MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Sometimes the news is grim, stressful. We get that. So let's take a moment for something on the other side of the spectrum. Spring has reached the Adirondack Mountains in northern New York, and North Country Public Radio's Emily Russell went for a hike.
EMILY RUSSELL, BYLINE: I'm heading up Hackensack Mountain, a rocky ridge that rises up from the small town of Warrensburg, N.Y. This place has been blanketed in ice and snow for months, but on this spring day, it's thrumming back to life.
(SOUNDBITE OF BIRDSONG)
RUSSELL: This is so amazing. I'm standing here on the trail, and it's just like this chorus of wildlife around me, chipmunks and birds, my dog out exploring. It's so beautiful. Dry pine needles crunch beneath my boots. The trail is short and steep, so I have to grip onto roots and rocks to haul myself up the mountain. There's a moment when everything around me falls silent except for one lone woodpecker searching for food.
(SOUNDBITE OF WOODPECKER)
RUSSELL: The trail is become really dynamic, like just these big, sharp boulders. So I'm having to hop from one to another.
As I climb towards the summit, the trees thin out. That lets in more of the bright spring sunshine which seeps into my skin. I haven't felt warmth like this in months. And then the trail guides me out onto the summit, a rocky ledge overlooking the tiny Adirondack town below.
(SOUNDBITE OF FOOTSTEPS)
RUSSELL: You can see little churches and shops and homes. And there's birds flying above me. This is just so special.
(SOUNDBITE OF BIRDSONG)
RUSSELL: In a place where winter grips on for as long as it can, it feels like spring is finally here. For NPR News, I'm Emily Russell in Warrensburg, N.Y. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.