Before I get into this past weekend, I’d like to spend a few words on some of our other summer adventures. The first big hike of the summer was Memorial Day weekend, when Sarah, Susan, Ben and I went up Lyon Mountain in the Northern Adirondacks. After that, we hiked (in no particular order)
- Camel’s Hump - Sarah, Jessie, and I
- A shelter on the Long Trail, the name of which escapes me now – Sarah, Peter, Ben, Elizabeth, Sierra, Jessie, and I
- Blue Mt. – Sarah and Susan
- Franconia Ridge – Peter, John (friend of Peter’s), and I (pics here)
We also mixed in a mountain bike ride through the Pack Demonstration Forest and up Ben Wood Mt. in the Southeastern Adirondacks with my parents (Nancy and Dom). So, while some of these were more spectacular than others (Franconia Ridge comes to mind), we certainly have had an exciting summer.
Which brings me to this past weekend. As many of our readers know, Sarah and I were celebrating our first wedding anniversary this weekend. Of course, we celebrated the only way we know how and headed for the mountains of our beloved Adirondacks. The original plan was to backpack and spend a night camping in the backcountry. However, with Hurricane Bill threatening to dump all sorts of rain on us, we nixed those plans and booked two beds at the Adirondack Loj (pronounced “lodge”) at Heart Lake.
The Loj is owned by the Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK) and is spelled as it is in honor of its builder, Melville Dewey (he of the Dewey Decimal System), who was a proponent of “simplified spelling” (this according to the ADK Trail Guide). More on the Loj later.
So with our new plans all set we made our way up to the mountains on Friday morning. We reached Keene Valley by about 11:30 and set out to hike Blueberry Mountain. The mountain is quite small, standing at less than 2900 feet, but it still offered impressive views of Giant Mt, Keene Valley, and part of the Lower Great Range (pics here). We finished the 4.8 mile hike in about 2.5 hours, managing to only get a little wet, and went right to the Noonmark Diner for lunch. After our lunch, we wandered around Keene Valley a bit before finally heading to the Loj.The Adirondack Loj is an experience in itself. The building is what one would expect of an Adirondack lodge, just about as rustic as can be. There is a great room filled with Adirondack furniture and literature. Next to the great room is the dining area where the meals are served. Off of a hallway behind the great room are all the bedrooms; a combination of private rooms,
four and six person bunkrooms, and a twelve-person loft. Sarah and I were to spend the first night of our first anniversary celebration in bunk beds in a four-person bunkroom. If that’s not romantic, well then I’m just not sure what is.After getting settled in our room and checking out the property a bit, we went to Lake Placid for dinner. We grabbed a quick drink before going to Lisa G’s to eat and were back at the Loj by 9. The evening atmosphere at the Loj is quite special. It’s very quiet, while also being social. Most guests are reading, whether it be a trail guide or one of the many old Adirondack books or magazines provided. Folks tend to turn in early, so we followed suit and were in bed by 11.
Saturday morning we were up by 7, just 15 minutes before a staff member parades around the lodge ringing a triangle to wake the guests for breakfast. After enjoying a delicious and hearty breakfast and picking up our trail lunch that the staff packed for us (that’s right, they packed our lunch!) we hit the trail. The original plan for the day was to at least get to Algonquin Peak and nearby Wright Peak, and maybe add Iroquois as well. With the weather calling for possible showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon, we decided to forgo Iroquois (and the additional 2+ miles of hiking it would have required) and settle for just the two peaks.
And two impressive peaks they were. Algonquin is the second highest peak in New York, standing at 5,114 feet tall. The 4.3 mile trail to the summit is well eroded and quite rocky, save for some smooth, bare rock near the top. The climb is quite steady, as the trail gains almost 3,000 feet in elevation over the last 3 miles or so. Once on the summit we were rewarded with panoramic views of the Adirondack High Peaks. Clouds limited the views in some directions, but to some extent they actually enhanced it as well (pics here). 
After lingering for a bit on the summit, we headed back down to the junction with the trail to Wright. The climb up from the junction to the 4,580 foot summit was steep, but short. Again, the views were spectacular. We stayed only briefly, however, as we felt raindrops for the first time of the day. So we made our way back down the mountain, stopping for one prolonged break at the base of a waterfall. We reached the trailhead again after having covered 9.6 miles in 7 hours. Thankfully, those few drops of rain on Wright’s summit were the only ones we felt all day.Now that we were back at Heart Lake, its water never looked so enticing. So we took a quick dip in the lake, much to the delight of our weary muscles. It was quite rewarding to soak in the lake while gazing up at the mountains that we stood on just a few hours prior. When we were finally able to drag ourselves out of the water, we went to our real favorite watering hole, the Lake Placid Pub & Brewery. After grabbing a post-hike beer and appetizer we went to the Golden Arrow Resort and checked in to our room. Dinner that night was at the Moose Lodge Boathouse Restaurant at the Whiteface Club & Resort on the west shore of Lake Placid.
Sunday morning we spent some time hanging around Lake Placid. We checked out around 11 and left town shortly thereafter. As is always Sarah’s preference, we took a meandering route home. We made stops at a farmers' market in Keene Valley, the beautiful
Elk Lake Lodge, and had lunch at Once Upon a Moose Café in Minerva before reluctantly setting our course for Newton (pics here). We arrived home shortly after 9 p.m. on Sunday evening. And so concluded a wonderful weekend, and also a wonderful first year of marriage. Here's to many more of both. Thanks for reading, and enjoy your week!
