Post Sunset Moonrise Over the Adirondacks Crane Mountain

I'd moan about how hard landscape photography is, that if you're standing on a wind blown summit at sunset it means you have to hike back in the dark...but I confess, I'd have it no other way. I love hiking at night! In fact so much so that following this wonderful scene, which didn't end with this photograph, I didn't turn on my headlamp until I reached the slab below the pond outlet, just shy of half way back. Much of that time the 3/4 moon cast a shadow in my path as I walked through the forest. Hiking by the glow of the moon is really very peaceful, even more so than via headlamp, and it's nice to get lost in the solitude of the softly lit darkness.

Darkness though is what makes November a depressing month in this part of the world, the sun only shines about 30% of possible daylight hours, and daylight is only about 9-10 hours at the start of the month. The positive is that provided you can see the sun, you don't have to wait 18 hours between nautical twilight's like in the summer. Photography is best done at the ends of the day, and November is temperate enough that spending an entire 10 hour visible light day outdoors isn't all that hard most days if you get a sunny day. Or you can time a sunset blitz hike like this ascent of Crane Mountain, and still be home in time to eat dinner at a reasonable hour, rather than midnights like you do in the summer!

I have a few "local" places where I can gain some reasonable elevation since moving to Saratoga County a few years ago, although I do miss my 30 minute drives to challenging 3,000ft+ single summit days in the Catskills, 90% of the time I'm glad to be at the foothills of the Adirondacks even if it means the same drive gets me only 1500 foot single summit days. Crane Mountain is not only a favorite semi local hike (about ~55 miles and 50 minutes) but it's a favorite hike overall in the Adirondacks. Barbara McMartin once said it was among the most beautiful summit views in ALL the Adirondacks, and although I never found the distant views to be amazing, I've always loved the general challenge of the rugged trails and steep cliffs that make Crane Mountain.

Crane is not only a great hiking mountain, but it's home to a hot bed of new Adirondack rock and ice climbing route activity. In the last 10 years Crane has seen dozens of new rock routes and tens of ice routes, some of the ice is 3-4 pitches in length.

In the trail register many people complain of the sparsely marked trails, and the first time hiker might have to be careful, more so after dark. The mountain sees at least a few dozen hikers and climbers a weekend, creating a well worn though still rugged foot trail. Though with a little care, a map, and just basic route finding skills you should be able to figure it out. Although I know the mountain well now, it was just as poorly marked the first time I hiked it!

Unfortunately, hiking isn't all glorious sunsets, moonrises, and pleasant walking via the glow of the moon. About 1/3 of the way down the very steep outlet trail, I took a pretty decent fall on one of the many sections with deep dry leaf cover over roots and slabby ragged boulder piles. This time of the year dry leaves have become waxy, and the combination of dry waxy leaves and steep descents make it like walking downhill on ball bearings. I took a jump down from one boulder into a crevasse between two boulders and the next thing I knew I was on the ground several feet below my target with my elbow and arm bleeding. The arm will heal, but I lost Black Diamond Flicklock pole when my feet came out from under me and the pole snapped in defense of my fall. One of the reasons the Flicklocks are great poles, and hadn't yet made it to the graveyard of poles in my garage, is unlike most poles with expander nuts, the expanderless Flicklocks hardly ever (perhaps never) collapse. The downside is they are made from thin gauge aluminum and are the only poles I have ever owned that I have bent...over and over and over again! They are easy enough to rebend, but at $90 a pair, I wish they were just a bit more sturdy!

Alas, it was a small price to pay for an almost summer like mid autumn day in the Adirondacks.

Colvin's First...

Colvin and Aim on the eastern viewpoint of the 3140ft Overlook Mountain.

Well it's been a month since we got the next generation trail dog. He is definitely in some ways an improved Caney, and in others a work in progress.

It's been a good month though, he has plenty of toys, and is getting lots of attention so he (knock on wood) hasn't been destructive to anything that isn't his. He is definitely a chewer though! He's pretty much house broken too. After Aim was having some issues with taking him out FREQUENTLY the first few days he has only had one accident in 3 weeks, which I am still convinced was because we were cooking and not paying attention to him. Or at least not paying attention to him asking us to go out. Caney was visibly spiteful, I think Colvin might not have that trait!

