After climbing Haystack Mountain in the morning I went back to camp to relax for a while. In the afternoon I wanted to get out and do some more exploring, but I wanted to do something less intense. I wanted to take a hike that would be more relaxing. My guide book noted that Mt. Jo was a relatively easy hike starting at the Adirondack Loj. The hike is under 1000 feet of elevation.

For a mountain that required so little climbing it still rewarded the effort with a great view. Thankfully no fog, like in the morning, or gray skies.

Compared to my previous hike Mt. Jo was just a nice stroll in the park. The elevation gain was only 700 ft. The best part about it was the rewarding view that one is treated to even after such a modest effort. Being situated where it is, at the Adirondack Loj, where it is easily accessible and can be easily featured as a solo hike one can do helps.

The Adirondack Loj is home to many of the trail heads that lead out into the vast Adirondack wilderness and lead to many of the climbs that many hikers take up to climb the Adirondack High Peak Mountains. This climb of Mt. Jo is a nice alternative for someone who wants to enjoy the scenery but is not going out for an extended hike. Being right at the center of the Adirondack Mountains trail-head freeway means that all those mountains ay out there in the distance for viewing at the summit of Mt. Jo. I might have had better views here than at any of the other spots I visited save one.

Another nice surprise was that the guidebook I had reported Mt. Jo as a simple out and back hike, but when I arrived at the Adirondack Loj and obtained one of their maps I found that there is actually a short trail and a long trail route that one can take to and from the summit. So I took the short route up to the summit, obviously to same time and energy even though it was a short hike. Give me a break, ya know, I did just hike one of the high peaks in the morning. Ha ha ha. Then on my way down I where the two trails diverged I took the long trail back down from the mountain. It was nice to take a different route and see different scenery on the way down. I like to absorb as much nature as possible so seeing more of it is almost always better. Although photographically seeing the scenery from opposite directions can lend a very different perspective and create photographic opportunities not seen if just traveling one direction.

After descending Mt. Jo I went to my car and ate a small lunch. Then I headed out on the trails again to check out the loop trail that circled Heart Lake. This was a very relaxing trail after hiking up two mountains. There was very little elevation gain. I mostly just strolled along enjoying the environment only stopping on a few occasions to take some photographs.

I hope that if you enjoy my work you will consider joining my other supporters on Patreon and contributing as little as $1 to help me continue to do the work I do. KRNaturalPhoto