Embracing What's Common on Racquette River

Driving over one of the many Racquette River bridges,
something caught my eye...

Yesterday I made the ten hour drive (five out and five back) to deliver my son to the Elite Distance Running Camp at the U.S. Olympic Center in Lake Placid, N.Y. Unfortunately, I did not have the luxury of stopping to hike or loiter too long as I'll be hitting the road early tomorrow morning for another college visit, this time in Boston, Ma., with my stepson. Despite the necessity of a quickened pace, and as always seems to be the case whether passing through or hiking peaks, there was much to be seen albeit primarily through the glass.

On the winding road home, I passed over the Racquette River a few times, and in doing so kept my eyes open (and on the road) for a shadow or hint of a common subject: a heron. A relatively frequent visitor to this part of the Adirondack region, I fondly recall coming across herons here in the past. My attempts to spot one again paid off when the fellow in the top image popped briefly into my peripheral vision. At that point I took the time to pull over to one of the many observation areas and snap a few pics and linger briefly.

This is what makes this bird ubiquitous...it seems to be everywhere!

Much like my habit of taking pictures of stills of American Robins in my backyard at home or photographing rabbits on the neighbor's lawn, I guess I just have an affinity for those "things" that are seemingly always around. I feel fortunate that I can add the heron (whether on the road or in my neighborhood) to the list of ubiquitous (defined as "existing or being everywhere, especially at the same time; omnipresent") creatures within my scope of living.

Adirondack High Peaks: Mt. Marcy

The absence of a sign at an earlier fork in the trail did not deter us, though

I was glad to see that (eventually) we were indeed on the right path. (6/29/10)

The past three days, my son and I took a brief roadie to Lake Placid, New York, with the primary intention of hiking a mountain. My son had been asking to do so following his own trip to a running camp at the Lake Placid Olympic Training Center during Spring Break, and I was only too happy to oblige. He and I had not been away on a trip with just the two of us since our roadie to Dublin, Ohio, for a marathon just over two years ago.

It was well past time to get in the car again...

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Not surprisingly, Jack scurried to the summit first--only after donning his rain jacket

as had been suggested by the peak docent who warned us of incoming storm clouds. (6/29/10)

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The first of the forty-six New York Adirondack high peaks that we set our sights on climbing together was the highest, Mt. Marcy. While Jack and I had individually climbed a number of other peaks individually on separate occasions (including Phelps), this would be the first of a planned many we would do together.

The storm clouds rolling toward our location were, in the words of the young lady

who greeted us at the base of the summit, "not full of thunderstorms, but do include heavy downpours!" (6/29/10)

Mount Marcy is the highest point in New York State, with an elevation of 5,343 feet (1,629 m). It is a popular destination for hikers due to its stature and great views. Located in Essex County, the mountain is in the heart of the Adirondack High Peaks Region of the High Peaks Wilderness Area.

Getting closer... both the clouds and yours truly to the top of the mountain. (6/29/10)

We took the shortest and most frequently used route up the mountain from the northwest, the Van Hoevenberg Trail, which begins at the Adirondak Loj near Heart Lake. From there it is 7.4 miles (11.2 km) to the summit.

Watching storm clouds while eating a peach at the summit of the highest
peak in the Adirondacks. (6/29/10)

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!