Hike Map This is an annotated topographic map of the hike area. At the very bottom of this presentation you'll find another instance of this map with the result of our hike drawn onto the map. [enlarge]

Initial rainy attempt Two weeks earlier, we drove down to the Adirondacks to hike this trail. However, Mother Nature decided to throw continuous torrents of rain and lightning at us at the last minute. So we (at the time, Ewart, Andree, Peter G, Markus, Andrew) decided to turn around and high-tail it back to Ottawa. [enlarge]

very rainy trails A few shots of the start of the trail in the downpour. It would have been no fun hiking this during such weather. [enlarge]

very rainy trails A few shots of the start of the trail in the downpour. It would have been no fun hiking this during such weather. [enlarge]

two weeks later... Two weeks later we return (this time just myself, Gilbert and Peter). The weather is hot and muggy, but no rain. Here Gilbert waits to get started. [enlarge]

On the trail We set out at 8:37am. Being a July 1 Monday, U.S. folks are at work, while we Canadians enjoy relative solitude on the trail. [enlarge]

on the trail... [enlarge]

the first viewpoint Peter gazes out of the first viewpoint along the trail. The day is hot, and the surrounding mountains are half-hidden in the heat haze. [enlarge]

Gilbert and Peter Gilbert and Peter observe the view from a scenic rest stop. Part of the Great Range of the Adirondacks is visible in the distance. [enlarge]

The Brothers The route that we took winds over some lower rock prominences called the Brothers. There are three of them, and this picture is taken from one of them. The trail goes over all of these prominences, and is quite nice, winding over ridges and open areas with many viewpoints. [enlarge]

Peter... don't do it! Peter almost stumbles off this ledge while posing for a photo. [enlarge]

Scenic Trail The trail wanders along the ridgeline. [enlarge]

Scenic Trail Another shot showing this fabulous bit of trail. [enlarge]

Big Slide Mountain Eventually we come to a lookout where we see our ultimate objective: Big Slide Mountain. As you can see, the mountain is named for the obvious bare slide face. [enlarge]

Near the summit This is a shot taken just a few hundred feet below the summit. The start of the large south facing slide face is visible in this shot. [enlarge]

The Summit This is a view looking southwest from the Summit of Big Slide. Most of the Major mountains of the Adirondacks are visible from here. In this picture, we can see many peaks, including Mount Marcy (the highest in NY), Haystack mountain, Basin Mountain, Saddleback mountain, and Gothics Mountain. [enlarge]

Gilbert on Summit Gilbert relaxes with a mountain panorama in the background. [enlarge]

Gilbert advertises... for New England Hiking Holidays [enlarge]

Gilbert keeps himself informed. Gilbert reads about General Motors in his tattered copy of the Economist. [enlarge]

Behold, a source of great knowledge.... The holy tome is carefully presented to the camera. [enlarge]

Clambering, Benoit-style Here Gilbert shows how it's done. Apparently he later tries to do the splits. [enlarge]

Interactive trackmap with photo points - Big Slide - click map to view Interactive trackmap with photo points - Big Slide - click to view

Annotated Hike Map This an annotated topographic map of our route, showing the exact track followed (red, derived from GPS tracklog). Each blue tick is 30 minutes of elapsed time. Note how the trails marked on the old topo map have been changed in many places. Trip Data (taken from GPS tracklog, available from link in left-hand column): Total Distance : 15 kilometres. Average Speed : 2.7 km/hr Maximum Altitude : 4237 feet Start Time: 8:37 Finish Time: 14:06 Duration: 5hrs 28mins [enlarge]

Elevation Profile over time This is a GPS-derived elevation profile of our hike, graphed over time. [enlarge]

Elevation Profile over distance This is a GPS-derived elevation profile of our hike, graphed over distance. [enlarge]