Hiking Mount Jo near Lake Placid during winter’s coldest week

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On Thursday, the day after Saranac Lake was yet again declared the coldest spot in the lower 48 states, I hiked Mount Jo in nearby Lake Placid, New York.

Now, the thing you have to know about me to put this story into context is that I hate most winter sports more than just about anyone else on earth does, with the possible exception of Sheldon Cooper from “The Big Bang Theory.” Walking to the grocery store and the rare skate along the canal are pretty much the only outdoor exercise I get from December through March.

So why on earth was I bundled in four layers of clothes, with Microspikes (light crampons) fastened to my Sorels and telescoping hiking poles in my hands, clomping up a snowy mountain?

The flippant answer would be, “Because it was there.”

The actual answer is that this guided hike had been booked weeks in advance, and Karen Delaney, co-owner of High Peaks Mountain Guides, had no qualms about taking me out. If she could do it, well, so could I. I even felt as though I had to hold up our national pride a bit. Heck, Ottawa is north of Lake Placid. Canadians know from winter. I couldn’t let the side down.

So here we were.

By the time we hit the trail around noon, the temperature had warmed up somewhat since I’d checked it in the morning. It was now a balmy -19C with a windchill of -26C.

Before we’d left the High Peaks guide house, Karen had made sure I had everything I needed to stay warm, dry and hydrated on the trail. (If you show up for one of their hikes without all the right gear, they can set you up with everything from gloves and hats to water bottles, spikes and poles from an endless wall of supplies.)

And she’d shown me some nifty tricks. Did you know that filling your water bottle with warm water rather than cold, and storing it nozzle side down in your backpack, keeps the nozzle from freezing? Well, perhaps you did, but it was welcome news to me.

At the trailhead, Karen signed us both into the registration log (So the rescue teams will know where to find us before we turn into Popsicles, I thought darkly), while I read a large plaque that informed me that red foxes and barred owls make their home in these woods. And then we were off.

Due to my schedule, we only had about an hour, so Karen asked whether I’d rather stick to the flat part of the trail around small Heart Lake or tackle part of Mount Jo. The total ascent is 700 feet (213m), but we didn’t have time to complete it. Deep down, I thought the flat stroll was just about my speed. But will I look like a wuss for choosing it?

Karen mistook my hesitation for gusto, gumption, chutzpah…or whatever the equivalent word is among folks who think nothing of hiking up mountains in temperatures that freeze car batteries.

“You look like you want a bit of an incline,” she said.

I definitely have to work on my facial expressions before doing any more winter hiking, I thought.

And so, after a short hike along the lake, we hit the upward trail. And, in all honesty, it wasn’t so hard. In fact, for a seasoned hiker like Karen, it was probably the sort of thing she could do three times before breakfast without breaking a sweat. Granted, I was huffing and puffing a little, but it was great fun and I was soon shedding layers.

The Microspikes on my boots—along with Karen’s advice to plant them deeply before putting my weight on them—got me over a tiny, icy waterfall. And while we didn’t see any foxes or owls—they were probably snug in their nests and dens, drinking the animal equivalent of hot toddies—we did hike along a hushed trail fringed with snow-dusted conifers and delicate-looking birches. The landscape below was wreathed in haze, and since we couldn’t make it to the summit, there were none of Mount Jo’s famous views of Heart Lake and the surrounding mountains to enjoy.

It didn’t matter. My reward was that I’d hiked way out of my comfort zone, and I’d even started to understand the appeal of winter sports. Feeling virtuous, fit and smugly satisfied, I even started thinking about doing some winter hiking back in Ottawa.

Perhaps winter won’t seem so long this year after all.

So, do you have any winter hiking routes near Ottawa to recommend? Let me know in the comments!

I participated in this hike as a guest of High Peaks Mountain Guides and the Lake Placid Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism, which neither reviewed nor approved this post.

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If you go

Guided hikes with High Peaks Mountain Guides start at $240 per person per half day and include gear, snacks and water.

You can access the Mount Jo trailhead from the property of the Adirondak Loj, just south of Lake Placid and 248km southeast of Ottawa.

For more travel information, see the Lake Placid Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism.