Today was my last required co-lead to become a level 2 (and since I meet the requirements, level 3) trip leader for ADK. We did Black Mountain by Lake George. This is a lovely hike in general, and one that I will willing do over and over.
To continue on with my ADK trip leader journey, I have to co-lead 2 level B or higher hikes. I did the first of those Sunday with doing the upper tongue range and then over to deer leap on the way out. To me, this is an easy hike apart from the distance, but it's a level B+ because of both the distance and elevation. As a group though, including stops, we had a pace of 1.5 mph, so it really was a pretty easy hike... and a few of us (myself included) felt like we were going slow, so I was surprised to see that being our pace, or our movement pace being 2 mph on average.
This time, I went and worked on completing the Tongue range for the Lake George 12, doing the lower 3 peaks. I started off on the crossover trail and next thing I knew I was on the ridge and heading south. When I got to 5th peak, it was a slight backtrack up to the leanto and actual peak. The views there were gorgeous, and I could easily see myself camping there, if not for the lack of reliable water nearby (yes, I can hike down to the lake, but that's a steep climb back up.)
More Lake George 12 today. I had originally planned to do the entire tongue range, but it was a hot and humid day, so I cut it short by hiking out to Fivemile and then coming back to the top of the tongue. Overall, this is a beautiful hike, and on the north end not horribly difficult. The views though, somewhat lacking. There was a slight view at Brown, nothing at Huckleberry, and you had to scramble up a rock off the trail to get any view at 5 mile. I fortunately? didn't see any of the rattlesnakes that the tongue range is known for.
I continue my work on the Lake George 12. This time it was Buck, Erebus, and Sleeping Beauty out of the Fort Anne area. First up was Buck from Shelving Rock Road. The hike was just a dream. There was a bit of steep right at the top, but I was up in no time and didn't realize how fast I was going. The views were amazing too! No wonder this is one of the hikes that "everyone" does, and I'm surprised it took me so long to get to it as it's only about an hour away.
Today I started on the Lake George 12 by going for a hike with Michael up Cat and Thomas. We started off at the parking area on Edgecomb Rd. The trail starts off as a dirt road and eventually you make a left turn and are on trail. The trail overall up Cat was pretty nice to hike. It was surprisingly well marked and easy to follow. It was only at the top that it got a little steep to climb. The views though were well worth it.