Hiking the Adirondacks

For the last week we have been camped at the front door of the Adirondack Mountains. So our last day in the area, we spent the entire day on some of the scenic roads that wind through the mountains. We are soaking in the fall colors that are blanketing the hillsides in the Adirondack State Forest.

Our first stop was hiking up Krane Mountain. The key word here is "up" as the entire hike seemed to be slanted up to the peak. We were a little disappointed that all the trees around us still had their summer green leaves.

But the path under-foot was covered with the fall-foliage colors that we had come to see. How could this be?

Once we got to the top, we then climbed up even higher in the fire tower.

The view from the top of the tower was spectacular. From here we could see the crest of the trees around us, starting to change colors from the top. So it looks like the colored leaves on the trail were ones that had fallen from the tops, while the lower branches of the trees are still green. From the fire tower view we could also see seven different lakes around us, as the Adirondacks are dotted with clear mountain lakes.

We had gotten advice from locals on the trail, who told us how to make this into a loop hike back to the parking lot. On our hike back to the car, Mark almost stepped on our wildlife spotting of the day. Even though this guy was smaller than the leaves around him, he was such a bright orange that he couldn't be missed. Temperatures were in the 50s this morning, so he was moving slowly enough to get a photograph amongst the leaf litter on the trail.

Mark researched and found that animal was a red-spotted eft. This is a temporary land stage in the life cycle of the eastern newt, which will live in the water as an adult. But for at least 2-3 years, this young eft will hang out in the forest instead of the water. That bright orange color should make him an easy target for predators. But he is well-protected by skin toxins that would make anyone or anything sick that touched him. We have discovered another wonder on this hike!

Some of the plants growing under the thick canopy of trees are beginning to change colors, but our most colorful part of this hike is looking down at the fallen leaves on the trail.

We found the best trail color at the little lake at the end of the hike.

Just like Denisa loves to pick up pretty sea shells on a hike on the beach, she picks up pretty leaves on a hike in the fall. She spread this hike's leaf collection on a boulder by the lake for this picture.

We woke up to overcast skies this morning, but the clouds parted and we could see blue skies as we sat at the lake. We had to take one more picture of the blue skies, clouds, and trees reflected in the clear water of the lake.

As we drove further north into the Adirondacks, we saw more and more colorful trees.

Just as Mark is masterful at making u-turns on country roads, he is good at pulling off to the side of mountain roads so we can gawk at beautiful trees.

Our second hike of the day was to Good Luck Lake. Again, we found that the understory of the trail is still bright green.

But if we look straight up, we can see that autumn is working its magic on the upper branches of these trees as well.

We got to the lake, where we could see more color along the water's edge.

Once again, Denisa is chasing the wildlife--finding another red-spotted eft. This guy is warmer and faster, so most of his pictures were blurry. He was also harder to spot since he wasn't as bright orange as the last salamander. We think this is an older eft, that is closer to the color of the adult newt he will become. That might be why he was hanging out closer to the water.

Our favorite source of hiking information is advice from locals that we meet on the trail. One of those locals mentioned the Panther Mountain trail, so we drove further into the Adirondack Mountains to find the trailhead. It was a steep climb for a mile and a half over some big rocks and tree roots.

But the effort was worth it, when the view from the top was absolutely spectacular! Looking out over the changing tree tops was surely a blessing.

We knew that we had wandered into another of God's wonders today as we sat at the top of the cliffs of Panther Mountain.

All around us were the clear mountain lakes that dot the Adirondacks. On our drive through these mountains we found that every little town seems to have its own lake. Even though the day started with threats of rain, we had been blessed with a cool hiking day with plenty of cool weather. We are finding that we are blessed over and over every day!

After a week at our spot in Pine Park Campground, it is time to move down the road. We have had some frosty temperatures here at night, and we have seen a dramatic change in the fall foliage since we arrived. It would be easy to stay here to watch fall unfold completely, but we are expecting another guest soon, and we have more autumn leaves to see in other forests!