Friday
For at least the 5th year in a row we've kicked off the year with a whirlwind hiking trip in the Adirondacks. With only 2 meeting nights before the trip it is not easy to pull off, but Scouts and Leaders alike pulled together to realize this annual tradition. We met at the Parkdale Park at 1pm on Friday, loaded our vehicles, and headed off to Heart Lake Campground outside Lake Placid. This year we had 8 Scouts, 3 Leaders, and 1 parent volunteer.
We arrived at our campsites around 5:30 and quickly began to set up camp before we lost our sunlight. By the time it came to cook supper the sun had gone down and our flashlights had come out. We polled the Scouts to see who wanted to cook our supper, and Solomon's hand was the first of 3 in the air so he got the honour. We enjoyed 2 burgers each and then decided to cook a bag of mini potatoes to give us an extra carb boost for the day ahead. A game of "hot potato" around the camp fire ensured the last few got eaten up.
At around 8pm it started to rain, and the Scouts all retreated to their tents. The adults decided not to tell them that it would probably only last 5 or 10 minutes according to the forecast, because getting them to bed early would help us hit the trail early in the morning. At 10pm there was noise coming from only 1 of the Scout tents, so we had to ask them to cut it off and get to sleep. They obliged.
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| Solomon cooking our Friday night supper |
Saturday
The first person was up around 6am and put the coffee on for the adults, and hot water for oatmeal. Since we had to hit the trail early breakfast consisted only of instant oatmeal and apples - there just was not time to cook a big meal. Our goal was to be on the trail by 8am and we ended up missing it by only 30 minutes.
This year the Scouts were the ones deciding which hikes to undertake both on Saturday and Sunday, and together they decided on Wright/Algonquin for the big Saturday hike. We did the same one last year, and the beauty of this trail is that the two peaks share about 80% of the same trail. When you get to the branch point you can decide which peak to challenge based on group stamina - Algonquin is about 500 feet higher than Wright.
Since our numbers were lower this year we decided to stay together as a single group, and together we made a slow ascent with frequent breaks to rest. It was a foggy, overcast day with little visibility the higher we climbed. As we ascended into the clouds the mist turned to a light drizzle
It was around 1:30 when we were clearing the treeline to make the final run for Wright Peak. As we started onto the barren rockface the wind picked up quiet noticeably, so decided to have our lunch in the shelter of the rocks before going for the peak. We got our wind breakers out of our packs and made the peak in another 15 minutes or so. A volunteer happened to be there, and he showed us where to find the Wright Peak plane wreck - so we headed over there to have a look.
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| Scouts nearing the top of a challenging technical scramble |
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| Scouts nearing the top of a challenging technical scramble |
It was around 1:30 when we were clearing the treeline to make the final run for Wright Peak. As we started onto the barren rockface the wind picked up quiet noticeably, so decided to have our lunch in the shelter of the rocks before going for the peak. We got our wind breakers out of our packs and made the peak in another 15 minutes or so. A volunteer happened to be there, and he showed us where to find the Wright Peak plane wreck - so we headed over there to have a look.
By the time our descent had begun, the drizzle was a fair bit heavier and those of us with pack covers decided to utilize them. But about halfway down we came out of the clouds and the drizzle stopped completely.
We were back at our campsite by 6pm and solicited volunteers once again to cook supper. Nik was his first one with his hand up this time, so he cooked our rice which we enjoyed with our troop staple of Indian food in boil-in-the-bag pouches.
The Scouts were putting themselves to bed around 8:30pm - a sign that we'd done our job in tiring them out! All the better since we had another challenging day ahead.
We hiked back down, had our lunch around 2:30 and then headed off back to our Home and Native Land. The border crossing was uneventful just as it had been on the way down. We stopped at for pizza in Cornwall, then headed back to Ottawa where we arrived just a few minutes late for our 7:30 pickup
The Scouts were putting themselves to bed around 8:30pm - a sign that we'd done our job in tiring them out! All the better since we had another challenging day ahead.
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| Just at the treeline as we approach the peak of Wright |
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| A father-and-son moment |
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| Having our lunch before going to the peak |
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| There is our goal in the background |
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| On Wright peak at last! |
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| A piece of the Wright Peak plane wreck |
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| A piece of the Wright Peak plane wreck |
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| On our way back down |
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| Scouts marked up their faces with mud on the Wright descent |
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| Having a rest in an almost dry riverbed with only 30 minutes left to go |
Sunday
Sunday morning started off with Scouts cooking bacon and hash for breakfast. This would be a more leisurely day than yesterday, so there was lots of time to have a good breakfast cooked over the campfire. There was much debate most amongst the Scouts on whether to hike Mt Jo - which is only 1/3 the distance we'd done the day before - or return to the river at Indian Pass, where we'd gone swimming last year. Mt Jo won 6-2 (adults do not get a say in the matter), and around noon time we were on our way up. Even though it was considerably smaller than Wright, we did enjoy a great view from the peak thanks to a cloud cover that was not hanging nearly as low as it was the day before. We were still not able to see any of the other peaks, but we could see the bases of all the surrounding mountains at very least.We hiked back down, had our lunch around 2:30 and then headed off back to our Home and Native Land. The border crossing was uneventful just as it had been on the way down. We stopped at for pizza in Cornwall, then headed back to Ottawa where we arrived just a few minutes late for our 7:30 pickup
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| These stairs near the top of Mt Jo were not here last time we hiked this peak |
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| On the peak of Mt Jo |
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