters scrubbing mud caked from miles of trail from my battered legs. We returned to the site to find that Donnie had arrived and quickly loaded into his vehicle for the 30-minute ride to the Noonmark Diner. We would head for Lake Placid and the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream store where I would have a delicious smoothie before returning to our tent site and more rain.
Hike/climb duration: 5 hours
Training Heart Rate: 70 to 170 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 3,500.
The rain continued to fall into the early morning hours, but when it stopped I climbed from my tent to do what guys do in the middle of the night and noticed that the skies had cleared and were sparkling with stars. I tried to get John up to witness the splendor, but he snored through my efforts. I was up for good by 6 and began packing the gear since we would be moving to a different site where my cousin, Donnie, could join us that night. Donnie camps out of the back of his Acadia and frowns upon hiking and sweating.
We returned to Noonmark Diner, but this time John and Paul got a full-blown breakfast. I ate my Kashi cereal at the car, using powdered milk…that didn’t quite dissolve. Ron, the firefighter, appeared for breakfast again and told us that the trail we’d wanted to climb the day before was now open. John looked at me to see my reaction. “I’d like to climb Gothics, Armstrong and Upper Wolfjaw, but that trip could take 9-10 hours and that would have us descending in the dark with headlights…which I don’t think is a very solid plan,” I said. He agreed and we headed for Heart Lake and the tent camping sites on Meadows Road just east of Lake Placid. These sites were free and could be accessed right from your vehicle, which made them very convenient for camping and climbing some of the best peaks in the Adirondacks, but offered nothing close to the peace and serenity of the back country.
We arrived there and set up our tents with the sun shining. By noon, we’d completed our tasks and were prepared to climb Wright Mt., which was the peak I’d climbed 11 days earlier with Savannah and Heidi. It was a fabulous peak for a workout and great views and could be done in a reasonable time…having us back well before dark. I’d made the climb with the girls in 3 hours, but Paul and John were in great shape and we ascended much more quickly, reaching the summit in 2 hours. Though not the deep blue skies I’d experienced with the girls, we still had excellent views in every direction and stayed on top for an hour eating our lunches and exploring for the remains of the B-47 that had crashed into the mountain in January of 1962 killing all four airmen aboard.
The descent was treacherous because of the wet rocks and took as long as the ascent had. We made it in two hours, but still had to hike the mile back to where our car was parked before retuning to the camp site.
I was disgustingly dirty and sweaty and with John in tow, headed for the creek running a couple of hundred yards from our site. The water was moving quickly and having originated high in the mountains was anything but warm. John screamed like a little girl as he entered the bone-chilling waters, echoing his distress off the distant peaks and leaving other climbers wondering what form of torture he was enduring…the sissy. I, of course, sat manly in the cleansing waters scrubbing mud caked from miles of trail from my battered legs. We returned to the site to find that Donnie had arrived and quickly loaded into his vehicle for the 30-minute ride to the Noonmark Diner. We would head for Lake Placid and the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream store where I would have a delicious smoothie before returning to our tent site and more rain.
Hike/climb duration: 5 hours
Training Heart Rate: 70 to 170 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 3,500.
"You picked the only trail in the Adirondacks that's still closed..."
Thursday, September 22, 2011
I do two kinds of camping in the Adirondacks and they both have their advantages. My favorite kind is to park at a trailhead and hike with a full pack to a remote place from which I do all my climbing and hiking. It forces me to pack conservatively since once I leave the car, I won’t be returning for days. It’s in your pack or you go without. It usually means more time alone or that the only people you’ll be seeing are also looking for that kind of serenity that only comes from being alone.
This trip was not one of those. We hiked the .6 miles back to the car in the morning and had breakfast at the car before driving to the Noonmark Diner where we had coffee, used the bathroom went over our hiking plan for the day. We’d be returning here often for breakfast and dinner, which really simplified life at the campsite, but detracted somewhat from the overall experience. We were planning on hiking some difficult peaks in the area hit hard by flash flooding only three weeks earlier and where the girls and I could not go 11 days ago when we’d been in the same place. As luck would have it, an off-duty fire fighter who’d been working on the roads leading to the trails and who was an avid climber, walked in and sat at the table next to ours. Noticing our map, he asked where we would be climbing and then proceeded to check to make sure the trail was open. After a call or two he turned to us and said, “you picked the only trail that is still closed.” Plan ‘B’ hatched quickly.
It was overcast and rain was in the forecast. I like to climb peaks with views and don’t want to be climbing them for the first time when visibility is zero, so our alternative plan was for two 4,000 footers that weren’t supposed to be as spectacular. If we got to the peak and the skies cleared…all the better. We packed our food for the day, raingear, and water in our daypack…which I carried for the additional workout…and headed for the trailhead.
The early going was steep and John recorded a heart rate…he was wearing his monitor…of around 160 bpm. We moved up quickly and reached the peak of Cascade Mt. in about 90 minutes. The peak was completely open and would have offered amazing views, but we couldn’t see twenty feet and the rain was falling. We descended quickly and headed into a col between the two peaks and in another 30 minutes found ourselves on Porter Mt. with about the same view…fog.
On our descent, we met four different school groups made up of kids in the 8th grade who, for various reasons, were climbing that day. “Wish I’d gone to school where they’re going,” I commented to John as they passed. Most were in decent shape, but some were complaining and wondering how far to the top. Still…they were there and better for it. We reached our car after four hours on the trail around 2 p.m. and I was still feeling pretty fresh. I looked to the sky and noticed it was beginning to clear. “We could go up something smaller…like Van Hoevenberg…and maybe get some good views,” I suggested. John and Paul were both up for it, but as we were getting into the car, I pulled out my trail map and noticed another peak even closer…and higher. I pointed it out and they agreed to give it a go.