Colvin and Aim playing on the summit of Overlook Mountain, Colvin's first summit!

Training has been going well. He's smart, but he isn't Caney smart. Caney was a sponge, even if he chose to not perform a command or "stupid pet trick", he learned them almost instantly and was eager to show you at least a few times he could do it. Colvin definitely takes a bit longer, and then he too decides sometimes to not "remember" what he clearly knows. We have come, sit, and down pretty well sorted out in theory. Working on heel (or at least loose leash walking since I never really understood the purpose of heel anyway to a suburban or rural dog, I'm sure it's useful in dense urban areas) and stay. However, doing them with distractions is still not a sure thing, Colvin is much more easily distracted than Caney was, partially because he is more fit and more energetic. Lately the cat has been getting put in the crate while we work on things so we have one less distraction. It seems like Jasper doesn't really appreciate anyone else playing with his dog.

Speaking of the cat, Jasper and Colvin are doing great together, although unlike Caney and Jasper whom sort of shared a bond and were very gentle in their play; Colvin and Jasper play much too rough. I'm definitely concerned one of them is going to get hurt, but they both do like each other, and Jasper definitely is the instigator if Colvin happens to not show any interest. After Jasper warmed up to Colvin you could definitely see he is the type of cat that does need a dog to keep him occupied. He really hadn't had a dog to play with since about last winter when Caney first became really sick.

Colvin has definitely been racking up the miles, he's logged at least 10 and as many as 20 miles a week since the second week we had him, he's been to both the Adirondack and Catskill Forest Preserves, summited a 3000ft peak, and been off the leash on the trail. His weatherproof fur is awesome, Caney was (once again) a sponge. He soaked up rain, mud, and water like he was the Shamwow, although somehow he never looked dirty. Colvin on the other hand barely gets wet even in the rain, and then he is dry in 5 minutes. Colvin's front paws are huge, which of course is great in the snow. Caney had tiny paws. I'm also hoping Colvin's larger paw surface area will distribute the abuse of New Hampshire talus better than Caney's paws did.

Oh, and he's been to the vet where they ooohed and ahhhed over how handsome he is. Other than the thermometer up the butt, the blood draw, the vaccines, and the nail clipping (Colvin has black nails so I am skittish about cutting them myself, yet!) he said it was tons of fun. Other than the $350 bill for a well pet checkup, we agreed as well!

All in all it's been a good first month, hopefully by next month we will have all the commands down and can really start hitting the trail, I know he is going to be a great dog while mountain biking because he loves to run!

Anything But Typical, Utterly Unpredictable, the Adirondacks

For 2 out of the first 3 weekends of 2010, I have been fortunate to be blessed with plenty of winter, and time to enjoy it in the Adirondacks. Save for last weekend, when it was a holiday, the Adirondack Ice Festival, and downright unseasonably warm, I have enjoyed 6 days of 20 in the Adirondacks. Had it been a bit colder, I'd have made it 9 of 20. That is a darn good batting average if you ask me!

As many days as I've spent in the Daks, I really haven't shot that many frames. Snow, cloud cover, extreme cold, and my poor fitness have conspired to keep creativity to a minimum. Of course, the beauty of nature photography is if the weather doesn't pan out as expected, you can just revert to being a hiker.

That being said, my primary focus wasn't really photography anyway, not having a personal trainer with a VO2 max of 240 anymore (Lance Armstrong's freakish VO2 max is about 80 as a reference point), I am badly out of shape, and never really motivated to get back into shape till winter arrives. So the last few weekends, photography has been secondary to being a hiker, which will then lead to being a climber the second half of winter, when the ice turns February plasticky, rather than January bullet proof. All of which will lead to better photography since I will be able to carry more equipment and cover more ground.

In years past, my mountain guide would set the pace, glare at me when it was getting late early, and overall remind me of how disappointing it was to have such a slow bi-ped as a caretaker. I've never been good at setting a pace, but this year I have little choice.

