Cascade & Porter
Adirondack Hike: August 16th, 2014
Well, this was the trip that started it all. After ten years of marriage - and two kids - Niels and I decided we needed a weekend away to celebrate. We discussed at length where we should go... Old Quebec City? Tremblant? Realistically, I'm just really not a city person. I thought back to my old high school days when we went to the Adirondack Mountains to hike the high peaks with my friends. Lake Placid? Yes, Lake Placid. Let's adventure there....
Before we left, we took some commemorative photos to mark our special occasion. Here we are ten years later!
Before we left, we took some commemorative photos to mark our special occasion. Here we are ten years later!
Next, we shipped our little ones off to our parents to escape for the weekend (Whoohooo!). We weren't even really planning to do a major hike. We walked up and down Lake Placid's main street, shopped a little, had some amazing dinners out, paddle boated on Mirror Lake... and hey, thought that maybe we should go hiking. After all, we'd summited Mount Kilimanjaro together a few years before... how hard could these little day hikes be?
Since we hadn't trained, we asked around town about which "High Peaks" (summits over 4000 feet) were the easiest. Everyone agreed - Cascade & Porter. The ADK guide book literally calls them "the easiest of all the 4000 ft Adirondack peaks to ascend." It's only 6.2 miles round trip (10km) to summit both peaks, you could drive to the trailhead (bonus!) and it was dubbed an "easy climb" by all. Perfect. A beautiful stroll on a beautiful day....
Since we hadn't trained, we asked around town about which "High Peaks" (summits over 4000 feet) were the easiest. Everyone agreed - Cascade & Porter. The ADK guide book literally calls them "the easiest of all the 4000 ft Adirondack peaks to ascend." It's only 6.2 miles round trip (10km) to summit both peaks, you could drive to the trailhead (bonus!) and it was dubbed an "easy climb" by all. Perfect. A beautiful stroll on a beautiful day....
There is a quote that "Mountains have a way of dealing with over confidence" and that ended up being our theme of the day. We only left the trailhead at 3:30pm, as it was supposed to be a shorter hike. We were quickly surprised by the steep paths and jumbled rocks that we had to climb over. Cascade Mountain is named for the waterfalls that tumble down between the two Cascade lakes. This meant that we were usually criss-crossing over brooks, and the trail was steep, rocky and muddy. I'm glad that even though we hadn't planned on a hard hike that we had worn proper hiking boots. This was a trail just asking for twisted ankles, trips and falls!
On our way up, we met a man who had his whole family with him. The excited group seemed to have a contagious energy about them, so we stopped and chatted. We discovered that he had just summited his 46th high peak, thus officially earning him the ultra-cool title of "ADK 46er." He had saved Cascade & Porter for last so that his family could accompany him and celebrate this monumentous occasion with him. I couldn't help but think back to that old high school time capsule my friend and I had buried. Didn't we put life 'bucket lists' in there? Wasn't one of mine to become an ADK 46er? The man asked if we had summited any Adirondack high peaks yet. I recounted a few that I had done in high school, but Niels and I acknowledged that these were our first together. A little spark of adventure flamed. Hmmm... maybe these peaks would not be our last.
Summiting Cascade Mountain, AdirondacksOnce we cleared the forest path, we emerged onto an up-sloping face of rocks, a false summit. By this point we were very tired, and amazed that everyone had dubbed this an "easy" peak. What were the other ADK peaks like?!?
An hour and 40 minutes after we started, we arrived at the summit (a 2.4 mile, or 3.9 km hike up). We soon discovered why Cascade Mountain is one of the most popular hikes in the Adirondack Mountains. The open rock summit is spacious and provides a 360 degree view that encompasses the MacIntyre Range, Giant, Whiteface and a plethora of other high peaks. |
We also discovered that it was very windy and cold at the summit. There is no tree protection, and since we had an overcast day with little sunshine, I was freezing. We wandered around, found the marker, took some photos and huddled near a rock ledge to eat a quick snack. We also talked to an ADK guide at the top, whose job was just to climb popular high peaks and provide information to fellow hikers (Is it too late for a career change?). After I had solidly turned to ice, we decided to descend and get our blood pumping again.
Summiting Porter Mountain, AdirondacksThe trail to Porter from the Cascade/Porter junction (see photo to the left) is only 0.7 miles (1.1 km). It's not as heavily traveled as Cascade and provides a nice short hike through dense woods. You ascend Little Porter, and then very quickly come upon the real Porter Mountain. We actually debated if "this was it" as the summit of Porter is not exactly a grand summit of bare rock. Instead, it has a small rock clearing and the trees cramp the view. That being said, you still get about a 200 degree span of the Adirondack Mountains, and it was not so windy. I'm pretty sure that if Porter were not so close to Cascade, it would not get much foot traffic...
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At this point, Niels and I were tired, wet, cold and completely surprised by the difficulty of these hikes. People had described Cascade and Porter as easy, a stroll and a nice hike to do with small children. Really? Do these "trails" look easy?
We finally reached our car as the sun began to set. We had taken more time than any of the estimates given, and we were completely exhausted. This hike had officially reminded us that the Adirondack High Peaks are not jokes - they provide real, immediate hiking experiences without having to hike days to the base of a mountain. But after it was all said and done - we had done it. It was by no means easy, simple, or a 'gentle stroll.' We actually had found these two peaks quite arduous, tiring and difficult... but on this day both of us felt ourselves drawn into that classic pull of the mountains. We had loved every minute of it. We had felt the mountains calling, and I knew that my life goal of being an ADK 46er had been reawakened. Dear Adirondacks... we will be back.
"And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul."
Total distance: 6.2 miles (10 kilometers)
Total time: 4.5 hours
Total time: 4.5 hours
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