Hike 1: CASCADE & PORTER High Peak #1 and #2 8/14/2021

Where it all began for me. Like just about everyone else that begins their 46er journey our story begins with none other than Cascade and Porter. Why is that you might ask? Well, there’s a couple reasons. First, it’s short. Cascade alone is under 2.5 miles and it has a spectacular view from the top. Everyone talks about the views from Cascade and with good reason, they seem to go on forever. The inclusion of Porter is just under another mile, so the combined trip is 5.6 miles car to car. And that’s the second reason this pair is such a favorite to start on. Access! It’s right off the highway. There isn’t a long 3 or 4 (or more!) mile approach. It just starts right there on the side of the highway. Perfect! The combined easy access and short mileage make this trip a favorite starting point. It’s also said that these two are rated as quite “easy” hikes. On the 46 High Peak app its Difficulty rating is 1. Yup 1. Now Porter is listed as a 2 but both still fall into the should be no problem category for most people. Notice I say most people.

I had a rough go with this hike. There were a few lessons I got hit with pretty hard on this trip. Number one: I was not nearly in as good of shape as I thought I was. Dave and I did this hike together in August of 2021. Right smack in the middle of the Pandemic. Now before the shutdown of 2020 I was working out at the gym for a good hour to hour and a half just about every day. In 2019/2020 I was in the absolute best shape of my life. Then the pandemic hit and I, like most people, had to adjust to everything closing. My gym closed and I was left to doing at home workouts. I didn’t have access to the equipment I really needed to maintain the level I was doing at the gym But I did what I could. I thought I had kept myself in decent shape. But in reality, the lack of intensity and dealing with the whole pandemic itself took a toll on me. It wasn’t until a few short minutes up Cascade that that quickly became apparent!

Now I mentioned how great it is that the climb up Cascade begins basically just a few short steps off the road. Well, that means there’s also no warm up; you just start going up. And then more up and more UP. It’s not difficult in any technical fashion. There aren’t any cliffs to scale or steep slides but it’s still a steady incline for about 2 miles. There are a few stretches of really fun rocks to climb up. Again, not too difficult by any means but stood as a gentle reminder that Cascade is only an introduction to the High Peaks. I thought to myself, ‘well this certainly is different from a stroll in the woods. As I climbed, I found myself needing FREQUENT breaks. The second lesson I learned was that I was going to need to adjust my food intake. For about 4 years prior to this I had been sticking with the Keto lifestyle of eating. I loved it. I might post about it down the road explaining why it’s fantastic but I did quickly realize that I needed to reconsider how to fuel up for these kinds of hikes. I was used to strenuous short HIIT workouts. But I wasn’t quite prepared for endurance. And with that in mind I looked into different options for our next hike, which I’ll share in an upcoming post.

The hike up Cascade, while a steady continual rise, really is beautiful which makes it so much more enjoyable. And although I kept feeling like I was dying in the August heat I did notice there were others huffing and puffing their way up alongside me. Dave, on the other hand, was having the time of his life. I feel he is secretly part billy goat. That man can climb with ease. And while he had zero problem, he did have a tiny advantage. Poles! Dave had brought along his hiking poles which I scoffed at. I’m young and fit. Why would I need poles to help me. I can walk just fine. Here is where I learned my third lesson. DON’T KNOCK IT TILL YOU TRY IT! That saying rings very true for hiking poles. I will openly admit I WAS WRONG on this one. But I wouldn’t admit it until I used them on our next hike. And wow what a difference they make!

Once you get about 2 miles into the hike you come to a trail split. Porter mountain is off to your right just .7miles to the top.

We chose to do Cascade first. It’s just a few hundred feet from this point up a long open scramble to the summit. It’s awesome! You can feel yourself getting close to the top. And when you’re someone like me who has never really experienced this, it’s super cool to realize you are above the tree line; just wind and rocks all around you. Cascade is a bald summit, meaning you have no trees to block your view. Every direction around you is just beautiful picturesque mountainscape. It makes you fall in love. It’s a view so beautiful it’ll change you. And that’s what draws you in. Cascade is your hook. Once you’re on it, you just keep wanting more.

Cascade Mountain 4098 ft for High Peak #1

We sat on the summit for a while and had lunch. Dave pointed out the surrounding peaks that were within sight with such excitement in his voice. It was contagious. I began to imagine what each of those summits would be like. What we’d encounter on the way up and how the view would be from there.

Just past the trail split, to the summit of Cascade

Almost at the top

After our lunch break, we took a quick summit selfie and went on to Porter. It was quick getting down the rocks in the dry August afternoon. We stopped and had a brief chat with the summit steward who thanked us for staying off the fragile vegetation. If you haven’t already, make sure you familiarize yourself with the Leave No Trace principles before setting out on your trip. The stewards are various summits during the summer to help educate and inform hikers. Don’t be afraid to approach them. They’re genuinely quite happy to engage in a little chat about the mountains. Even as an avid hiker Dave got some great information about the stewardship program.

Back down at the trail split we turned left, and headed into what looked a little bit like entering Jurassic Park. Ok, so I’m definitely exaggerating but it was such a huge difference from the trail up so far. It immediately became muddy and the trail got tighter around us. Such an opposite to the dry rocks on Cascade. There’s a couple spots to descend down a bit, then up, then back down a bit, then back up. Once you get to the flat col you’re just about there. The summit has a large boulder marking the top.

Porter Mountain 4059ft for High Peak #2

We took a few pictures and hung out for a few minutes before heading back down. The trip down is where things really surprised me. The trip up was hard, but I soon realized the trip down is no joke! The steep sections are just as tough to climb down, especially when you’re tired. And I was also very hungry since I hadn’t brought too much to eat. I definitely misjudged how strenuous the climb would be. With that being the state I was in, every step I felt myself going slower and slower and my knees were screaming at me. Next time I’m also going to rely on a good friend, ibuprofen! We continued our slow crawl down. Because my knees were killing me so bad it seemed like it took forever. Almost as long as it took to go up. I admitted to Dave how disappointed I was in myself. I should’ve been handling it MUCH better. I knew I needed to get myself back into shape if we were going to continue this journey. I mean this was only hike #1, the “EASY ONES”. But as it turns out, when you actually prepare properly it makes a world of difference. And our next hike was so much better. Cascade and Porter won me over, but they also won. It was a seriously exhausting one, seriously!

WRAP UP:

Access and key Info : Cascade Mountain Trailhead RT 73, Lake Placid NY (the new trailhead will not be finished for quite some time, we will update this when it’s completed)

Availability: Please be aware that parking fills early and often at the trailhead especially in summer and the height of leaf-peeping season. It is a fairly small lot and there is an overflow lot a little further down 73. Please be considerate and pull into a spot and not along the railing. This is the most popular hike in the ADK!

Payment: There is no fee for parking.

Prohibited: As per the DEC you may not sleep in your car in the parking lot.

STATS: The round trip is approximately 5.7 miles, depending on your tracking device. You'll be going roughly 2, 280 feet of elevation gain for the round trip. We generally bank on about a mile an hour for the trip.