Little Adventures: Sleeping Beauty

 

Every once in a while I like to take Quinn out on a hike without Sunny so I can give him my undivided attention. As he's gotten older, I have been able to start explaining things. I'm not sure how much he will remember, but I'd guess it's never too early to start explaining things like trail etiquette. Also, the simple act of doing something one on one with a parent is a valuable experience.

I figured that Sleeping Beauty would be a good hike for Quinn as long as we could park at Dacy Clearing. There was plenty of space to park just after 8:00am on this Saturday in August. It was a little drizzly this morning, but the forecast for the day promised unseasonably cool and mostly rain free the rest of the day.

Quinn was full of energy and eager to try out his backpack. He carried his own water, all the snacks, the poop trowel, and his friend, Sully.

Quinn can be expected to stay on-trail, not despite the mud, but because of it. Not a single mud puddle or mud pit was left un-splashed. We're still working on rock-hopping.

He started asking if we were at the top about halfway up, but he remained in good spirits. He did a great job interacting with other hikers and their dogs. We talked about how hikers coming uphill have the right-of-way.

The trail was damp, but like most of the hikes on the Southeast shore of Lake George, was very easy to follow. Several hikers did cut steeper routes to avoid long switchbacks which seems to be a common occurance here. One hiker seemed incredulous that Quinn and I weren't taking the shorter route, but I didn't get into it with them.

First drink of fresh mountain water!

Mud!

Mud!

It took some time to do it, but we made it to the summit without injury. Quinn loved kicking around on the summit throwing sticks and rocks, and talking to other hikers. We had a few good snacks and  took in the mountain air before heading back down.

Let's  play a game: find Quinn's shoe! Quinn needs proper boots. By the end he was pretty uncomfortable. He asked me to put him on . The discomfort didn't stop him from sloshing in every mud pit, of course. 

"I'm a MESS!"

15 minutes later at the Spier Falls Rd. junction.

Stopped by Oscars on the way home to pick up 2lbs of 7 year aged cheddar.

The hikes along the Southeast shore of Lake George can be very people-y, but that can't diminish the beauty of the Adirondacks. I like talking to people anyways. It's a great time of year. We can have hot days for swimming or cooler days for little hikes like this one. The mushrooms and Indian Pipe were starting to come out in force, adding different colors to the Adirondack panopoly. I'm going to try and enjoy it before the people and the colors really start coming out!

As usual, the mileage in All Trails is fairly generous.  I did have to run back to get the new hiking pole I left near the summit during a pee break (as I do), but I think it was closer to 3 and a half miles. With the elevation gain and mud, I'm glad I decided not to do the Bumps Pond loop, adding something like another mile to the hike.

I think three to four miles is still Quinn's limit and that's a decent distance for a lot of lovely hikes in the Adirondacks. I do want to bring him for a trip to the High Peaks region for hiking soon, but I think I may like to do it as day or two overnight so we can do a couple of little peaks and a few other activities as well. I'm not sure if that'll be happening this year with everything we have going on, but hopefully in the late spring next year.