Last week brought another northeast first for me. A few friends and I hiked Crane Mountain in the Adirondacks in upstate New York. When they asked if I wanted to go hiking, I thought "oh yea, that sounds fun!" I've hiked a few times before, all in Colorado, so I thought that would be a pretty good background for me.
If you look up Crane Mountain stats, most websites will say it's an easy hike. It must be true since it's on the internet, right? Wrong. These websites fail to tell you that "hiking" here includes rock climbing and scaling the side of the mountain! That might be a little over exaggerated, but still, it was not easy.
[this is a mild incline compared to some of the others!]
My initial thoughts: what the hell did I get myself into?! I know I'm not in the best shape of my life but I seriously thought I might die at times. (I didn't, thankfully!) This hike definitely wasn't like the places I had hiked before. That just makes it more exciting, right?
Then there was a ladder. To get to the summit, you have to climb this ladder. I'm sure you have a few questions you're wanting to ask. Probably the same ones I had before climbing up.
Where does it end? --On a little ledge. Way up there.
How is the ladder held up? --Just a wire rope thing on one side at the top.
And I would have to add that there are stacks of small rocks under each side (just waiting to fly out) that are keeping it "steady". Against my better judgement I hopped on the ladder, and thankfully, it turned out not to be all that bad. (Getting down was another story!)
Once we got to the top, I was speechless. The views were absolutely incredible and made me forget all my worries. How can you have anything else on your mind while you're staring at this?
As we were enjoying our mountaintop picnic, a thick fog started surrounding us from all sides and it felt like the already chilly temperature dropped about 10 degrees! It was little creepy, and all I could think was dementors! (Any Harry Potter fans out there?!)
It was an amazing experience! The hike challenged me more than I imagined but it was definitely worth every moment. We are hoping to get in another hike before it gets too cold. Looks like I just might have to invest in some actual hiking boots!!
XOXO,
April
ps-- some of the pictures were taken by Casey or Becca (links to their amazing blogs on the picture!)
The Adirondacks are gorgeous! I drove through there for the first time with a friend that was a local and I couldn't stop freaking out over the views! She thought I was crazy but what's a southern girl from below sea level supposed to do!?
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