Street and Nye (or StreetnNye)

Order in ranking, Street number 31, Nye number 45.
 
The same weekend that I climbed Rocky Ridge Peak, I also climbed Street and Nye.  Unlike the day before (Rocky) when I hiked up and out with the whole group of us camping, this time it was back to the Dynamic Duo, as Steph and I set out together for our own hike.

Signing in.

Neither Street nor Nye has much of a view from the summit, so we figured the other women might not be interested in spending the day with us; especially considering we were trying to get them hooked on the hiking the 46.  They went off to hike Phelps instead, which has a fantastic view.

Steph and I set out around 8 – not fantastically early, but certainly not a late start either.  The trailhead to Street and Nye can be reached a few ways – we walked towards the Loj, and took the path marked “Mount Jo”; alternatively, you can head out past the parking station attendant booth, and take the path there marked “Mount Jo”.  The two paths do meet up eventually, at the register.

From there, you follow the path as it leads around the Lake, eventually splitting off from the Mount Jo path, and another Old Nye Ski Trail.  Shortly after this, there’s a large sign stating that the trail is no longer maintained nor marked past this point.  It should be noted that the trail is quite easy to follow, mostly.

I say mostly because when you get to the large river crossing, there are paths that lead from the trail down to the river bank.  We took the first one, assuming it to the trail, and crossed the river only to lose the trail on the other side.  (After much back and forth – both along the banks and back across the river – did we finally pull out the compass and use it while reading the guide book, realizing that we had crossed before the river swings north and needed to go back and get on the trail again.)  To save you this time and trouble, it’s important to note that a) there are two false paths to the river before the true trail leads down, and b) the true trail and river crossing are marked with cairns on both sides of the river.  If you don’t see a cairn on your side or the opposite side, don’t cross!

 

Follow these across the river.

We pulled out our river shoes to cross – I had already fallen once on the rocks and bashed my knee good, and the water was just deep enough to give me pause about walking (again) in wet boots.  The water was surprisingly not that cold – it actually felt quite nice on our feet. 

Abandoned cans, all rusty and un-usable.

From there, the trail was easily discernible as it led along the river bank, past a large meadow (and later on a beaver dam) eventually reaching the abandoned lumber camp.  Here we decided to leave a few things – it had been cold when we started out, and we had worn long pants at the beginning of our hike, so we left our pants, and water shoes, with a note stating that we had gone to Street/Nye and would be back later on that day for our belongings.  (And yes, they were still there when we got back.)

Street and Nye have a great hike up – it’s not too demanding (even the steep section is – compared to Basin, Haystack and Giant – not that bad). One thing that did surprise us – everything we’d read and Street and Nye talked about the steep bit before the trail splits for the two summits.  While there is a steep bit before the split, there’s also a not so steep section after the steep section but before the split.  So basically - once you hit the steep section, you're just over half-way to the split.  You're going to go through a section of what looks like deadwood, and things are going to look like you're coming to something summit-y, and then you'll go around a corner and....there's still path in front of you.  

I can almost....reach....

We went to Street first, as we figured get the further one out of the way.  It was fairly flat for a short bit, then it got a little steep as we wound our way up.  It's good to note that there are several paths, as people have meander their way to the summit - try to stick to the one that is the most defined to avoid trampling the surroundings too much.  I think it took us maybe 40 minutes to hit the summit - not too long, really.  Once we got there, I sat to treat a blister that was forming (duct tape over a band-aid easily solves this problem), while Steph took a few photos from the lookouts.

We quickly headed back to the split, and up Nye; it was a very quick 10 minute walk over to the Nye.  There was some gentle up and down, but the real problem was grabby branches from the bushes lining the path.

Great day for a rocky beach....

Once we hit Nye, took a few photos (of us, and the couple that we had been following to and from Street), we headed back to the split for some lunch.  There's a nice clearing with plenty of shady places to sit at the split, which was great on a bright, sunny day.  We chatted with a few hikers (there were lots out - we met over 30 hikers, which surprised us as neither summit has a view) and then headed out - making a push to hit the lumber camp and retrieve our gear (which we hoped was still there - it was.)

We took a break by the river crossing - sitting and sunning on the rocks, and drying our feet after dipping them in water.  From there we pushed on towards the trail register, and then to the Info Centre to pick up our patch (Street and Nye share a patch.) 

