Santanoni for the Range!

Order in ranking: 14

Santanoni had been my nemesis for a year.  Last October, we had started out to climb the Santanoni Range, heading up the Panther Brook trail to climb first Panther, then Couchsachraga before going to Santanoni, and down the Express Trail.

Our thinking was that if, for some reason, we couldn’t get to Santanoni, we could always come back and do an up-and-back via the Express.  And it turns out that we couldn’t get to Santanoni- by the time we got back from Couch, it was getting late, and we didn’t particularly want to walk back out in the dark.

So fast forward to March.  Steph had decided to try and do a winter ascent of Santa – having had success with Cascade, Porter and Allen, she thought she’d give Santa a try.  Unfortunately, the Express trail wasn’t broken out, and she while she could find the start of it, she lost it shortly there after.

Fast forward again to August.  We climbed Cliff on the Saturday, and then attempted Santa on the Sunday.  We made good time to the junction with the Express, but then we started to lose steam – our aches and pains from the climb before were hitting us hard.  We arrived at the Hilary Step around 2:00, and decided to turn around.  At the pace we were going, it would be another hour and a half to the summit, and we’d have to get down, and we were driving home that night. 

So that makes 3 (4 in the case of Steph) attempts at reaching Santanoni’s summit. We were really feeling discouraged, but also determined – that summit was going to be ours. 

We headed down in September for a weekend, and bright and early on a Saturday we were at the trailhead.  We headed up the road to the trail, and hit the express is just under 2 hours.  We were already making better time than our last attempt.  After a brief stop to chat with other hikers, we cross the stream (the water was low enough to rock hop) and head up the trail.

In August, at the Hilary Step

The Express trail is a bit erratic.  It starts off fairly even and flat, then there’s a rocky section that’s flat, then it evens out again but climbs, then a rocky section…this goes on for a bit before the trail starts climbing in earnest.  It starts off as a moderate grade, but quickly becomes steep….steeper….steeper… until you come to the Hilary Step – a massive white section of rock, that you have to skirt around to get back onto the trail, a point that Steph and I call ‘The Awful Up.’

This section was muddy and slippery the two times we’ve gone up it (and the two times down.)  We had to stop talking so we could concentrate on our footing – start climbing here, cross there, monkey swing around this, don’t pull on that it’s loose, climb up over there, cross again.  It took us a half hour the first time around in August, but only 15 minutes this time. 

From there you enter in an area of blowdown, and you get your first view of Santa – and it looks a loooooong way off.  But just like Nippletop, the view is deceiving.  The trail descended a bit into a col, then climbed steadily (and steeply) through grabby trees, until we started to see more open rocky patches, with amazing views of Wallface, Marshall, Iroquois and Algonquin.

Elation! We made it!

Eventually you come to a junction with another trail, running left and right.  Turning left takes you over the false summit to Santanoni, right takes you towards Time Square.  We turned left, and it was minutes later that we came out to the false summit, and from there it was less than 2 minutes to summit – we got there at 11:47, four and a half hours after starting.

We spent nearly an hour on the summit, chatting with other hikers, and just enjoying the views and the fact that we.finally.made.it.  We headed down, elated that the hike had gone so well.  Everything about the hike had been (and would continue to be) perfect – the day had warmed up to a nice temperature, not too hot or too cold, the summit wasn’t windy, the leaves had already started changing…our hike down went just as smoothly as the hike up, and we reached the register at 3:55.  Santanoni was our 42 – only 4 peaks left!

Total climbing time: 8 hours 40 minutes
Left parking lot at: 7:15, returned at 3:55
Summitted Santanoni at 11:47

Scaling up Cliff Mountain

Order in ranking:  44

Finally, after months and months, I was back in the Adirondacks with my climbing compatriot, for an attempt on Cliff mountain, and if we had time Redfield.

Now, we're both currently a little out of shape.  There have been a few years where we've swiftly ascended mountains, like the year we did the Dix Range, but this is not one of those years.  This is one of those schlep yourself up the mountain years.

So we stayed at the Hoot Owl B&B in nearby Newcomb (our go-to accommodations for hikes at Upper Works) and headed out bright early for a 7:15 a.m. start.  The going towards Flowed Lands is very quick - the trail, while not 'flat' is even - i.e. there are a few rolling ups and downs, but the trail isn't covered in rocks, boulders, logs, branches, etc.  (This is actually great on the way out when you're tired - you can just put one foot in front of the other and not have to worry about tripping over a root that is hiding in plain sight.) We made fairly good time, hitting the monument at Calamity Pond around 9:41 a.m., where we took some photos and chatted with a couple who were hiking in for an overnight stay.  From the monument, it was a short walk, about 20 minutes, to Flowed Lands, where we stopped again to soak in the beauty, have a snack, and rest our feet.  We thought this would be a great destination for a hike in and of itself - it was very quiet and peaceful, and other than the couple that had met at the monument, we didn't see anyone else until we were ready to leave.

Someone jumped on the bridge.

From there, the trail started to get a bit rougher, with rocks and branches waiting to trip us up.  We walked around the Flowed Lands, and towards Colden Dam, a first for us.  After 15 minutes, we came to the junction with the Uphill Trail.  The name is not misleading, the trail at this point was a bit steeper, and with a lot more rocks impeding a quick pace (for us.)  We stopped by the suspension bridge (closed due to a cable giving way, and hanging precariously over the river) before continuing on, coming to the trail junction between Cliff and Redfield about 4 and a half hours after starting.  At this point, we knew that we wouldn't be able to do with peaks, so we decided to hike the harder one - Cliff.

Only a little mud on this hike

We started up the trail, immediately encountering mud.  But, having done the Couchie bog the year before, we just powered through - we knew our boots were water-proof.  We quickly hit the first of the cliffs for which Cliff gets its name.

The cliffs weren't too difficult, providing easy foot holds and hand holds, and were easy to scramble up, at least in the beginning.  The higher we climbed, the harder the cliffs became.  Near the beginning our of 46er journey, Steph and I climbed the cliffs of Saddleback, and after that, these cliffs were easy-peasy.  A few spots where you had to hold on with your fingertips, monkey swing around trees, and boost yourself up over ledges, but nothing that I would classify as scary (and I'm terrified of heights.)  Of course, takes this with a grain of salt - YMMV (your mileage may vary).

We finally summited Cliff at 1:46, six and a half hours after starting our hike.  We had our traditional swing of whiskey (from a metal flask, no glass for us), some lunch, and took some photos, before heading back down.  The cliffs were just as hairy going down as they were up, although we both decided to butt slide where we could, lowering our centre of gravity and reducing falls.

We made good time out, taking some time to relax on Colden Dam and chat with other hikers, enjoying the late afternoon sun, and the view of the mountains. We finally got up and continued hiking, hitting the parking lot at 7:59. A long day, but a restful one.  We had decided to enjoy our hike, and enjoy the Adirondacks, rather than race to get to the summit and back.



Total climbing time: 12 hours 44 minutes
Left parking lot at: 7:15, returned at 7:59
Summitted Cliff at 1:46

Allen! Allen! Allen!....I hate you Allen.

Order in ranking:  26

Let me start off with I'm blogging this late because I hated Allen every step of the way.  Allen was my beast, that mountain that just doesn't play nice.  You feel....off, your pace is off, you're sore, and you honestly think that maybe, maybe you'll have to turn around because this just isn't happening.

Allen was not my day.

I'd thought, and read and been told, that climbing Allen in winter made more sense.  First, you don't have any red slime to content with.  Second, you cut time off simply because to get down, you sit, you push off, and you slide down - what takes you 2 hours up, is only 20 minutes down.  You also can walk straight across the Opalescent and Lake Jimmy, rather than wading and skirting.  It all made sense, so I packed up my winter gear and set off.

