Day 237: Somewhere in the scene

When we checked the weather forecast for today (for the 'North Country' as we down here call where we were then) we were shocked to discover a daytime maximum of 62 ­­°F - it seemed that summer had come to an abrupt end on Labor Day. Oh well, the cold weather wasn't going to stop us, but we did make sure we had plenty of warm clothes to hand (especially for the girls).

The first stop was for a short walk to a spectacular view. Exile #2 took seriously the suggestion on one web page that a less than two mile walk was going to take two hours, so we set out equipped (as well as our holiday packing would allow) for a major hike. Indeed any small delay near the foot of the trail (or trail-head as it is known apparently) was met by chants of "Hike, hike!" from Exile #3 (walking) and Exile #4 (in rucksack on my back).

Early indications supported Exile #2's approach when we were invited to sign a register indicating when we set off and where we were heading and our departure was followed by a choice of trail with an easy-to-miss arrow showing the correct fork to take.

An hour and fifteen minutes later we were failing to achieve the summit and backtracking to find an alternative route. Before we eventually reached the top, we saw the real trail joining our false trail. Our mistake can be clearly seen in this picture. The real trail is on the left - we went right, or was it the other way round?

Maybe if I'd looked at the 3D picture and realised there was a 900 ft climb over 0.9 miles of trail, I'd have been more open to the time estimate.

Then again, I might just have given up on the idea of Exile #2 and I carrying Exile #4 and E5N1 up and Exile #3 walking, in which case we would have missed out on the stunning views - and a nearly 3 hour hike with a five year old in tow (albeit in fine form) and three year old on my back. Oh, don't be fooled by the sunshine - this wasn't a cool sunny fall day, the temperature was at least 10 degrees above the predicted maximum.
Pop pun 27 for title watchers: We went up to the top of the highest hill and stopped still - it was just so beautiful.

[For future searchers: Mount Baker (Mt Baker) trail from Saranac Lake NY, round-trip 1.9 miles >2 hours (nearly 3 with necessary stops) for family with willing 5 year old hiker.]