Cascade Mountain Adventure
Over the years, I’ve hiked some of the Adirondack High Peaks. These are the 46 mountains in the Adirondack Park that are 4,000 feet or taller.
I was vegetarian for some of them, so I’ve decided to re-hike all of them as a vegan. Earlier this spring I hiked Phelps Mountain, and a few weeks ago, I hiked Cascade Mountain with my boyfriend and one of his friends, in town from Colorado.
View of Cascade Mountain from the road near the trailhead
This hike is pretty straightforward. A rocky, sometimes steep, trail that travels directly to the summit from the road.
It was a beautiful day, so the trail was pretty crowded. This is typical in the High Peaks region, especially on trails that start directly on the main road. This one is less than 3 miles each way.
Amazing views from a rocky outcrop near the summit.
There is a short side trip to Porter Mountain, accessible from a trail near the summit of Cascade. I’ve hiked it a few times before, but this particular day we decided on just Cascade.
The last bit of trail to the summit is bald rock. There are cairns to guide you and it’s important to stay off of the fragile alpine vegetation at this point. Personally, I always like to sing and do a little dance about it. I sing “Do the rock walk!” to the tune of The Hustle. Oddly enough, now that I’m thinking about it, I usually do the “Walk Like an Egyptian” dance while I’m singing it. haha Oy.
Cascade Mountain is one of my favorite hikes because you are rewarded with such incredible views after just a short hike. It was the first High Peak I ever climbed and has a very special place in my heart. Awwwww.
Here are a few more of my favorite pictures from the day:
Fact: I stop approximately 43764376598643 times on a hike to take pictures of flowers.
A cairn near the summit
The three tallest mountains in the distance are Mount Marcy (center – the tallest mountain in New York State), to the right of it is Mount Colden (11th tallest High Peak) and at the far right Algonquin Peak (2nd tallest High Peak)
With my love, Andrew, on the summit!
Fiddleheads!
What is your favorite hike? Is it to a mountain summit? Or maybe more of a flat trail that leads to a pond or lake?
Vegan Outdoor Adventures
Vegan Outdoor AdventuresOwner of VeganOutdoorAdventures.com. 10 year vegan. Hiker. Runner. Cat & Dog Mama. Soy latte addict. Hanson super fan.
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Hi Jessica, You found me on Instagram so I came to visit you 🙂
I also nominated you for a Liebster Award http://www.veggiebytes.com/2014/09/meet-up-monday-liebster-award.html. It’s just a bit of blogger fun and I hope you’ll accept it. Anyway, I’m definitely going to continue to check out your site for more vegan backpack info. We hiked the Eagle Creek trail near Portland, Oregon this summer and have a trip planned for a trail in the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee later this fall. Happy Hiking! Cristina
Hey, just found your site while looking for vegan hiking boots. I’m actually planning a trip to the Adirondacks next year 4 to 5 day loaded bike tour, camping and hopefully a little day hiking…. Since you go there often do you have a recommendation for the best season to avoid bugs? I’ve read a lot about the Adirondacks being filled with lots of mosquitos and black flies and would like to avoid the worst of it if possible. Any advice would be appreciated!
Hey Nathan! Glad you found me. And hopefully you were able to find some hiking boots! A bike tour in the Adirondacks sounds amazing! I would definitely suggest the fall as far as bugs go. They’re pretty brutal at times in the spring and summer. As soon as it starts to cool off there are fewer biters and everything is so much more enjoyable. I went on a two day backpacking trip a couple of months ago and the bugs weren’t actually that bad during the day, but after the sun went down it was awful. We had planned on sleeping in a lean-to, but decided to put the tent up to keep our sanity (and blood haha!). Good luck with your plans. Keep in touch! – Jessica
You seem to get some really long, clear views in that area. Around here it always seems to be hazy from the humidity I assume.
We’ve been really lucky to get great views on most of our hikes! It’s been very humid here lately, so we’ll see if the views hold up when we get out to the High Peaks this weekend!