Mount Storm King...finally, after all these decades, always on the bucket list but never hiked...until today. Definitely worth the effort, but...
- I must echo a previous comment: Mount Storm King, to the "Instagram Summit," is serious business. Two thousand feet in two miles, including a couple Class 3 scrambles (although aided by ropes), should not be taken lightly. This hike attracts folks from all over the U.S. and, my impression of today's group, some were experiencing 2K feet elevation gain and scrambling for the first time. A couple of them wisely took the scrambles very slowly, both ascending and descending. Seriously, don't bite off more than you can chew.
- The Instagram Summit isn't the actual Mount Storm King summit, but it is even more dazzling than anything captured in iPhone photos. The actual summit is another 1.8 miles east...and I hiked about .3 miles of that before turning around because (1) the route was steep with more Class 3 scrambling (and no ropes), and (2) based on the number of cobwebs I cleared, no one else was on the east stretch of the trail today. This may be worth doing some day, but with a hiking buddy and a Garmin inReach.
- The post-Storm King side trip to Marymere Falls is very worthwhile. Lovely spot, although the lower part of the loop trail is quite narrow.
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