Bald Mountain in Old Forge NY

With the recent bout of dry weather, mud season is officially over in the Adirondacks. The weekend was looking prime and the cooler weather on Friday looked especially conducive for going on a hike. Unsure of our fitness level, Farah and I decided we would take it easy and do one of the shorter hikes in the Old Forge area.

exposed rock on Bald Mountain

Bald Mountain — officially Rondaxe and home of the Rondaxe Firetower — is one of the most popular hikes in the area. It’s fairly easy out and back with some more moderate sections that takes about an hour. From Utica, it’s a short drive on the Central Adirondack trail.

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Superstar to South Bay

Once you say it, you have to do it. I’ve been talking one more at Killington for weeks now. Spring is a busy time with lots of things happening. When the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend opened up, my course was clear. On Thursday night I bought tickets online and started making plans with Junior.

Killington Memorial Day Weekend 2023

Once again, I have a vehicle suitable for camping, so driving up on Friday evening was a no brainer. We got on the road after work and joined the throngs of Memorial Day celebrants on the Thruway. It took a little bit longer than usual to get to Albany with the extra traffic but it wasn’t too bad. We got off in Latham to grab dinner at Ted’s Fish Fry and buy some beer and ice. It was close to eight when we reached Killington.

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Lake Tiorati Paddle

As much as I would have loved skiing the bumps at Killington this past weekend, I was coming off of two long drives — one to central Pennsylvania last Saturday to pick up a new minivan I’d ordered ten months ago and then an eight hour round trip on Friday to help my son move out of his dorm. I wasn’t ready for another marathon drive, I was looking for local adventures to get outside.

Lake Tiorati parking

Last year I spent a lot of time paddling at Harriman State Park but I was too late to register my boats for one of the limited number of spots in the paddlers’ parking lots at Lake Tiorati and Lake Welch. Parking is a problem during the summer so having access to the boaters’ parking is a big advantage.

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