Cascade Mountain, Lucky 7 Slide: 10/26/2015

If you’ve ever hiked a High Peak, odds are it’s Cascade. Being the easiest and most accessible of the 46, Cascade gets climbed far more frequently than any other 4000-footer. While the summit offers great views, you don’t hike Cascade for solitude or wildness. But thanks to Hurricane Irene in 2011, a new slide provides an alternate route for more adventurous, experienced climbers.

DEC to reopen some High Peaks trails

Phil Brown is reporting in his Adirondack Outtakes blog this evening that DEC will reopen many of the trails closed following Hurricane Irene tomorrow. Important highlights include:

• All trails from the Adirondack Loj trailhead, Garden trailhead, and Cascade Mountain Trailhead, among others, will reopen.
• All trails accessed from the Adirondack Mountain Reserve trailhead remain closed.
• All trails in the Dix Mountain Wilderness area and the Elk Lake trailhead remain closed.
• The Roaring Brook and Ridge trails in the Giant Mountain Wilderness area remain closed due to the continued closure of a section of Route 73.

Note that the above list is not comprehensive, please refer to the DEC advisory published in Phil's blog and linked above for specific openings and closures. The DEC's High Peaks Trail Information web page will also be updated as trails are reopened.

New slides in the eastern High Peaks

Without a doubt, any of us would reverse the course of events that devastated New York and elsewhere on Sunday if only we could. The losses and pain inflicted by Irene are real, significant and widespread, and nothing can detract from that devastation.

However, Irene is also the most dramatic and stunning example of the dynamic nature of the Adirondack environment in our lifetime. Literally overnight, dozens of new slides have been created in the eastern High Peaks region, dramatically altering the landscape.

Earlier this evening, John Warren reported on Drew Haas' overflight of the High Peaks region in Adirondack Almanack, with additional images on Drew's Adirondack Backcountry Skiing blog. Both posts, linked above, are sure to be of interest to readers here.

Photo: Trap Dike on Mount Colden. Courtesy of Drew Haas, Adirondack Backcountry Skiing

Irene: How you can help

Benefits and relief efforts targeted for specific communities and specific victims of Hurricane Irene's destruction are sure to be organized in the coming days and weeks, but the most effective and immediate way of contributing to the relief effort right now may be through the Red Cross:

• The Red Cross needs immediate volunteers for storm relief in northeastern New York, and is offering fast-track disaster relief training to volunteers who can assist in various aspects of the relief effort.
• Donate online to the Red Cross and specify that your contribution goes directly towards Hurricane Irene releif in northeastern New York.
• Text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

Visit the Red Cross' website or contact one of their local chapters for more information:
- Adirondack / Saratoga Chapter (Glens Falls): (518)792-6545
- Northeastern NY Chapter (Albany): (518)458-8111

High Peaks trails closed following Irene

With so much bad news about Irene's devastation in places like the Catskills, Schoharie valley and Vermont, not much news has filtered into the Saratoga / Capital District about the heartbreaking damage in the North Country. I'm re-posting a handful of links that summarize some of Irene's impact in the Adirondacks:

• Trails closed by DEC in eastern High Peaks and adjoining wilderness areas
• Adirondack backcountry damage reports
• Essex county communities of Keene, Jay, Ausable Forks devastated

Beth and I were hiking in the eastern High Peaks region (Colvin and Blake) on Saturday, the day before Irene, and our hearts go out to all those who have been impacted by the storm in the Adirondacks, in New York, and beyond.