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| Blue Mountain | | Date Created: May 28, 2005, 12:29 AM |
With my spectacular planning skills I managed to arrive at the Adirondack Museum precicely on May 26th. The museum opens for the season on May 27th. It was then that I should have gone in search of a proper lunch and allowed my self to rest up a bit before assaulting Blue Mountain. However I decided to start my hike right away. Not the best idea I've ever had.
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The first half mile of the trail was fairly steep yet quite easy. That quickly changed. I cant tell you the exact grade of the hike but the last 3/4ths of mile or so is the kind of slope where you really dont want to make any manuvering mistakes. If you do you'll most likely get a bumpy ride down the rock untill you hit some trees.
For these really steep areas the "trail" was actually rock and there was a good ammount of water coming down which made the descent even more difficult. I can easily say this is the toughest hike I have ever completed.
After reaching the summit I was completely exhausted, feeling sick, and it was very windy and cold. I was going to climb to the top of the observatory to get a better view but only made it to the second platform. I had no energy left. And to make things worse I didnt have any "quick energy" type foods along. I did have some healthy snack bars but they didnt have the sugar I needed. |
As you can see in some of the pictures the clouds are very low. By the time I got to the bottom the summit was completely covered. After resting for about 15 minutes I realized the sun was alot lower than I wanted it to be. It had taken me 2 hours to reach the summit. The cold wind was really not conducive to resting so I decided it was time to head back down. I was still exhausted and in need of some REAL food. I reminded myself constantly on the way down to go SLOW and be cautious.
Going down a steep incline is much more difficult than up. I felt more exposed as there really wasnt a path along side the smooth rock, so a slip on the way down means a nasty tumble. I did end up slipping a few times but not in dangerous places and as a result I now have a pulled/strained muscle in my left leg. The pulled thigh muscle slowed me down even more and it was then I realized that it was starting to get darker. However by then I had reached the relatively easy part of the trail, so it wasnt too long before I was able to get to my car. As it turns out I still had an hour or so left of light after reaching the car.
I know the story might sound a bit over dramatic but the hike could have easily ended badly. The entire hike wasnt bad, terrible and nasty. There were great views, interesting things to see on the trail, and plenty of bird song to keep your ears happy. I really did enjoy the challenges it provided and learned a few things about planning for a serious hike. Would I do this hike over again? YES. Absolutely. Next time however I will be better prepaired. |
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