Another Great Day at Moreau with Quinn and Sunny, May 7, 2023

Prior to the hike up Lower Wolfjaw, Quinn, Sunny, and I took another trip to Moreau. It had been a year since Quinn hiked the Western Ridge trail to the overlook, so I thought it was high time we had another go at it. He was two when he did it the first time, and managed very well. When he was three, he complained much of the time up. I wanted to see how he'd get on now that he is four.


We were all in high spirits and full of energy. Sunny was clearly annoyed at our pace, but my personal goal was to not rush Quinn. I wanted him to explore, splash in the mud, and throw rocks in the streams at his heart's content. As you can see, Baby Sully had to come with us.



Throwing rocks and getting a drink. The water was really moving today.



There was a lot of mud and Quinn loved it. He likes to pretend he's stuck and he needs my help (or not) to get out.


I'm slowly trying to teach Quinn how to find the trail. We played a game of "spot the next trail marker". I'm looking forward to him getting some proper instruction if/when he does cub scouts in the future.



<3



The weather last weekend was gorgeous. We had beautiful views of the North Country from the ridge. I had to balance my anxiety with my role of teaching safe behaviors the entire time. We threw some rocks off the ledge and played with the cars he brought with him. 



We enjoyed the view.



On the way back, Quinn wanted to explore a bunch of boulders further up on the ridge, so I followed him up and let him mess around a bit. It was funny to hear him "explain" things to me as he understood them. He only asked to be put on my shoulders once; I politely declined and he didn't ask again.



After the hike, we were rewarded with a fun and pretty couple of hours on the lake. Sunny was able to get out a bit more energy catching sticks thrown by kids playing in the water. Quinn enjoyed the lake and the playground before we left.

Later on, I noticed that his ear was very swolen and pink. I thought it was infected, but it turned out to be a bug bite which was invisible until the swelling was reduced. Bug season is nigh!





Location: Moreau Lake State Park, 605 Old Saratoga Rd, Gansevoort, NY 12831, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

21 & 22: Cliff & Redfield

Image
  My original plan for this late June hike was to come in from the Loj, camp at Uphill lean-to, and bag Cliff & Redfield. Then, I got to thinking that it would be a bit silly to waste all that elevation gain. We'd be within striking distance of Marcy, Gray, and Skylight, and we'd be able to climb Marshall on our way out.  I started calling this "The 2d3 Mountains Hike" because we definitely wouldn't be leaving Cliff or Redfield unhiked, but I was also not going to guarantee we could get all six mountains depending on how we were feeling or the weather. Folks recommended hiking in via Upper Works instead. It was only a difference of about half a mile and I kind of wanted to hike through Avalanche Pass. Then I wondered if I'd ever have an opportunity to hike the Clamity Brook Trail again, so I decided to go that way instead. After hiking the trail, I admit there's lots more to the area than just hiking mountains and I can say I may be on this trail again...
Read more

27, 28, 29, & 30: Macomb, S.Dix, Grace, & Hough

Image
  A high-pressure system (or a series of them) had been keeping Upstate New York clear of inclimate weather for quite some time in late August and early September. Although Quinn and I had taken advantage of it for a hike up Kipp Mountain, I hadn't been to the high peaks since the Seward hike.  With a lot going on in the weekends in September, I used my last remaining unclaimed personal day and took a random Wednesday off to hike the Southern Dix range. Macomb We stayed overnight at our family's seasonal site in Chestertown, which is a short 40-minute drive to the Elk Lake trailhead. That night, I made up some pulled pork mac n' cheese and listened to an audiobook to chill out.  I played with the idea of getting a 3am start in order to possibly get a sunrise at Macomb and get home early. Instead, I decided to get a good night's sleep and wake up at 4:45.  I made coffee, then heated up the mac and put it in my thermos. We were out the door around 5:15 and at the trail...
Read more

24, 25, & 26: Seward, Donaldson, & Emmons

Image
There were many failed attempts over the last few weeks to get out into the High Peaks region. The weather and the social situation this weekend was finally looking perfect to get something done. After our camping trip, we packed up the car and headed for Corey's Rd. We started from home around 1:30pm. Along the way on the almost 3 hour drive, I tried finding a place with a folding saw. I was excited to finally be camping somewhere we could have fire. I finally found one at the Curtis Lumber in Ray Brook.  Blueberry Trail As it was a Thursday afternoon, the Seward trailhead had plenty of spaces available. We packed up and headed out at around 5:15. The sign at the trailhead insisted the distance to Blueberry Lean-to was under 4 miles but that estimate is laughable in the extreme. I expected the hike to be at least two hours but probably more like two and a half.  I saw there were two groups from Williams College marked in this day on the trail register. I was very concerned I'...
Read more