I used to have a terrible job. The worst part about the job is that I really liked what I did but I worked long hours with very little reward or appreciation and it wore down on my soul. So while working all of those long hours I would daydream about doing something else. Something other than sitting at a desk in an office with no windows for 13+ hours straight.
I would dream about hiking the 46 Adirondack high peaks.
I dreamed about this for 4 long years, sitting at that desk.
And then nearly a year ago I got a better job, with good people, and I am incredibly grateful to them. Because this year I had the time to spend a weekend in the Adirondacks (yes, coronavirus and all).
And I hiked two of the 46 Adirondack High peaks. I went alone and it was fitting that the first peak I summited was Esther, named after the 15 year old girl who had the first recorded ascent in 1839 “for the sheer joy of climbing”.
I had a lot of time to think in the 7.5 hours I spent walking, and a lot of it was hard, a lot of it hurt. Mostly my thoughts ran along the lines of “is that a rattlesnake under that rock?” (it wasn’t) and “that sounded like it could have been a bear” (it was a small bird). I also thought about the past me that had sat at that desk, wishing I was here in these mountains instead. And I felt so grateful to be there, with my legs aching, mud filling up my shoes, that feeling of a blister slowly being rubbed into existence on your big toe, and walking up those mountains for no other reason than it had seemed like a good idea at the time.
I took the “unofficial” route because that was the one I had found on the Alltrails app. It starts at the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center where you follow a sign to the hiker parking. At the hiker parking lot there is an unmarked trail you follow a confusing downhill direction for a bit until you get to a sort of trail crossroads. From there you go straight up and the first mile is an absolutely brutal steep upward scramble over awful rocks. It’s even worse on the way back down. The whole trail is a little surprisingly dangerous, watch out for turning your ankles on all the rocks or sliding in mud or on smooth stones. I took the herd path up to Esther. The turn for Esther is clearly marked but there were not really any other trail markings on this whole hike. I used the Alltrails app to check that my little blue dot was in the right place because a lot of the time I wasn’t sure. I also had cell service the whole time, although it was patchy in some places.
Other things we did in the area:
Jay Covered Bridge. This is exactly what it sounds like, a covered bridge in the town of Jay. You can walk in the river under the bridge and it has some nice swimming spots and smooth, warm stones, perfect for warming your bones on.
High falls gorge. This was rather expensive in my opinion. You pay $13 per adult for a thirty minute walk around a big waterfall. However, I grew up around the gorges of Watkins Glen, Stony Brook, and Letchworth so I have high expectations for my waterfall walks.
Ausible Chasm. This place is basically Disney Land, if Disney Land was a Chasm in the middle of nowhere. We didn’t actually get to do the walk or any of the other activities that they offer because of Covid-19 and because I didn’t get done with my hike until 2pm. We did drive out there to stand on the bridge and get a glimpse of all the things we weren’t able to do and it looks great if you have the money, the time, and are willing to give up the dream of going tubing because the tubing is closed due to the ongoing pandemic.
Lake Placid. Go to Big Mountain Deli. That is all. I mean, do the other stuff, too, but definitely go to Big Mountain Deli.
The undefinable things. We also had campfires and made mountain pies, we sat on the porch of an Adirondack style cabin on a windy night and talked, and two deer wandered by. I read a book in a squashy arm chair in the morning before everyone else got up, and drank a cup of coffee. We walked our dog down the sandy back roads of the middle of nowhere. These things made the trip wonderful in ways nothing else can.
