Ken thought this was the trail we had hiked when we were here in Winnie about 7 years ago and it was an easy to moderate hike. When we pulled into the parking lot I didn't think it looked like the same trailhead, but Ken was sure it was the one we had done. Usually I don't remember hikes and biking trails very well, but as we begun the hike I was even more convinced it was a different hike. The longer we went, the more certain I became. Ken said when we got to the top there would be some small picnic pavilions where we could eat our lunch. Okay, we will see! The trail was beautiful, but mostly uphill, steep, and very rocky. It was challenging for all of us and we went 3.3 miles and to an elevation of 2,234 feet when we reached the top! Of course, there were no picnic pavilions and Ken finally admitted that this was not the hike we had done before - really??????
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| The trail appears to be rather easy and fairly level when you begin the hike! Not to be!!!! |
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| Okay, there are a few rocks..... |
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| and it starts going up hill with the rocks! |
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| The uphill, rocky path continues! Seems like all you do is climb! |
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| It looks like the summit is in sight, but the last 200 ft. uphill were really tough....... |
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| .....and we needed to rest and catch our breath! |
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| Success! We finally reached the top and the view of Lake George was incredible! |
The view from the top was spectacular and we enjoyed it while eating our packed lunches. It was so quiet and peaceful and looking down at Lake George was beautiful. We spent at least an hour enjoying the fruits of our labor!!!!!
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| Wow, we are up high!!!! |
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| So beautiful! |
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| This is a photo of the beautiful and majestic Sagamore Hotel from the top of Buck Mountain. |
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| After eating her lunch, Melissa decided a rest would be good..... |
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| and it looked so inviting, I decided to join her.... |
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| and so did Chuck, but he didn't want to move from the spot where he ate his lunch! |
We discovered you could climb a bit higher for a different view of Lake George. Well, we went this far so what is another 1/4 mile! It was a different perspective of the Lake and again, worth the hike!
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| A few trees are starting to change color. |
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| Huckleberries are supposed to be along the trail and after looking up on his cell phone what huckleberry bushes and the fruits look like, we were sure that's what these are! But, we decided not to take any chances and we didn't sample them! |
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| The other view of Lake George! |
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| Time to just relax and enjoy this view! |
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| The survey mark at the top of the summit! |
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| We are rested from the uphill climb and now it is time to go downhill! |
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| More changing leaves! |
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| They look happy. I think they forgot that we have a steep downhill for about 3.3 miles! |
The hike back to the car was not easy either. It was great to go downhill, but it was very steep at numerous places and the rocks were rather slippery! It seemed like an endless trek back down. We had left at 11:30 and only got back to the car around 4:20, tired and achy! After all, we had gone 6.6 miles and my pedometer had 18, 400 steps! Of course, Chuck probably had 30,000 steps on his phone app, but he always has about double what I have when we walk the same distance and I have to take more steps! What is that about???
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| The large rocks were rather slippery! You really had to be careful! |
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| The downhill hike begins! |
We were back to the CG around 5:15, showered again, and had salads, grilled chicken and salmon, and couscous for dinner. Did dishes and since all of us were so tired from our "exercise" we decided to not play games tonight but just rest and relax in our own motorhomes. We thought about doing a bike ride tomorrow, but I think we will save that for Sunday!
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| More colorful leaves on the way back to the CG! |
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| Saw this fawn in a yard near the CG! |
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| These trees are at the CG! |
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