Total climbing time: 7 hours and 40 minutes

Left trailhead at: 8:15, returned at 3:55

Summitted Street at 12:25 (left summit at 12:31) summitted Nye at 1:08

HaBaSa from JBL

Haystack, Basin and Saddleback (HaBaSa)
Order in ranking: 3, 9 17

It was down to the Adirondacks for another long weekend of climbing and luxury camping, if you can call what we did camping, and if you can call Johns Brook Lodge luxury.  I should probably start at the beginning so you can follow that.

Backwards J is a thing, apparently

First, Johns Brook Lodge (JBL).  This is a hike-in facility run by the Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK).  It's a 5.6 km (3.5 mile) hike from The Garden parking lot to JBL.  It's a full board lodge, at least between late-June and Labour Day.  The staff, there were three when we stayed there, hike in all the food.  Any special dietary needs (gluten-free, egg allergies, etc.) need to be communicated at least 24 hours in advance so that the staff can bring in any special food (my friend Stephanie, who has celiac's, had gluten free pancakes one morning).  But this is no luxury lodge - the rooms are all dorms (there are two general 10-bed dorms, and two family four-bed dorms), there's no electricity, no shower and no flush toilet.  Not to dissuade you too much - the privies are clean, with a seat (no squat toilets!), and there are sinks to wash your hands/do a bird-bath after your climb.  The water is also potable, so you don't need to hike in water for your stay.  And, while there is no electricity (and no charging phones, batteries, or cameras), there are propane lights, and propane stoves.  We had wonderful meals (turkey, mashed potatoes, bacon, sausage, eggs, oatmeal, coffee, BBQ chicken, etc.) while we were there, and they prepared a bagged lunch for everyone each day.  Additionally, it effectively cuts 11.2 km (7 miles) off your hike; if you're planning to do the Haystack-Basin-Saddleback (HaBaSa) loop, this is definitely a good thing.

Our big plan was originally to do a Gothics-Armstrong-Upper Wolf Jaw loop, and spend a night camping at Johns Brook Lodge.  We'd hike in on the Friday, spend the night, do the loop on the Saturday, hike partway out and camp in a lean-to, then hike the rest of the way out on Sunday. 

This plan then grew to doing Saddleback-Gothics-Armstrong-Upper Wolf Jaw as a loop on Saturday, spend an extra night at JBL on Saturday, and then hike Haystack and Basin on Sunday, before hiking out.

Which changed one last time when we saw that it was to rain on the Sunday.  Everything we'd read said don't climb Basin or Haystack in the rain.  So our game plan, upon reaching the Adirondacks, was to do the HaBaSa loop on the Saturday, then the Gothics-Armstrong-Upper Wolf Jaw on Sunday.  Ambitious, to say the least.

And onwards towards JBL

Our hike in was a little slow - it was the first time that we had carried full backpacks (with clothes, sleeping bags, extra snacks, and our day packs) and we wanted to make sure to conserve some energy.  It probably took us close to two hours to reach JBL.

Once there, we quickly unpacked and sat outside enjoying the view, as well as sharing stories and tips with the other hikers.  The great thing was that most of them were also aspiring 46ers, including two women (also from Ottawa!) who were set to complete the 46 the next day with a hike up Haystack.

It was an early night for everyone, and a mad scramble the next morning as everyone prepared for their hikes.  We had filled our camelbaks and water bottles the night before, so after breakfast (eggs, oatmeal, sausages), we grabbed our lunches (two sandwiches - one pb and j, the other ham, as well as trail mix and cookies), stuffed them in our day packs, and set out.

A few broken sign-posts along the way

The first few miles were definitely easy, with a few rolling up and downs, but nothing strenuous.  This always scares me, because I know that at some point there's going to be an up, and the longer it takes to get to the up, the harder that up is.  And that certainly proved true, as we had 878 feet to climb in a mile.  But, we thought, 'how hard can it be'? 

Not very, it turned out.  It is steep, and it is rocky, and it was wet (and buggy) but it wasn't too bad.  I wouldn't want to go down it, but up - it was fine.

We got to a rocky outcropping, where a woman was sitting, and I got all excited, "Is this Little Haystack?!?"  I asked.  No, it wasn't.  "Is it BIG Haystack?!?" I asked in jest, no it isn't.  "Is it Needle-In-A-Haystack?!?" Stephanie jokingly chimmed in, and after a laugh we all agreed that would be the name of that outcropping.  So, for those of you follow us, you will first summit Needle-In-A-Haystack, then Little Haystack, then descend Devil's-Half-Mile (more on that) before finally summiting Haystack.

