Adirondacks, Lake Placid, New York

5 Days In The Adirondacks


Day 0:
Upstate New York beckons as we prepare for our late summer trip to the Adirondacks --- mother of all Northeast trails.


Day 1: Three Needles In a Wet Haystack

We woke up early, excited to get to the trails. But Mother Nature was sprinkling us with blessings, I guess, because the drizzle did not stop.

"We should go anyway...", Dale said. "because if we wait for rain to stop, we might not do any hikes.", he added.

So, on to the trails.

We shuttled to the trailhead off I86 and immediately went to the other end near 73. The trail going to the Haystack mountain shared the first miles with the Red Trail, also known as the 'Jackrabbit Trail'. It was still drizzling so we were in our rain gears.

We were slow and deliberate with our steps through the rain-drenched soft trails. It is so refreshing to see how green those leaves are this time of year. There were also signs of fall coming because of some the leaves were shedding their chlorophyl already.

First stop was a Lean-To marked only as 'Placid'. We stopped there and waited for a few minutes because at that time, the rain came down a little harder.

Not bad --- for a first hike.



Day 2: Lost In The Whiteface Mountain

This hike came as a big surprise for us. The trail was a little difficult even for experienced hikers like us. The narrow not-so-well-maintained trails were so much different from the trails back in Pennsylvania. And the open ledges where you have to scramble to get an elevation made it even more strenous.

We got off-tracked twice.


Day 3: Gorges, Waterfalls & Lakes

Today is rest day... a prelude to the Big Hike on New York State's tallest mountain --- Mount Marcy.

We started the day with a hearty breakfast of selected pastries., fruits, coffee and tea courtesy of our ever-hospitable host, Mr. Schulte. He also gave us pointers on where's the most reasonable hiking path to the top of Mt. Marcy.

9:30 a.m. We left the lodge and went to the High Falls Gorge. The Gorge is a privately-owned tourist attraction. Hence, the entrance fee of $11.50 (the only disappointment our group had because we always thought that these natural wonders should be free since Mother Nature provides them for everybody to experience)... but hey, on the other hand, they need money to protect and maintain the place for us. It was a nice gorge with a series of small waterfalls running through it. After that, we enjoyed a 2-mile hike on the trail adjacent to the gorge. It was a surprising little hike because we saw a good variety of mushrooms along the way.

11:00 a.m. Next stop: AuSable Chasm. Nestled in a small Upstate NY town, this natural wonder is a must-see. It's also has a reddish high gorges and a more defined waterfalls that you can see from the bridge. In fact, one of the gorges is shaped like a face of the elephant! 12:15 p.m.A last-minute change on our itinerary found us on the shore of Lake Champlain. The lake was idyllic as the only boat that was running was the Burlington Vermont ferry. We visited the beach and the pier and did some window shopping on the gift shop.At this time, we were ready for a big lunch...

1:30 p.m. Downtown Lake PlacidWe decided to drive back to Lake Placid to have lunch and do some shopping.


Day 4: Begging For Mercy At Mount Marcy

The smell of early morning dew permeates the air as we prepare for yet another difficult hike. I thought to myself: ‘we have to be supermen in order to climb another 46er’…

The climb to Mt. Marcy started with a nice flat hike culminating in a very serene lake. We crossed the lake on a bridge close to its edge providing us with a 360-degree view of the lake and the foliage around it. It was a picturesque place with the trees that are lined along the banks mirroring itself on the water.

We were on for a good hike.


Gradual Climb On a Rocky Trail
The next section was not only rocky but also we had to do a few brook crossings culminating at the Indian Falls. The view of the Whiteface Mountain from the open ledge atop the waterfalls was awesome! We could not believe ourselves that, a day ago, we were on top of the tall mountain we could see in the horizon! Unbelievable!

So Close, Yet So Far
We continued onto Little Marcy mountain, passing the Phelps Mountain trail. I decided to go ahead of Tom & Dale on this section because I liked hopping on the rocks that made the trail. When I reached the next intersection (of the trails to the Adirondacks Loj and Mt. Holden campsite), I waited for my buddies to join me, giving me an 'alone time' enough for me to meditate. With the tall summit of Mount Marcy infront of me (I could see the silhouette of people already on top moving around the summit) and the vastness of the immediate Adirondack wilderness around me, I realized how small we were on the scheme of things. And how we were just passers-by on this world. It's just up to us to enjoy and experience the God-given natural resources around us. My 'alone time' was suddenly interrupted by voices from the trail. I yelled out: "Tom! Dale!" just to make sure that those were my friends and not some bears :)

It was them and on to the summit!


Climb (Not Hike) To The Top
The last section to the top was mad scrambling on the open ledges. This is the Alpine section of the trail where warning about messing up the fragile vegetation was everywhere. So, aside from minding where you place your foot, you also have to mind the plants, shrubs and trees around you!

There were also funny-looking triangular stone small 'towers' as you climb. A volunteer from the ADK (Adirodacks Mountain Club) told me that they were there for a reason: they are called "" and are used to give them an idea how much snow they have on the trail in winter. I couldn't imagine people hiking to the top of the mountain in a snowy conditions! They must be crazy!

