Where it all begins!

“Far above the chilly waters of Lake Avalanche at an elevation of 4,293 feet lies summit water, a minute, unpretending, tear of the clouds — as it were — a lovely pool shivering in the breezes of the mountains and sending its limpid surplus through Feldspar Brook to the Opalescent River, the well-spring of the Hudson.” 

                                    Verplanck Colvin, 1872, while surveying the Adirondack Mountains. 

This is where our journey down the Hudson river starts, at Lake Tear of the Clouds, located 1,000 feet below the summit of Mount Marcy, the highest point in New York State. Lake Tear of the Clouds is the highest water source that feeds the mighty Hudson River. The waters flowing out of Lake Tear of the Clouds create Feldspar Brook. Feldspar then joins the Opalescent River which flows into Flowed Lands. Both the Opalescent and Calamity Brook flow out of Flowed Lands in different directions. The outlet on the east side of Henderson Lake becomes the very first stretch of the Hudson River. 

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