People picking their way down Haystack

The trek between Little Haystack and Haystack, Devil's Half-Mile, is a little bit daunting.  It involves walking carefully on small ledges along the rock face, and gingerly scaling the rock face up towards Haystack.  It's not hard, but it does require some concentration, and I definitely wouldn't like to do it in the rain, or on wet rock.  The best piece of advice I can pass on is....leave your poles (or pack them into your day pack.)  We left ours by a cairn on the way up Haystack, which  made the rock scrambling that much easier.  (And yes, they were still there when we got back down.)  Follow the yellow paint blazes and you'll be fine - there are lots of hand holds and toe grips, and for most of it, you can walk upright, if a little slanted forward.

We convinced two other hikers to do the rest of the loop with us.  Their group was only planning on doing Haystack, and they had been debating doing the Basin-Saddleback loop but were unsure.  In retrospect, I'm very, very, very glad that there were four of us.  The trail up the Saddleback cliffs was....scary.  Especially in the moment.  But I'm ahead of myself here.

Going down Haystack was a lot easier than going up - possibly because we had only spent about 20 minutes at the summit, and the way was fresh in our minds.  We raced back up and over Little Haystack, and back down to the trail, that branched off towards Basin. 

More ladders.

Basin was a little slower going.  It was quite steep, and there was a bit of rock scrambling to get up and over some of the larger boulders.  And, because of course always, there was another ladder.  I practically hopped my way up, I was so happy I didn't have to climb down the thing.  The other two people had gone on ahead, and we ambled our way towards the summit.  We're not fast hikers, and we're ok with that.  We hike at our pace, and we get there.  Plus we enjoy it along the way.

We met a few people along the way, including a couple who had come up over Saddleback before tacking Basin (doing it the opposite way from us), with full on backpacks.  Like massive full on backpacks.  So some more advice - do not do Saddleback-Basin-Haystack.  Especially if you have full on massive backpacks.

We finally made it to the summit of Basin, and looked back over the path we had come.  We could see both Little Haystack and Haystack in the distance.  It always amazes me, how distances always look massive when you see them, but seem so much smaller when you walk them.  We met up with the other two hikers from Haystack, and enjoyed a few moments rest before we left to tackle......the Cliffs of Saddleback. (dun dun dun!)

I have no idea of what's coming

Ok, so, disclaimer.  I am beyond terrified of heights.  Or rather, falling from/being pushed from heights.  Two steps up a ladder and I freak out.  (Second disclaimer:  I do not let this stop me from doing anything I really really really want.  I will tough it out and scare myself if I have to, but I will do whatever it is if I am that determined.)


So back to these cliffs.  Have you seen "The Princess Bride?"  And do you remember the Cliffs of Insanity?  It's basically that.  Only I'm exaggerating just a little bit.  (Although, we did have a woman following us, and I swear she kept gaining.  It was very Princess Bride.)   The cliffs aren't that bad.  There are three 'sets' that you have to climb.  The first one is probably the hardest, because you have no idea how to begin.  Thankfully, the other two people went first and coached us up.  Once you get the first foot up, and the first hand-hold, the rest just seems to "flow" - you can easily get up the first set of rocks.  After that there's a small area to stand and catch your breath.  Then it's up the next "set" - again, once you get going, it's easy to keep momentum up to the next flat-ish area. 

The paint blazes lead either up and over or over and down

I found the third one the hardest - this one seemed to have fewer hand-grips, but did have some space to wedge an arm against the rock and push yourself up.  And then...you're there.  You're at the top, or at least very close.  You have to walk around the rocks a bit (again, on an angle as you are still on a bit of an incline) but after one brief haul up a rock, you're at the summit.  You've made it.  You have accomplished one of the hardest hikes in the Adirondacks (that's what I think, and I swear I have read it somewhere else.)  Is it scary?  Yes.  Could you hurt yourself, badly?  Yes.  Should you have company?  Yes.  Should you do it the opposite way?  No - because then you'd see where you are going, dooooooowwwwwn, and that is just....stupid.  Go up.  Climb.  Climbing it is easier than trying to descend it and have clean underwear at the end.

Woot number 17!

Once atop Saddleback, we took a group picture with our other two hikers, Chris and Eric.  This summit was Chris's 16th, our 17th and Eric's 20th.  We were all a little battered and bruised - I have a few (very minor) scratches from my climb up, as did most of the others.  But we made it, and the pride....man.  If you're wondering if you can do it - yes you can.  Take a deep breath, and go.

