Mt. Jo: My First Adirondack Mountain

My many summers of wandering about the Adirondack Mountains began with mountain climbing trips organized by Adirondack Swim and Trip Camp (ASTC). (Read more about my ASTC experiences at my blog entry here.) Our trip leader on my first climb, little Mt. Jo, was Ben Greenstein. Back then, Ben had a lot more, um, body-mass than in the picture I inserted below. Fully bearded, he had the stature of a grizzly, and with us kids he was a gentle as a teddy. He is the one who first taught me about camping and hiking. Then a geology student, he is someone who loves the outdoors and always had stories to tell about the mountains and rocks, and he infected us with his enthusiasm.

Ben Greenstein, Photo From cornellcollege.edu

Mt. Jo, at 2876 ft elevation, is not one of the Adirondack 46ers, and with a 700 ft vertical ascent (213 m) and a hiking distance of 1.1 mi to the summit (or alternately, 1.3 mi / 2.1 km via the "long trail"), it is an easy hike and nice introduction to hiking in the Adirondack Park.

Topographic Map of Mt. Jo Trail

Mt. Jo is easily done as a day trip, but at ASTC it was combined with an overnight campout at a scenic lakeside campsite with a nearby bridge that we could jump off of. Dinner was the all time classic trail meal which we called "last minute mush," which consists of macaroni and cheese with ground beef, onions and tomatoes. I actually never had eaten macaroni and cheese before then, and have always been somewhat resistant to trying new foods - particularly as a child. Ben is a vegetarian and offered us a meatless version of the entree. I was hoping for just the meat and not the rest, but that option wasn't made available to us. My pride outweighed my food aversion, and a new favorite meal was added to my dining list.

We all got tasks setting up camp, and mine was to dig the latrine. We had some free time when the trip leaders prepared dinner and had the chance to go swimming. Ben was the first one to let us know that when we go swimming on the trail, we have to wear shoes for safety reasons, but swimsuits were optional. While I did recover from the shock, I never felt free enough to fully take advantage of clothing optional swimming at camp.

The campsite wasn't actually near to Mt. Jo, so we were picked up the next morning and taken to the trailhead in the camp's van. Mt. Jo is adjacent to Heart Lake, near the High Peaks Information Center and Adirondack Loj.

Speaking of which, the nearby parking area charges a daily fee. The proceeds go to support the Adirondack Mountain Club, which is active in maintaining trails, operating educational programs and performing conservation work. So, we are happy to pay the fee. On our most recent Mt. Jo outing, we were on our way to Canada and running short on US $. We haggled for a little while with the nice young woman at the counter, and I gave her an antique nickel I stumbled onto during the trip in exchange for the difference between what we had in cash and what we owed for parking. She gladly accepted. When we told her we were just doing a quick tour of Mt. Jo, she told us that they have an unadvertised special rate for Mt. Jo hikers, 50% off the normal rate. We stuck to our negotiated rate with the antique nickel.

Mt. Jo Summit

Someone once said to me that Mt. Jo has "the best view for the cheapest climb," and I think that is a good a description as any. It is a pleasant outing, and you end up on a rock face, but not a bald peak, as the mountain is not above the tree line. Looking down, you have a nice view of Heart Lake from above, and the panoramic view includes Mt. Marcy, Algonquin Peak (the highest two peaks in NYS) as well as Cascade Mountain and Indian Pass.

View of Heart Lake from Mt. Jo

The combination of easy climb and great view make this one of our recommended day hikes for those looking for a family friendly outing, an extension to another day hike - perhaps in combination with a climb of Phelps or Tabletop Mountains, or as a departure day activity.

View from Mt. Jo

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Life In the Adirondacks: Ed Kanze extended Interview / New Episode of "Curiously Adirondack"

We have seen naturalist Ed Kanze wandering around White Pine Camp, but we haven't participated in one of his nature walks, yet. We plan to do that next time!

Here is an extended interview of Ed Kanze on Mountain Lake PBS (Website / Youtube Channel)

Ed Kanze's book mentioned in the interview, "Adirondack Life and Wildlife in the Wild Wild East" is available 

- at Amazon.com

- at Amazon.de

- at The Bookstore Plus (East Main St. in Lake Placid, NY)

Other books written by Ed Kanze are described on his website. It is also possible to order books, also autographed copies, directly from the Author by filling in your information and the name of the book you want here. (Those joining us at White Pine Camp can save shipping by asking him to bring a copy with him when he gives his Tuesday nature walk at camp.)

Last but not least, the most recent episode of "Curiously Adirondack" is online now, called:

Intervale Lowlands: Biologist Larry Master Re-Wilds 135 Acres Near Lake Placid

Here is the video of this episode:

Here is the playlist of the entire series "Curiously Adirondack," starting with the most recent episode (currently the same as the above).

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Loons, Lakes and Erratics in the Laurentians

This week's post is the nexus of two of my loves but is only indirectly related to either of them. One of these is the Adirondacks and the other is Rush.

North of Quebec City you will find the Laurentian Mountains, which share types of rocks and geologic history with the Adirondacks. The Adirondacks are often mistakenly associated with the Appalachian Mountains as they appear to form the central northern continuation of these. But geologically speaking, the Adirondacks are actually the southernmost extension of the Laurentians. Both share a history that goes back anywhere between 500 million and a billion years.

