We slept in and took our time getting ready. Fortunately, Shelving Rock Rd. was open despite the usual warning given by Google Maps that it wasn't. In fact, it was a lovely drive. By the time we got to the trailhead at 10am, the air temperature was 12F which is just about the lowest I like to start at with Sunny. The trail register looked busy, but we were by ourselves today. One skier in the book complained about post-holes. Between that and the look of the trail itself, I knew that snowshoes would be necessary today.
There was about a foot of snow on the ground and the trail was loosely packed. I was glad for the snowshoes. We absolutely cruised up the trail, completing the first mile in 30 minutes. I kept Sunny on leash for the first mile and a half or so. As most folks know, the bordering private land is logged and hunted. I know it's not deer season anymore, but I really don't know what the rules are on private land and I didn't want to take any risks.
The woods were bright and beautiful with very little wind or even a breeze this morning.We were still cruising even as we started ascending. Sunny pulled left and right quite a bit, sniffing after one set of deer tracks after another.
The climb up the steep half of the mountain was in shadow, but we weren't very chilly. The day was warming up and we didn't dilly-dally. Sunny had a great time romping through the snow.
Sunny was quick to snuffle out the summit. I think he was hoping to find some suckers with snacks.
We made the summit by 11:45, about an hour and a half after we started. It was a glorious, sunny day; 25 degrees Fahrenheit with a very light breeze. It was about as perfect a Winter day as we could have asked for.
Lake George is frozen over North to South, East to West.
It was a perfect, crisp, clear day to peep the entire breadth of High Peaks from Buck Mountain.
We stayed at the summit for 45 minutes and shared a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I did have several snowballs to clear off Sunny's paws despite the liberal application of Musher's secret at the start of the hike. I re-applied it before we headed down. I think next year I'll plan his 2nd Winter grooming a little sooner.
We flew down the mountain in an hour. Although this side of Buck Mt. isn't steep enough for butt-sliding, it is fun enough for some snowshoe parkour.
Next weekend is looking to be colder than this weekend. I still want to hike, but I think I'll leave Sunny home. I'll make it up to him. We can plan on wrapping up our Saranac 6er later in the season.
