Noonmark is my happy place

Let's say, just hypothetically of course, that you are having a rough day: some unpleasant medical procdure, your boss is yelling at you, you are stuck in traffic, etc,etc. What you need is a happy place. You close your eyes and imagine yourself in your happy place and all your troubles melt away! All you see is the wide open space and peaks as far as the eye can see and in every direction. The mountain breeze is soothing you with its soft whispers and there isn't a cloud in the sky. The occasional hawk sails by on thermals and there isn't a cloud in the sky.

Well Noonmark is a fine candidate to be your happy place. I hiked it for the second time yesterday. I was on the trail at 8 and on the summit by 10 with several short stops on various ledges for photos. It is a short hike at 2 miles but it sure is steep, especially when the trail is mostly rock at the top. I was surprised for a saturday to have the summit to myself for about an hour. I made use of the solitude to snap a few photos and otherwise soak in the views in every direction. Noonmark has probably the best view of Dix in the ADKs and also has views of Nippletop/Dial, the Great Range, Giant and RPR and at a distance Whiteface. There was cloud cover over some of the peaks when I first got there but it soon listed. After a few people arrived I packed up and left and was glad I did as a steady parade of hikers were coming up as I descended.

As I signed in the logbook...Noonmark rules!! :-) :-)