Fuji X-A1
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Bennies Brook Slide to Lower WolfJaw, Upper WolfJaw & Armstrong
We started before sunrise, and made our expected time to the DEC Interior Outpost. From there we crossed Johns Brook onto the now-unmaintained South Side trail, first crossing the start of the Range Trail and a half mile later the base of Bennies Brook.
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Allen (Friday), Street & Nye (Saturday)
Allen Mountain for my September 46, followed by Street & Nye to get Kathy approaching half way towards a 46 year.
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Nippletop Bushwhack
I took my camera to document our hike up the huge slide leading up to Nippletop. The only problem is that we never got there.
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Whiteface, Lunch, Esther
Sunday’s hike would be a bit easier though, and had a unique bonus for the Adirondacks: Lunch at the cafe at the summit.
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Perfect Pyramid, Gothics and Sawteeth
Back in July 2009, we hiked our first Adirondack High Peak, a 2.3-mile jaunt up Cascade Mountain. We made it, but definitely not in ‘style’, and…
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Fourth of July on Giant & Rocky Peak Ridge
It was a great Fourth of July, happy birthday America!
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Dial & Nippletop plus Fish Hawk Cliffs and Indian Head
After two straight days of being thoroughly drenched, we wanted something relatively dry. I knew the excellent Leach Trail to Dial & Nippletop, with much of the hike on a ridge, would fit my criteria.
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Flooded Ward Brook (Blueberry Trail)
The DEC issued an advisory indicating that the Sewards are flooded. They are.
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Phelps & TableTop: All Water
I’ve never seen Marcy Brook like this, she was a raging torrent.
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Macomb, S. Dix, Grace, Hough and Dix
Having the entirety of Macomb and South Dix all to ourselves. Pushing right past Hough, our fourth peak of the day, onto the fifth: Dix, the highest and farthest peak of the day.
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Ricketts Glen
I’m pretty easy to convince to go hiking. Offer me a trip to the nearest majestic place and our niece and nephew, and I’m even willing to get up at 4AM to make it happen.
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Owl’s Head, Etc.
I took Mike up Owl’s Head, which was windy but fun and easy. We had earlier stopped near Beede Brook for some shots, and today I couldn’t resist the cloud Hurricane Mountain.
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Nippletop & Dial the long way
“It doesn’t have to be fun, to be fun.” — Anonymous
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Dial Mountain
For this year’s winter Gathering, I learned my lesson from the 14-hour behemoth hike last year and picked something that both Kathy and I could do.
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Giant & Rocky Peak Ridge (March)
As much as I dislike some aspects of the Ridge Trail, I have to admit that the ratio of wonderful views to effort is high.
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Whiteface & Esther Breaking Trail (February)
Eight hours after heading out, we returned to the car. All the new snow made this quite a challenge, but all day the landscape was stunning. And except for skiers on the ski trails, we didn’t see a soul all day.
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Marcy, Skylight and Gray Redux
My last attempt at these three was aborted by footwear, so I was glad to have another try.
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Marcy in the Clouds (January)
Just before hitting the fully-exposed part of the summit, the wind picked up and the dim sunshine and blowing snow made the landscape ethereal.
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Cascade & Porter (January)
It’s too pretty not to hike, and this duo is always a good choice when time is limited.
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Mount Marshall, My Winter 46
I realized how lucky I was for last winter, but I definitely appreciate the last four the most. It’s been a great challenge, and I’ve got a lot more winter hiking in my future. For now, I’m going to take some time and enjoy being 46er #8475W.
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Haystack, Basin & Saddleback (Winter)
This winter has been no joke. Conditions are variable, there is no guarantee that any trail is broken out. Even with Joe’s experience we almost had to turn around two hikes in a row. It makes this trio all the sweeter.
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Sawteeth, Gothics, Armstrong (Winter)
It’s been a long 9 months waiting for winter to arrive.
