percious
Well-known member
My friend Ben joined Colden and myself this Friday for a quick trip to the Adirondacks. The plan was simple. Hike to a leanto, explore a bit, hike out. Right.
Friday we arrived to a star-filled night and stayed at a semi-secret campground near Tahawus. We were surprised to see the stars because the forecast was for rain, but were delighted as we shared a growler of Berkshire IPA. (much recommended) The temps were cold enough to keep the local riff-raff away (black flies).
Sun rise greeted me with a headache but the view of the valley was impeccable, with clouds forming below. We headed to Tahawus after a quick egg sandwich in Newcomb. The three of us decided to visit the mine to see how it had changed after the demolition. While hiking up the large pile of tailings Colden stumbled upon a Copperhead which he never saw but made daddy very nervous. He put his hand literally 5 inches from it and gave me a good scare. Colden climbed some boulders at the top and then we headed carefully down.
Soon we drove through the ghost town which made Colden nervous and packed up for our night out. We were planning on staying at Walface Leanto. The first .5 miles is so easy, and we took a short detour towards Lake Colden to give Colden a good view of his mountain. Ben snapped a nice picture for us. Retracing our steps, we arrived back at the trail for Lake Henderson and started the trudge.
Colden was a real trooper, and even with the ridiculously muddy conditions he prevailed. It was not long before we were taking a much needed break at the Henderson Leanto. Only .7 miles to go! We started off and soon we arrived at the watercrossing. Signs warning of a broken bridge ahead proved to be truthful, and we found ourselves with no decision other than to turn back. A falling tree had taken out >50% of the bridge, leaving only 1 large diameter log in place, 15 feet above a roaring stream. Probably not passable for an almost 4 year old.
We retreated to Henderson shelter and the sky started to spit at us. We had no real objectives left, and a ton of time, so we opted to head back to the car. At least then we would have options. Colden was enervated by lunch, and we started on mile 3 for the day.
Colden did great and did not complain about a thing until the last half mile. Even then he only mentioned that his feet hurt once. He was a trooper, and back at the car I dumped a few oz. of mud out of his boots. I let his piggies dry out in the car.
Back at the campsite we assessed our options. The black flies swarmed outside our car waiting for us to come out. The best thing we could find was a 1.1 mile hike to Long Lake, followed by a Sunday at the Adirondack museum. great plan, I had a coupon for $2 off at the museum. Only problem was that the museum was not open until May 26th, as informed to us by the coupon. So, the reluctant decision was made to head home, and so we did.
-percious
Friday we arrived to a star-filled night and stayed at a semi-secret campground near Tahawus. We were surprised to see the stars because the forecast was for rain, but were delighted as we shared a growler of Berkshire IPA. (much recommended) The temps were cold enough to keep the local riff-raff away (black flies).
Sun rise greeted me with a headache but the view of the valley was impeccable, with clouds forming below. We headed to Tahawus after a quick egg sandwich in Newcomb. The three of us decided to visit the mine to see how it had changed after the demolition. While hiking up the large pile of tailings Colden stumbled upon a Copperhead which he never saw but made daddy very nervous. He put his hand literally 5 inches from it and gave me a good scare. Colden climbed some boulders at the top and then we headed carefully down.
Soon we drove through the ghost town which made Colden nervous and packed up for our night out. We were planning on staying at Walface Leanto. The first .5 miles is so easy, and we took a short detour towards Lake Colden to give Colden a good view of his mountain. Ben snapped a nice picture for us. Retracing our steps, we arrived back at the trail for Lake Henderson and started the trudge.
Colden was a real trooper, and even with the ridiculously muddy conditions he prevailed. It was not long before we were taking a much needed break at the Henderson Leanto. Only .7 miles to go! We started off and soon we arrived at the watercrossing. Signs warning of a broken bridge ahead proved to be truthful, and we found ourselves with no decision other than to turn back. A falling tree had taken out >50% of the bridge, leaving only 1 large diameter log in place, 15 feet above a roaring stream. Probably not passable for an almost 4 year old.
We retreated to Henderson shelter and the sky started to spit at us. We had no real objectives left, and a ton of time, so we opted to head back to the car. At least then we would have options. Colden was enervated by lunch, and we started on mile 3 for the day.
Colden did great and did not complain about a thing until the last half mile. Even then he only mentioned that his feet hurt once. He was a trooper, and back at the car I dumped a few oz. of mud out of his boots. I let his piggies dry out in the car.
Back at the campsite we assessed our options. The black flies swarmed outside our car waiting for us to come out. The best thing we could find was a 1.1 mile hike to Long Lake, followed by a Sunday at the Adirondack museum. great plan, I had a coupon for $2 off at the museum. Only problem was that the museum was not open until May 26th, as informed to us by the coupon. So, the reluctant decision was made to head home, and so we did.
-percious
