It’s been a long time since I’ve done a night-time hike, at least intentionally. This past Friday night, after a great dinner at a Lake George inn, we donned headlamps and hiking boots for the short 1.5 mile hike up to the Lake George Land Conservancy’s Thomas Mountain cabin near Bolton Landing for an overnight stay. A near-full moon almost made the headlamps unnecessary since the trail, a former jeep road, is relatively open to the sky.
The cabin at night
Pink pre-dawn skies...
Our night-time hike was hours past sunset, but our timing was perfect for a beautiful sunrise in the morning when we awoke. The Thomas Mountain cabin faces south, and views extend almost 180 degrees from east to west.
...gave way to this...
...and eventually this
The autumn foliage had progressed noticeably since our last hike up
Thomas Mountain less than three weeks ago. Yellow, oranges and reds are mixed in nicely with the still mostly green forest in this southeastern corner of the Adirondacks.
View to the west, moon still high in the sky (upper right)
Hiking back down
For more information on the Cat and Thomas Mountains Preserve and the Lake George Land Conservancy’s work to protect the natural, scenic, and recreational resources of the Lake George region, see
www.lglc.org/. Note that staying overnight in the Thomas Mountain cabin requires prior arrangement with LGLC. Call 518-644-9673 or write:
info@lglc.org.
4 Archived Comments:
ReplyDeleteTed said...
Looks like a good hike! A few of my friends have been doing night hikes lately. Two weeks ago was Marcy, Last weekend was Chimney, and their not sure what their doing this weekend. I was invited to come along, but I'm only home for 2 nights and have too much to do.
When I had my first backpacking experience in late August we underestimated Colden a bit and got close to the summit with no water and no sunlight left. We ended up having to stay the night just below the tree line. I ran up and snagged a few shots though. The pano is of the sunrise at about 6:10 AM
Pic 1
Pic 2
Pic 3
Pic 4
Pic 5
September 29, 2010 4:46 PM
Guess who said...
How was the room service?
September 29, 2010 6:58 PM
Jeff said...
Ted, those are great photos. The second shot (BZC) is just beautiful. I like the pano as well. Incidentally I hiked Giant once at night, probably almost 20 yrs ago. We had dinner first at the Noonmark Diner. There was supposed to be a full moon that night, but it remained hidden behind the clouds the entire time. It was certainly a different experience, but not necessarily one I want to repeat. The hike the other night up Thomas was by comparison quite easy and fun.
Guess Who, the room service was outstanding, as expected!
September 29, 2010 9:18 PM
Harvey44 said...
Cool idea for a hike and great pics Jeff. The morning light is inspiring.
Ted ... maybe I should be in awe of Marcy, but I've never been up there, so I don't have any reference. Chimney, if it's that funky little peak near Kings Flow ... that would be WILD in the dark. I guess you could sleep in the ravine between the chimney and the other side?