Poke-O-Moonshine

Have a bunch to say about a cool hike I did this weekend on Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain, in the Adirondacks (New York). Also have a few pictures. Will try to get that sorted out this week.

Update:

First - here are the pictures!  Not that many because, honestly, that was a tough hike and I had to keep my camera packed away or risk smashing it into rocks and stuff.

Second - the details!  We left early Saturday morning and even with a 20+ minute wait at the border, we were ready to start the hike by 10am. Poke-O-Moonshine trail, which I chose as a hike thanks to its hilarious name, was a short but strenuous hike. It took exactly 1 hour 25 minutes to reach the top, and that included a few minutes lost when we got to the washed out trail at one of the beaver dams, and another few minutes enjoying the magnificent view on a cliff ledge, about 10 minutes before reaching the top.  Once we reached the top, the first thing we did was climb the 5 or so flights of stairs up the Fire Tower. Unfortunately the top part of that was locked, so we couldn't get all the way to the top. But the view from the last landing was pretty incredible anyway. The online guides and reviews I'd read beforehand mentioned a 360° view and they weren't lying! It was truly breathtaking!

We spent a good hour or more up at the top, enjoyed a picnic lunch and even a little rest under the clear blue sky.  The hike down went significantly faster; I stopped my watch at 1 hour 2 minutes.

Next we'd planned an easy afternoon hike at Silver Mountain Lake but a little detour looking for a gas pump had us heading to Ausable Chasm, so we decided to enjoy a little stroll around that park before heading back to Montreal in time for a late dinner.

It was a fantastic day and next time plan to stay a little longer to enjoy a few more hikes in the Adirondacks.