At the same time, keeping things simple is nice, one lens, minimal filters, and the unpredictability of the Adirondack weather...

Chasing Sunsets Above Lake George

On my day off for the holiday Monday I decided to change things up. Rather than shoot for a sunset, I'd sleep in and do an afternoon hike of a mountain on Lake Georges eastern shore.

While this area is amazingly close to where I live , really we've only done a handful of hikes in the region over the years. Lots of options on both shores and a short distance beyond including Black Mountain (done in 2001), Buck Mountain, Shelving Rock Mountain, Sleeping Beauty, Cat Head, Crane, and the Tongue Mountain Range (done in 2002). Since I'm headed back to the beautiful Tongue Range in a few weeks I narrowed it down to Sleeping Beauty or Buck Mountain.

photo: Aim and Caney on Black Mountain c. 2003 with Lake George in the background.

Buck Mountain is a 2300ft mountain on the lakes eastern shore, with near 360* views of the surrounding lakes and mountains. Although the 300ft elevation of the trail head gives this hike a respectable 4000ft gain/loss over 6.4 miles, the hike up is downright gentle by northeastern and Adirondack standards. Most of the hike, if not all of it would make for a very fine ski if there is enough snow, and the skiers did not mind the several stream crossings to be navigated. Only the last 200ft or so is very steep (more than a few percent grade with dropoffs).

So I got to the trail head about 2:30pm. After lacing my boots and then deciding with the wind that my little 2.5 tripod would fair no worse than my 9lb tripod, I was off.

I left the snowshoes, there hasn't been much snow, and with the warm spell and rain I was actually expecting more ice. I took my crampons, but never even considered using them.

On the hike up I passed what looks like a nice little rock climb on a detached boulder. I didn't get close, but I snapped a shot of it to remind me to come back. It was a 40ft+ right leaning fist crack that joined up with another fist to off width crack to reach the top of the boulder. There are also a few waterfalls along the trail. In spring I am sure this is a great little hike with kids, or for photographers looking for cascades and wildflowers. I stopped off at 2 of them which in the end probably cost me the sunset from the summit.

The guide book said this approach (the south) was more scenic, and had views, but unless they were specifically talking about winter, I don't see how you could see a thing with the trees in bloom. Not only that, but graded climbs are the pits, I like to feel like I am making progress and switch backs and wide trails make me feel the opposite.

That said, there were great views of the sunset, and it was a beautiful day. The summit is very nice, with great views of the 22 mile Lake George, Vermont, Massachusetts, and the central Adirondacks.

I just got a wind meter to play with, so no more guessing the summit winds after this post, but for this last hike we'll have to go with my guess. I'm thinking 10-15mph with 20+mph gust. Looking at the Glens Falls weather station I probably wasn't far off, and the summits are always windier. In any case, photography at 6*F (-14C) in 20mph gust isn't all that appealing. So I put on my down jacket and worked really fast to get something before I got too cold.

I'd missed the sunset, actually saw it through the trees, and darn it was nice. One thing about sunsets, unlike the sunrise which is anticlimactic, a sunset isn't over till I say it is. And if you are persistent, you can create some really spectacular images that even the naked eye can't see because of the subtleties of the light.

So I took about 20 images (ranging from 1/15s to 1/2s) with my camera on a tripod and a cable release to activate the shutter, while I blocked the wind from hitting the camera. After about 10 minutes we cleared out pretty quick.

I hauled down the descent of the steep rock to get warm, by the time we hit the trees (about 2 minutes) I was toasty warm.

On the hike out the light of the rising full moon was hard to miss. It was casting shadows so strong I was forced to use my headlamp to counteract them. I got to a point where I was thinking about some photo ideas I had which involved a moonlit landscape, a large moon (close to full), and my trusty headlamp. This is all experimental but the results aren't bad for 4 attempts.

The results (20 seconds, f/13, tripod, cable release, headlamp to "paint" light on the tree):

The rest of the hike out was uneventful, other than wishing I had a set of short fat approach skis/snowshoe skis to glide out on.

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