We all slowly hobbled down Saddleback.  We met a crew doing trail repair on the Orebed trail - they were building a new ladder up the slide, to maybe? replace one taken by Hurricane Irene.  The devastation left behind by the hurricane is incredibly evident - the slide is desolate, and piled at the bottom is a massive amount of dead wood - trees, branches, roots.  It's just incredible.

New ladder being built

If you're thinking of doing the Orebed trail, it's not too bad, at least until the split with Gothics.  From the base of Saddleback to the bottom, it's fine, especially with the new ladders.  (I hear that the portion from the split to Gothics summit is a must-go-up, because of the cables.)  We were a little slow on descending - Stephanie and I went ahead, and Chris and Eric took it slower on the way down.  I was so ready to stop walking.  There are a few times, as you cross slides, that it might be easy to lose the trail.  Follow the cairns and the trail markers, and you'll be fine.  We did get lost at one point, but we just back-tracked to the last marker, and then made our (corrected) way from there.  I guess that's the thing with the Adirondacks; it's like the Hitch Hikers Guide To the Galaxy - Don't Panic.  If you ever think you're lost, just go back to the last marker, and re-find your way.

We walked for what seemed forever, when we hit a lean-to.  The lean-to is half way along the Orebed trail, and we couldn't believe that that is where we were.  We honestly felt like we were closer to the end.  But we kept walking, and a little bit later hit the junction for the trail that leads to JBL.  The good news is that if you're staying at JBL, you don't have to walk the half-mile back to the Interior Outpost to start your hikes - there is a trailhead at the lodge.

At this point we were moving on auto-pilot.  One foot in front of the other.  All we could think of was the BBQ at JBL that night.  Dinner is served at 6:30, and we knew it would be close.  Finally, after two river crossings, and a horrid, horrible, set of "stairs" we neared JBL. By this point it was 7:00, but thankfully dinner was still on, and there was lots of food.  As we walked in (me first, Stephanie a few seconds behind me) two massive cheers went up from the hikers already back at camp.  They clapped and cheered us as we entered the lodge and we were both overcome with the sense of camaraderie.  We quickly devested ourselves of our shoes and socks, and sat down for some well-deserved dinner.  About 10 minutes after us, in came Eric and Chris, and another massive cheer came from those of us at dinner.

Total climbing time: 10 hours and 57 minutes
Left JBL at 8:05, returned at 7:02
Summited Haystack at 12:30, Basin at 2:40, Saddleback at 4:30

Sliding Down Big Slide. An Adirondack Tale.

Big Slide
Order in ranking: number 27

Last summer, while I was enjoying East Africa and Kilimanjaro, my 'dacks partner, Stephanie, went down for a couple of day trips and climbed Lower Wolfjaw and Big Slide.  I managed to get down and climb Lower Wolfjaw last fall with the BF, but never got to do Big Slide.

So I went down this June to give it a shot.  I'd asked a few friends if they were interested, and unfortunately no one would take the bait (seriously guys, stop saying "Someday" because someday you're going to be dead, and will never have done it.  Someday might as well be today).  So I drove down by myself and hiked up and over the Brothers to Big Slide, then down via John's Brook Lodge (well, not really, but close enough.)

Ah, home.  (Stopped at construction, no picture taken while driving)

I hated it.  There, I said it.  I hate Big Slide.  Everyone will tell you that Big Slide is awesome, and you're going to love it (I know this because everyone told me it was awesome and that I would love it.) but for me, it was one giant sucky fail. 

It started off nice enough - the parking lot was mostly empty, which I've heard is true of most weekdays.  Weekends and holidays the small parking lot (The Garden) fills up quickly, but there's a shuttle that runs from Marcy Field.  Parking is $7, I think it recently increased.  The shuttle is still $5, I believe.

I signed in at 8:46 and off I went.  10 minutes in, I had to return as I had forgotten my lunch in my car.  9:02, and I was off for the second time. 

It was a pretty climb up to First Brother, and only moderately steep in places.  For the most part, it was an easy, but uphill, climb.  I think there are 8 or 9 rock ledges that you go over before you're at the summit; 3 and 4 sort of blend together, as do 6 and 7.

This may, or may not, be a summit.

I assume the summit was close to where I found the rock cairn, I couldn't find any notes anywhere in my book about it, but it seems an apt spot to put a cairn, right?  Otherwise, I have no idea what it was for.

