I figured there would be some stragglers the day after like there usually is, so I hiked into a nearby lean-to with one of my buddies to check it out.

My friend and I hiked into Fishbrook Pond in hopes of staying at one of the two lean-tos up there.

This didn't happen. We got a late start, and by the time we got to Fishbrook Pond, both lean-tos and the first campsite were occupied. We hiked around the pond to the other side and found a fire pit to post up at.

We pitched our tents, went for a swim, and ate some rice and beans for dinner. At about 10:30pm we headed over to one of the lean-tos to get a better view of the sky. We sat on the rocks in front of the lean-to for about an hour watching the sky and saw 15-20 meteors! It was really cool!

The next morning we went over to the lean-to to thank the guy that was staying there for letting us hangout in his 'front yard' the night before. The man had been in the area for 2 days, but had just gotten the lean-to the day before. There were quite a few people up at Fishbrook Pond over the weekend, probably because the gate is open and you can drive right up to Dacy Clearing.

The man told us that he got to the lean-to on Sunday morning, and found it trashed. There was garbage everywhere, it took him all morning to clean the place up. We offered to carry a bag of garbage out with us when we were leaving, as we were travelling a little lighter than he was.

Who does that? You carry your stuff into a lean-to and then just leave garbage everywhere for someone else to clean up? We all share these lean-tos in the Adirondacks, and they are awesome! I'm sure if this particular spot wasn't so accessible that these people would have never ended up there in the first place. I don't know, maybe it's time to close that gate for good. Adding another mile or so to the hike is probably just enough to keep people like that away from the area.

Hopefully next time I go for a hike I'll only have to carry out MY OWN trash, but honestly I'll pick up after the small number of idiots every time if I need to. 

Liz and I hiked up Giant Mountain via the Ridge Trail, hiked down the back of Giant and over the ridge to Rocky Peak Ridge before turning back. It was a hot day, and the haze interrupted what would have been an awesome view had we been there in different weather.

We weren't 100% sure which trail we were going to take as we made our way up the Northway, we had seen a few trail heads along Route 73 on our way through the area, so we figure we could just choose one when we got there..

We strapped our packs on, signed in, and started up the trail. The first leg of the climb is a little steep, but makes use of several switchbacks during the 3/4 of a mile or so up to Giant Mountain Washbowl. This is a stream-fed pond on the side of the mountain that made a nice spot to refill our water bottles (again) on the way down.

NOTE: if you do not own some form of water filtration system, you'll have to carry quite a bit of fluid to stay hydrated in hot weather. I drank a liter of water in the car on the way up there, and carried a liter with me.. and I was almost out of water by the time we reached the summit of Giant.

After the Washbowl the trail levels out a little offering a nice grade for about a mile or so. The Ridge Trail meets the Roaring Brook Trail and continues to the summit after going over or around "the bump". The remainder of the trail scrambles across some open faces and slides. This portion would have been more pleasant if it wasn't so hot.. but jeeze, what am I going to complain that it was too nice and sunny?

We reached the summit at about 12:15pm. We spent about 30 minutes at the top of Giant eating lunch, and would have spent much more time if we weren't being eaten alive by black flies. Bug spray didn't help, and the breeze seemed like it was blowing just soft enough for the bugs to stick around. 

We collected enough black fly bites in the 30 minutes at the top of Giant to annoy both of us, so we took off after enjoying some bologna sandwiches and a thermos full of iced-coffee. We hiked down the back side of Giant and across the ridge before starting the ascent to Rocky Peak Ridge. The back side of Giant is somewhat steep, be careful. 

We were dangerously low on water at this point, but found a small trickle of a stream to fill up at while on the ridge. The small streams that run down these mountain have got to be some of the freshest water on Earth. The water was ice cold and clear. I am a little skeptical of drinking out of stream, so we sterilized the water.

Liz got one of those SteriPEN UV water treatment wands for Christmas this year, so we used that. These things are pretty nice if you have clean, clear water to begin with. It takes about 90 seconds to sterilize one liter of water, and is relatively light (4.5 oz.) compared to pump filters. The only thing that worries me is the battery, which is supposed to last for about 50 treatments. We have spare batteries, and a piece of cheese cloth to filter the sediment out of the water if needed.

