Harry and Troop 37 Adirondack Trip (Cascade and Porter Mountains) 5-2013

In May of 2013, Troop 37 was going to the Adirondacks to climb a mountain and we were invited to go along on the trip. Unfortunately, none of the guys could make it that weekend so Scoutmaster Harry went along on the adventure. Friday night we made camp at Axtons Landing along the Raquette River and the next morning had breakfast, packed our bags and a lunch and headed for the high peaks. Originally thinking about climbing Marcy (5344 ft) which was a 15-mile hike round trip, we decided on Cascade (4098 ft) and Porter (4058 ft) mountains which was a shorter hike and allowed for more time to enjoy the view and play at the top. It was a nice day for a hike and everyone was excited. We signed in at the trailhead and headed off into the woods to climb Cascade. We passed over wet areas on boardwalks and crossed a couple of creeks on rocks, stopping at one waterfall for drinks and snacks.  Soon the trail started climbing and we began adding plenty of elevation. Before we knew it, we were getting high enough to look back through the trees for some good views of the valley below. At one point, we had to climb an open rock face and found great views to the north and west. A short while later we came upon the junction for the trail over to Porter Mountain. From there it was a steady but easy climb to the top of Cascade mountain. It was pretty cloudy as we made our way to the peak and the wind was blowing steadily. While we were playing around the top of the mountain, some of the clouds cleared enough to give awesome views of the valleys far below. The wind was still blowing hard and gusting enough at times to almost knock you over. I (Harry) took a video of the boys in the wind but have to learn how to add video to my web pages. Sorry. After snacking on lunch foods and thoroughly exploring the top, we headed back down to the trail junction and hiked over to Porter Mountain. We found some snow in a protected area and built a small snowman before ascending to the top of porter. Finally, it was time to return to the cars so we hiked back down and returned to camp for dinner, a campfire and bed.