May 22, 2007
Adirondack Adventure Day 2: The Great Outdoors
The last time I went hiking was in 2004, in Austria, and I got tricked into it. I didn't know we'd have to hike to AlpenZoo. Erica had prepped me for a hike this time, and imagine my surprise when, despite the perfectly acceptable excuse of threatening rain, I still wanted to go. I mean, it was the Adirondacks! I had to do some hiking. Settle in because this entry is going to be a hike through about fifty narrowed-down pictures.
Before we got to Goodnow Mountain, we stopped by a waterfall.
And then Erica took me up to the site of the Tahawus Mine, which was abandoned in the 1950s. We stopped at the old furnace.
I never got a picture of the abandoned buildings, but I was shocked because they were real buildings with foundations, electricity, plumbing, etc. When Erica told me about it, I thought it would be just temporary houses. It looked like they were recreating at least one of them and making it more into a historic site.
Normally the gate to the actual mine site is closed, but this time, it just happened to be open.
The no trespassing sign didn't deter us. We just wanted to see the lake that covered the mine shaft.
And of course, there was all the iron slag from the mine's heyday. The great thing about traveling with an environmental historian (and a local) is that Erica could tell me all about it.
After our mine detour, we stopped at the foot of the trail for some lunch.
And registered. The cute little cubby for the registration book was worth going on the hike all by itself.
We climbed these steps and we were on our way up to the summit of Goodnow Mountain!
Because of the rain the day before, we rolled up our pants. Mine wouldn't stay, though, so I had to revert back to middle school and peg them.
(That still didn't really work. I ended up rolling them up into capris.)
Pictures!
We took a pretty leisurely pace, and luckily, since Erica's a smoker, she needed a breather almost as frequently as I did. (Plus, smoking break!)
What I don't like about hiking is that I get so focused on the path and getting to wherever I'm going that I forget to take a look around and enjoy what I'm actually hiking through. I tried to do that more during this hike. I really wanted to give hiking a fair chance. It was all part of my post-graduate school active lifestyle that I want to adopt.
Whoa, wait! What was that? A toad!
About three-quarters the way up, we came across a shack. The first owner of the mountain used to come up here. But apparently he came on horseback.
And just a little further, you get a motivational overlook to let you know what's ahead of you.
I tried to convince Erica that the overlook was good enough, but she wasn't buying it. She knew what was up ahead.
Finally! We reached the summit.
Umm... not such a great view, Erica. Which is why we had to climb to the top of this fire tower.
We rested at the top for a bit, though. Had a little snack. Looked around a bit.
At the top, we got the real deal. A 360 of the surrounding mountains.
We took pictures of ourselves to prove we made it!
Plus, I was feeling totally triumphant. I had conquered the mountain!
Then we had to go back down.
This guy came every year for a long time. I wonder what happened after 92.
I noticed things on the way down that I was too preoccupied to observe on my way up. Like these awesome mushrooms.
And a salamander!
Erica had packed two cold Diet Pepsis in a cooler, and the thought of it waiting for me down in the car spurred me on during tough times. It was a delightful reward!
Was the day over after the hike, though? Oh no. We still had more to see. First, a quick stop at Buttermilk Falls.
And the final stop of the day, the site of the Adirondack Wind Energy Project (AWEP), the subject of Erica's studies for the past year and her massive thesis. It's on a private road, but Erica had permission to drive up to it. And then, we found that a gate to the old Granite/Sapphire mines was open!
And, as you might expect, there was another amazing view:
And the old mine building:
Finally, on our way down the mountain, and pretty much during the whole trip, I couldn't get over the brilliance of the spring leaves. No pictures I took could truly capture the color. But of course, I tried.
That night, Erica and I partook of some well-deserved couch-potato-ness and watched horrible season finales before packing for our trip to Montreal the next day.