Once crossing the ridge, the climb up Rocky Peak Ridge isn't bad at all. We reached the summit of Rocky at about 2:00pm. As we were approaching the summit, we heard several rumbles of thunder that sounded like they were getting closer. We ran into a a couple hikers that were on their way back down, and they said it looked like the storm was coming towards us. This offered a little motivation for Liz and I, and we didn't spend much time at the top of Rocky. We were hoping to be back up over Giant and on our way down by the time the rain got to us.

It didn't rain, and after climbing back over Giant we were making our way down to the trail head at a little after 3:00pm. We stopped at the Washbowl on the way down to refill our water bottles again. That makes it 3 liters of water consumed so far (each). We eased our way back down the switchbacks as our feet and knees were starting to get a little tired. We reached the car at a little before 5:00pm, and boy did Chapel Pond look inviting. I stripped down to my skivvies and took a quick swim. The water was colder than I expected, but it was super refreshing and I didn't have to ride all the way home stinking and sweating. (Ok, I probably still stunk, but I wasn't sweaty).

It was a pretty hot day with some hazy views, and we got eaten alive by black flies at the top, but it was a great hike and it was time well spent in the woods. 

This brings our total-peaks count up to 10, almost 1/4 of the way through! Checked off the list so far are: Porter, Cascade, Dix, Big Slide, Wright, Algonquin, Iroquois, Colden, Giant, and Rocky. 

Any suggestions on where to head next? I would love to do an overnighter and try to knock off another two or three peaks in one trip.

This made for a great night in the woods (as many of you know). A few of my friends went hiking, some to high peaks, others to secluded ponds over the weekend to witness the spectacle. I packed my bag and took off for a fishing spot that I've been wanting to check out for weeks...

I hiked for about an hour, along the East Branch of the Sacandaga River before finding a campsite. I had heard about some Brook Trout that might be found in these waters, and wanted to try my luck.

There were somewhat primitive camp sites marked along the trail, and after passing two that were occupied, I settled on the third. It was located about 200 feet from the river, on the opposite side of the trail. I passed what looked like some nice deep pools on the way in, but this campsite was relatively close to a larger pool below a small waterfall. If there were any fish in this river, there would be some here.

I was camping by myself this time (my first solo trip) so I had to take care of all of the camp chores before going fishing so I wouldn't be wandering around in the dark later. I pitched my tent, hung a clothesline, gathered some firewood, and set up a line to hang my food from after I ate.

Then I tied on a Pheasant Tail Nymph and headed over to the pool I was eyeballing earlier. It was about 6:00pm at this point. I stood at the bottom of the pool and cast upstream, waiting for my nymph to float down passed me, or better yet, to have it stop drifting and end up in the mouth of a hungry trout. No bites.

I switched to a smaller Prince Nymph and tried the same approach. No Bites. Then I got out of the water and walked up closer to the small waterfall so I could cast directly into it. My thinking was that if I cast my fly into the falls, and let it get swirled around for a while before drifting downstream it would look a little more natural. No Bites. 

I began stripping line off to change my fly again when I felt a little bite. I wasn't being very careful while pulling the nymph in, so I missed the fish. I tried the same cast again a couple times, letting the fly drift all the way downstream before retrieving. After two or three more casts I landed this little Brookie. 

Soon after that I went back to the campsite and made some dinner. I brought a box of rice and beans, boiled and simmered and about 25 minutes later I was eating a hot meal.

The Super Moon was incredibly bright, it looked like someone turned a light on in the woods! I tried to take some photos of this but they don't do the sight any justice so I won't post them (camera phone). I did sit by the fire for a while admiring the moon and warming my feet before heading to bed around 10:00pm.

The next morning I woke up, abandoned my plans to go fishing and just kind of hung around camp and had a relaxing breakfast of coffee and oatmeal. I then packed my things and headed out of the woods, reaching my car at about 10:00am.

It was quite an experience to be in the woods by myself for the night, as I had never done that before. The chores: setting up, breaking down, cooking meals, gathering firewood, etc. were all my responsibility. I took care of them at my own pace. I ate dinner when I was hungry. I packed up and headed out when I wanted to. The woods were mine, all mine for a few hours, and it was great.