Lake Placid to past Lake Clear: So many people

October 9, 2016

Thanks to excellent marketing and a long weekend in two countries (Columbus Day here and Thanksgiving in Canada), this might well be the busiest weekend of the year in the Adirondacks, and all the activity is centred around Lake Placid.

It shouldn't be, because the fall colour season is usually winding down by now. This year is different. Peak colour is happening right here, right now, which is great luck for me--and about a million other people.

I had a short day planned because I wanted to go for a hike in the morning. My destination was Mount Jo, at the end of a road that was too rough, narrow, and busy to bike safely. Hitchhiking it is.

At the turnoff, an old Jetta pulled into the gravel patch where everyone stops for photos. The driver was an androgynous woman in a college hoodie, and there was a man in the backseat, but the front passenger seat was empty.

"I don't fit in the front," he said, "but you probably can."

Just barely, with my knees angled to the side and my shins wedged against the glove compartment. The driver gritted her teeth and tried to start the car. "Come on, God damn you, come on, come on."

We got back on the pavement and bravely faced the other obstacles the road threw at us.

On seeing a Rough Road sign: "Shit, I don't need to break an axle."

Trying desperately to steer around hikers: "Don't walk on the road, God damn you."

She came hiking here a lot. It was his first time hiking and he wasn't so sure about it, but she was very reassuring. "I took my fat friend up Giant Mountain and he survived."

"I don't know..."

"I'll take care of you. My fat friend made it."

This went on for a while until she finally admitted, "He sprained his ankle."

The parking lot at the trailhead was full, which annoyed her because she had spent a lot of time yesterday rummaging through her couch cushions to find enough change for the parking fee. Letting me out at the Mount Jo trailhead was beyond the abilities of her car, so we all turned around and drove to the end of a long line of cars parked at the side of the road.

So we started our hikes by hiking to the trailhead (It was probably a kilometre, and I think they had even further to go to their trailhead). I love hitchhiking.

The Mount Jo trail is described as the best bang for your buck hike, as you get a panoramic view for a small effort. Unfortunately, the clouds were low and obscuring the mountains, but it was still a nice hike. The trail was quiet, too, the peace disturbed only by a boy talking incessantly of Lego and his sister making Wookiee calls.

After the hike, I tried to get out of Lake Placid. Insanity. I'm sure there was a picturesque town somewhere behind the traffic, but all I wanted to do was get out of there.

Traffic dropped off a bit once I got out of town, and a bit more after Saranac Lake, but these are anything but quiet roads.

I found state land along a side road, traffic wasn't bad there, so I set up camp and listened to the ravens croaking at each other.

The view from Mount Jo was better than it looks in this photo, the leaves were very red.

The leaves looked neon in this light, couldn't figure out how to capture that. Anyone know how to photograph leaves on cloudy days?

Looking for somewhere to stay, decided this place would have good rates. Realized my mental state is now in full-on tour-crazy mode.

Today's ride: 42 km (26 miles)
Total: 1,590 km (987 miles)

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