After that, it's a quick easy climb to Second Brother, with a great view back over First Brother.  I was making really great time at this point, I think it was only an hour in.  I took a quick break for some food, then was off to conquer Third Brother, and then Big Slide.

I don't ever remember getting to the summit of Third Brother, so I'm assuming it was a treed summit, with maybe only a few views.  I must have hit it, though, as I sat down to re-read the trail info from the High Peaks Book.  I was getting a little worried about my water, and wanted to see how far I had come.  It turns out I was pretty close to the trail marker for the trail split up Big Slide.

Worst type of ladder/stairs ever invented.

Once there, I quickly started up, stopping for a moment to shake my head at the wooded "ladder" leading up Big Slide.  I hate these.  Not the going up, but the coming down.  But I was soon over them, and then scaling a log to stand in front of huge rock face wondering "How in the world do I get up this?"

Turns out you *don't*, or at least aren't supposed to.  The log is there to block it off, the real trail is off to the left, and then up over a slightly less steep portion of rock face.  Good thing to know!  So after a brief set back, I got back on track and wound my way up the summit of Big Slide.  Where I was promptly assailed by bugs.  Lots of bugs.  It was a calm day (threatening to rain, although it did hold off) so I'm assuming that a little wind would have blown those suckers away, but they did put a damper on my summit celebrations.  It was a quick photo and then off I went again, planning to eat some lunch further down the mountain.

Summit! 

I breezed through most of the downhill portion (not the stairs, which I took my time over.  I have a fear of heights and these stairs kill me) and managed to miss the trail marker going back to the Garden.  It didn't matter, as I was on the right trail, but the first time I saw a red marker I was a little worried, so to note:  It's a blue marker up the Brothers to Big Slide, a red marker down towards JBL and the Garden.

And this is where my dislike of Big Slide comes in.  My boots have no grip.  None.  (They are so bad that I'm getting new ones, and I refuse to donate my old ones to charity because I don't want to be responsible for someone using them and getting into an accident).  And as I stepped onto a dry rock, a boot slid out from underneath me.  No problem, I caught myself before I fell, and I kept going.

Then the same thing happened on a root (note:  I didn't trip.  I didn't catch a toe or a heel or anything.  My boot slid off the root) and I fell onto my right side.  No problems, I feel onto moss/grass and it cushioned my fall.  I kept going.

Then, third time being a charm, during a river crossing, I stepped onto the river bank (sloped rock) and....slid right into the river.  That's right, I went right in.  And, because I was sliding, I went in diagonally, so both boots were soaked, my pants, my top, my pack....everything.  I was horizontal in the water at one point, and the current starting carrying me downstream.

I floundered and managed to get my feet under me and I stumbled to the shore where I took stock of the situation.  I was wet, although items in my pack were relatively dry.  I took off my socks (both climbing socks and liners) and wrung them out, before putting the climbing socks back on.  I dumped out my boots, but there wasn't much to do.  They had soaked up a lot of water, and I was just going to have to deal with wearing heavy, wet boots for the next 4 miles.

After that things got worse.  I fell two more times - once on a river bank as I descended towards the water, and again as I came to the portion of the trail that actually descends (or ascends, if you're coming from JBL) the slide itself.  And here I fell hard, cracking my right elbow on the bare rock, as well as my right hip and knee.  I didn't break anything, but I have an impressive set of bruises.  I decided that I couldn't get any wetter (or dirtier) and slid down the slide on my ass.  The slide was mildly wet, not enough that it should have caused a problem, but it was wet enough to allow me to easily slide down. 

Once I got off the mountain, and onto the even ground of the path back to the Garden, things improved.  The path was incredibly muddy (they're in the process of improving trail conditions, and building new bridges over particularly muddy patches) but at this point I didn't care - my boots were wet enough, and dirty enough, that a bit of mud wasn't going to make a difference.  I ploughed through and made good time back to the Garden, where I thankfully had a change of clothes (and shoes)

Important Notes:
- Go on a week day to ensure parking at the Garden
- Bring $7 for parking
- If going in spring/early summer, bring river shoes with you on the climb.  You can change into them for the river crossings, and not have to worry about climbing in wet boots
- Markers are blue (up and over the Brothers to Big Slide), red (down Big Slide towards JBL/The Garden), yellow (off of Big Slide, on even ground towards the Garden)
- Summit was buggy
- Trail was very muddy back to the Garden

Total climbing time: 5 hours 34 minutes
Left trailhead at 9:02, returned at 2:36
Summited at 12:01

2 Summits. 4 Hours. 1 Bobsled. 1 Road-Trip.

Seeing as this will probably be the last nice long weekend before next spring, I went on a mini-road trip with my friend Steph on Saturday.  We drove down to Lake Placid, New York, to hike up to the summits of Mount Porter and Mount Cascade, two of the High Peaks in the Adirondacks.

