The hike was a challenge--It was too much, but I'm happy that I completed it. On Saturday, September 15, 2012, six of us hiked to the top of Porter and then Cascade Mountain. We started hiking at 10:00 A.M. and were back at our cars at 04:00 P.M. We had six in our party: myself, Ed, Hank, Laura, Elizabeth, and Steve S, plus 2 golden retrievers. The weather was overcast and cool. It had rained hard the night before, and the trees, and ground were wet, but there was almost no rain when we hiked. Most of the trail was over big rocks, and the few parts that were not were either mud or mud puddles. Both legs were in pain by the end, but at least now I can say that I climbed two of the high peaks.
Several hours after we started hiking, family friend Timothy W. who lives in Lake Placid came looking for us, and found us somewhere between Porter and Cascade. Timothy is a regular hiker and skier. He went to the top of Cascade with us, and for him, it was like an afternoon stroll in the park.
Until I had started preparing for this hike, I had never worn a backpack before. I had been worried about wearing a weighted backpack all day, but it turned out, the weight of the backpack was non-issue. The biggest issue was the weight of me.
Going up was a cardiovascular workout. I paced myself to make sure I had enough energy to finish. Coming down was difficult on the leg muscles. I slipped and fell about half a dozen times. I pulled a muscle slightly in my left quadriceps, and on one fall. I seriously bruised my left thigh on a rock.
Far up the main trail, it forks. To the left was the way to Porter and to the right, Cascade. While descending from Porter, I seriously considered skipping the climb to the peak Cascade, but the climb to the top of Cascade from that point was less than half of the climb to the top of Porter, and my feet just kept going. The walk between Porter and Cascade is along a ridge-line and is more horizontal than vertical.
On the descent from Porter, Ed and I unknowingly took a side trail by accident and arrived at a rock outcropping that had a magnificent view. A few other hikers were there also, taking photos. Luckily, they knew the way back to the main trail because we sure didn't.
At the higher elevation levels, most of the trees along the trail were covered with lichen and more than one kind. One of the of lichens was usnea (usnea barbata I think), also known as, "old man's beard." I remembered reading as a kid that American Indians used it for an antibiotics. It only grows under certain specific conditions.
The approach to the peak of Cascade involved climbing on several sheer rock faces. Just before climbing one of the sheer rock areas, I was in awe as I watched the wind, blow mist over the rock formation, right in front of me. Two or three times, I crawled on all fours. There was only one spot near the summit that was tricky. Just beneath the summit of Cascade but still on the sheer rock part, there was a plateau with green grasses and lichen growing. A sign asked people to stay away from the area. The sign said that it was an alpine eco-system that they were trying to revive.
The view from the top of Cascade was fantastic, better than advertised, better than photos. For 360 degrees, all you see are other mountains and wilderness. I felt slightly phobic at the top--a fear of heights, a fear of falling. Under high winds, a person could easily slip or get blown off the top. It would also be a dangerous place to be in a lightening storm.
On the trail, I noticed that the experienced hikers used hiking poles. Previously, I assumed that hiking poles were something that the hiking shops sold for high profit margins to unwitting city slickers. But apparently, when going down hill, they take some of the load off the thigh muscles and help prevent falls as well. I saw Timothy W. use them to vault the tricky spot on the rock face.
I wore a pair of Colombia hiking sneakers that I bought from Dick's Sporting Goods for $50.00. They have excellent foot support and traction. After six hours of hiking, even though my legs were in pain, I was amazed that my feet and ankles did not hurt.
In the last hour of the hike, I kept meeting hikers who were on their way up. I warned each one to make sure that they are off the mountain before dark--which happened around 07:00+ P.M. but it is darker in the mountains sooner because of the trees blocking the sun.
Overall, the hike was humbling, an exercise in limits, risk, planning, and learning not to underestimate Mother Nature. Cascade and Porter are the shortest and easiest of the forty-six high peaks to climb. I now realize that climbing all forty-six peaks will be a much greater challenge than I previously expected. I am not sure if I can do it, but I am looking forward to attempting the next mountain. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak, grossly overweight and out of shape.
Lessons learned:
Wear or bring a hat or something with a hood. Otherwise, your head will be very cold from sweat. At the last second, I took a baseball hat from brother Ed's trunk, and it was just enough to keep my head warm. Bring extra clothing. The two cotton shirts that I wore got completely soaked in sweat after about 15 minutes and stayed that way for the rest of the hike. Only the raincoat prevented me from getting serious hypothermia. Under the raincoat, I was soaking wet for 6 hours. Only the fact that I was moving and wearing a backpack kept me warm. Once on the peak and exposed to the wind, I was shivering.
Do not wear cotton next to the skin. It retains water. Wear wool or synthetics.
Drink water regularly even if you do not feel thirsty. I only drank 2 or 3 three bottles of water, and I believe I was dehydrated by the end.
Bring more food than you think you will need--trail mix, dried fruit, buttered rolls--anything with carbohydrates. Al I had was a buttered roll that I bought at the last minute from the Stewarts in Brant Lake. Luckily, when were were on the peaks, Ed gave me some of his trail mix. The M&Ms in the trail mix were a nice touch (a tip of the hat to Ed's wife Cindy).
When walking/climbing, develop a habit of putting your whole foot on the ground whenever possible. Make sure you are balanced before shifting your weight and planting the next foot. Do not step with just your toes or heels alone unless you have no other choice.
