Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Stop theWhiteface News

I'm really trying to plan my summer and all i keep reading about is the most excellent ski season that awaits us after the summer. This must stop. I need a summer music calendar , the summer yoga schedule at InnerQuest, the new Donnelly's ice cream calendar - KIDDING- has it ever changed, the farmer's market calendar. Can't believe it's May already! Who is more excited about the end of school, the boys or i?

Oh, and for those bloggers that rsvp'd for Bloggers at the Barn. My apologies on the cancellation. Rest assured it will be rescheduled.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Really tough to leave

This week was too needed and too fast. Today I puttered around the garden, raked, hauled some blown down trees, picked up debris and generally basked. The boys played golf, baseball, soccer. We visited at our neighbors and walked around the lanes. We ended our stay with dinner at Casa Del Sol, a family favorite. Sounding like a broken record but never meaning it more - this place speaks to my soul.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Do if for the Blog!

We'll start at the end of the story. The final leg of our famous Waterfall Hike involved a very precarious climb to Rainbow Falls. We were on a ledge with snow up to our thighs. It was slippery and our feet were soaked. I thought it might be a bad idea to continue until Oscar said "do it for the blog, mom". So I succumbed to peer pressure from my nine year old and we continued, making it another hundred feet to see Rainbow Falls in all of its spring glory - even felt the spray. We tried to get even closer but Oscar slipped (per Oscar "and almost died"), and we decided that we had made the most of the day.


The weather was perfect for the hike, and this was one of our favorites from last year. Unfortunately, both West River Trail and East River Trail were closed because of significant snow. We didn't have our snow shoes and might have soldiered on despite the warning but I do remember there was a lot of narrow climbing and the ranger looked alarmed when I hesitated. We then decided it was our first hike in awhile and it would be ok to just take the Lake Road. This would mean we'd miss all the falls, except the grand daddy Rainbow. We hiked for about 4 miles and reached the Lower Ausable Lake Dam. The boys took their shirts off and dived into snow banks. We let our socks dry out and hung on the rocks for awhile, before our fateful decision to climb the rest to Rainbow.

The way back was easy peasy, mostly downhill. We had some Naan for sustenance. The boys passed the trail for their all-time favorite mountain..Nippletop. The giggling lasted for about a half mile. We probably hiked around 9 miles total, a great first outing. The boys came back and had brownies and we had ginger flank steak and sugar snap peas for dinner. A great escape.

** pix shot with my bberry. excuse quality

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Late Breaking News

Clarke Williams has made it to the next and final round of auditions for Jazz Academy at Lincoln Center. Cmon, you knew he would, right? If you'd like to send him a congratulatory email, he can be found at clarke.williams1@gmail.com

Monday, April 21, 2008

Renewal

Shocking change of affairs since I last wrote from the barn... Among other things, winter has gone away completely. To think skiing was two weeks ago. Sometimes it felt like it was going to stay here forever, the fun and the joy but I have to remember it was also damn cold a lot of of the time. It was hard to contend with the elusive chill. I won't miss that.

It is 70 degrees and sunny, the frogs have been busy and we have at least 20 new frogs in the pond. The neighbors have arrived to show off new chicks and new maple syrup. The pigs arrive next week at Dave and Joanne's. I am walking the land, looking for the first signs of my blackberry bushes and my few perennials. We brought the canoes out of the shed and are even thinking about taking a quick paddle.

We are here and we are letting the sun warm our faces, looking up to the mountains, and getting ready for renewal.

I know this summer will entail the best of last year but i also anticipate discovering new adventures of 46er Family 2.0. Stay tuned.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Calling all ADK Bloggers!

Based on a great idea from City Mouse/Country House, we are inviting all our favorite ADK bloggers to "Bloggers in the Barn Happy Hour" April 26th, 4pm - 6pm.

  • Stop by
  • Stay awhile
  • Have a drink and nibbles
  • Bring your significant other and/or kids and/or free-roaming dog
  • Entertainment provided by our stereo and loud children
RSVP to bridgetwi@gmail.com

Looking forward to seeing everyone.

Friday, April 11, 2008

Skiing the High Peaks

Great article about back-country skiing. Does this sound like heaven or what? Open invitation to Mike Lynch: How about teaching a family of city slickers the back-country ropes? A sumptuous dinner of your choosing will be awaiting upon descent?