All is well crossing the Opalescent, even with open water

I'd posted on the ADK high peaks forum that I was heading out, and I met someone at the trail head.  We set off, and things went ok....until they didn't.  At first it was just my snowshoes bothering me.  I toughed it out for a ways, then had to take them off - part of it due to the fact that the trail was really well-packed, but had formed a bit of a ridge in the middle that I had trouble navigating.  (I know, I know, wear your snowshoes, don't posthole, etc etc). 

No view, but still a winter wonderland

From the cabins to Allen brook went quickly.  The weather was good, the trail was solid, as were the water crossings.  I knew what to expect as a friend had climbed Allen only a few weeks previously, so I was prepared for the rolling terrain and the length of the hike to get to the actual mountain.

We signed in at the trail register, and soon hit Skylight brook and Allen brook, hearing the water gurgling away under the ice.  At this point we start to climb, in earnest.  And things just kept going downhill for me, including me.  When we hit the slide, I slide backwards and down about 40 feet.  I was frustrated, upset, and starting to think that I was going to have to turn around and attempt Allen another day.  But I had already come so far that I pushed on, and slowly (ever so slowly) pushed towards the summit.
When I finally broke out of the trees to the summit clearing (the last one) I finally felt some elation.  Here it was!  I gobbled down some food (some that I had brought, some that people fed me), before turning around and heading back towards the slide, where I could finally sit down and let gravity do it's work (again, but this time in the right direction).  Only.....I lost control, careening down the slide, and (having already rammed into one person) I opted to hit a tree rather a backpack, wrenching my ankle.

Allen!  Allen!  No, wait, that's Steve....

Heading back was nearly as torturous.  My climbing partner told me it's best to think of the climb in stages - from the slide to interior register, from the interior register to the trail, from the trial to the road, from the road to the cabins, from the cabins to Lake Jimmy, from Lake Jimmy to the suspension bridge over the Hudson, which is a hop, skip and a jump from the parking lot.

Still plenty of snow at the end of March

It had been snowing on and off since about 11 am, but it really picked up pace as we hit the logging road.  It would have been wonderful if it wasn't so tired and fed up with the hike.  I trudged and plodded my way along, and I swear my bag got heavier with each step.  It wasn't until we hit the parking lot that I realized why - snow was collecting in a pocket - I had been carrying a growing snowball, about the size of a soccer ball by the time I found it, in my bag.

Total climbing time: 9 hours 22 minutes
Left parking lot at: 7:00, returned at 4:22
Summitted Allen at 12:20

And to apologize for the lack of pictures, please enjoy this BBC video:

Winter Hiking - Let's Start Slowly

So my hiking partner, Steph, and I decided to try winter hiking, because we're apparently crazy.

Having never done winter hiking (her), or snowshoeing (me), we decided to start slowly, and climb Cascade and/or Porter, if it looked like we were doing ok and had time.  Cascade is a short hike, 4.8 mile round trip hike from Route 73.  Doing Porter would add another 1.4 miles, if we decided to tack it on.

We've climbed both peaks before, they were our first 46-ers, back in October of 2011.  I remember hating them on the way down - the hike is steep enough, and the rocks plentiful enough, to make you curse the day you said 'yes, I'll hike with you, why not?' 
 

Am I doing this right?

The day of our hike, we layered well - I had on base layers on top and bottom, fleece pants with rain pants over top, as well as a warm Vik Wind Pro mid-layer jacket by 66° North. I had an extra, heavier fleece jacket in my bag, as well as a windproof/waterproof jacket, extra socks and an extra pair of long johns in my pack.  I also had a toque, two pairs of liner gloves, and a pair of thicker mittens.  I was wearing a balaclava style neck and head toque. The temp was forecast to be quite nice, but being prepared for anything is par for the game of hiking in the Adirondacks.

We arrived early - there were plenty of cars parked along the road, but not many on the trail (or summits) - I guess they were off doing Pitchoff, on the other side, or ice climbing.  At any rate, we got settled into our snowshoes and took off, flipping up our heel lifts soon after our start, as we hit the climbing part of our day.

