Pitchoff & Balancing Rocks

At the end of summer  I took Yasmend, Emily & Eli to the high Peaks region of the Adirondacks to climb Pitchoff Mountain and see Balancing Rocks.

It was amazing.

We had big plans at squatting in a random spot but it was so busy that weekend we couldn't even stay at KOA, so we ended up driving to Wilmington and staying at the North Pole Campground.  It wasn't as rugged of a spot to tent as I had planned, but the kids really enjoyed it and it was relaxing.

Eli loves chocolate milk so we got him some Silk Chocolate Soy Milk (Non-GMO of course) and he loved it!

we also roasted onions..yummmmm!

The first night was great and Eli and I were especially excited about the next days hike, we were the last to go to sleep.

We left "bright" and early the next morning to head to the climb, in reality it was raining, chilly, and foggy.

Pitchoff Mountain and Balancing Rocks are located in Keene Valley (one of my favorite spots in all the Adirondacks) in Essex County.

It was rainy on the way in, but the tree coverage helped a lot once we really got moving.

There were A TON of mushrooms everywhere along the trail, which Eli was so excited about.

It was really awesome to see him so interested and fascinated by them.

A little ways in, we found a nice little lookout, and although it was foggy there were some nice views of Cascade Lake across the way.

As we continued the climb we found really big boulders with beautiful moss, gorgeous trees, and quite a few tough spots where the younger two needed some assistance getting up the trail.  And of course more mushrooms...

Almost to Balancing Rocks!

Old Man's Beard! Mine wouldn't stay on.

When we finally got to Balancing Rocks it was magical.I thought the fog just made it so perfect, it was like waking up and discovering you're in a fairytale.

Our car was parked somewhere down there!

Every time I turned around there was something new and amazing to see.  Everyone was so excited and wanted to explore every bit of it.

Standing on top was probably the most incredible part, there's really nothing like it.  The rock's are half on the mountain, half standing in midair and it's just...it's amazing and powerful and makes you feel a hundred emotions at once.  You feel so small yet so empowered, so fragile yet so strong.  The wind in your hair, the fog like an endless sea surrounding you, the trees fading into the distance beyond what you can see.  Time stands still.  It's overwhelming.

I could have stayed there for days, weeks, months, years.  I didn't want to leave.

Once I finally had to, we continued on to a lot more rugged territory so not many pictures!

I did snap a few of some more pretty mushrooms though.

When we got back to our tent we started making dinner and everyone relaxed and enjoyed the last night of our trip.  Nobody wanted to go home the next day.

The next morning, after we packed up the Subaru we decided to head to the little beach nearby.  The water was freezing but the kids really wanted to go, and they had fun anyways.  Plus there was a nice little playground there for them to play on.

We stopped at Hannaford at the beginning of our long journey home to get some Nature's Path Organic Toaster Pastries for breakfast.  And then we drove and drove and drove...

Somewhere near Inlet we'd finally had enough sitting in the car and decided to get out and stretch our legs.  We found a really short trail on Rocky Mountain and decided to check it out.

It was a little disappointing after where we had been the day before, and there were way too many other people there, disrespectful people, but at least we were able to get out of the car for a bit, and we helped the earth a little by picking up a lot of litter.

Overall it really was an incredible trip and I'm so glad I was able to share it with them.  

Yazzy and I are trying to plan a trip for Thanksgiving, and I think we might try one again in January or February depending on where we end up around then, but either way, more adventures await!

<3