We crossed a bridge over the south end of Lake Champlain to enter Upstate New York. We stopped at the historic town of Ticonderoga to see several waterfalls that were running high due to recent rains. Much of the rest of our drive was along windy, rolling roads along Lake George and the Hudson River Valley.
The next morning we went to the Mohonk Mountain House in the Shawangunk Mountains. This crazy-looking lodge was founded in 1869 by twin brothers Albert and Alfred Smiley, Quakers who wanted to promote temperance and peace through access to nature. The views of the Mohonk lake, the mountains and the lodge were very scenic.
The reason we went there was to hike the Labyrinth trail. It is a crazy trail that took you over, under and around huge boulders and squeezing through steep crevices – culminating in a “lemon squeeze” crevice that gave you access to the summit. It was really fun and challenging. Our favorite part was the lemon squeeze at the end as once you figure out how to twist your body to get to the top, you find yourself crawling out at the base of a cliff onto a rocky overlook. When you look back, you would never know there was a little crack there that people actually climb through.
Happy to have made it to the top!
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