In Marcy’s shadow ... a trek up Phelps Mountain

By Mike Lynch, Enterprise Outdoor Writer

Posted on: Saturday, April 5, 2008

Because of its location, the trail to Phelps Mountain is likely bypassed by hikers and skiers as much as any in the Adirondacks.

The final trailhead to Phelps Mountain is located about a mile north of Marcy Dam on the way to Mount Marcy, a popular destination because its New York state’s highest peak at 5,344 feet.

But on Saturday, the last weekend in March, four of us — Saranac Lake residents Jeff Oehler, Sue Bibeau and Phil Brown — bypassed the opportunity to ascend Mount Marcy. Instead we skinned our way to the summit of Phelps Mountain.

The original plan called for a fifth skier to join our party, but he decided to ski in the southern Adirondacks, perhaps he was also not interested by the prospect of skiing in Mt. Marcy’s shadow.

At 4,161 feet, Phelps is one of the 46 High Peaks, but it is a relatively easy climb compared to some other high peaks. It is the 32nd highest peak.

From the start of the trailhead at Adirondack Loj, it is 3.2 miles to the Phelps Mountain trailhead. From there, it is another one mile to the summit.

Phelps Mountain is named after a man — the legendary 19th-Century guide Orson Schofield Phelps — who may have never climbed the mountain.

“Phelps ... cut the first trail up Mt. Marcy and over the years guided many parties to its summit,” states the Adirondack Mountain Club’s trail guide to the High Peaks Region. “It is thus fitting that this peak, whose view is so dominated by Mt. Marcy is named after Phelps, even though he probably never climbed the peak himself.”



The trip

Prior to the trip, we were cautiously optimistic. The temperatures had fluctuated recently, spending plenty of time above and below the freezing mark.

“I heard the backcountry is icy,” Jeff said as we stood in the Adirondack Loj parking lot.

The Van Hoevenberg trail — which we took from the Adirondack Loj to Marcy Dam — was packed down by skiers and snowshoers, though it was definitely soft enough to ski.

It was also relatively warm at the lower elevations. After one mile — at the turnoff to Wright and Algonquin Peaks — we shed our first layer. (Toward the top, where temperatures were well below freezing, it would return.)

After about another mile, we arrived at Marcy Dam, where a half dozen skiers stood on the bridge admiring the view. They were headed to Mount Marcy.

Looking across the water from Marcy Dam, the sky was a crisp dark blue. The slides on Wright Peak were visible.

Phil tried to convince us to ski the slide on Wright Peak but we stuck to our original plan.

After a short break, we continued up the trail, turning left at the fork shortly after Marcy Dam. This trail leads to Mount Marcy and Phelps Mountain.

Along the way, as we would throughout the day, we ran into numerous people snowshoeing.

At one point, we stopped to talk to a group of about 10 Canadians headed to the summit of Mount Marcy. Only one of them — who happened to be dressed in a ridiculously colorful outfit — wore skis, narrow ones at that.

Phil wondered out loud how he would ski down Marcy with such skinny skis. He responded that he had been on the mountain in them numerous times before.

“I fall a lot,” said the man.

Before long, we were at the bottom of the trail to the summit of Phelps Mountain.

Up until this point, we had managed to ski the uphill sections without our skins. The scales or wax had been enough to overcome the steep parts.

From here, we would need skins. The majority of this one-mile climb is steep.

After putting on the skins, we headed up the hill. About half way up, after finishing one particularly difficult section where I had to sidestep, I headed around a sharp corner. There was a snowshoer sliding down the trail on her backside.

I moved off to the left of the trail and she slid by. Several of her friends followed. They were upright.

As we neared the summit, views of the surrounding mountains — The McIntyre Range, Marcy and others — became visible over the tops of spruce and balsam fir trees lining the trail. We were now stopping often to look around.

As distant scenery became increasing spectacular, we ran into a man snowshoeing down the hill. He informed us we were about 10 minutes from the summit.

Finally, when we reached the top, Phil remarked that Bob Marshall, the first person to climb all 46 high peaks, hadn’t enjoyed his time on this mountain.

Brown would know. He edited “Bob Marshall in the Adirondacks: Writings of a Pioneering Peak Bagger, Pond-Hopper and Wilderness Preservationist.”

Marshall wrote the first trail guide for the Adirondack Mountain Club, “The High Peaks of the Adirondacks,” published in 1922. By the time, Marshall climbed Phelps, much of its surrounding forest had been logged and then burned.

