Giant of the Valley

This past weekend, Kate, Tim, Greg, Dave, and I went up to the Adirondacks for some winter hiking. We arrived late on Friday night and decided on a 7 mile round-trip hike up and down Giant Mountain, a.k.a. Giant of the Valley.



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I woke up on Saturday morning and I was TIRED. Like, "I want to DESTROY the alarm clock that just woke me up" tired.

Nonetheless, I (unwisely?) set out with the guys.

I have barely any pictures from the trip, since I was focused on breathing and not dying. We took the approach up Roaring Brook, which isn't that long (3.5 miles one way) and isn't really that steep.

Still, when we got to the top of the ridge at mile 2-point-something and I saw the summit of Giant another 700+ feet above me, I wanted to faint.

We made it to the top.

Took a few pictures.

And started the descent.

Coming down was fast and fun.  We invented two new sports:  extreme snowshoeing and the butt luge.  It took half the time from the summit to the car as it took from the car to the summit, probably because we practically fell down the side of the mountain.

my favorite photo from the trip

Next day we played on the ice on Silver Lake.  Of course, this necessitated power tools.  (Mom, don't look.)

Five inches thick.  Apparently it had been -25 Fahrenheit (-32 Celcius) the week previous.

Even though the ice was 5'' thick, it was so clear one could see to the bottom of the lake.

Overall, it was a lovely weekend with a great group of people.  I wish I hadn't been so tired during Saturday's hike, but I'm proud that I made it to the top and back. 

Thanks to Tim, Greg, and Dave for their patience with me during the hike. Special thanks to Tim for the moleskin, and a very special thanks to Kate who cooked us a delicious dinner on Saturday night!