Last week, I was sparse with the comments because while Argo was tearing it up at the doggie spa, we were in the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks climbing stuff. 

A couple of years ago we climbed Giant, one of the 46, and despite a slip on a snow patch that left me with a flesh wound on my upper thigh, and a huge hole in my pants (we refer to this as the time I ripped myself a new one), we had a fantastic time.  So, when we realized it had been ages since we’d taken a real vacation, we decided to hit the High Peaks again.

The first day out, we climbed Cascade & Porter.

Cascade has a 360 degree view from the summit.  It’s breathtaking.

Climbing Porter afterwards was a little bit of a let down.  The view isn’t as great, and the summit marker was missing, so we over hiked about a mile looking for it.  But, it was still pretty cool.

The second day, we climbed Algonquin & Wright.

Algonquin is the second tallest of the High Peaks.

It was absolutely amazing.  There were still big patches of snow.  I got the yips on my way down (remembering my previous slip on Giant) and didn’t step far enough into a snow patch at one point.  My leg fell through the snow into a hole in some rocks, and I immediately had visions of being carried down the mountain on a stretcher.  Luckily, I just got a little bruised and kind of sore.  We thought our hiking day was done, but when we got to where the trail veers off toward Wright, I couldn’t let a sore leg get the best of me.

Wright was amazing.  We thought because it wasn’t as high as Algonquin it wouldn’t be as spectacular, but we were wrong.  The sky was clear and the view was spectacular.  We hunkered down in an alcove in the rocks just below the summit and took it all in.

Wright is the windiest of the peaks.  I’ve never felt wind like that before.  A few times I felt like I had to crouch down to avoid being knocked over. 

In 1962, a plane crashed into Wright.  We didn’t realize the wreckage was still up there, so we didn’t get to see it.

On Friday, we were sore beyond belief, but we’re just not the strolling through shops, sit on the beach in an Adirondack chair kind of people, so we climbed Mt. Baker.  Baker isn’t one of the 46, so it was a bit of an easier climb, but it’s still a High Peak, and it’s still got great views.

I know it sounds weird, but climbing 5 mountains in 3 days was actually one of the most relaxing vacations I’ve ever had.  I feel very refreshed.  Hiking a wonderful way to clear your mind.  When you’re concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other, you’re not thinking about your inbox, or the bills you have to get out, or the posts you need to write.  And it’s a great way to remember the why of conservation.  There are so many stunningly beautiful places out there.  We need to do what we can to keep them that way.

My husband and I are five mountains in to becoming 46ers and busy planning which peaks we’ll climb the next time we can get away.