A winter hike, some pictures and some thoughts

Well I finally got around to making vegan doughnuts! These are glazed and the recipe is from the VeganYumYum cookbook. They are delicious. I haven't had doughnuts since going vegan seven months ago. They really hit the spot. I just wish I had some sprinkles to dress them up a little.

We decided to finally try for a winter High Peak on Sunday.


We chose Algonquin Peak, not only because we've heard what a great hike it is in general, but I was told that it was good to start our winter 46 with. We started out at the Loj parking lost at 6am. It was freezing... definitely below zero. I'm just not sure how much. My hair turned to icicles!


Our water froze too, of course, so we put the Camelbak inside Pat's coat to thaw. It was a really great hike. Our trail book said that it gets steep toward the summit and we kept coming to these steep sections and thinking, "That's not so bad..." This is one icy steep section that I actually slipped down on the way up. Oops!

But then we got to the really steep part. I had never hiked anything like it. Unfortunately we didn't take any pictures, but it was crazy steep. This made for excellent butt sliding on the way down though!

We didn't make it all the way to the summit, so it doesn't count toward our 46. We could see the top, we were above treeline, we were almost there! The winds were crazy though and we were nervous, so we decided to leave the summit for another day. :)

View of Whiteface.

I love my new goggles. I want to wear them everywhere.

The views were excellent. This is from just below treeline.

Butt sliding!!

I can't wait to get back for more hikes. I need to move north. I always feel so at peace and happy when I'm up there. It's definitely where I'm meant to be.

In other news, I've been seriously considering starting an animal rights/protest group. I know there are like-minded people around here (probably more so toward Albany) but there are only vegetarian meet-up groups around, which I'm not all that interested in. There are demos going on all over the world this week to support Sea Shepherd and protest the the killing of whales and dolphins by the Japanese. I would have loved to take part in one, but of course there are none around here. This is why I need to start a group. We could hold SSCS benefits, protest the circus and rodeo when they are in town, participate in the Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale and so much more. I'm planning on researching the idea and drumming up some interest soon so let me know if you or anyone you know would be interested.

First hike of the year

We went on our first hike of the year yesterday. We had to do something quick because I had to work at 3 and we couldn't leave Gabby for too long, so we decided on Shelving Rock Mountain. We were the first ones there that day and there were a few inches of fresh snow. It was a great walk!

I love hiking in winter because it's so much easier to see what critters have been up to. Here's a big area where it looks like a deer was rummaging around. At the far end we could plainly make out cloven hoof prints.


The views from the top were great, although somewhat gray due to the snow and overcast skies.

It only took us an hour to get to the top and about half an hour to get down (and we really take our time). I love this hike though. I still have yet to do it when there isn't snow on the ground!

Butler Pond

We went on a short walk around Butler Pond on Wednesday.

Gabby was suited up in her winter gear and we were on our way! There wasn't enough snow for showshoes, but we still had fun.


Gabby gets cold pretty quickly, so we were only out for an hour or so, but we all enjoyed ourselves!


We're hoping to find someone to take Gabby out tomorrow so we can go on a slightly longer hike up Shelving Rock Mtn before I go to work tomorrow.