Karen's Journey

Because it's Gorgeous. I know, groan.  But seriously. This trail never disappoints.  The kids had a great time, although Bumblebee was heard to exclaim, "More stairs! I don't want to do any more stairs!" Even though she repeatedly had to be stopped from running up them. She would have done the trail three or four times before we wore her out. This was a spontaneous trip -- a rare chance to meet up with my family in my neck of the woods. These are times when I remind myself it's not all gun-metal gray skies and snow. Reason number two to love Ithaca -- it's a vegetarian's paradise. We were hungry and needed to stop for lunch on our way back home. Yes! On the road and not needing to hit up a Burger King for lunch! I spied the Ithaca Bakery -- where it's hard to limit oneself to fewer than five or six loaves of gourmet bread. A quick left turn and we were in the parking lot where I wanted to dance a jig for joy. Real fo...

Wright Peak's summit knob, overlooking Heart Lake and Mt. Jo --  look how tiny! -- and mountains beyond mountains all around. We left off with us making a spur of the moment decision to ascend Wright Peak instead of our planned stroll into Marcy Dam -- without any additional food, water, or "be prepared to spend an unexpected night out in the woods" gear. Wright peak and Marcy Dam share the same path for the first nine-tenths of a mile, then the trail to the McIntyre range -- Wright/Algonquin/Boundary/Iroquois -- splits off to the right. And the climbing begins. At first it is no more difficult than Mt. Jo. My confidence perks up. I've heard about how big the boulders are on this trail, but since it was snow covered when I went up Algonquin, I don't really know what to expect. We make decent progress and again, Bearie is the one asking for breaks, so I don't have to. I'm more than happy to stop and take a breather and a few sips from m...

NOTE: If you haven't read the prologue to this post, I highly recommend reading that first by clicking here. We spend Day Six of our 2012 Lake Placid, New York vacation mostly resting up and trying to decide what our final hike will be on Day Seven. I had planned on the traditional hike into Marcy Dam, since a walk through the woods to eat lunch at Marcy Lake is a pleasant way to end a week of nearly daily physical exertion. And I had not counted on being able to hike a high peak this trip due to my knees and lack of training. But Mt. Jo had been such an easy walk, I'd decided that Cascade, the easiest of the high peaks just might be within my abilities. A stretch, maybe, and I could be very well biting off more than my knees could chew, but I feel mostly confident. My biggest worry is knowing that the last time I'd hiked up Cascade it was a cloudy day and the fear of heights that kicks in on large, open ascents was kept at bay by not being able to see or sense the ope...

The Adirondack mountains, like mountains anywhere, are beautiful and inspiring, but also cruel and unforgiving. Just a few examples of recent rescues reported on this website  include: *A man attempting his final high peak became lost because the batteries on his GPS failed and he didn't have a compass and a map. Fortunately his cell phone still worked and rangers were able to reach him via the GPS signal from his phone. *A woman rolled an ankle and had to have rangers splint it, then assist her to Avalanche Lake, row her across the lake, and then transport her via UTV to the Adirondack Loj *A routine patrol found a distressed hiker at Marcy Dam who appeared to be severely dehydrated -- he was transported by UTV to South Meadow where he was met by an ambulance and taken to the local hospital for treatment *A couple who signed in at the St. Huberts's trail registry was reported overdue at 1:30 a.m., prompting a search -- they showed up at 6:30 a.m. -- in good condition, but...

Thursday, August 2, 2012 Just below treeline on Algonquin, April 30, 1999.   For my 40th birthday, I climbed Algonquin, New York's second highest mountain and the only other one that tops out at more than 5,000 feet. Forty might have arrived, but I wasn't going to let it conquer me. I was prepared for my forties to be a strong decade of running PRs and mountain conquests. One week prior to that birthday I had set my official mile PR. A couple of weeks later, I set an official PR for the 5K. Yes, my forties were going to be great! Little did I know that my forty-year-old body had other thoughts. I spent most of that decade limping around with plantar fasciitis -- an inflammation of the large tendon that runs along the bottom of the foot -- four years in my left foot, and then, after four months of blessed relief, another four years in my right foot. When I was 49, I "cured" it by running a 200 meter race all out and tearing it, and in the process breaking ...

Tuesday, July 31, 2012 Before summer began, I had planned on taking T up his first High Peak -- Cascade -- but a case of extremely painful knees sidelined those hopes -- no ability to get myself or anyone else into High Peak climbing condition. Two and a half weeks before heading out I finally went to the doctor to find out what the crippling pain was all about and why it wasn't going away. The verdict: chondromalacia patella -- an inflammation of the cartilage under my kneecaps -- with a possible torn meniscus, caused by all things, excessive gardening. Great. I told the doctors they had to put me back together again enough to allow me to hike at least a few easy hikes. I was not going to the Adirondacks to sit around playing cards in the lodge all day. One cortisone shot, two anti-inflammatory medications, two knee braces, a pair of spring-loaded hiking poles, and the sage words from the orthopedist that, "You'll get up OK, it'll be coming down that will b...