Even the short lil hikes in the Adirondacks provide HUGE views. I tagged along for yet another Adirondack weekend June 8th-10th, this time with friends Ali and Dave. With this being their first time to the high peak region to hike, a shorter hike with killer views seemed like the way to go. Mt. Van Hoevenberg here we come. This weekend ended up being a special weekend, as I was able to share my love and passion for hiking the High Peak Region in the Adirondacks with two very amazing and dear friends. I must say that I think I make a pretty awesome third-wheel ;). By the end of the weekend, I got the vibes that they loved the hike. Guess what… Dave ended up getting an REI membership and now has hiking boots too! I’m so pumped that he enjoys the mountains enough to crave more!! YAY OUTSIDE! Anyways, I could go on and on about how the mountains are both therapeutic and positively addicting because they just are. I’ll save that for another post….
Swiftly jumping into our packed weekend, we left from Rochester Friday night and didn’t get to the Rollins Pond area until after 10 pm. We knew we were supposed to get site 53 when we pulled in, but that site was taken once we arrived. We shimmied on down a couple of sites and set up our tent and crashed for the night. Once we woke up in the morning, we began to make breakfast and realized that we were at the Fish Creek Campground – not Rollins Pond – when a camper rolled up and claimed his spot. We packed up everything and took down the tent in about 5 minutes and had the car looking like something out of the Griswold family. We ended up figuring out that Rollins Pond was 2 miles further in (difficult to tell at 10 pm in the dark). We went there and set up camp to start the day. Below is the pond view from our site! It was going to be a great sunset spot.
View from the real campsite
We ventured to Adirondack Loj Road, veered left at the cutoff to the trailhead, parked, and were on our merry way. The hike is a moderate 4.5 miles and gains 889 feet in elevation – perfect for a few hours of enjoyment in the wild without allotting the entire day to a hike (if you’re looking for something shorter). The trail is mostly flat until after the beaver swamp, after which it begins to gain in elevation.
The beaver swamp on the trail to Mt. Van Hoevenberg
Spirits were flying high and the conversations were flowing. I’ve found that hiking in the woods is a great opportunity to deeply think and to engage in meaningful conversation. We talked about anything and everything from our goals and ambitions to the nature that surrounds us!
SQUAD!!
After what seemed like no time at all, we peaked Van Hoevenberg! The views were incredible as promised and included Algonquin (right in the photo below) and Colden (left in the photo below).
Summit!
WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT?!
Peak Views
This is why I keep coming back for more. Friendship and freedom. Mountains give me the time to think. We eventually made our way back down to the car and…whoa….we had the entire afternoon and evening left! We made it a 3-part day, venturing next to my favorite – Lake Placid Pub and brewery for some food and brews, and ending back at the campground for an awesome sunset and game of Settlers of Catan (one of the greatest games ever created).
If you want to pack a variety of activities into one day, a shorter hike allows for both mountain time and town time. The Lake Placid website has some good recommendations for hikes of all varieties. For the half-day hikes, the link to the page is http://www.lakeplacid.com/do/outdoors/summerfall/hiking/2-4-hour-hikes.
Sunset over Rollins Pond – Definitely worth the mosquito bites
Thank you, thank you for reading and enjoying my adventures! I can’t express how much fun this beginning has been for me and how grateful I am for the connections that To Summit Up has created. My vision for To Summit Up is much greater than what has been created thus far. We are only just scratching the surface. If you have any ideas or comments, feel free to reach out and let me know. You can reach me via comment, email (tosummitupblog@gmail.com), Instagram (@tosummitupblog), Facebook (@ToSummitUp), and twitter (@tosummitupblog).
Within the next few weeks, To Summit Up will be unveiling guest posting!! My great friend Sarah will be sharing her story on living in San Francisco for a few months this summer, adventuring in new territory and what she has taken away from that. I am super interested in listening to and sharing people’s stories and enjoy engaging in conversation about the outdoors. I am looking forward to guest posting opening the doors for other explorers and adventurers to share their story. Sharing passion is contagious. Lots of big things to come.
Signing off.
-Ryan
