They might be GIANTS (Adirondack Three’ers!)

done

Today we tackled a Giant.  Here are the stats:

Giant Mountain, altitude 4627 feet.  Ascent of climb: 3050 feet.  Degree of difficulty: a B+.  (Cascade, which is rated “easy,” was a C.).  Take my word for it, this climb was HARD.  (We have not gotten to the “A+” level yet!)  It certainly taught me that becoming an Adirondack 46′er will be no small feat.  It is going to be a challenge.  (I know we can do it though.)  There were times on Giant when we had to CRAWL up boulders.  However, it was also incredibly cool.  I enjoyed this hike more than Cascade.  The views were better and more plentiful.

Time to top of Giant: 4 hours, 30 minutes

Time spent at summit: 50 minutes

Time to base of Giant: 2 hours, 40 minutes

TOTAL TIME FOR HIKE: 8 hours

Ground Covered: 6 miles (we moved at a blazing speed of .75 miles an hour!)

Weather conditions: Gorgeous.  64 degrees F, sunny skies, light breezes.  A PERFECT day for hiking.  We had AMAZING views.

Each hiker packed: at least 2 liters of water (we carried 12 liters in total–that’s about right), 2 ham and cheese sandwiches, 1 bag of trail mix, 2 energy bars, and 10 oreo cookies

Getting ready to go.  Notice those big rocks.  They got bigger!  It was a really steep hike over boulders.  FUN!

The little guys crawling up!

Ah, but this makes it all worth it!  At the summit.

On our way back down.  I tried to get a picture so you could get an idea of how difficult the trip down was too.  It was so steep and there were many rocks and roots.  Our son had a pretty spectacular (and terrifying) fall.  He was climbing on a boulder that was on a granite face.  He tripped over his foot and had nowhere to go.  He fell off the boulder (a three foot drop) and onto the pitch of the granite and began rolling downhill (all my nightmares coming true).  I screamed and so did my husband.  Thankfully, the little guy was able to stop himself (and my husband was right there–I’ve never seen him move so fast!).  Our son suffered minor cuts.  He was scared (so were we), but he was ok.  Now he has a story to tell.  I am grateful he’s ok.  And hopefully he’ll learn to stay OFF boulders on granite sheets!

Our youngest daughter had a hard time on the way down as well.  She fell/slipped 26 times!  The path was really dusty and her shoes had almost no traction, so she kept slipping on the dust.  She said, “Tell people if they hike up Giant they need to wear a butt pad.”  I’m going to invest in hiking boots with flexible soles for everyone.

Other than the fall(s), it was a phenomenal hike and the kids are so proud of themselves again.  I will post some “interviews” I did of them tomorrow.  Right now, I’m really tired!