And when we awoke, much to our chagrin, we discovered that the weather was supposed to be severe thunderstorms throughout the day. Blah! We went anyway.
We made it to the Noonmark Dinner by close to 10 o'clock and had some breakfast. Then we went to the Mountaineer to kill some time. We were hoping that maybe the weather would clear enough to be able to do some climbing, but it just really wasn't in the cards. Margaret had never done a High Peak before so, we bought a guide book and picked out Big Slide Mountain as a hike to do. Seemed like it was better to get out hiking in the rain, rather than doing nothing at all.
It ended up being a 8 mile, round trip hike, with 2800 feet of elevation gain, bringing us to a total elevation of 4240 feet, which is the 27th highest peak. And while it was raining to start the hike, about mid way up, it stopped. The clouds and fog were still pretty socked in by the time we reached the summit. But patience prevailed and after 20 minutes or so everything lifted, giving us spectacular views. A highly recommended hike, for sure.
The start of the hike. Tall dense birches and tree-root staircases.
Our first view looking out to the Great Range. It was still pretty wet at this point.
The wind was whipping through the valley. Really awesome cloud formations ensued.
Dense fog in the valley with the Great Range in the background.
We ducked back into the woods for a while. Notice the smaller trees at the higher elevation. Also, lots of moss growing on the trees as well.
Approaching the summit. Thanks Long Island chapter of the ADK, for building me a staircase.
The clouds are lifting! Hurray! You can see Gothics and the True North Slide...remember?
Summit reward. Lots and lots and lots of rewards for that summit.
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