At the lower elevations, the snow cover wasn't too deep - there were sections where a few rock tops peeked out, but for the most part the rocks were hidden, and our trek undisturbed.  We played leap-frog with a group of women behind us - we were hiking at the same pace, but taking breaks at different times. 

Lots of snow at the higher elevations

We had one minor  incident, when I tried to back up in snowshoes (do not back up in snowshoes, just turn around) and fell over, getting snow all down my pants.  A quick brush off with a dry toque, and a change of liner gloves and we were off again.

It took us about 2 hours to hit the junction between Cascade and Porter, so we quickly head out to Cascade, to get our first Winter 46-er.  We met two men coming down who warned us about the winds on the summit, so we took out of thicker fleeces and popped them on, put on our toques, changed out of snowshoes to microspikes, pull on a second pair of mitts, and started to climb the rocks.

There's this one rock spot on Cascade that is a bit of a bear to get up over, apparently as much in winter as in the summer.  Thankfully, another group was coming down as we were going up, so one of the men braced himself, and stretched out his pole, allowing us to get a good grip and pull ourselves up and over. 

Obligatiory shoe shot

The summit was indeed blustery, and cold!, so we snapped a few pictures, as well as an obligatory shoes at the summit photo, before heading down, desperately hoping not to be blown off.  (Ok, it wasn't that windy, but it was quite strong.)  We made good time getting back to the junction, so we stopped for some food (thankfully not frozen), before heading over to Porter.

Not as bad on Porter

Shortly after the junction, we hit a patch that was a little icy, and a little steep, going down.  So we sat down, and pushed off, sliding our way over the patch.  The hike to Porter was quicker than I remember it being in the summer, and thankfully the summit wasn't nearly as windy - the trees helping to block the worst of the wind.  We spent a bit mor time here, actually enjoying the view, before heading back to the junction, and down to the trailhead.  We made good time on the way down - it took us an hour from the junction - mostly due, I'm sure, to the fact that we slid down most of the way. 

Contemplating the view, before re-snowshoeing

2/3s of the Santanoni Range

Order in ranking:  Panther 18, Couchsachraga 46

Our intention for the weekend was to climb the Santanoni Range (aka The Santas).  Our plan was to hike in and up the Panther Brook trail, as it is farther away than the Santa Express, pop over to Panther, slog it to Couch, book it over to Santa, and then down.  Knowing it would be a long day and an early start, we stayed in nearby Newcomb at a newly renovated B&B, The Hoot Owl.  It's a 20 minute drive to the Santas trailhead, and the B&B is very comfortable - the owners told us to help ourselves to anything in the fridge for breakfast, seeing as we would miss the meal as we were leaving early for our hike.

Before I detail the trip let me just say:  Couch gets a bad rap.  I think people hate it because it's a lot farther than people think it is.  It took us 3 hours (not counting our break at the summit.) to get there and back.  But - it's a pleasant hike, the mud isn't bad (it was worse on Panther), and the bog is easy to get across - there were lots of logs and branches to step on to easily clear it.  Just be prepared for it to be a long hike there.

The drive to the trail head was foggy, and it was still pitch blank out when we arrived at the trailhead.  We signed in at 6:00, starting off on the gravel road that would take us to the trail to Bradley Pond, which is where the Panther Brook trail starts.  It was still dark at this point, so we had our head lamps out and of course managed to miss the trail.  So for any of you that might need to know if you see this sign:

Turn around and head back.  The trail will be on your left about 30 seconds later. 

Clouds ringing the mountains

By this point it was light, and we put our headlamps away.  The fog was lifting as the sun burned it off, resulting is some great views from the trail.

The Bradley Pond trail is a relatively smooth trail, especially at the beginning.  Shortly after starting it, you come to a small water crossing, where a bridge has been....washed away?  Destroyed at any rate.  There were two planks set across the water, resting on rocks, that we walked across.  The water level wasn't high that day, so rock hopping would also have been an option.  Not long after that is the "Dangerous Bridge" crossing - the planks that form the bridge itself and in good repair, it is part of the side of the bridge, leading to ground level, that have fallen away.  We rock hopped the crossing in the morning, but by evening the water level had risen considerably, so we shimmied around the dangerous part of the bridge, and hauled ourselves onto the bridge and walked across.  It held, but here's hoping it's replaced/fixed soon. 

