Solo Adirondack Trip

   I decided to visit a new place to me in the Adirondacks, and went to Upper Works.  My first goal was to take Indian Pass to see the Wallface Mountain cliffs from below.  

  The first night, I stayed in the Henderson Lake lean-to.  It's located on the north end of the lake and turned out to have a view of another destination I'd settled on; the Mount Adams fire tower.  When I got up there, I could see the spot on the lake where I got the picture of the fire tower.

 

  The Wallface cliffs were as amazing from below in Indian Pass as they are from above on the MacIntyre Range.

   From Summit Rock in the pass, I also got a view of the third destination of the trip: the Santanoni Range.

  Once the rain let up in the evening, a spectacular day arrived for a hike up Santanoni and Panther, two 4000' mountains with clear views.

  The Express Trail on Santi.  There was quite a bit of slab, and knowing it would have flowing water, I decided to go up rather than down.

   Lots of mountains have a fake-out clearing that you like to think is the summit.  Then you get there and see how far you are away from it.

   Loved the climb, got blown away by the top.

  After lots of rain over the last week, I knew it would be muddy.  Then it rained over an inch the two days before doing this hike.  Since I'm not trying to be a 46er, I skipped adding a couple miles on what's reputed to be one of the muddiest trails in the High Peaks by going down to, and then back up from, 3800' Couchsachraga.  Some spots between Santanoni and Panther probably had HABs.

  Made it to Panther, and brought some mud from the saddle between it and Santi.

   A couple views from Panther.

   And looking southwest.  That's Couchsachraga lower in the middle.  Off in the distance, it was easy to pick out Blue Mountain that I climbed in July.  It has two cell towers on top.

 

  

On the way down, there was enough current in Santanoni Brook to clean my shoes, socks, pants, even me!

  

Mood lighting in the tent after the hike.

  The last day turned out to be even clearer, though a little more humid.  This is one of the famous bridges over the Hudson River.  Depending on what you consider the start of the Hudson, it's only about a couple miles from it at most.  It is also near the start of the trail to the Adams fire tower.

   The decrepit bridge over Lake Jimmy when there was a jeep road up Adams to the tower.  The trail now goes around the lake.

  The first .7 mile of the trail is flat.  The next 1.6, or the equivalent of the direct route on my commute, is not.  I'm thrilled they restored and opened the fire tower, but putting a bench at the base of the tower was brilliant.

   I was completely restored when I got to the top.  I thought there would be more people, but with the exception of two quick visitors, I enjoyed the views alone for two hours.

  And what views they were.  Santanoni and Panther in the back, Henderson Mountain in front, Lake Henderson at the bottom.

  

Calamity Mountain up close, Cliff to the right and the McIntyre Range in back on the left, Colden in the middle and Marcy on the right.

  

My camera with the 10X zoom didn't work after getting wet upon arrival three days before when I took pictures in the rain of the fire tower, but it finally dried out.  That's Marcy.

Colden.

 Algonquin.

 

Some of the Wallface cliffs from four-miles-away. 

   The two visitors came from this house.  One of the guys is part of the family who owns it.  If I had access to that, I'd be up there several times a year, or a week.  They had never been up, and taking in the view for about 10 minutes was enough for them.

   Two hours wasn't enough to take it all in, especially with the light constantly changing.  But I did have to get home...

   After the requisite swim in the Hudson River.

   The ground I covered over four days.  I did go back to the car twice and moved to a different trailhead.  The hiking total was just over 30 miles.

   One last stop on the way home to enjoy some old growth near Inlet.  Now, if I can just convince the boys that Henderson Lake lean-to is perfect for winter camping.

   Even if you're not into or capable of hiking and camping, Upper Works provides an excellent historical experience.  A flat, gravel road passes through the abandoned settlement of Adirondack with dozens of these displays recalling all that happened there, beginning with the iron ore industry, to the club days, and the demise of the many buildings.  There's also easy access to Henderson Lake for kayaking, canoeing, or snowshoeing or skiing in winter.  Tell them I sent you.

GrassRoots Again and Again

   Finally, the day arrived to gather for the actual festival again.  

 As always, Bubba George got the music started.  It was bittersweet as our good friend, Steve, wasn't there due to health issues.  I can't remember a time when he wasn't.  On the other hand, with her new schedule, Gail made it to see the opening this year.

We polished off a bucket of blueberries at the compound on Thursday, so I got up early enough to pick another on Friday.  

 The pavilion we built during the Infield Stage set-up was a hit all weekend.  It will be a permanent fixture at the Greensprings Cemetery.

   The refurbished ticket booth is now the kitchen and sales booth for rotating food vendors at ReUse on Elmira Rd.

Verlon Thompson was as good as I expected, and then some.  Go see him if he performs near you.  Sorry I didn't get up to catch more of him at Culture Camp.

 

  Rhiannon Giddens was as good as I expected, and then some.  My old friend from Blue Heron days, Jason Sypher was playing bass.  We got to catch up before the set.  I didn't know Dirk Powell was going to be in the band, with his daughter, no less.  Jake Blount joined for a few tunes.  Sorry I didn't get to catch more of him at Culture Camp.

  I wanted to get a picture of the dead treetop before it crashed down on our compound in an anticipated violent thunderstorm.  The storm didn't include much wind, but we got buckets of rain.  Connie stayed dry.

 

One of the octogenarians who headlined Saturday night: Del McCoury.  He's incredible, go see him if you get a chance.  Taj Mahal put on a fantastic set after this.  I saw some of my students who loved both and now don't think I'm all that old.

There was a sweet painting in the Art Barn of my favorite swimming hole in Six Mile Creek.  I couldn't afford it though.

  

  I had excellent accommodations for Saturday night when I wanted to stay late and then be on the grounds early Sunday for the kickball game.  Alan and Andy are building a house just down the road.  It stayed dry too.

 They found a cool rock when excavating.

   Kickball- It's not for the sober anymore.

   As is tradition, Joe played the Star Spangled Banner.

   I was completely unaware that he would be playing a Richie composition with the GrassRoots Chamber Orchestra a few hours later.

  Hannah and Becca didn't know about it either, but they got there just in time to enjoy it.

I can't even begin to describe the talent and accomplishments by this group.

 

 Or in this one.

  The Happiness Parade.

 And great to see Lucia, Connor, and Hannah so happy.  They asked me what was the best GrassRoots.  I said they all blend together, but there are moments that stand out.  Let me tell you, that is one.