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Date	Aircraft	Route of Flight	Time (hrs)	Total (hrs)
20 Aug 2007	N21481	5G0 (LeRoy, NY) - LKP (Lake Placid, NY) - K09 (Piseco, NY) - FZY (Fulton, NY) - 5G0	5.1	552.7

I was craving another visit to the Adirondacks and finally found a cool day with high pressure dominating northeast New York.  The high pressure meant minimal wind in the Adirondacks, perfect conditions for a mountain flying newbie to go exploring.  Departing Le Roy at 9:30 am, I found myself in smooth air, though conditions were far from photogenic with a high overcast seeming to sap the landscape of all color.

My destination was the Lake Placid airport.  I had meant to land there in January 2007, but the 20+ knot direct crosswind conditions that day prompted a diversion to Adirondack Regional in Saranac Lake.

Part way to Lake Placid, my Warrior and I emerged from under the overcast.  As I flew eastbound toward the mountains, my groundspeed converged with my true airspeed; the forecast for calm conditions actually came to pass.

On approach into the Lake Placid area, Whiteface is unmistakably the dominant peak.

 
This large example of contour farming is just south of the Lake Placid airport.  I first noticed it in satellite photos while flight planning and had assumed to it be a landfill. 

These ski jump towers remain from the 1980 Winter Olympics.  At 90 and 120 meters tall, they are hard to miss because they are (1) huge and (2) very close to the airport traffic pattern.  As I looked at these things from the air, the phrase "no way in Hell" came to mind.  And some people think that flying is crazy...

On the ground at Lake Placid, the FBO folks notified Lake Placid's free trolley service that there was a passenger at the airport.  For lunch, they recommended "The Cottage" north of town.  So I boarded the trolley and was whisked through town to my destination.  I ate a terrific lunch outside, sitting on a patio overlooking the aptly named Mirror Lake.  Afterward, I wandered around town playing tourist.  Overall, it was a very relaxing afternoon spent exploring.

Lake Placid, as seen upon departure from the airport.

At 5000' above Lake Placid, the Warrior finally out-climbed the immediate terrain. 

Turning south, the overcast settled about 2000' above the highest peaks.  Though ominous looking, there was no precipitation and the air remained glassy smooth.

This photo was taken on the ground at Piseco Airport.  I noticed this butterfly fluttering about during my preflight.  It's not so much the profile view of this insect that caught my attention in this picture, but the classic butterfly outline reflected in the paint of my right wing.