Friday, March 27, 2009

A Little Hiking

Today we were all starting to get a little crazy from being cooped up in the car, the hotel room, or the rink. We decided to try hiking at High Falls Gorge, just a short car ride from Lake Placid. I was a little apprehensive since it was quite chilly this morning - more normal for Lake Placid in March - but we all bundled up and headed out.

It turned out to be a great time. It warmed up enough to be comfortable, and Harry slept the whole time in his carrier (I was very thankful for our babywearing coat!). Bess was able to blow off some steam, which is good for everyone.

The place is beautiful. The trails were easy and well-groomed, and barely muddy. There was a bridge built over a 700 foot waterfall that was carved into the stone about 1.5 million years ago - a geological eyeblink. The forest was clear-cut about 100 years ago, so there were no large ancient trees, only emerging species like spruce and some maples. I know the word is overused, but in this case it applies - it was awesome. The only disappointment was that there was no snow, so we couldn't go snow shoeing.

The staff was friendly and helpful as well. Bess wanted to know about the fish who live in the river and how they avoid going over the falls, so we learned all about the pike, catfish, and salmon who live there. We even learned about the clever trout who live in the rocks waiting for a tasty morsel to swim by. It was definitely worth the trip.

No comments:

Post a Comment