cant take the country outta the girl...

Mookey

The newest addition to the Gerhardt household. Mookey- husky/shep mix. 9 weeks old. Boy. We love him already.

Little Falls Climbin'

Return

So, I know that when I dont post anything on my blog(s), the world as we know it stands still. And I must admit, that it has been a ridiculously long time since I last posted, but life sometimes gets ridiculous too. So here are the pics that I alluded would be coming in my last post. This is from an AWESOME trip with some good buddies. It was so awesome that I was inspired to create a third blog (http://cloudsplitters.blogspot.com/)to track the 4 guys from this trip and our goal to become 46ers. This was an amazing trip that brought me to 16 out of the 46. We did 4 peaks (all in the top ten) in 2 1/2 days. Without further babbling...

Me on top on Mt Haystack (3rd highest).

Haystack again

Some rock scramblin'

On top of Basin Mt (9th highest)

One of a couple ladders to assist in some steep sections

Bridge Crossing

Late night munchies. Actually what happened was when we got to our lean to around 12 midnight, we just wanted to crash, so we stuffed all our food into our bear bin; it didnt fit and some pop tarts got crushed. This is us cleaning up the mess.

Jer C. and Tom on top of Haystack

View of Mt Marcy from Haystack

On top on Mt Marcy (highest peak in all of NY state)

Mario, Jer C. and Tom sizin' up Marcy before the final push

On the way up Basin

On top of Skylight (4th highest). Marcy in the background

Foggy woods

Sketchy "high water" bridge

Stream crossing

Forest Friend

At John's Brook Lodge. Good Friends

A taste of whats to come...

As much as I wish that I could go to the Adirondacks more, I am sometimes forced to realize how lucky I am to go as much as I do. Memorial Day weekend I took a group from church (see post below). This weekend I will be venturing into the wild with some good buddies. Below is a picture of Mt. Marcy, the tallest peak in New York State, as seen from Algonquin, the second highest. In a couple days, I will be on the top of Marcy, looking across at Algon. We plan to do two others, bringing my total to 15 out of 46 of the ADK high peaks. We shall see what the return post has in store...

P.S. Thank you to my wonderful, awesome wife who supports, encourages and allows me to do these trips. I am so thankful to have someone like her that knows how much these trips bring such peace to my life. Thanks Babe!

Here's the roster for this weekend...

Jeremy "the grizzly " Carrier

Tom "Wild Man" Grant

Mario "the Mountain" Bianco

And yours truly, Jer "Eagle Eye" Gerhardt

This weekend I was able to lead the youth group on a trip to the Daks. We had a great time. Good weather, bugs weren't bad at all (this is usually the peak of black fly season) and lots of fun activities. We hiked mountains, went whitewater rafting on the Indian/Hudson rivers (sorry, not taking my camera on the raft) and did the usual camping things. I never grow tired of seeing and experiencing God's beauty.

Algonquin Mt (the second highest mountain in NY, hidden behind the clouds)
Heart Lake
Sign reading "The Finest Square Mile" at entrance to the Adirondack Loj
Red Trillium
Waterfall on way to Algonquin Mt
Other hikers in our groups on their way up Wright Mt. (pic taken from trail up Algon.)
Mt Marcy from top of Algonquin
Yellow blazes lead the way
On the summit of Algonquin (time number 2)
Evening reflections on Heart Lake
Devo time
The Faith Lutheran Youth