Cascade mountain is one of the Adirondack 46er. Many people start their 46er journey with Cascade and Porter because it’s shorter and easier.. I mean it is not really easy, it was still challenging when I first hiked these trails. My legs were shaking on the way back down. But compared to other 44 peaks, it’s less difficult. Also the trail is easy to follow.
I decided to drive up there when I heard that it was going to snow because I wanted to see certain winter mountain views that had been in my head. Here’s my photo journal of hiking Cascade mountain on January 2024. Hope you enjoy it.
Roads up there are just so beautiful. And never too much traffic.
The last rest area before getting off New York Interstate 87. 5 miles before the exit 30. Although there is about 40 more minutes to go to the trailhead, I always make sure use the bathroom here. It has good cell service, so this is also where I send my itinerary to my friend. Once you get on Route73, soon you lose connections. (T-mobile)
The exit is coming up.
Take exit 30 on I87.
Merging to Route 73.
No cars are coming from right.
Turning left onto Route73. Route73 is even more scenic.
Cascade Lake on the left. One of the iconic view in the Adirondack.
I got a parking spot right in front of the trailhead.
Cascade and Porter mountain trailhead.
Beautiful exposed tree trunk.
Mushrooms… identifying mushroom is something I would like to try this year (2024). I’ve been loving eating them whole my adult life (they are so tasty), but I saw a documentary on Netflix called “Fantastic Fungi”, they are so fascinating.
Quiet peaceful snow covered trail.
Snow was less than 8 inches that day, most people were using just crampons. If snow is more than 8 inches, you have to wear snowshoes in the Adirondack, something to keep in mind.
Someone drew a face on a rock, things like this always make me smile.
Another face… looks like a kind of mountain creature.
I love when trees are opening their skin.
Snow on a mushroom..
A bird was knocking a branch.. if you could pay close attention to the dark brown branch in the center of the picture…
There is a spot before the junction, that most trees you see are Balsam Fir (I assume). They are not tall, so it feels open.
It really feels like a winter wonderland.
Finally seeing the junction.
Right to Porter, left to Cascade. I took left on this day.
Finally above the tree line. No other people when I got there.
This is the view that I wanted to see with my own eyes.
It felt like time had stopped.
It’s just magical.
I brought my 36L backpack for this hike.
The temperature was around 23F (-5C) but the water reservoir worked. I hiked only Cascade, and it was 4.6 miles. Elevation gain was 1,824ft, moving time was 3h14m, and total time was 3h42m, according to AllTrails app.
Hope you enjoyed the photos and was able to get some ideas of how a winter hike would look like!
