I spent a couple of days at the
Adirondak Loj (yes, it's spelled that way) last week stopping there as I drove down from Montreal where I visited my son and daughter-in-law in their new apartment. Never having been at the Loj before and being alone, I hiked the shorter trails nearby. I walked around Heart Lake in the rain the afternoon I arrived; climbed up Mt. Jo and walked to Rocky Falls the following day. The next morning, I checked out and drove a mile or so up the road to the trailhead for Mt. Van Hoevenberg.
Mt. Jo is a short climb up to a wonderful view of the surrounding high peaks and Heart Lake immediately below. The trail is well worn and eroded. They say that 14,000 people climb it every year! However, I started at 8:30am and met only a few people and was alone at the top. It's a wonderful, wonderful summit for such a short climb, about an hour.
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| The dock at Heart Lake near the Adirondak Loj. |
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| The Short Trail up to Mt. Jo was steep, rocky, eroded and certainly well used. |
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| Loved the boulders! |
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| Near the top as the trees thinned. |
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| Spruce trees covered the area around the summit ledges. |
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| The views were spectacular especially for the short climb. |
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| Heart Lake in the near distance where the Adirondak Loj is located. |
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| I had the summit all to myself and enjoyed a second breakfast! |
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| Large area of smooth ledge at the top. |
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On the way down, I took the less-used Rock Garden Trail
and was rewarded with outstanding micro-views. |
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| Maybe it should have been called the Garden of Rocks Trail! |
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| Or perhaps the Garden on the Rocks Trail! |
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Beautiful moss on this trunk/root of the tree growing up improbably
out of the side of the rocks. |
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| The trail went between these two large outcroppings or perhaps they were really huge boulders. |
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| Large patch of rock tripe lichen on this huge rock that was taller than me. |
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Although the trunk on the left was dead, you can see
how the roots of the two trees intertwined. |
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| Cute little mushrooms peeking up from inside this rotted tree trunk! |
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That afternoon, I walked another 2 miles to get to Rocky Fall
with amazingly clear cold water. |
