Quinn laughs while sitting among golden fallen leaves on the Thomas Mountain trail.

Quinn Tackles Thomas Mountain in Peak Foliage

Autumn is a busy time in the Adirondacks, but the weather is perfect and the views are gorgeous. Peak foliage starts in the High Peaks region and works its way downhill and down south. If you're willing to try different things, you can find the foliage for quite some time. Quinn and I have been the Autumn for weeks now and I though I'd share some of those experiences.

Quinn stands on the leaf-covered Thomas Mountain trail near the trailhead kiosk.

Quinn's second peak of the Lake George 12ster was Thomas on October 9. He was excited to try out his new Merrell hiking boots. They served him much better than the sneakers he wore going up Sleeping Beauty.

Quinn looks back and reaches toward Adam while climbing Thomas Mountain’s rocky, leaf-covered trail.

The rocky climb up Thomas was as tiring as I remember. Quinn managed it like a champ. He only asked to be carried once and handled it well when I politely declined. We did stop to throw rocks into streams a few times and he had lots of quesitons that I was happy to answer (some of them many times).

Quinn hikes through peak autumn foliage wearing an orange hat and matching backpack.

I've been working on explaining different aspects of hiking a little at a time. I can't expect him to understand everything all at once, but I hope that starting early will make them second nature as he gets older.

Adam holds Quinn on Thomas Mountain’s summit ledge above vivid autumn forest and a distant lake.

The Lake George summits are very pretty in early October. I took a breather while Quinn tossed sticks off the East ledge (away from the switchback on the Southwest side of the mountain). We chatted with other hikers on the summits. Quinn managed to swindle some extra snacks from a few kind folks.

Quinn stands alone on a broad Thomas Mountain ledge overlooking the autumn-covered Adirondacks.

I don't know if Quinn will ever love hiking, and it'll be okay if he doesn't. One way or the other, I won't ever forget these days as long as I live.

A tired Quinn lies curled against a summit rock beside the hikers’ packs, with peak foliage beyond him.

Having skipped his nap, he was pretty tired by now and we did have a bit of a lie down before heading back down the mountain. He asked to hold my hand for much of the descent. It was a pretty good idea, especially since he was tuckered out. The trail down Thomas is very stony and I didn't mind giving him a little extra stability.

Route Map

Map of Quinn and Adam’s out-and-back hike to Thomas Mountain; detailed route description follows.

The map shows an approximately 3.5-mile out-and-back route beginning beside Route 11 near New Vermont Road. The track travels generally west along the Thomas Mountain trail, climbing past a junction with the Cat Mountain Blue Trail to the former Thomas Mountain cabin site, then returns by the same route. The recorded track ranges from about 1,204 to 1,965 feet in elevation.

Afternoon hike at Thomas Mountain.gpx (179.17 KB)