Hiking NY: Backpacking in the Adirondacks (Gray and Skylight) with side trip to Green Lakes State Park

Last week my friend Courtney and I took another trip into the mountains of the Adirondacks to hit Gray and Skylight peaks! We arrived Tuesday afternoon and were greeted with rain just as we parked. We put the rain covers on our packs and hit the trail!

A lovely rocky "trail" in true ADK fashion...

This memorial was right off the Upper Works trail a couple of miles into the hike. Read the story about David Henderson here!

We found a decent campsite close to Lake Colden by 5pm after around 6 miles hiking and set up camp for the next couple of days. our plan for the next day was to day hike Gray first, then catch the sunset on Skylight. Thankfully this meant we did not need to catch an early start, so we didn't hit the trail on Wednesday till about 11am.

I love the ladders and bridges! I'll take all the help I can get.

The beautiful Lake Colden, with Colden peak on the right (my #2 high peak that I have PTSD from....read about that trip here)

We knew the trail would be interesting on the return hike in the dark...

Deep waterfall along the Opalescent River

And the beautiful Lake Tear of the Clouds! This is at the base of Gray peak, and is actually the source of the Hudson River!

We refilled on water here, then headed up the herd path to the summit of Gray Peak (my #9). There were lots of rocks, and a few tricky scrambles but we made it successfully to the marked summit. Just down from the peak was a rocky ledge that we took a snack break on with a view of the southeast.

Our next destination was Skylight peak! It didn't take long to get there from Gray, and included more of the rocky trail hopping and climbing that we expected. This summit had an amazing 360* view of the surrounding peaks, and is right next to Marcy--the highest summit in NY state. We had intended to hike Marcy the next day...but we knew after our current day that was a bit too lofty.

Marcy behind me!

Looking at Gray which we had just come off of.

We arrived at Skylight summit at 5:30pm, and sunset was at 7:45pm so we had a couple of hours to kill! We were the only ones up there the entire time. We cooked dinner (which was a bit tricky keeping the stove lit in high winds!) then basically tried to stay warm until it was showtime. The temp was in the upper 40s, and the winds were 30-40mph. I had 4 layers on, and hid behind a rock with occasional peaks at the sun to check the status.

But when the sun finally settled into that sweet spot, it was breathtaking! We got our pics, then flew down the trail to hit the junction before it was dark enough to need our headlamps. We braved the dark for the next 4 hours and navigated our way back to camp.

Lake Tear of the Clouds again, but in the dark this time!

Night hiking! Really fun when there's water crossings....

We made it back to our campsite at 11pm after 9 miles and were ecstatic to see everything in order. We promptly  changed clothes and passed out.

Due to our muscle soreness, we mutually agreed to pack up the next day and head out. We slept in and had a quick breakfast before hiking back to the car for another 6 miles. The trip totaled up to 20.9 miles and almost 4200' elevation gain, and brought me to 9/46 for the high peaks.

We weren't done there--we added a side trip to Green Lakes State Park because it was right on the way home and neither of us had been there yet!

We arrived there around 7pm and ended up doing a leisurely stroll around the entire lake for another 2 miles. It was cake compared to what we had just finished, and easily done in flip flops.

Beautiful crystal clear water with scenic views, a huge sandy swimming beach, and lots of room for kids to play. Definitely a place to visit!

A rolling stone gathers no moss, and so we are set to go on another adventure next week! This time it's the whole family. Check back soon!

Hiking NY: Hiking and Camping in the Adirondacks (Cascade and Porter)

Last week I took Bradley on his first adventure camping in the Adirondacks! I saved the two "easiest" high peaks Cascade and Porter to do with him to see how he likes mountain climbing.

We left Tuesday morning and arrived to the South Meadow site around 3pm. I hadn't been to this spot before, but it was nice primitive campsites right off the road with access to trails close to the Loj. We set up camp then explored around the road up and down for a few hours before dinner.

Here's where the fun starts....

Around 8:45pm Bradley took his flashlight and started exploring around the campsite. It was twilight and just a bit of light left for the day. I ducked into the tent to clean up and change into PJs. When I came back out of the tent, Brad was NOWHERE to be found. I started yelling into the woods for him, and heard a very faint and far away reply. I quickly put my boots and headlamp on, then went a bit further into the trees and kept yelling for him. No response. Cue the freak out!

I continued walking around the site, up and down the road, and into the woods as far as I could and still see the tent.....I didn't get another reply. I decided I needed help and could not do this on my own, or else I would get lost too. I walked down the road to where I saw a couple was camping and told them the situation. I gave them the DEC emergency number and they drove away to find a signal and call for help.

It took about 20 minutes until they returned, but thankfully they had a ranger following them! By this time, it was around 9:45pm and pitch black outside. I gave the ranger all the details and information I could as several other rangers pulled up as well as police. The ranger instructed a few others on the plan then headed off into the dark woods to find him. He was confident it wouldn't take long. The police officer drove farther down the road to park his car and run his siren for a few minutes so that hopefully Brad would here it and go toward it.

The nice couple stayed with me to help keep me calm, and after only about 30 minutes a ranger stopped by and said they had located Bradley!!!! It took another 30 minutes for them to hike out of the woods and get back to the campsite at around 11pm.

Brad was very scratched up from thick tree branches, and soaking wet from crossing creeks...but otherwise intact and happy to be found! I was so thankful for the rangers/police and their speedy assistance. They truly have super powers!

They rangers actually encouraged us to continue with our plans for hiking the next day, and didn't want this to ruin our experience. Brad agreed that he still wanted to hike (despite his boots being wet), so we woke up early the next day and drove to the trailhead for Cascade and Porter.

We did Cascade first which has a beautiful view and a bald summit. The weather was perfect and we enjoyed a break before heading on to Porter. When we got there, we had lunch and took our shoes off for a rest!

By about 1pm some storms were moving in, so we began our descent down the mountain trail. We filled up on water at a creek close to the beginning, then returned to our campsite by 3pm. We discovered a sweet note the ranger who found Bradley had left on our tent while we were away, as well as a ranger patch!

The rain moved on and we just rested in the tent and enjoyed our last dinner before heading home the next morning. All in all, Brad said he had a fun time and is looking forward to going again!

PS: Here is a link for the ranger report about Bradley.....