I figured Quinn was ready for a slightly more difficult hike, so we set off early in the morning on June 2 for Buck Mountain in Lake George. We arrived at Shelving Rock Rd at around 6:30am.
We started off in good spirits. The plants were blooming and the water was moving. This is a pretty trail despite parts of it currently running past an active logging operation.
The trail is very easy to follow and Quinn led the way much of the hike.
It only took a couple of stream crossings before the bugs started to swarm. Quinn hated the bugs. He really does not like the sound of them in his ears. Fortunately, I brought along my bug hat. This helped a lot.
As it gains elevation, the trail follows and crosses a stream much of the rest of way up. As such, despite my best efforts, little feet did get wet. The bugs were still awful and Quinn was very annoyed by them.
His spirits rose a little as we found more interesting terrain. Of course, he perked up quite a bit as we approached the summit.
2.5 hours after we started, we reached the summit.
The first order of business was snacks!
Quinn loved this summit. He was very happy to run around and play on Buck Mt. Unfortunately I had to cut our stay on the summit short because we had a social event to attend in the early afternoon. He expressed disappointment at having to leave prematurely, but he said "'Bye, mountain!" and we were off.
As he descended the mountain, Quinn complained strongly about his feet hurting. I checked him out and drew the conclusion that he'd outgrown his boots. There was almost no room in his toe box, so the descent hurt his toes. I gave him some assistance on the more tricky parts and we took some rests. Once we got to the flattish section, he was good to go.
I think Quinn didn't have as nice a time on this hike as on other hikes. The bugs were a huge issue and I wish I'd checked his boots beforehand. I think he's good for 5 miles distance otherwise. We bought him a new pair of hiking boots for the Summer and I hope they last until the fall. I won't assume as much, though and make an effort to check this every time. Also, I think if we're doing a mountain hike, I'll make certain he has plenty of time to enjoy the summit in order to make the labor worth it in his mind.
I am very proud of Quinn for completing this hike. However, it was a tough one and I decided to throttle back on the difficulty of the next few hikes.