After so much scrambling, I finally reached the top with welcoming smiles from an Ohio hiker and the young ADK volunteer. The view on top was amazing! The Adirondack mountain ranges, the clear blue skies (we were blessed by a very good weather, very conducive for a Sunday hike), everything was wonderful. Among the most notable view was the Whiteface Mountain on the North.Like most of our hiking trips, we rewarded ourselves with a packed lunch on top of the mountain. And after a few minutes of 'taking it all in', we decided to go back down the mountain giving us that sense of satisfaction of a successful hiking trip...

Rocky Run Trail - Lima, Pennsylvania

To prepare for our 5-day trip to the Adirondacks, Tom, Dale & I made an impromptu hike near the Wawa Dairies in Lima, PA. We followed a trail that leads us to the Tyler Arboretum. We hiked inside the arboretum, enjoying the landscaped and well-organized horticulture center. The most enjoyable part was the Butterfly farm with different variety of butterflies in their different stages of life.

Side Trip: Dairy Queen for Dale's favorite: strawberry shake. The Flamethrower's Burger was not bad either!

White Clay Creek State Park

Wed.,Aug. 16, 2006. Newark, Delaware

New Trails, New Faces

Once you got hooked into hiking, you always find yourself looking for new trails and new places to hike. I googled 'Wilmington trails' and found the website of the Wilmington Trail Club. Just like the other outdoors group, the club offer a wide-range of outdoor activities with hiking as their main interest.

I decided to join one of their short hikes on Wednesdays. On this particular Wednesday, they planned to hike the White Clay Creek Trail in Newark, Delaware.

A good number of regular WTC hikers showed up.

I met, Julius and his wife, Nancy who immediately approached me and asked: "Were you the one who called my husband?"... I politely replied: "Yes!". I was happy that they waited for at least 10 minutes before they left the trailhead (I was late 7 minutes trying to find the parking lot near Possum Hill).

After a round of introduction (mentioning your name), we were off hiking the trails.

The trail itself was very well-kept with a very good combinations of open fields, wooded areas, creek crossings, and a short-paved segment. The hike leader said that we covered 4.5 miles.

One of the things that I learned from these hikes (when you were the 'new' hiker) is that everybody there possesses this camaraderie --- it's an instant liking with each other or just like what Nancy said: "we walk in the same beat of a drum..."

Side Trip: Timothy's at the park vicinity.

Banaue-Sagada, Philippines

Stairways To Heaven; Waterways To Earth

Nestled in the mountains in the northern part of the Philippines' biggest island - Luzon, the rice terraces of Banaue and Sagada lie majestically as one of the most picturesque sites of the world. Once you set sights on these man-made wonders, you can't help but wonder how the native Ifugaos made those ladder-like farm carved on the mountainsides or how diligent these natives are.

I had the opportunity, on the prodding of some close friends, to visit these awesome places up North in the Philippines. It was worth the trip as my other trips in some other parts of the world. It also made me realized how naturally beautiful the Philippines is.

From the world-renowned Banaue Rice Terraces (considered as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO), to those long winding (almost scary) roads which will literally take your breath away, to the smiles of the colorful Ifugaos, to the beautiful waterfalls, the adventurous cave, the hanging coffins, and the slowness of life in that region made my vacation so memorable.

Just like how I recommend to my friends that one should at least once see the Pyramids in Eqypt, one should also make that trip to Banaue & Sagada --- where (as I told my niece, Syrille on our way home) native folks their created their stairways to heaven (rice terraces) and Mother Nature carved some waterways from heaven (waterfalls)... It is indeed a heavenly place...

Puerto Galera, Philippines

White Beach, Oriental Mindoro, The Philippines


Puerto Galera

One of the more popular beaches in the Philippines, Puerto Galera offers convenience with its proximity to the capital, Manila.

Most of the beach-goers here are from the nearby cities... and tourists flock to this beach in summertime.

Horseshoe Trail Thru Hikers

Sun, May 15. Horse-Shoe Trail Finale (Section 13 - Stony Creek Road to end on the Appalachian Trail to the parking lot). 2D11.7

Tom and Dale were on the final leg of their Horse-Shoe trail hike. Along with five (5) more Appalachian Mountain Club -AMC members (or I fondly called us AM-Seers), we started our hike along the Stony Creek on Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.

We had a gradual ascent on our first hill, seeing a snake on one of our stops, then we made a detour to the Fire Tower which provided us nice vistas of the Appalachian Trail, a Lake and a dam, and of course the Horse-Shoe Trail. We had lunch at the foot of the tower and head to the 'Boulder City' -- a section of the trail where you will be traversing a field of large boulders. At end of this rocky walk is the start of the second ascent on a rocky trail up to the very end of the Horsh-Shoe Trail.