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Colden
Sunrise comes late this far north, so starting hikes before dawn usually means cold. It was 5°F as I pulled in the lot at the Adirondack Loj. I got the front spot.
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Cascade
After an even one hundred summits in 2016, number 101 was short and sweet. With the rest of the US was gripped in the big freeze swooping down from the Arctic, we knew that the calm winds and sunny skies would make a great day hiking.
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Basin & Saddleback
I’ve bailed out of Basin (and Saddleback) twice after excruciatingly long days. As I soaked in the morning views I remembered what I was missing. The 4,827-foot summit (9th highest in the Adirondacks) has an open, rocky summit with nearly 360° views dominated by the close-up of Mount Haystack.
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Allen Mountain (August)
After completing two days of hiking from the Adirondack Loj, I set off for Tahawus, near Newcomb, and Allen Mountain.
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Haystack & Gray via Panther Gorge (August)
As I descended to Bartlett Ridge and Panther Gorge I was a bit surprised at how steep it was. I remembered it as steep, but not *this* steep.
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Wright, Algonquin, Iroquois (August)
I enjoyed Iroquois’ summit all to myself. The clouds were amazing, with low-lying fast-moving clouds providing an endless variation on the scene.
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Hough, S. Dix, Grace, Macomb, Giant & Rocky Peak Ridge
The six-hour drive home after hiking in the Adirondacks is sometimes harder than the hike itself. Not this hike.
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Santanoni, Panther, Couchsachraga (August)
I had recently hiked the three Santanoni mountains in June, at the time remarking on how wet it was. Earlier this month, the drought had dried up even the wettest of trails; the thunderstorms that preceded this hike brought them back to their soaked and muddy glory. The lead-in trail to Bradley Pond was, unimaginably,…
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Cascade & Porter
Cascade (without Porter) was our first High Peak back in 2009. Like this day, it was hot and humid. Unlike this day, it felt impossible!
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Armstrong & Upper WolfJaw (Winter)
After a successful hike to Big Slide and with continuing cool temperatures and sunshine, I had hoped to take Kathy on a more wintry hike. We packed the snowshoes, hoped for a white fluffy trail and headed up two of the lower Great Range, Armstrong and Upper WolfJaw Mountains.
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Dix, Hough, South Dix, Macomb, and Grace (Winter)
Joe was great to hike with, just as I’d assumed, the route was as interesting as I’d imagined, and I did better than both he and I expected. For five consecutive days of hiking, accumulating 87 miles and 27,000 vertical feet, I couldn’t have asked for a better day.
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Marcy, Skylight, Gray (Winter)
On climbing Gray Peak, I have now officially climbed all 46 Adirondack High Peaks twice. This beautiful, warm, frustrating, wonderful day was a perfect way to accomplish it.
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Phelps, TableTop, and Mount Colden (Winter)
The re-routed trail to TableTop sits very nearly at the top of Indian Falls, which I knew crossed over to Mount Colden…so I decided to keep going.
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Street & Nye (Winter)
I met a new friend and breakfast and convinced him to hike Street & Nye, mainly due to the cool weather being the last good chance for a bit before the El Niño warms things up.
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Donaldson, Emmons, Seward & Seymour (Winter)
This hike was gigantic. 27 miles — more than a full marathon. Way more than 6,000 vertical feet gained. Four summits. Just under 14 hours.
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Lower Wolf Jaw (Winter)
There are perfect days for hiking. This, unfortunately, was not one of them. In fact, it was the opposite of a perfect day for hiking.
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Cascade & Porter (Winter)
Cascade was our first high peak, way back in 2009. Back then, the three quarters of a mile to Porter might as well have been a million; we were exhausted within a mile of the car.
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Colvin, Blake, Nippletop & Dial (Winter)
God made me a glorious Adirondack day, with four summits and nearly 20 miles of wonderful winter hiking.
