Wintery weekend in Vermont

For the long weekend, Mark and I went to Vermont with a bunch of friends for what has become an annual weekend excursion of wintery fun! You have your choice of skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, or just relaxing in the chalet by the fire or in the hot tub. And of course there's always lots of feasting and merriment.

Conditions could not have been more perfect for snowshoeing, as the area had just received several feet of fresh, beautiful powder (which made for a terrible drive down, but was great once we got there).

The first day we went to Gifford Woods State Park, and followed someone's snowshoe tracks along the campground road, but when that trail looped back toward the parking lot, we veered off into the forest following the yellow blazes on the trees. Mark had to break our path, as we were the first on the trail since the fresh snowfall. And in doing so we discovered a bizarre winter phenomenon that occurs when there's this much fresh, powdery snow. 

Because the yellow blazes on the trees were sporadic, and there had been so much fresh snow to completely obscure the previous tracks, it was difficult to know exactly where to create the path. Generally this doesn't matter when snowshoeing, as you can go wherever you want, which is one of the many things that makes it so awesome. But we discovered that when Mark stepped off the trail into fresh, undisturbed snow, it suddenly created a startling and incredibly loud 'fwhoomp!' sound as the snow in a large radius collapses, shaking the ground and the trees in the vicinity and echoing through the air, creating an event that feels not unlike a tiny earthquake. Which, when you're happily tromping through a very quiet winter forest, is rather terrifying. 

The first time it happened, we didn't know what it was, and I thought perhaps it had been a very small, (and very localized?) earthquake, or perhaps there was some blasting nearby, or maybe we had just collapsed a small bridge over a creek far beneath us under the snow. But it kept happening every now and again, and we realized what it was, and then we could actually replicate it. However every time it did happen, it made my heart skip a beat to feel the ground drop beneath me, so the next day we found a trail that had already been made, and followed their tracks. Much more relaxing!

Even though it was a bit out of the way, we came home via the Adirondacks and Lake Placid, and it was so wonderful to see those mountains again, as it's been a while since we were last there. So worth the detour to see my favourite view.

It was such a fantastic weekend, a last hurrah for winter. Now, I am officially ready for spring!

Trailblazing at Gifford Woods State Park.

Snowshoeing at Chittenden Brook campground, Green Mountain National Forest.

My favourite view. Algonguin is the highest peak in the centre, with Wright the first bump to the left
(the 3rd and 4th peaks we've hiked),  Colden on the far left, and Wall Face on the right.

Whiteface Mountain is the white peak on the middle-left. Adirondacks, New York.

Adirondacks anniversary

Just like last year, we went to the Adirondacks for our anniversary, but this time it was a double celebration, because we went with our good friends, one of whom was celebrating a birthday!

I wasn't sure if I'd be able to hike, because my plantar fasciitis flared up earlier in the week (for the first time in over a year - argh!), and as I limped around the office, barely able to walk, the idea of doing a vigorous 8-hour hike seemed unlikely. The idea of getting to the top of the mountain and being unable to hike back down seemed more likely... Very, very thankfully, it cleared up enough, and just in time!

We had our big hike planned for Saturday, and got up very early to get a jump on it, but it was raining quite a bit, so we ambled around town, ducking into shops to avoid the rain, and feasting. Upon the recommendation of a local, we did a quick hike up Cobble Hill later that afternoon, which gave us some nice views of Lake Placid and the surrounding mountains. It was a fun, little hike with a nice bit of exposed rock "scramble" where some of us perfected our crab walk.

Saw a shooting star Saturday night after a nice dinner of duck steak. 

Adorable croquet course on the lawns of the Lake Placid Lodge. We rented
a condo nearby, where the accomodations are not $1,100 per night...

Dusk on Lake Placid, with rain falling on Whiteface.

It's a good thing we didn't try to push through the rain to hike Big Slide on Saturday, because Sunday's weather was crystal clear (though also exceptionally chilly). It was below zero when we woke up! Glad I brought my long johns this year...

The route we took went over the "Three Brothers" which gave us some stellar views very early on in the hike. There were some "very steep," and some "quite steep" sections (it's hard to determine what the hiking book means, when reading such qualitative terms... quite or very, which is worse?! what does it mean?!) but all in all, Big Slide is an amazing hike with a good mix of steep sections, open rock, levels paths through forests, and a descent which is not nearly as knee-jarring and thigh-quivering as we've experienced. 

The inspirational "no more sadness" birch bark drawing.

The Slide, and The Sandwich.

At the top we met a hiker who was celebrating his 46th peak! How amazing to be there just as he'd finished such an amazing accomplishment! Very inspiring for us aspiring 46'rs... We got to chatting, and he gave us some good intel on some of the peaks we have yet to do. I was also curious how many he's been averaging per year, and it turns out he did thirty-two this year alone... Oh man, to be a local and be able to hike there so much!

It was a wonderful weekend!

So many mountains

Does anyone else's week feel like an insurmountable mountain? This week is a Full On Gong Show, last week too, actually... I would much rather be climbing actual mountains than metaphorical ones... Give me aching muscles from hiking over eye-strain and hand cramping from too much desk time anyday. Sigh.

Early morning sun on Upper Cascade Lake, August 4.

The trail leading up to the peak of Giant.

I love the delicate, yet hardy, sub-alpine flora.
Plus, when the trees start getting scrubby, you know you're nearing the top.

It's worth the 3 hour climb for this view.
Giant Mountain is the twelfth-highest peak of the 46 High Peaks, at 4,626 feet.

That makes five! Last year we got our third and fourth peaks. Only 41 to go!

Could be the addition of green onions to the filling, could be the view after
many hours of exertion, but I've never tasted a better tuna sandwich.

Bit of a sheer drop-off...

At the top of Roaring Brook falls on the way back down the trail.
What a beautiful day!

Though it had called for rain, it ended up being the perfect day for a hike.

The Giant Sandwich: Roast beef, roast turkey,
Swiss, coleslaw and Russian dressing = yum.

But on the plus side, there's only 99 days left to go! The double-digit countdown begins. Mega-woot.