Bald Peak - A Leaf-Peeper Hike
The top of Bald gave us great, nearly 360-degree views of the eastern Adirondacks. High above us, the eastern end of Rocky Peak's ridgeline loomed. Over that ridgeline goes the continuation of the trail we were on, but that was not for us. Today, Bald was our turn-around point.
courtesy JInnes
Descending the slabby terrain
Not wanting to keep Kaha waiting too long, we limited our stay at the summit and were soon heading back down.
Surprisingly, Kaha was not at the designated lookout. We assumed that she probably had headed on down back towards the trailhead - perhaps she was thinking that she did not want to slow us down. If that was so (and I hoped that was so), we could catch her before she reached the trailhead, so that she would not have to wait. Therefore, the rest of our hike back down to the trailhead was speedy.
courtesy JInnes
courtesy JInnes
courtesy JInnes
Back at the trailhead, there was no sign of Kaha. We called out for a bit but no luck. Concerned, myself and Jenn and Steve headed back up the trail to try and look for her. Brian stayed behind in the parking lot in case she showed up there.
I made it all the way back up to the designated lookout before I (thankfully) got a message from Brian saying that Kaha had showed up at the parking lot. I had been contemplating contacting the NYSDEC to initiate a search at this point, so indeed I was quite grateful that that was no longer necessary, and that Kaha was safe. We returned back down to the parking lot, weary (having nearly done the entire hike twice) but happy with the positive outcome. Turns out that Kaha had gotten off course in the open lower section of the forest, and had had to bushwhack down to highway 9.
Thanks to everyone for the great hike!
Interactive trackmap with photo points - Bald Peak Hike - click map to view
Start Time:
7:51a.m.
End Time:
1:49p.m.
Duration:
5h57m
Distance:
12.17 km
(7.56 mi)
Average Speed:
2.0 km/hr
(1.3 mph)
Start Elevation:
680ft
(207m)
*
Max Elevation:
3053ft
(931m)
*
Min Elevation:
561ft
(171m)
*
End Elevation:
574ft
(175m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Total Elevation Gain:
2569ft
(783m)
*
Total Elevation Loss:
2698ft
(822m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Elevation Graph
Start Time:
1:50p.m.
End Time:
4:22p.m.
Duration:
2h32m
Distance:
7.74 km
(4.81 mi)
Average Speed:
3.1 km/hr
(1.9 mph)
Start Elevation:
577ft
(176m)
*
Max Elevation:
2111ft
(643m)
*
Min Elevation:
577ft
(176m)
*
End Elevation:
614ft
(187m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Total Elevation Gain:
1554ft
(474m)
*
Total Elevation Loss:
1525ft
(465m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Elevation Graph
