Adirondacks

Quick dash to the Dax

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Friday night I threw some gear in the back of the Subi and set off for Keene Valley, NY; the heart of the Adirondack High Peaks Region. With no plans, other than to wake up and make some sunrise photos at Chapel Pond, I relaxed and enjoyed the 7 hour drive up to the Dax, arriving around 11pm. Through a thick snowfall, I pulled into the parking lot at the Indian Head Trailhead, cracked the sunroof, and crawled into my -20° bag for an incredibly comfortable sleep. I woke to an overcast and snowy morning around 7am. The rest of the day was mostly overcast with sporadic and brief periods when the sun would punch down, through the thick clouds, and spotlight a gorgeous scene before dimming back out of sight again.

1/500 sec at f/1.7, ISO 1250, 28mm, Leica Q2

I could not pass by this little Post Office without stopping for a few photos. Simple. Small-town. Americana.

1/500 sec at f/2.5, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

Chapel Pond

1/500 sec at f/16, ISO 3200, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/500 sec at f/2.5, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/500 sec at f/4.5, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

Whiteface Mountain

1/500 sec at f/7.1, ISO 500, 28mm, Leica Q2

Whiteface Mountain

1/500 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/500 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/500 sec at f/3.2, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

Wright Peak Video

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Today at noon, my latest video Wright Peak will premier on my YouTube channel and I am really excited about it! I put a lot of effort into trying to make this video as exciting and interesting as possible. As an aspiring videographer I’ve been slowly learning how to capture quality footage and process it. I can feel myself getting better at this. My approach to recording my adventures is evolving; shifting to a more plan-based approach; more thought is going into the where, when and how I will grab my shots. I’ve started to fine tune my camera settings. However, I still have a long way to go. Thankfully, the YouTube community has plenty of incredibly talented and inspiring filmmakers to help me along the way. On my journey to create great videos, I have realized that the most important aspect of creating something that will keep the audience’s attention is the use of good content. It’s got to be interesting, beautiful; well shot. It also takes serious effort, patience and commitment!

Hopefully Wright Peak will inspire others to get out there and enjoy the wilderness. It’s free. It’s amazing. And it’s just waiting for you!

Wright Peak

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Well, I have to say, I am surprised that we did not make it to the summit of both Wright Peak and Algonquin. A very late start and rough going forced us to orphan Algonquin. After arriving at our hotel at 3:00am the morning of our hike, we did not set foot on the trail until 10:00am. By the time we reached the summit of Wright Peak, it was just about 3:30pm and we knew we had no chance of summiting Algonquin. Looks like we’ll be going back for Algonquin this summer!

The hiking itself was easy on the flat and moderate inclines. But, when the trail got steep, it became a fight to keep your footing. While we used the snowshoes for the first two thirds of the hike, switching to Microspikes was a great help. But, even with the Microspikes, at times, a couple of steps forward were negated by a slow slide backwards. By the time we did reach the summit of Wright Peak, we were exhausted. We did take solace in the fact that we could butt-slide a lot of the steep sections that took us so long to hike up, and boy did we butt-slide! Its really fantastic to cover so much ground while sitting on your @ss!

The scenery was amazing of course. While there were only a few inches of snow at the trail head, there were several feet near the summit. Frozen waterfalls, snow-capped boulders, snow covered Birch & Spruce lined the trail up the mountain. Chickadees chirped and flittered about the woods. Although we did not see any rabbits, large prints from the Snowshoe rabbits covered the forest floor. As usual, everywhere you looked was something to enjoy. I suppose that’s why I’ve always been so obsessed with the Adirondacks!

Stay tuned for a video for this hike. I’m thoroughly enjoying working with the footage so far!

The Journey Begins

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This is it. D-Day. My 46er Journey starts in just a few hours. The ol’ Samsquanch is packed and I’m ready to start the 6-hour drive north to the Adirondacks. I cannot wait! With hiking in an alpine environment comes the added risk associated with extreme temperatures and deep snow & ice. Rock cairns that mark the summit approach on Algonquin will be buried and painted trail markers on the rock face will be covered in ice. Summiting Algonquin and Wright Peak will expose us to strong winds and sub-zero temperatures. All of which, only makes the adventure more exciting to me. I’m not hiking Everest here, but the danger is real and being prepared is absolutely critical to having a safe adventure in the winter wild. Safe hiking and being prepared for emergency situations will ensure a good time for us. Below is the checklist I created to ensure I’m prepared for what may lay ahead.

Stay tuned for some photos & videos from this hike!

First Two 46ers: Algonquin & Wright

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After a bit of research, I’ve narrowed down the first two peaks of my 46er journey. Because the first few mountains will be winter ascents, I’ve chosen a relatively moderate challenge for the first of my Winter High Peaks hikes. First on the list is a combination hike to the summits of Algonquin Peak and Wright Peak, originating at the Adirondak Loj. This is a 9 mile, out & back, day hike with 4,064’ of elevation gain. Although Alltrails.com rates this combination hike as “difficult”, I’m assuming that’s a summer rating. I’m really curious to see if the going is any easier in the winter time. A well packed trail through the snow might be more easily traveled than the same trail in the summertime. I could be right. I could be dead wrong. We’ll see!

D-Day will be Saturday February 1st. The current plan is to drive up to Lake Placid on Friday night; a mere six hour drive from the Philly. Saturday morning we’ll be in the woods by 5:00am. (That’s right. Adria’s comin’ with!) Now, Assuming that worst case, we’ll average a pace of 1 mph, this would put us on top of both summits and back to the Jeep by 2:00pm, leaving a couple hours of buffer time for breaks and draggin’ @ss, before sunset. …I forsee us coming out after dark. We’re equipped with snowshoes and microspikes. We’ll be carrying small packs, but not full trekking packs. You never know what could happen on the mountain so we're bringing the essential emergency items: space blanket, headlamps, down winter bag, small tent, stove, fire starting kit, extra food, extra layers, etc.

The plan is made, the GoPros are charged, and mountains are calling. Stay tuned!