USA Road Trip 2020
September 24, Day 113: Pancakes with bananas for breakfast to fuel us. We needed it for the 6½ miles and 2,000′ in elevation gain to summit Hurricane Mountain in the Adirondacks. AllTrails uses rated this a 4.8 / 5 stars, and with the beautiful fall foliage we couldn’t agree more.
Fall Color on the Drive
As we followed highway 87 up from our Airbnb near Glenn Falls, NY, the leaf color was fabulous. The local sheriff department must be very worried about the leaf peepers and their safety, as we passed at least a half dozen patrol cars diligently monitoring this sparsely traveled road.
Hurricane Mountain is not one of the “4,000’s”, but it has a large rocky bald spot at the top which offers beautiful views and a fire tower. There was spectacular early fall color and views across Lake Placid in the distance. We had not originally intended to go this far north into Upstate New York. To my friend Josh Weingast, thanks for the prod to “go farther north” in the Adirondacks. To our friend Kerry O’Connor, you were right; this is “God’s Country”!
The Hike
The hike took us upward, with plenty of scrambles over branches and stones and streams and boardwalks over muddy areas. Along the way, there was a rainbow of mushrooms and every shape. Jean loves her mushroom pics! We also found a little color and trail artwork.
Hurricane Mountain Views
As we approached the top, we were stunned by the 360 views with ribbons of color everywhere. The color here reminded Jean of variegated yarn. Colors gently blend – Red, burgundy, orange, yellow, green.
A Little Friend
On the descent, I saw a little field mouse, and Jean managed to get a good picture of him because he kept curiously poking his nose out of the rotten log despite his fear and twitching. He couldn’t seem to help himself. If we had only had some cheese…
Lake Placid
We followed the hike with a short diversion to Lake Placid, home of the 1934 and 1980 Winter Olympics. Lake placid village was charming. In some ways, it reminded us of Lake Como, those smaller. It certainly would not have the same winter climate. We hope to go back again – but not in winter!