We ended our hike with a little more than 3-mile hike on the Appalachian Trail (of course, rocky trails too). I actually joked that maybe they should call the Pennsylvania section of the AT to be 'Rocky Pennsylvania' :)

Side Trip: Back to the Udder Restaurant in Lancaster County for ice cream

French Creek State Park

Sun., May 1, 3C10 , 10 miles, brisk pace, some hills. Meet at Hopewell Lake parking lot at 10 am. Bring snacks and/or lunch. Especially bring water. Dale B. Incommunicado after Saturday 5pm. Hopewell Lake is close to Park Office, off of PA 345, south of Birdsboro, Pennsylvania, and north of PA 23.

A Large group of AM-Seers showed up for this hike. We started walking along the Hopewell Lake, passing through the Hopewell Furnace farm, onto the White/Red Trail to an overlook called Miller's Pt. The group decided to have lunch there (complete with insects hovering our heads :)

We looped back via the Lenape and Boone Trail to the Hopewell Lake Parking Lot.

Susquehanna State Park

Sat.,Apr. 23. Susquehanna State Park, near Havre de Grace, Maryland. 2C12.

Tom organized yet another good hike near the Chesapeake Bay. We carpooled from Valley Forge Park to another meeting place near the Brandywine River Museum in Chester County and on to Conowingo, Maryland. We found the trailhead close to the Conowingo Hydro-electric plant.

We started following the Mason-Dixon Trail (a flat trail) leading to the Susquehanna State Park. The park has nicely-groomed trail and offers some interesting points like a n old furnace, a eco-filter area, and the Susquehanna Creek. We hiked along ridgeline on our way back.

Side Trip: Price's Seafood in Havre de Grace, Maryland. The spiced crabs were wonderful!

Evansburg In A Rainy Winter Day

Mud! Mud! And more mud!

The Evansburg State Park, located at the borders of Collegeville and Norriton, lived up to its reputation --- that it has the muddiest trail on Southeastern PA. But die-hard AMSeers as we are, Tom, Dale, Karen and I went on and traversed the 5-mile White Trail of the park. We live for challenges like this and we were rewarded by a nice 'high-degree-of-difficulty' hike (not to mention the very dirty boots)...

Sidetrip:
Tosco Pizzeria along Ridge Pike. The veggie pizza was great!

Middle Creek, Lancaster, PA

Mon., Dec. 13. Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area, Lancaster County. 2C8+. Meet at 9:00 AM., Valley Forge Park lower level parking lot below the Visitor Center. Middle Creek is known for the migration of large flocks of Snow Geese. We will repeat this hike in the spring, when migration takes place. For now, here's a chance to put off Christmas shopping!

Four of us (AMC-DV members) went for a Monday scouting hike in the Lancaster Area. Driving from the meeting point to the trailhead was hike leader Tom (Sherwood) and with us are AMC-DV No. 1 Hiker, Dale (Brandeth) and Bob (Lentz). We took 202S to 30W and hit US 322 on our way there. We passed by the scenic towns of Ephrata and Clay, Pennsylvania. Weather changed from cloudy (from the time we left Valley Forge) to sunny (when we got to the trailhead).

Tom suggested that we used the ''Orange vests" because it is still considered as hunting season and it is safe for hikers to do so. So, after prepping ourselves for the hike, we decided to take the 1.4-mile Conservation Trail first. Then, we proceeded to follow the Middle Creek Trail and onto the Deer Run Trail, passing thru some of the intersecting Horshoe Trail and the Valley View Trail. And finally, we took the SpiceBush Trail on our way back to the Wildlife Management Parking Area. We started the hike at around 10:45am and finished it by 2:40pm (almost four hours of hiking). Along the way, we climbed two (2) hills, saw the migrating birds on the lake, got 'side-tracked' twice :), and most of all, enjoyed the scenic spots that this wildlife reserve offers. Dale suggested that hikes on this area would be highly enjoyable in late Spring (around April-May)...and we promised we will be back then.

SIDETRIP: Clay Bookstore which sells various maps.

Boston, Massachussetts

The City of Sam Adams & Quincy Adams


Boston has always been the front-runner in the fight for freedom and civil liberties in America. It has the widest concentration of intellectuals with its diverse educational community.

It also boast of its historic beginnings dating back to the American Revolution and the Mayflower Landing.

I have always wanted to 'live' here in Boston. After so many years in the consulting business, I finally landed an assignment in the 'HUB' (other name of Boston). I find the city almost the same size as Philadelphia (where I live most of my stay in the US) and much smaller than New York City.

Center of Boston, for me, is the Faneuil Hall District. With its 'old-town' establishments, it gives you the feeling that you are indeed in Small Town, USA from way back. Food and delicacies are abound inside the Quincy Market --- a nice place for the weary tourists to have a quick bite.

Across the Quincy Market building is the old Faneuil Hall itself. It is open to the public and it houses a Post Office and a Park Ranger Station. Also nearby is the big plain facade of the Government Center --- the seat of government of the City of Boston. There is a sprawling esplanade infront of the center and an Orange Line T Station. They have occasional celebrations and fairs on these grounds in Summer.