ADK leaf peeping - Round 2 (much better)

A week made a big difference in the foliage. I got out for a couple of the best fall hikes I have had in a long while. Temperatures were cool but warm enough and skies were clear and sunny with clouds building in the afternoons.

• I went for a late afternoon stroll up to Big Crow. Cloud cover obscured the views but BC is always worth the effort even if the views aren't the best. The highlight of the hike was meeting a local celebrity who was out for his regular afternoon walk over Big and Little Crow (must be nice to have this loop as part of your back yard).
• On Wednesday I hiked Noonmark from the AMR property. Noonmark has everything that is great about Adirondack hikes: exceptional views (Great Range, Dix and Nippletop ranges as well as Giant and Rocky Peak ridge) and fun scrambles near the summit. This was probably the best of my many hikes up Noonmark.
• On Thursday I opted for an obvious fall hike, the Brothers. Usually one hikes the Brothers on the way to Big Slide. The many ledges on First and Second Brother are probably the best place to see fall foliage in the Adirondacks. I got as far as Second Brother before finding a comfortable spot to relax and enjoy the view. I thought about continuing on to Big Slide (most of the rest of the hike is in the woods) or staying put to enjoy the views. I opted to stay and my decision was confirmed slightly thereafter as I spotted a smiley-face cloud formation in the east over Hurricane mountain.

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!! :-) :-)