“I climbed this mountain one dark afternoon from South Meadows,” wrote Marshall. “I never enjoyed climbing a mountain so little. There were hours of pushing through terrible fire slash, working up slides and walking logs. Fortunately old lumber roads led up as far as South Meadows Mountain.

“A view over miles of ugly slash toward Heart Pond and a glimpse through the second growth toward Marcy Brook are all one can see from the summit.”

But that was hardly what we found. Instead, on the summit, we discovered an open clearing with great views.

We weren’t alone. A couple from Wilmington, Dela., who were staying in nearby Wilmington, had snowshoed to the top and were equally impressed.

As we ate lunch, the conversation steered toward a man who calls himself Pin Pin Junior. He is a Canadian who has reportedly climbed all 46 high peaks more than 70 times. The Wilmington man had encountered him on one of his trips.

Maybe they should name a mountain after him, perhaps, this one and give Phelps a different mountain. That would have suited the historic trail guide writers.

“It is a misfortune, amounting to an injustice, that the name of Old Mountain Phelps, the great Keene Valley guide, who himself named so many of the mountains, was given to the unimportant peak in North Elba on the opposite side of the range from the locality where he achieved fame,” wrote Russell M.L. Carson in “Peaks and People of the Adirondacks,” published in 1927.

But Phelps would have enjoyed this day had he skied.

Now resuming our trip, we headed off the trail for the descent, making our way through untracked powder more than a foot deep. Beneath the powder were several more feet of snow. High on the mountain, trail markers had been just a foot off the ground. Before long, Jeff fell into a spruce tree hole, burying himself up to his waist in snow.

We hadn’t found any of the ice that we had been concerned about, and we were told later Mount Marcy was just the opposite at the top. Its icy glare shimmered in the afternoon sun, warning skiers to stay away.

Making our way through the trees, we skied on a horizontal slope for the first several hundred yards or more.

Eventually, we found a section where the birches ran through the middle of the thick patches of spruces and balsam firs. We were headed toward Pelkey Basin, which would put out on the Marcy Dam Truck Trail.

The descent was fast and open, with the birches two to 20 feet apart. There was some, but not much, blowdown.

The snow was untouched and deep.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

I Love New York in April















75 degrees and sunny. The city was on fire today. The sidewalk cafes were teeming, Union Square had about 784,000 hipsters with guitars, the skateboards were flying, and Frappucinos were ubiquitous. Clarke and I had a nice walk through Greenwich Village/Chelsea to pick up Oscar. Here are a few pics of Union Square with the daily chess matches.

Mad Hot Ballroom

For those that have seen the movie, you know that the ballroom dancing program in the New York City public schools is one of the gems of the school system. I've never successfully made it through a program without crying, much to the chagrin of my boys. I have fond memories of Clarke teaching me to fox trot in 5th grade. Today was the first competition, held at Oscar's school. Oscar's school won't be competing until June but just the same, we were spellbound. I didn't have a camera but couldn't help myself from pulling out my blackberry camera and snapping madly along with the parents. It makes me feel lucky and proud to live here. P.s. The program is founded and directed by the wonderful Pierre Dulaine, who in my opinion, is a superhero. With apologies for the picture quality, enjoy!

Monday, April 7, 2008

Warning! Warning!

As we are city-bound these next weeks due to Little League season, fair warning to our ADK enthusiast friends, that these posts will be decidedly urban, un-urbane, and jam packed with trivial family life! Boy, I'm yawning just posting this. I promise I will try my darnedest to spice it up and I will be blogging about my gardening and canoe trip plans. We will be barn-bound for spring break at the end of April, though. Can't wait!!

In the meantime, enjoy our latest family addiction. I'm trying to find a way to embed but until then.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Small Fish, Big Pond

I love the idea that there are a million other people in this city doing what we do, passionate about our passions, and many are smarter, faster, younger, wiser(insert adjective of your choice here) than us. The thing with NYC is the constant inspiration and constant humbling. Our hero Clarke learned a lesson about that yesterday, as he auditioned for the Jazz Academy at Lincoln Center. He is a fantastic guitarist, true talent. He is dedicated. He is creative. And in NYC, there are many others like him. It's truly inspiring -really cool kids - but for a 13 year old, it could be tough. Not Clarke - he was brave, did a great job, and was very "chill" about it all. We should hear results in 2 weeks but I thought it was cool when one of the Lincoln Center musicians punched him on the arm on the way out and said "awesome playing". Whether he gets in or not, hanging out with the best of the best is pretty neat. We are very proud.