Jackson Lo: October 2013

Every since visiting Vancouver, I've developed this interest in exploring mountains :) Since Vancouver is thousands of miles of away, we had to look for other options that are in closer reach. Our research ultimately led us to the Adirondack Mountains (located in New York State). We discovered that there were a lot of trails and mountains we could have climbed. But of course, our brave souls told us to climb the tallest - Mount Marcy. "Mount Marcy is the highest point in New York State, with an elevation of 5,343 feet (1,629 m)." according to Wikipedia. It only took us 5 hours to hike up one way ;) And boy of boy, it was painful walk down.

Since this was a hike that would take a full day to complete, we decided to find a place to over for a couple nights in Keene, NY. The drive to the town was about 3-3.5 hours. From Ottawa, it's about 256 km (155 miles) away. We managed to find a very comforting place to stay on Airbnb. Breakfast was included, so that was a plus :)

On the day of the hike, we prepared ourselves for the longest hike of our lives. We anticipated that the hike would be long one. But little did we know what a 5 hour hike would feel in the end. Most of the hikers we came across were camping through the hike. Smart. We started our morning really early, so we eventually climbed up (5 hours) and down (4.5 hours), for a total of 9.5 hours. We made it down before the sun began setting, although it was getting close.

When I said "we prepared ourselves", we actually came short on our supply of water and snacks! We made the mistake of not packing enough and for a hike like this one, it would have been beneficial for us to have packed at least two additional bottles of water and plenty more snacks.

Was it all worth it? Definitely! The view was breathtaking! Is it for beginner? Probably not. But, if you do go, be sure to pack plenty of water and snacks!

Here are some pictures from our hike: