Zoom In, Zoom Out in the Adirondacks

Tracy and I spent a lovely weekend (Saturday-Monday) in the Adirondacks with our good friends, Bob and Cathy. Tracy and Bob traditionally do a two-night packback hiking trip to one or more of the 46 High Peaks. This year, however, they did two peaks in a day trip. That turned out to be fortuitous since Saturday was cold and rainy. We made the best of it, building a fire in the Great Room of The Ledgerock Motel, and having dinner at our favorite restaurant, Caffe Rustica.

Sunday dawned bright and cold, and we all took off to the Adirondack Loj. Tracy and Bob took one trail, and this year Cathy and I decided to hike as well. We made the nearly 5 mile round trip to Marcy Dam and back. It was lovely and peaceful. As you’ll see in the photos only a few of the trees have begun to turn color.

Marcy Dam—on the way to Mt. Marcy, the Adirondack’s highest peak

We were on the trail by 8 am so the clouds hadn’t “burned off” yet.

Looking up the creek at the waterfall at the dam. Another one for Rinda’s Scavenger Hunt!

And the Zoomed-In view

One of the few trees on the trail that had turned color.

This one’s on its way to orange. I loved the green and orange together.

Cathy and I were back from our hike by 10:30 and took off to Keene Valley. We discovered a wonderful Farmer’s Market/Craft Show on the way. We each bought a scarf, and some pastries for the guys when they came off the mountain. The produce was wonderful, and I picked up some late peaches that are delicious.

I’ve never seen such skinny little eggplants. I’m not sure I’d know how to cook them.

After cleaning up at the motel, having a late lunch in Lake Placid, and walking through our favorite shops (but not finding much), we returned to the Adirondack Loj to wait for the guys. While we waited we walked down to the lake, and I found another Zoom In, Zoom Out offering.

I always love to find a cairn along the way.

And one final view of the lake.

It was great to get away for a weekend, and Cathy and I purchased a book at the Adirondack Loj Information Center on short hikes, so I think we’ll try to make our little hike a tradition in the future. Tracy has conquered 39 of the 46 High Peaks, so he’s thinking it’s going to take a couple trips a year to finish up while he’s still in good hiking condition. I’m happy to tag along anytime.

More  Zoom In, Zoom Out offering for this week are here.