Junction with Panther Brook

Shortly after the dangerous bridge, the trail get wet, and muddy.  There were enough rocks to rock hop around the water, but gaiters were definitely a good piece of equipment for this hike.  We hit the cairn marking the turn off for the Santa Express two hours after starting our hike, and about an hour after starting the Bradley Pond Trail. 

As we walked the trail became rockier and wetter the further on we walked, and we passed three sets of rotting corduroy wood bridges before we hit the junction with the Panther Brook herd path. Judging from some other blogs I've read, our path wasn't as wet as it can be.  It was just a trickle of water at most points This junction is not too far from the Santa Express - we got there a half hour after we saw the cairn marking the Express.  We took a quick break, taking off a layer as it had warmed up a bit, and then started off towards Panther.

Careful on the beaver dam.

Just after the junction, you leave the trees and come out onto Bradley Pond.  Here, you walk across a beaver dam (was the beaver named Bradley?  Is that how the pond got its name?)  being careful, as the spit of land is rapidly eroding into the water.  Once across the dam, you enter the trees again and start an upward climb.  We did find that the trail here was a little hard to follow - there seemed to be some false herd paths in the area, going off in all directions.  Perhaps in the summer it's easier, the fallen leaves at this time of year can obscure trails easily. With a bit of searching, we found the correct trail - slightly wider than the others, and bit muddier, and we were off, climbing at a moderate grade.

There's a bit of up and down, although the rocks aren't too bad yet, before you come to a set of impressive cliffs.  We walked along the base of them, making a joke about "Thankfully there's no paint blazes" when what do we see?  Paint blazes. (Granted, the paint blazes were telling us to follow the trail we were on.)  After the cliffs we came to Panther Brook, which you have to cross - there's a small cairn on the other side.  The water level was low enough that we just walked across the rock slabs.  From there on out, you follow the brook up.  A lot of times you are in the brook - walking up the rocks.  We were lucky that the water level was low, and our boots didn't get wet, although they did get muddy fairly quickly.  There was another false lead, where it looked like the path led away from the brook, but we quickly figured out our mistake and continued up the rocks.  Eventually the brook peters out, and the trail continues, muddy, through the trees until.....it ends.  You come to a T junction with another trail.  This is Herald Square.  If you turn to your left, you'll see a 'P' carved on a rock, marking the trail to Panther. 

October snow on Panther Peak

We had decided to go to Panther first, as it was closest, then to Couch, then to Santa, heading down the Express trail, and then out.  We practically raced through the trail to Panther - getting muddier with each step.  From ahead of me I heard Steph shout 'SNOW' and wouldn't you know it - there was a light dusting of snow on the ground.  In fact, the evergreens were frosted with ice and snow.   It was a really enchanting sight, more so because it wasn't a cold day (not a warm day, either, but we were warm enough in long sleeve shirts)

Just then we saw it - the giant muddy bog of doom, and just beyond the safety of a rock slab.  We first headed along the left side, which was shortest, but got instantly sucked into the mud.  (And yet again I was thankful for my gaiters.)  We reached the rock slab, gawking at the view, before racing in another few feet to take a photo with the summit sign.  Then it was back out to take in the view from Panther, which is phenomenal.

Panther Peak for number 38

Boggy bog on Panther

We didn't stay long, knowing that we still had to hit Couch.  We walked back through the bog, staying to the opposite side, which wasn't as boot sucking as the other, and headed past Herald Square to Times Square, where we arrived at 11:28, 5 1/2 hours after starting out.  From there we followed the 'C' carved into a tree towards Couch, running into four or five other groups also heading in the same direction, which would make for one crowded summit.

