We are having a fantastic time during our 9th visit to the Adirondack region of NY state. We have continued our quest to hike all 46 peaks that are greater than 4000 ft by climbing Algonquin and Wright Peak our first day here. It was our longest family hike yet - 9.4 miles of very rugged rocky steep terrain. It has taken the entire vacation to work out the sore muscles
! We have also returned to Cascade Mountain which we hiked five years ago as our first 46er climb. This time we included the side trail to include Porter. I am thinking each hike might get a full blog report once we get home- considering the resulting aches and pains were definitely comparable to running a marathon
.Speaking of running, Jerry has been the only one to don his running shoes. Yesterday he participated in the 33rd annual Footrace up Whiteface Mountain. It was 45 degrees and torrential rain for his 8 mile climb at 8 percent grade. I was guilt ridden to say the least, but he conquered and survived while the girls and I sat in the car at the top of the mountain until the runners started to finish. Not one looked happy. Just standing out in the weather was brutal, but that's what we do!
The top photo is from the peak of Algonquin - NY's second highest peak at 5,115 ft. The second photo is during the climb up. This was one of a few places we needed a little help from Jerry to get up and over. The third photo is from the top of Wright Peak which we climbed on the way down from Algonquin. It was VERY windy!
Today we have planned an easier hike - we probably should have done our hikes in reverse order but we had to adjust for weather and get the big one out of the way early on. We do not do well with things hanging over our heads. After the hike we will take one final trip into Lake Placid and have dinner at the Lake Placid Pub & Brewery which has quickly climbed to the top of our list for good food. They have several veggie options and great atmosphere, but most importantly we have become extremely fond of their "buffalo wing french fries!" Fries covered in hot sauce and blue cheese - need I say more!
