Ellie and I had the opportunity to take a quick break from our lives and head east for a four-day weekend. After a quick detour for babysitting duty with the ever-adorable Theodore, we made it to Albany to watch the Bills get humiliated in London. After fixing a pocket door with my dad that has plagued our family for years, Ellie and I set out for a night in the Adirondacks.
The view from our hotel room at High Peaks Resort (great off-season deals!)
We had originally planned on going to Burlington, Vermont, to sample the most delicious beers in the world, but our 4:30AM arrival to Albany Sunday morning left me with a strong desire to NOT hop in the car and drive the three-plus hours to Burlington. Instead we picked a slightly shorter drive to Lake Placid. Upon arriving there at 6:30PM, we quickly realized a couple of things. First, it was definitely a Sunday evening and everything closed at six. Second, it was very much off-peak season, and a lot was closed anyway. We took advantage of the few places that were open and hit the Lake Placid Brewery. I'll be honest, I was a little disappointed by their tap selection, having only four in-house brews available. Two were pretty good, but I was expecting a little more. Especially considering that the Saranac Brewery in Utica brews most of their beer already. Our flatbread pizza was pretty exceptional though, so overall it was a good evening.
The next morning, we woke up to a rather brisk day as we set out through the village in search of some breakfast. There were a couple of local cafés that were pretty jam-packed, so we opted to stop in a bakery we had walked by the day before . . . but it was closed Monday through Thursday. Thus, Starbucks. We got the obligatory PSL and a chai latte and were on our way to our hike.
We chose Mt. Jo as our target, as it was billed as a relatively beginner-friendly up-and-down that could be done in a couple of hours. I would not say we are experienced hikers in any way, though we are in reasonably good cardio shape. The hike itself wasn't too bad, and we took only a couple of thirty-second breathers on the way up. We opted to take the "short route" up, which meant a much steeper climb up what I can only describe as the remnants of a rock slide. It wasn't particularly technical, but we felt the burn. It was a little muddy too because it had rained the two days before, which meant some slippery surfaces and a little running water. Nothing too intense.
We reached the summit relatively quickly, as compared to the suggested duration the hike would take. For experienced hikers, it was described as a forty-five-minute hike up, and we did it in about thirty-five.
Overall, it was a pretty enjoyable hike. We bumped into only one other couple on the way up while we were descending the "long" way down, who inquired about the distance to the summit. Fortunately for them, they weren't too far off. The hike itself was nice, the views were great from the top, and I think we were both content with how quickly we made it to the top.
Getting out for a hike was great, and it made me want to do it more frequently. Trampling through the woods in the fresh air on a crisp, autumn day is just an all-around relaxing activity.
Ha ha ha, “Who is that Jono I see? Staring straight back at me . . .”