Adirondack Overland Video!

Hey folks! Just posting up a little ADK Overland adventure video for ya'll. This one took a lot of work but I'm really happy with the results. Adria and I had such a great time. Sit back, click that play button and enjoy!

The mountains are calling

I have not blogged in a coon's age, but I'll tell you what; I have been one busy man. A week off of work doing the things I most like, has gotten me really excited about backpacking again. Last week I hiked a nice 15 miles in the Catskills along the Burrough's range and Panther Ledge. I also spent part of the week with my girlfriend, Sara, in my childhood playground; the Adirondacks.  Just being up there in the mountains has really gotten me pumped about hiking the High Peaks of the 'Dax'.  Tonight, as I read trip reports and blogs of others who have hiked a lot of the exciting alpine routes of the park, I plan my own adventure along the the Lower Great Range Traverse in Keene Valley. In my delusional quest to conquer all 46 of the High Peaks, this traverse, albeit challenging, would bang out a few of the peaks in one shot (Upper & Lower Wolfjaw, Armstrong, Sawteeth & Saddleback). Stay tuned!

Dirt biking in the Dax

Yesterday was pretty epic. Since childhood, I have wanted to cruise around the Adirondacks on a dirt bike. Yesterday, that happened. I've had my Honda CRF 450X for about three years now, but it was broken for half that time and I haven't got a lot of throttle time accumulated. I'm still a bit timid on the bike but am feeling more and more confident with every ride. It was just great to rip through the logging roads and snowmobile trails up here in the 'Dax'. 

Family Vacation - Adirondacks

Well, I spent the last week and a half in Munich for work. Now I'm off for a week to vacation with my family in the Adirondacks. Of course, I brought my camera, and have been taking advantage of the sites. I'll try to post some pictures every other day or so, but the wifi at the camp we're renting is spotty at best.

I'm fairly happy with the way this shot of the moon and starry sky turned out. I sat on the dock with a cold Utica Club while I played with the settings to get a decent exposure. I ended up shooting with my 35mm lens at f/1.4 for 2 seconds, then processing in Adobe Lightroom.

This morning I woke up at 7:30 and drove about a mile up the road to the old mill on Moose River. I've driven past this mill since I was the age of 10 and have always been curious to see what's inside. Here are a few photos from this morning.

 

Another year older

I’m 36 years old now. My birthday was last Friday and was celebrated over a long weekend in my very favorite of all places; the Adirondacks. Debbie and I spent a few days at a cabin in Woodgate, just south of Old Forge. We spent the days hiking, swimming and relaxing (when we werent’ getting drilled by black flies). I was really excited to have received a couple of awesome gifts from Debbie. Each deserving of their own blog entry; so more on them later. I will say that she got me the latest Gopro camera, the Hero 3, Black Edition, and it is AWESOME. I cannot wait to use it more. Below is some sample footage I took from the summit of Blue Mountain.

 

We rounded the trip off with a stop at my folks place for a nice visit. We were able to spend the day with them. My father and I spent a couple of hours at the rifle range. My shoulder is still sore from his 45-70.