Saint Regis Mountain Ramble

On Sunday morning, I got my backside moving a bit earlier than usual. Breakfast for Ziggy and me? Check. A hydration reservoir full of sports drink? Check. A clean litter box for the Zigmeister? Done and dusted. After stopping at Nori’s for a supplemental coffee, I lit out for Paul Smiths.

A hundred yards down Keese Mills Road from the VIC’s Black Pond trail head, the Saint Regis Mountain trail head is on the other side of the road. At 2838 feet, it’s far from the biggest peak in the Adirondacks.

In fact, it’s the 213th biggest mountain up here. With snow remaining up at high altitude, I wanted to continue climbing bumps like Jenkins Mountain, that I’d never summited.

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Jenkins Mountain: There and Back Again

Rain poured out of the sky when I woke up on Sunday. Ugh, it would be a gym day. By the time I fed Ziggy and sat down to my own breakfast, it was sunny. Maybe a run was in the cards after all. Half an hour later, the sky clouded over. One thing I’ve learned since moving to Saranac Lake: If you don’t like the weather, just wait.

trail along Black Pond
Trail along Black Pond

The sun came out again; I checked the weather forecast. Fifty percent chance of showers. The heck with this, I was going out. I mixed up a batch of sports drink, made a recovery sandwich and headed for Paul Smith’s Visitor Interpretive Center — the VIC.

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Cruising at Cascade: Winter’s Last Gasp?

“Don’t take off your snow tires yet,” my mechanic advised me. “It’s March. Anything can happen.” Sure enough, the following Sunday, snow started falling in Schroon Lake as I returned from rehearsal with Katye Kellye and The Interruption. I spent Monday, 11 March, clearing my driveway and an elderly neighbor’s driveway.

On Tuesday, I drove to Cascade Welcome Center. When I arrived, it was already above freezing. For all I knew, this might be the last ski of the season.

Cascade Welcome Center abuts Mount van Hoevenberg. In January 2022, the Adirondack Mountain Club bought Cascade XC from the Jubin family, its longtime owners.

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