My original idea for Easter Sunday was to meet Sherilee for dinner halfway to NYC. Dan was next in line to be stuck with overtime at work, so when he said he didn't mind if I went even if he wasn't stuck, I began dreaming up the next plan. Maybe we could meet in the Catskills and do a fire tower hike. Well, Reagan would have none of this. She said, "It's Easter! Why would you go hiking?" I told her that because it was Easter, I would like to go hiking. Any plan of going south for a hike or meeting Sherilee dissolved at that moment. Of course, she wants to be with the little cousins and participate in the easter egg hunt. I can't say as I blame her, but that didn't stop me from trying to persuade her into thinking that cooking a backpacker meal at the top of a mountain would be an awesome Easter Dinner. It's not that she intended to go to sunday school. Couldn't we have our own sermon on the mount?
Mmm....Nope. So, my hopes for a hike dwindled to the good old stand-by. Hadley Mountain. I didn't even take my camera this time, thinking how many pictures of Hadley Mountain do I need. Well, of course there were several points of the hike that I wished I had brought it. We (my father of course) got to the trailhead at 8:00 and were on the trail at 8:10. It seemed very cold (about 35 degrees) but of course after 10 minutes we were warmed up and removing layers. There was very little snow left in the woods, the trail was wet- the bare rock slabs were wet and slightly frozen over with the thinnest bit of ice. Where the trail would be muddy, it was frozen mud so it didn't present any problems. Even in warmer weather, there would be enough climbing area to avoid the mud. We decided to bushwack a little ways to cut off a part of the trail that cuts back from the actual direction of the summit. It was tough but also helped avoid another icy spot of trail. We made it to one of the first lookouts and spent some time standing on its cliff, in the sunshine. It was pretty clear and even in the stage of the seasons where we are lacking any type of color or lush green- the view was pretty. Blue sky and puffy clouds are always nice to look at. On to the summit which was very windy and extremely cold. My jacketless/gloveless/hatless father did not wish to linger when I suggested we head back down. The trip down was easy, as most of the ice was gone from the bare rock. A dark colored german shephard that we met gave us a little start. Part of the brain that scans for danger alerted my father to the possibility of a coyote and I of course went straight to thinking bear. He was friendly and made me smile as I watched him loping along up the trail. Dogs are so happy to be hiking. I hope shadow will be able to participate soon. It had been a while since I did this trail without kids. I realized that all the time I thought we took breaks for them, was actually breaks that I too must have needed. This was definitely a hike that provided some much needed after winter conditioning if we are going to be in shape to tackle a high peak in a few (maybe several) weeks. Tabletop is first on the list. We were back at the car in three hours and we enjoyed looking at the old fashioned maple syrup operation on the way out. This was when I wished I had the camera. The old tin buckets hanging from the Maple trees would have made a cool picture. 
Photo credit goes to Mountain Visions Photography
Mmm....Nope. So, my hopes for a hike dwindled to the good old stand-by. Hadley Mountain. I didn't even take my camera this time, thinking how many pictures of Hadley Mountain do I need. Well, of course there were several points of the hike that I wished I had brought it. We (my father of course) got to the trailhead at 8:00 and were on the trail at 8:10. It seemed very cold (about 35 degrees) but of course after 10 minutes we were warmed up and removing layers. There was very little snow left in the woods, the trail was wet- the bare rock slabs were wet and slightly frozen over with the thinnest bit of ice. Where the trail would be muddy, it was frozen mud so it didn't present any problems. Even in warmer weather, there would be enough climbing area to avoid the mud. We decided to bushwack a little ways to cut off a part of the trail that cuts back from the actual direction of the summit. It was tough but also helped avoid another icy spot of trail. We made it to one of the first lookouts and spent some time standing on its cliff, in the sunshine. It was pretty clear and even in the stage of the seasons where we are lacking any type of color or lush green- the view was pretty. Blue sky and puffy clouds are always nice to look at. On to the summit which was very windy and extremely cold. My jacketless/gloveless/hatless father did not wish to linger when I suggested we head back down. The trip down was easy, as most of the ice was gone from the bare rock. A dark colored german shephard that we met gave us a little start. Part of the brain that scans for danger alerted my father to the possibility of a coyote and I of course went straight to thinking bear. He was friendly and made me smile as I watched him loping along up the trail. Dogs are so happy to be hiking. I hope shadow will be able to participate soon. It had been a while since I did this trail without kids. I realized that all the time I thought we took breaks for them, was actually breaks that I too must have needed. This was definitely a hike that provided some much needed after winter conditioning if we are going to be in shape to tackle a high peak in a few (maybe several) weeks. Tabletop is first on the list. We were back at the car in three hours and we enjoyed looking at the old fashioned maple syrup operation on the way out. This was when I wished I had the camera. The old tin buckets hanging from the Maple trees would have made a cool picture. Photo credit goes to Mountain Visions Photography
5 comments:
I too hiked today (Easter) with my sister-in-law (my fire tower buddy) and my mom! We went up little weenie Belfry. My mom's first tower! It was a windy day up there too. Hadley always seems windy to me though, even when it's a calm day.
Happy Easter!
I was in a church all day - oh, how nice a hike would have been! Ah, well. Soon. Never done a fire tower hike. I'll have to add that to the list.
My pal Kathy and I were going to do a picnic on Lake Champlain, but the cold weather kept us in as she's fighting a cold and sinus thing. Glad you got to get outside. it was 28° here this a.m. I've hiked Belfry, and Hurricane, but not Hadley. Will add to list.
I am glad you were able to get out, I had to bake for family, but next week I'm out there
Lovely Easter hike! I find there usually is a sermon on the mount! :-)
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