I am still not sure that anything much below 15F is okay for Sunny. We've been okay on short walks and short hikes, but not much past that. I didn't want to risk injuring him and having to carry him back to the car or worse. This week's hike day was looking to be absolutely gorgeous with the high temps finally cracking above 20 degrees Fahrenheit, so I planned to knock off another Saranac 6er: St. Regis Fire Tower. I'd planned on a 6:30 AM start time, but the forecast temp for that time was -8F and temps wouldn't crack above zero in Saranac Lake until lunch time and the fabled 20F temps wouldn...
After a bit of back and forth, this Monday eventually shaped up to be an adventure with just Sunny and me. With warmish weather coming to the High Peaks region (20s and 30s Fahrenheit), I decided I may as well head up and do some little hikes. I considered hiking one of the longer trails remaining on my Saranac 6, but instead settled on chipping away at our Lake Placid 9er challenge. The day before the hike, while Wendy watched a nail-biter between the Buffalo Bills and some other team with greenish outfits, I mended a pair of my gloves, mended a hat, and re-treated my boots with Sno-Seal.
After Christmas and New Year's, I think it's a great idea to get out and do something active to clear the brain and drain out some of the yuck from all that eating and general debauchery. First Hikes are a great way to accomplish this.
The past couple of weeks have been dry as far as hiking is concerned; I really wanted to get something in this week. At first, I proposed Boreas Mt and Jay was amenable. However, when his participation was solidified, I suggested completing his Lake Placid 9er instead. He had Baxter and Catamount remaining. With the recent winter, I figured it'd be just challenging enough for a single day. I'd heard Catamount was a serious mountain, but my research had actually been a bit light compared to my usual preparation. Jay mentioned Catamount had a "fun" chimney and some steep slabs. We decided to...
I definitely wanted to get in a good hike after the Thanksgiving holiday and Wendy was getting home early this Monday, meaning I could stay out later on the trail. Jay needed Pitchoff for his Lake Placid 9er, so I suggested we go for that. He thought doing the traverse would be fun and I was certainly game. Jay was able to convince both Dan and Mark to come along as well. As the day approached, the weather was looking to be incredible for a wintery hike; cold, calm, and clear.