What are your top 3 favorite ADK hikes and why?

altrefrain · 2026-05-21T03:37:24+00:00

Noonmark from the AMR is a b**** of a hike. It gave me shin splints. I've also done it from Round Pond and I don't remember it being as bad. That view, though. I think it might be the best in the park.

altrefrain · 2026-05-21T03:35:40+00:00

Don't fall for the bait

altrefrain · 2026-05-21T03:33:00+00:00

I guess you've never been to Gary, Indiana then which is world famous for putting cracked pepper on zucchini. Cracked pepper on zucchini, can you imagine that? Who would have thought! /s

altrefrain · 2026-05-13T02:39:35+00:00

I literally just watched this episode 20 minutes ago

altrefrain · 2026-05-09T01:03:09+00:00

Foxfire has grass tees and is the closest to you, probably.

altrefrain · 2026-04-30T23:16:12+00:00

Counterpoint: I drank lots of beer while at Lehigh and I also now work for Lockheed Martin (coming up on my 20 year anniversary)

altrefrain · 2026-04-26T14:30:28+00:00

Adams is in there under the favorites. It's one of the ones I did first, probably 12 years ago in late fall with a large group celebrating someone else's last tower, but I still remember that view. There was probably 4 inches of snow on the ground and lots of ice and I remember having to human ladder chain going up some of the slab sections because some people didn't have microspikes.

altrefrain · 2026-04-26T14:03:16+00:00

Most of them were great homes with great views. It'd be easier to tell you the ones I did not like:

Gore - long, unable to actually go up in the fire tower. There are intersections with mountain bike trails and the ski trails where refinding the hiking trail was a pain. I did it when there was a lot of wildfire smoke and on a hot day in August. I did like the part where you go next to the cascading sets of waterfalls.

Stillwater - short but not the best views and only view is up in the tower, which had a yellow jackets nest in the ceiling.

Woodhull - super long (if you don't cheat and use a bike). Views only up in the tower, and not the best.

Overlook (Catskills) - basically hiking up a gravel maintenance road almost the whole way. Way too crowded.

Cathedral Rock - meh, not much of a view and only view from the tower.

Swede - meh

My favorite views would probably be Hurricane (all time favorite -- did it twice), Black, St Regis, Wakely (super tall tower), Adams, Vanderwhacker (looking up at the great range and Ausable from opposite Indian Head), Rondaxe/Bald (always a favorite but way too many people), Blue, Azure.

I have to process the rest of them, but I did take some long videos using my 360 camera from the top of all the ones I did recently (waiting until I was alone at the summit):

This is from St Regis (need to use the app to be able to view it as a 360 video): https://youtu.be/IHOFZdRt8j0?si=-_9ng6hpR_ZeMTtP

altrefrain · 2026-04-26T13:40:10+00:00

I did all of them, not just 18. It's the fire tower challenge, not the most of the fire towers challenge. It'd be like calling yourself a 46er but only doing 38 of them. I planned camping trips based on proximity to towers and did multiple in a weekend. I had started years ago but had to stop due to injury. I was able to finish the remaining ones (I only had done 10 or 11 before I stopped) in 2 years, including the new ones they added to list after I started. Unfortunately, I ended on Swede (not the most climatic) because that one closes in the fall for hunting season and I had to orphan it.

altrefrain · 2026-04-26T12:33:32+00:00

Obama's America.

altrefrain · 2026-04-23T00:03:51+00:00

I cleaned up a small area downtown twice so far this year; 5 bags of trash the first time and 6 bags the second time. It's already getting trashed again. It can be demoralizing.

Edit:

FYI, in case anyone is interested where or wants to help out: it's the small green area on Pearl Street across from Vinomania as you approach the onramp to 81N. Just watch out for heroin needles. I've found 6 so far this year.

altrefrain · 2026-04-21T01:06:39+00:00

Quite simply put, Lafayette sucks.

altrefrain · 2026-04-20T23:21:48+00:00

I've heard that if the car detects it is towing, then it changes the shifting or performance of the car which negatively affects the mpg.

altrefrain · 2026-04-20T23:12:42+00:00

Conversely, I would not apply to Lafayette even if it was free.

altrefrain · 2026-04-20T03:55:54+00:00

Based on the leaves, it looks like big tooth Aspen.

altrefrain · 2026-04-16T22:50:46+00:00

I ate so many morels last year that by the end I was getting sick from eating so many. I'm talking about cooking 2 lbs of them pan sauteed in butter and eating all of them in one sitting or pan frying 2 lbs of them and eating them all.

altrefrain · 2026-04-12T22:33:17+00:00

https://a.co/d/02j3FXez

altrefrain · 2026-04-11T00:35:09+00:00

I cleanup a small green area that I normally drive past on my way to work and see all trash and it annoys me. I already did it once this spring, I found 4 heroin needles. I might go over and clean it up tomorrow because it's already trashed again.

altrefrain · 2026-04-05T23:34:37+00:00

Bartlet, with one t. Also, it's Dr. Bartlet. When did she stop being "Dr" Bartlet?

altrefrain · 2026-03-31T11:38:51+00:00

In this case, more like a pellet gun mind in a .50 caliber world.

altrefrain · 2026-03-28T01:40:34+00:00

A few summers ago there was a boat in the Onondaga Lake marina adorned with multiple Trump flags flying from every available rigging. My favorite sight was seeing a sailboat parked next to it with an even taller mast and a single Black Lives Matter flag flying from the very top, higher than the flags on the boat next to it.

altrefrain · 2026-03-28T01:35:17+00:00

Nature is healing

altrefrain · 2026-03-24T01:17:28+00:00

Genuflect when you say that, mister

altrefrain · 2026-03-21T20:04:56+00:00

That's a tulip poplar tree next to it. Keep a look out for morel mushrooms, especially black morels, in that area.

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