You can easily get lost even using well-marked trails. Keep your head about you.
Bring a whistle and a flashlight.
Time your hike so that you will be off the mountain well before dark. Give yourself a large margin of error.
Some links about Porter and Cascade Mountains:
Cascade & Porter Mountains (#15 & #16)
Cascade Mountain and Porter Mountain, Adirondack Day Hike
Cascade Mountain, by Dr. Stewart N. Delman, DDS
Cascade Mountain
Stephen M. Bauer
Several hours after we started hiking, family friend Timothy W. who lives in Lake Placid came looking for us, and found us somewhere between Porter and Cascade. Timothy is a regular hiker and skier. He went to the top of Cascade with us, and for him, it was like an afternoon stroll in the park.
Until I had started preparing for this hike, I had never worn a backpack before. I had been worried about wearing a weighted backpack all day, but it turned out, the weight of the backpack was non-issue. The biggest issue was the weight of me.
Going up was a cardiovascular workout. I paced myself to make sure I had enough energy to finish. Coming down was difficult on the leg muscles. I slipped and fell about half a dozen times. I pulled a muscle slightly in my left quadriceps, and on one fall. I seriously bruised my left thigh on a rock.
Far up the main trail, it forks. To the left was the way to Porter and to the right, Cascade. While descending from Porter, I seriously considered skipping the climb to the peak Cascade, but the climb to the top of Cascade from that point was less than half of the climb to the top of Porter, and my feet just kept going. The walk between Porter and Cascade is along a ridge-line and is more horizontal than vertical.
On the descent from Porter, Ed and I unknowingly took a side trail by accident and arrived at a rock outcropping that had a magnificent view. A few other hikers were there also, taking photos. Luckily, they knew the way back to the main trail because we sure didn't.
The approach to the peak of Cascade involved climbing on several sheer rock faces. Just before climbing one of the sheer rock areas, I was in awe as I watched the wind, blow mist over the rock formation, right in front of me. Two or three times, I crawled on all fours. There was only one spot near the summit that was tricky. Just beneath the summit of Cascade but still on the sheer rock part, there was a plateau with green grasses and lichen growing. A sign asked people to stay away from the area. The sign said that it was an alpine eco-system that they were trying to revive.
The view from the top of Cascade was fantastic, better than advertised, better than photos. For 360 degrees, all you see are other mountains and wilderness. I felt slightly phobic at the top--a fear of heights, a fear of falling. Under high winds, a person could easily slip or get blown off the top. It would also be a dangerous place to be in a lightening storm.
On the trail, I noticed that the experienced hikers used hiking poles. Previously, I assumed that hiking poles were something that the hiking shops sold for high profit margins to unwitting city slickers. But apparently, when going down hill, they take some of the load off the thigh muscles and help prevent falls as well. I saw Timothy W. use them to vault the tricky spot on the rock face.
I wore a pair of Colombia hiking sneakers that I bought from Dick's Sporting Goods for $50.00. They have excellent foot support and traction. After six hours of hiking, even though my legs were in pain, I was amazed that my feet and ankles did not hurt.
In the last hour of the hike, I kept meeting hikers who were on their way up. I warned each one to make sure that they are off the mountain before dark--which happened around 07:00+ P.M. but it is darker in the mountains sooner because of the trees blocking the sun.
Overall, the hike was humbling, an exercise in limits, risk, planning, and learning not to underestimate Mother Nature. Cascade and Porter are the shortest and easiest of the forty-six high peaks to climb. I now realize that climbing all forty-six peaks will be a much greater challenge than I previously expected. I am not sure if I can do it, but I am looking forward to attempting the next mountain. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak, grossly overweight and out of shape.
Lessons learned:
Wear or bring a hat or something with a hood. Otherwise, your head will be very cold from sweat. At the last second, I took a baseball hat from brother Ed's trunk, and it was just enough to keep my head warm. Bring extra clothing. The two cotton shirts that I wore got completely soaked in sweat after about 15 minutes and stayed that way for the rest of the hike. Only the raincoat prevented me from getting serious hypothermia. Under the raincoat, I was soaking wet for 6 hours. Only the fact that I was moving and wearing a backpack kept me warm. Once on the peak and exposed to the wind, I was shivering.
Do not wear cotton next to the skin. It retains water. Wear wool or synthetics.
Drink water regularly even if you do not feel thirsty. I only drank 2 or 3 three bottles of water, and I believe I was dehydrated by the end.
Bring more food than you think you will need--trail mix, dried fruit, buttered rolls--anything with carbohydrates. Al I had was a buttered roll that I bought at the last minute from the Stewarts in Brant Lake. Luckily, when were were on the peaks, Ed gave me some of his trail mix. The M&Ms in the trail mix were a nice touch (a tip of the hat to Ed's wife Cindy).
When walking/climbing, develop a habit of putting your whole foot on the ground whenever possible. Make sure you are balanced before shifting your weight and planting the next foot. Do not step with just your toes or heels alone unless you have no other choice.
You can easily get lost even using well-marked trails. Keep your head about you.
Bring a whistle and a flashlight.
Time your hike so that you will be off the mountain well before dark. Give yourself a large margin of error.
Some links about Porter and Cascade Mountains:
Cascade & Porter Mountains (#15 & #16)
Cascade Mountain and Porter Mountain, Adirondack Day Hike
Cascade Mountain, by Dr. Stewart N. Delman, DDS
Cascade Mountain
