Giant, Cascade and Porter Mountains

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hobkyl
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I headed up to the Adirondacks the last weekend of September to work on my 46er quest.

I left Thursday morning and drove for 5 hours in a constant downpour...arrived at my motel...and was kept mostly inside due to rain until Saturday morning. I did venture out here and there to check out the roaring currents of the swollen creeks. I stopped by Roaring Brook Falls, Split Rock Falls, and Blue Ridge Falls....all were blasting at an insane rate. Unfortunately the only pics that turned out semi decent were those of Roaring Brook Falls and some falls that were created solely to the 4-5" of rain that fell.

Saturday I got up and headed to Giant Mountain. I headed up the Ridge Trail...and had the trail mostly to myself. I did run into a couple who were from Seneca Falls which was nice. Views abound the whole way up...it was a beautiful cool fall day. I reached the top in about 3 hours and didnt stay long as I was greeted with brisk winds and snow covered trees. I headed back down to the junction of Rocky Peak Ridge and debated whether to make the trip over. I decided I very well may save this as my #46 peak and headed down. Back to the car in the another 4 hours-taking a ton of breaks to take in the views. Im now 2 of 46.

Sunday I woke up to thick frost covering my car and no scraper! After letting the car warm up I packed up and headed out. I was at odds as to tackle a couple of more mountains or to lollygag back home and take pictures. I decided to tackle the mountains. I headed over to Cascade and Porter and began my way up. I was the first one on the trail at 730 and it was a cold one. I was atop Cascade at 915 and had the peak and some beautiful views to myself for about 10 minutes before I was completely socked in by the clouds. With nothing to see...I headed over to Porter, passing one person who was on their way up to Cascade. Made it to Porter in about 45 mins and had no views. 5 minutes and a snack and I headed out. The clouds broke for a moment along the trail and I got some nice views. Back down to the car by noon and sadly had to make the drive home.

I now have 4 peaks out of 46 under my belt. (Im not counting Algonquin which I did this past winter)

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Adirondacks from Tupper Lake by hobkyl, on Flickr

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From Adirondack Loj Road by hobkyl, on Flickr

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View from Cascade by hobkyl, on Flickr

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Roaring Brook Falls-Giant Mountain by hobkyl, on Flickr

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Olympic Ski Jumps-Lake Placid by hobkyl, on Flickr

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View from Porter trail by hobkyl, on Flickr



The rest of the photos from my trip can be seen here.....
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29551368@N ... 046624665/
“There’s an inconsequentiality to our lives that living in the wilderness shows up. Mountain are real, they set their limits, they set ours. They expose us, make us vulnerable and strong at the same time. “
--Alison Wat




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Kelly
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Grrrreat photos, Kyle! :up: :up:
I am strong, because I've been weak.
I am fearless, because I've been afraid.
I am wise, because I've been foolish.

- Unknown

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cbobcat49
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Awesome shots! I love the 3rd one. I think I was sitting at that same exact spot on Cascade a few years ago.
What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us. ~Henry David Thoreau
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HaloGirl
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cbobcat49 wrote:Awesome shots! I love the 3rd one.
I agree. :)
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backpacker
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Nice shots Kyle,
I did Cascade and Porter in the winter it was minus 28 when we started but had some great views. Did you think about Rocky Ridge when you did Giant? We did those two together , I remember it was a steep climb down, up and in reverse but fun none the less. If you want some company on a hike drop me a line I’ll be glad to join ya.
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hobkyl
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Thanks everyone...I love the 3rd one too.

Jim...yes, I did think about RPR but didnt know if I had it in me and the trail description coming in from Rt 9 sounds spectacular (trail is over an open ridge mostly)...so I think I will tackle that by itself. And may save it for last due to having that open space most of the way up.

Possibly next year I will give you a shout. Seems I can only make one trip up a year...other than a quick dayhike in winter with my brother.
“There’s an inconsequentiality to our lives that living in the wilderness shows up. Mountain are real, they set their limits, they set ours. They expose us, make us vulnerable and strong at the same time. “
--Alison Wat




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L_G_D
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Great shots. I did Rocky Peak & Giant a couple of times the long way, from the Elizabethtown trailhead. Nice hike, but long and the trip from Lake Marie Louise up to Rocky peak is great, one of my favorites. I need to do that again sometime, since it's been many years now. I've done Giant the short way, going up past Roaring Brook to the top, then down to the Chapel Pond parking. Nice views from that way of the Chapel Pond valley.

I've only done Cascade, never got over to Porter, just didn't have the gumption.
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Matt
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beautiful blue skies. Makes it look cold. Was it?
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