We hit the trailhead and read the legend, which stated that the peak of Pitchoff Mt. could be reached by hiking 2.5 miles and climbing 2,000 feet. I was holding the map and based on the contour lines, this climb would be straight up for two miles. I kept that information to myself as we began to climb what turned out to be the toughest 40 minutes I’ve ever spent on any peak. The trail was seldom used and full of loose and slippery rocks. As the map suggested, it was a continuously steep grade for a long time. John got his hear up around 170…and it stayed there. I was sweating profusely…and loving it. We reached open rock after 40 minutes of a thigh and lung burning ascent to some rather fabulous views. Though only 3,500 feet and not one of the 46 ‘high peaks’, it offered great views of those peaks. We stayed on top for about 30 minutes before noticing thunderheads rolling off the high peaks to the south…and straight at us. The rains hit us half way down, but were warm and cleansing, so none of minded too much.
We made it back to the car much more tired, but thrilled to have gotten in another great peak where we could actually see something. When it was suggested that we eat dinner at the Noonmark instead of at the trailhead where I’d be cooking, I voted ‘yes’. I had a dinner of Spinach Lasagna and a tossed salad, but passed on dessert. By the time we returned to the trailhead for our hike back to our tents, it was raining again and getting close to dark. There would be no fire that night, but the exhaustion of climbing and hiking over six hours and 5,000 vertical feet had me feeling like retiring to my tent to get the rest I’d need for tomorrow’s ascents.
Hike/climb duration: 6 hours
Training Heart Rate: 70 to 170 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 4,000.
I do two kinds of camping in the Adirondacks and they both have their advantages. My favorite kind is to park at a trailhead and hike with a full pack to a remote place from which I do all my climbing and hiking. It forces me to pack conservatively since once I leave the car, I won’t be returning for days. It’s in your pack or you go without. It usually means more time alone or that the only people you’ll be seeing are also looking for that kind of serenity that only comes from being alone.
This trip was not one of those. We hiked the .6 miles back to the car in the morning and had breakfast at the car before driving to the Noonmark Diner where we had coffee, used the bathroom went over our hiking plan for the day. We’d be returning here often for breakfast and dinner, which really simplified life at the campsite, but detracted somewhat from the overall experience. We were planning on hiking some difficult peaks in the area hit hard by flash flooding only three weeks earlier and where the girls and I could not go 11 days ago when we’d been in the same place. As luck would have it, an off-duty fire fighter who’d been working on the roads leading to the trails and who was an avid climber, walked in and sat at the table next to ours. Noticing our map, he asked where we would be climbing and then proceeded to check to make sure the trail was open. After a call or two he turned to us and said, “you picked the only trail that is still closed.” Plan ‘B’ hatched quickly.
It was overcast and rain was in the forecast. I like to climb peaks with views and don’t want to be climbing them for the first time when visibility is zero, so our alternative plan was for two 4,000 footers that weren’t supposed to be as spectacular. If we got to the peak and the skies cleared…all the better. We packed our food for the day, raingear, and water in our daypack…which I carried for the additional workout…and headed for the trailhead.
The early going was steep and John recorded a heart rate…he was wearing his monitor…of around 160 bpm. We moved up quickly and reached the peak of Cascade Mt. in about 90 minutes. The peak was completely open and would have offered amazing views, but we couldn’t see twenty feet and the rain was falling. We descended quickly and headed into a col between the two peaks and in another 30 minutes found ourselves on Porter Mt. with about the same view…fog.
On our descent, we met four different school groups made up of kids in the 8th grade who, for various reasons, were climbing that day. “Wish I’d gone to school where they’re going,” I commented to John as they passed. Most were in decent shape, but some were complaining and wondering how far to the top. Still…they were there and better for it. We reached our car after four hours on the trail around 2 p.m. and I was still feeling pretty fresh. I looked to the sky and noticed it was beginning to clear. “We could go up something smaller…like Van Hoevenberg…and maybe get some good views,” I suggested. John and Paul were both up for it, but as we were getting into the car, I pulled out my trail map and noticed another peak even closer…and higher. I pointed it out and they agreed to give it a go.
We hit the trailhead and read the legend, which stated that the peak of Pitchoff Mt. could be reached by hiking 2.5 miles and climbing 2,000 feet. I was holding the map and based on the contour lines, this climb would be straight up for two miles. I kept that information to myself as we began to climb what turned out to be the toughest 40 minutes I’ve ever spent on any peak. The trail was seldom used and full of loose and slippery rocks. As the map suggested, it was a continuously steep grade for a long time. John got his hear up around 170…and it stayed there. I was sweating profusely…and loving it. We reached open rock after 40 minutes of a thigh and lung burning ascent to some rather fabulous views. Though only 3,500 feet and not one of the 46 ‘high peaks’, it offered great views of those peaks. We stayed on top for about 30 minutes before noticing thunderheads rolling off the high peaks to the south…and straight at us. The rains hit us half way down, but were warm and cleansing, so none of minded too much.
We made it back to the car much more tired, but thrilled to have gotten in another great peak where we could actually see something. When it was suggested that we eat dinner at the Noonmark instead of at the trailhead where I’d be cooking, I voted ‘yes’. I had a dinner of Spinach Lasagna and a tossed salad, but passed on dessert. By the time we returned to the trailhead for our hike back to our tents, it was raining again and getting close to dark. There would be no fire that night, but the exhaustion of climbing and hiking over six hours and 5,000 vertical feet had me feeling like retiring to my tent to get the rest I’d need for tomorrow’s ascents.
Hike/climb duration: 6 hours
Training Heart Rate: 70 to 170 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 4,000.
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