Google Maps Screenshot of the Laurentians

I just found a really good blog post about the geologic makeup of the Adirondacks at "Written In Stone … Seen through my lens." There you can find a much more detailed and scientific examination of the region's geology. I "borrowed" the next image from that blog. In it you will see the green highlighted area which encompasses both the Adirondacks and the Laurentians.

Image from written in stone seen through my lens

My attention was drawn to the Laurentians this past week by Neil Peart, the lyricist and drummer of my longstanding favorite band Rush, thus my second indirect reference. Peart has maintained a vacation home in the Laurentians for many years and wrote about it in his most recent blog entry, titled "Science Island." Before I even got into the text of his story, I was immediately struck by the pictures he posted which for me have a lot of connective tissue with the Adirondacks. A typical characteristic for me is this juxtaposition of trees and rocks. Getting into his story, I sense this vibe of rejuvenation, recreation and harmony with nature which also mentally places me in a familiar scene in the Adirondacks.

I think that Peart is much more eloquent in describing "his" Laurentians than I am at describing "my" Adirondacks, so I would like to share two excerpts from his post that could have been just as fittingly written in and about the Adirondacks, even describing the sights and sounds on Osgood Pond, home to White Pine Camp.

Google Maps Screenshot of Osgood Pond

Two things in particular that Peart mentions are "erratics," and loons. Here are excerpts from his blog about each.

About the "erratic block:"

Near the wooded, boulder-studded shores of those four islands, a few tiny islets of rock stand above the water here and there. One of them has a steep cliff into deep water that was always fun for a gang of us to jump off of. Twenty-four years ago just one solitary fir tree grew on its crown, so it became known as l’Île de Noël. (Christmas tree, see.) One neighboring couple told me that in the early years, before there were many houses, an unnamed couple once made the beast with two backs there. So they called it l’Île d’Amour. A large granite stone, an “erratic block” (meaning dropped by a retreating glacier), on top of it suggested the shape of an eagle’s head to this bird-brain, so our family called it Eagle Rock. With a young boy’s natural reductiveness, Brutus’s son Sam called it Rock-on-Top-of-Rock.

Eagle Rock, photo from neilpeart.net

 About the beloved loons:

One of the oft-celebrated delights of northern lakes is the calls of loons. In our area, each lake has a resident pair that returns year after year. Their vocal tremolos are familiar in movie and TV soundtracks, and even in pop music. (…) Their various songs are eerie, unearthly, and endlessly haunting, especially on moonlit nights, when they can fish and move around the lake, calling to each other. Olivia and I had been seeing “our” pair of loons often, with their new baby chick. That is always an exciting event on the lake, because loon nests often fail due to a rising or falling waterline, or predators. 

Most birds have hollow bones, but those of loons, one of the most ancient of species, are solid and heavy. That weight is helpful for diving deep in search of fishy food, but not for getting airborne—loons require a long laborious taxi across the water. Their feet are far back on their bodies, likewise good for swimming underwater (they also use their wings), but they cannot walk. The nest has to be right at the water’s edge, where they can push themselves onto it. If the water falls, they won’t be able to get to the nest; if it rises, the eggs float away.

"Riding Loonie-Back", photo from neilpeart.net

Peart's discussion about loons and geology goes into further detail and is a great read, I highly recommend his entire blog post.

He also discusses different forms of recreation at his vacation spot, including rowing - another excellent outdoor activity which can be enjoyed at White Pine Camp.

"The Professor" himself (Neil Peart), photo from neilpeart.net

I don't want to get too off topic, but there are a few details you should know to make some sense of some of the references in Peart's blog post. Peart tragically lost his first daughter, Selena, in a car crash. Then his wife became ill and died of cancer. The band of course was on indefinite hiatus after these twin tragedies. Peart has since remarried, has returned to these same woods and shares them with his wife, Carrie and their daughter Olivia. These details are loosely referenced in his blog post.

As is characteristic of his vacation posts, he does not focus much on the "Guys at Work," but the topic does come up as he visits Le Studio, the now defunct recording studio where Rush recorded several of their albums, including their biggest selling album "Moving Pictures" (1981).

I leave you with a song, "Between the Sun and Moon," with Lyrics written by Peart. I am sure that his retreat in the Laurentians inspired this song.  A few more points of significance: the video below was taken from the band's first concert after returning from their hiatus, in Hartford Connecticut on June 28, 2002. The song itself however was written before Peart lost is first wife and daughter. The concert was held one day after the passing of The Who's bassist John Entwistle. The performance of the song is the the first time they ever played it live and is dedicated to him.

Between The Sun and Moon (1993)

There is a lake between sun and moon

Not too many know about

In the silence between whisper and shout

The space between wonder and doubt

This is a fine place

Shining face to face

Those bonfire lights in the mirror of sky

The space between wonder and why

Ahh, yes to yes to ahh, ahh to yes

Why the sun?

Why the sun?

There is a fine line between love and illusion

A fine place to penetrate

The gap between actor and act

The lens between wishes and fact

This is a fine place

To hesitate

Those bonfire lights in the lake of sky

The time between wonder and why

Ahh, yes to yes to ahh, ahh to yes

Why the sun?

Why the sun?

Some need to pray to the sun at high noon

Need to howl at the midwinter moon

Reborn and baptized in a moment of grace

We just need a break

From the headlong race

This is a fine place

Shining face to face

Those bonfire lights in the mirrored sky

The space between wonder and why

Ahh, yes to yes to ahh, ahh to yes

Why the sun?

Why the sun?

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