M O U N T   M A R C Y

Adirondack State Park
Upstate New York

Here's a few more shots of the most colorful scenery.

Me atop Mount Marcy. The weather is really quite nice now, it isn't very windy and the sun is keeping me nice and toasty warm. The hike up was to be a bit of a challenge. It was a tough one but it was definitely well worth the effort. I'm glad I was able to bring you along with me. I hope you enjoyed the journey as much as I have.

After spending about 30 minutes at the top admiring all the spacious views I decide to head back down. It's 4:30pm now and I estimate my ETA back to the van will be near 7:30pm. I'm feeling a little stiff from all my standing around so before departing I stretch out both my quadriceps (aka thighs) and feel something give way in my right knee. I not sure what it is but it feels like something bad has happened. I can't think of a worse time for something like this. Not only is the daylight waning but going downhill always puts extra stress and strain on one's knees.

So I weigh my options. I could either spend the night atop the mountain to rest my knee, resulting in my eventual death from exposure, or I could hike (or hobble or crawl) down the mountain. I choose life and start to make my way down the mountain.

I start out by descending the very steepest part of the trail, I have no choice. I can feel a bit of pain under my kneecap so I really favor my right leg, switching the majority of the load and bending work onto my left leg. I'm able to maneuver myself well enough to not further aggravate my knee's seemingly fragile condition. Over time, as my descent continues, my knee actually starts to feel better. It must be because now I'm completely warmed up from all my downhill hiking activity. Since the knee seems to be holding up I decide to really crank up my pace. I want to make good time because I'm not looking forward to hiking in the dark. I start to think maybe I really can beat the dark and make it back to the van before nightfall. Yeah, right. Like I'm going to make it out of there before nightfall, dream on!

Here are a few pictures illustrating my downhill trek. Going down Mount Marcy is an exercise in walking on a seemingly infinite treadmill of downhill rocks. They just go on and on and on. I have to admit, the rocks are sort of interesting when you think about them. Here you have all these rocks. Nobody put them here. It is soil erosion that has exposed them. The ground used to be at least as high as the rocks but over the millennium the rain has washed all the soil away, leaving behind only the rocks.

About 2 miles into my downhill trek my knee starts to hurt again. I'm thankful for the small reprieve I had received that gets me off the mountain and past the steepest sections of the trail. But I'm now faced with the prospect of having to hike more than 5 miles on a bum knee. The best I can do to start favoring it again and as a result my poor left leg really takes a beating. My back is also feeling a bit stressed to due to the asymmetrical forces my limp is imposing upon my body. But what else can I do.