Porter Mountain and Cascade Mountain - NY

For the longest time, I had been telling myself that I need to make time to hike in the Adirondacks.  Well, of course I have to because 46 of the Northeast 115 are in NY.  I just meant for more personal reasons.  Pictures of them look gorgeous, and I have heard they have hiking very similar to the White Mountains.  Thankfully, I was able to finally make the time and plans to hike in New York!

My friend Mary suggested we hike Cascade and Porter: two of the easier yet more scenic hikes in New York.  Of course in order to appreciate the scenery, you have to be able to see it.  I’ll get into that a bit later, but the ride to the mountain, starting with a ferry ride across Lake Champlain, a 30 minute detour by means of getting lost, and the start of autumnal foliage was absolutely stunning.

When we got to the start of the trail, Mother Nature decided that we had seen too much and the skies began to cloud.  The hike up the mountain was still enjoyable.  The trails were very well maintained and not very difficult to maneuver through.  To the summit of Porter was 2.8 miles with only 1900’ elevation gain, and Cascade was 2.4 miles with about 2000’ gained.  With about 0.3 miles to the summit of Cascade, a trail forks off leading to the top of Porter, another 0.7 miles away.  There was nothing difficult about this trail, however there was a great scramble (made much more difficult by the whipping winds and disorienting clouds) to finish off Cascade.  Unfortunately, due to the high winds and misty conditions, we weren’t able to see any great views and spent very little time on the summits.

 

Camels Hump from the ferry

At the summit of Porter Mountain

Stunning views from Cascade Mountain

Summit of Cascade Mountain

Fitting for this hike was a Saranac Adirondack Lager.  This would have hit the spot at the summit on a halfway decent hike, but given the circumstances, I decided it would be best to enjoy in the comfort of my own home.  It is a crisp beer that goes down smooth.  There are some gentle notes of hops, but nothing over the top.  All things considered, a very solid beer in memory of a very solid hike!

Porter Mountain and Cascade Mountain
            Views – ? (The clouds we were in looked cool, I suppose…)
            Time –  4 (Was able to travel to NY, hike, and travel back before 2 in the afternoon.)
            Difficulty – 3 (A quick hike capturing two summits.)
            Beer – 4 (Saranac Adirondack Lager)
            Overall – 4 (Enjoyable hike with less than favorable weather)

In summary, I enjoyed the hike of Porter and Cascade.  With Mary saying how great the views were, these two peaks are some of the many I will have to hike again! 

Thanks to everyone that keeps reading about my hiking adventures.  If you have any questions, concerns, and/or comments, please feel free to leave one!