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Allen Mountain (Winter)
4,340-foot Allen Mountain is one of the more rued hikes for aspiring 46ers. It sits to the south of most of the other High Peaks, isolated from all the other trailheads. The start of the hike, shared with the über-cool Mount Adams and its restored fire tower, is a whopping 9 miles (one way!) from…
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Cliff & Redfield (Winter)
In finishing the Adirondack 46 High Peaks a second time, I had a few of the more remote peaks to tackle. I had considered attempting Allen Mountain instead, but the planning (read: breakfast in Keene Valley) dictated this pair instead.
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Esther & Whiteface (Winter)
After doing about 11 miles the day before, and having a 6-hour ride home afterwards, the close combo of Whiteface and Esther fit my plan perfectly. I started from the Atmospheric Science Research Center, which sits at the base of the old ski lift on Marble Mountain.
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Iroquois, Algonquin & Wright Peaks (Winter)
Conditions were perfect for hiking, with hard-packed snow almost the entire length of the hike. There was enough snow along the entire route to smooth out the innumerable boulders, rocks, and roots which are a hallmark of this trail.
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Giant & Rocky Peak Ridge (Winter)
The snowy summit of Giant Mountain at 8:15 AM was completely clouded in, but the wind was low making it beautifully quiet. I snapped a couple photos and quickly turned back to head towards Rocky Peak Ridge, hoping for it’s wonderful views.
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Santanoni, Panther and Couchsachraga Peaks (Winter)
I would ascend via the “Express” trail directly to Santanoni Peak, then descend all the way to Couchsachraga, and hit Panther Peak on the way out via Bradley Pond. Looping this way makes the total hike about 15 miles with 5,000 vertical feet of climbing.
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Porter Mountain and Little Porter Mountain
After climbing Porter Mountain via Little Porter (and Blueberry Mt.) this summer solo, I wanted to bring Kathy along this interesting and scenic route.
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Nippletop Via Elk Pass (and Dial Mountain)
We enjoyed an unusually comfortable hike up the icy Elk Pass to Nippletop for our December Adirondack weekend.
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Tabletop, Marcy, and Phelps
Upon finishing this 18.5-mile, 5,400-vertical foot hike, I reflected that these three mountains are really just hiked together by peakbaggers.
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Street Mountain & Nye Mountain
It helps that the weather was perfect, and that it’s been a dry summer so mud and water were eminently avoidable. But it’s also a lovely and wild forest, you just have to look 10 feet off the trail to see it.
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Mount Colden and Mount Marshall
With autumnal weather finally arriving, I jumped on an opportunity for one more Adirondack hike. Keeping with this year’s theme, I carved out a plan to hike two new trails, alternative approaches to Mounts Colden and Marshall.
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Ricketts Glen in Winter
One of my favorite places was even more fascinating than usual after the recent cold snap and snowstorm.
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Snowy West Chester
We got a decent snowstorm, finally, after so many rounds of rain/sleet/freezing rain.
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State Game Lands No. 13
Wanting to try my first bushwhack and being a huge fan of Ricketts Glen, I had high hopes for this hike. It did not disappoint.
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Ricketts Glen, Autumn
This time of year, the rocks at Ricketts Glen are filled with fallen leaves, making for a continuous breathtaking 6.25-mile loop.
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Mount Minsi from Delaware Water Gap
Marking the eastern extent of Pennsylvania’s Blue Mountain ridge, Mount Minsi rises to 1,461 feet along the Appalachian Trail.
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Shenandoah: Old Rag & Robertson Mountain Loop
Psyched at my first black bear spotting, I turned from Old Rag up the Robertson Mountain Trail. This is a steep, constant climb, with 1,700 vertical feet in the last 1.5 miles to the summit.
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Pomplamoose Plays Philly
There was a reason Jack Conte is wearing knee pads. If they’re coming to your town, you should go!
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Ricketts Glen, Early Summer Morning
Shots are mainly with a new excellent little lens I got for my Fuji X-A1 – the Voigtlander Heliar 15mm f/4.5.
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30th Street Station, Philadelphia
Had a chance the other day to swing by 30th Street Station at sunset.