As mentioned in my previous post, I managed to sneak away for the weekend to Lake Placid in the Adirondack Mountains following a trip to a factory I am working at, close to Montreal.
The trip basically consisted of me, delayed by an hire car employee who had lost his keys, and by US customs, arriving at the mountains at around midday, and then trying to rush round what was a pretty arduous route as fast as I could in order to make it back before sunset (as I had pretty much no equipment/compass/torch etc).
When I arrived I tackled the Algonquin peak, which at 1,500m above sea level is actually higher than anything we have in the UK (though it didn't feel like it as I think I may have started a little higher than you would do with, say Ben Nevis). Due to the time constraints it was pretty thigh busting on the way up (as I had accidentally chosen the steep side for the ascent), and ankle-breaking on the way down.
After staying in superb(ly cheap) hostel type accommodation in a local lodge with a random party of 50 year old birthday revellers, I managed a quick ascent of mount Jo the next day before a little shopping in Lake Placid and a the long journey back to the UK.
The amazing thing for a European in New York State in the Autumn, is most definitely the colours. Although I was probably two weeks early to get the full brunt of the autumn reds, There were still some amazing opportunities for photography. Though I felt I never managed to nail that killer shot (considering the scenery around me), largely due to the fact that much of the walking was in heavy bush, I was still fairly proud of these ones:
Outside the Lodge at Heart Lake in the Morning
The View from Mount Jo (if someone could have just cut that damn tree down...)
Heart Lake ... Again
A Chipmunk Near Charleston Lake in Ontario
I am not a great lover of photoshopped photos (bar a little colour enhancement), probably due to the fact I don't own a copy or photoshop (or know how to use it). But I did a little tinkering with a couple of photos I wasn't quite happy with in iPhoto:
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5 comments:
Those are really good photos. You did a great job.
Beautiful stuff Sam. I'm very jealous. Maybe that's a destination for the 2011 walk.
very very sweet photo's..makes me wonder how beautiful it was in real life if you're not completely satisfied with the shots.
TGSW - Thanks, I try.
Dan - Yes, but if you wanted to do five days, you would have to carry everything on your back.
Arjan - it was beautiful in real life, although I have to confess to enhancing the colour a little bit.
I come from New York, and have been to the Adirondacks and Catskills many times. There are great swaths of them that are state parks or protected. But, boy howdy, do they get cold in the winter. Or even the summer. One of my cousins by marriage lives on top of a mountain near Saranac Lake (which is right next to Lake Placid) and he reported it was 46 degrees (that's 8C, which makes it sound even colder) there on July 6th (brr).
Nevertheless, I'm going to start thinking about locations in the US for a possible 2011 walk.
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