Steph is an aspiring 46er - someone who has climbed the 46 High Peaks (that's the 46 peaks over 4'000 feet) in the Adirondacks.  While she had (previously) climbed Cascade, she had never summited Mount Porter.  Not to mention that she hadn't clocked herself on the Cascade climb, and the club needs your numbers.  For me, I was eager to get some hiking in as prep for my Kili trip next summer.  They recommend that you hike uphil/downhill as prep for you trip, and I thought that actual mountain hiking would be a great training session.

We left Ottawa at 6am.  The drive to Lake Placid takes about 3.5 hours, and knowing that we would end up spending a good chunk of time on the mountains, we wanted to make sure that we were there early.  The route to Lake Placid took us through the border crossing at Cornwall, and down through Malone, New York, and Saranac Lake.  The drive is incredibly pretty, especially at this time of year when the leaves are turning brilliant shades of orange and red.  The small colonial towns along the route were inviting - had we been going down for several days, I would have loved to have gotten out of the car and explore.

We arrived at the Mount Cascade trail head around 10:30.  We had made a pit stop at the Walmart in Malone so I could buy a pair of sandals.  (Note:  When hiking, always always always bring a change of shoes.)  The trail was busy enough with other groups going up, and the odd group coming down.  We took our time ascending - we were in no rush, and knew we needed to guard our energy as we planned to hit the summits of both Porter and Cascade.  The way going was marked by rocks, trees, branches and mud.

About a half mile from the summit of Cascade, the trail to Porter branches off.  We decided to summit Porter first as Steph hadn't hit it yet, and it was farther off, an extra 2 kilometers (.7 miles) from the branch.  The trail winds downwards for a bit, before heading back up towards its summit.  This is not a maintained hiking path, it is a winding trail that is awash is mud and water, and just a few minutes from the summit sits a giant boulder that the trail skirts in a tight line, before opening up the reveal the rocky summit, that is lined with pine trees that block the wind.

We decided to lunch at the summit of Mount Porter, as we had now been climbing for nearly 2 hours.  Porter is not nearly as popular as Cascade, so for a time we were alone, enjoying the view of Cascade across the valley.

After lunch we climbed back down, then started the quick assault on Cascade.  The summit of Cascade is thankfully only a half kilometer from the branch, which is about the only thankful thing about it.  The face of Cascade is pure rock that hikers need to scramble up, and if you're me, slide down on the seat of your pants (on purpose).

In all, it took us 4 hours to hit both summits and descend.  It seemed we would never get off the mountain, as we hiked down.  It seemed to take forever to reach the trail head, and often we were the only people on the trail.  It was such a change from the ascent, when we passed other groups, or had other people in front, behind us as we climbed.  But eventually we did reach the trail head, and signed out.  Taking off my shoes was bliss - my feet were ready for a little relief from the pounding over rocks and mud.

Our drive to Cascade had taken us past a sign that read "Bobsled Rides Today".  There is no way I can pass a sign offering bobsled rides without participating, so after our hike we took the turn off to the Mt. Van Hoevenberg Olympic Bobsled Run.

Lake Placid hosted the Olympics in both 1932 and 1980.  The bobsled track from the 1980 Olympics is still in use, and occasionally they offer rides.  At $73 for an adult, it's not cheap, but it is a once in a lifetime experience.  So I paid, and rode up the .5 miles to the start of the bobsled run.

There is nothing quite like hurtling down a mountain in a tin can, on wheels.  (Yes, in the summer, they put wheels on the bobsled.)  There's a driver in front, and a brakeman in the back.  All I had to do, was hold on (and try to keep my head from bobbling around in the zigzagging curves)  We finished the .5 mile track in 42 seconds, which seemed to be about the standard times for the "tourist track" (as I'm calling it.)  It was certainly an experience, and one I'd recommend to anyone.

After the bobsled run, and a quick dinner in Lake Placid, we started off for home around 6:30.  The sunset was unbelievable as we exited the Adirondacks, an excellent end to a somewhat crazy sounding day.