Whiteface

Our next venture into the Adirondack Park started with a trip to Elizabethtown for the "Taste of Local Food Festival." The Wadhams Waddlers were performing and we tried to try as many vittles as we could before the downbeat. It mostly went well except for one dog biscuit that was labeled poorly and partially consumed before it was decided that it was not for human consumption.

We headed back to Wadhams(!) for the night and walked the new cycle-cross trail on the Bouchard-Hall property. It is a perfectly manicured trail that winds through fields and forest.

 The next morning, we awoke early for a hike up Whiteface mountain. This wouldn't be your average hike though, we would be taking the road less traveled. We met Tom at the Lake Placid boat launch and packed our hiking gear into the kayaks for a paddle to Whiteface Landing at the end of the lake.

Once there, we ditched the kayaks in the woods and strapped on our hiking gear for a trek up the "backside" of the mountain (the backside, since most hikers approach the mountain from Wilmington, not Lake Placid). We followed Whiteface brook for an easy approach until we reached the lean-to. From there, the trail was steep and rocky.

About a mile further, we started getting spectacular views of Lake Placid and the high peaks in the distance. We scrambled up the rocks with many gawking breaks where we met a few interesting and talkative folks.

Arriving at the summit, we found a crowd! Whiteface is a different high peak experience than most others since there is a road and an elevator that leads to the summit. After climbing a trail with few hikers, we were not able to sit and relax at the summit because of the throngs of tourists walking around (we're tourists too, we know..). Instead we wandered around and snapped pictures of the scenery. There were great views of the Champlain Valley, the northern Adirondacks, Lake Clear and St. Regis Mountain as well as the Saranac Lakes.

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We begrudgingly started down the trail, slowly. With steep grades and loose rocks, it was a slow and steady descent. Luckily we had our fantastic view of Lake Placid and the high peaks until we got below the treeline, so no one was annoyed at the slow pace.

Once we got back to the Whiteface Brook lean-to, it was an easy walk back to the kayaks. We boarded the boats just as the sun was setting and watched the orange light on the mountain that we had just climbed as we paddled towards the boat launch.

It was dinner at the Cascade Inn followed by malts at Stewart's on the way home. A delicious end to an epic day!