The trail to Couch wasn't that bad - there were a few mud patches at the beginning, but then the trail dried up, and it was a pleasant hike through the woods.  There were three significant down-and-up sections - just when you think "Ahhhh, the summit must be close, I've probably gone down the 800' and now this is the 300' up" but no.  The third time this happens, then you're close.  The infamous Couch bog is slightly past the mid-way point, closer to the summit than Times Square, but not exactly all that close.  It's also not all that bad - we found plenty of logs and branches to walk on across the bog.  That doesn't mean that we didn't step into the bog, but thankfully the two times I did (once on the way to there, and once on the way back) it was near the end.  I only got sucked in upto my ankles.

Mud mud and more mud

Near the summit of Couch are two rock scrambles, one of which was wet as I went through.  I was wearing gloves, because so many of the logs, trees, rocks and branches were wet, so I just hauled myself up.  After the second rock scramble (mini-cliff), you're at the summit.  (If you're on the trail and begin wondering if you've passed the summit, the trail ends at there.  If there is trail in front of you, you haven't missed it.)  Everyone we met said the same thing, "That was a lot further than I expected."  Couch may be little, but the amount of work to get there is not.  It's 1.4 miles from Times Square to the summit, and going back you have to gain a lot of lost elevation.  Most reports I've read said that on the way to Couch you lose 800' only to gain 300' to reach the summit - don't forget the reverse of that!  That's 800' you have to re-gain on your way back.   

I paused on the summit, the first of the five parties (15 people in total) to arrive.  I was alone for about five minutes before the next 4 people showed up, and hot on their heels were two other parties, 6 people in total.  Steph arrived next, giving us a total of 14 people on Couch's tiny summit!  The other groups were on their first peak of the day - most were planning to do Panther next, one group was heading to Santa.  They left and the other girl Steph and I were hiking with arrived, giving the three of us time to relax and eat lunch on the summit before heading out, and meeting the final party along the way back.  (Actually, we would meet another man heading to Couch near Time Square)

Our trip back to Time Square was a bit slower, as we were starting to get tired, and the constant sucking of the mud added to the amount of effort we had to put into each step.  By the time we all got back, it was 2:47, giving us a total time of 3 hours 29 minutes to get to Couch, have lunch and get back.  We debated the wisdom of doing Santa - it's a mile along the ridge, with 400' elevation gain, to the summit, and then two miles down the Express.  From the Express trail junction, it would be another 2 hours, and one dangerous bridge crossing, to get back to the car - we figured on this taking us at least 5 hours.  On the other hand, if we were to take the Panther Brook trail, we would be on the trail for only 4 hours, assuming it didn't take us as long to go down as it did up.  We knew that the sun would be setting at 6:30, so we made the decision to leave Santa for another day.

Bradley Pond

We headed back down the way we came, finding it even wetter than on the way up.  We assumed it was due to snow melt, as it had been a bright, sunny, warm day on the trails.  We moved a little quicker on the down, although not by much, as finding footing was difficult on the rocks - going up streams is always easier than going down, because going down you can't see what's below the rocks as well.  However, we shaved nearly a half hour off our time, arriving at the junction with the Bradley Pond trail at 5:00.  Steph's ankle started hurting (from a previous injury), and the other girl's asthma starting to kick in, so we decided that I would go ahead to the cars and get things (i.e. food and water for after the hike) organized, while the two of them would go at a slower pace.  I headed out, crossing the dangerous bridge this time, as the water level had risen enough to make rock hopping harder, and onto the road for 6:00.  Having down the hike in in the dark, I didn't recognize many things along the way.  I hit the parking lot at 6:35, with just enough daylight left to change into non-mud encrusted clothing.  After that it was just a patient (if slightly paranoid "all alone in the dark and was that a sound?  Did I see something other there?  ARE THE DOORS LOCKED?!?") wait for the other two to arrive.  I figured on them being out by 7:30; I saw their headlamps at 7:20.

TL:DR
- wear gaiters and gloves to ward agaist mud and slime
- Couch is a pleasant hike when you know that it will take forever.
- The infamous bog is not that bad - lots of fun log hopping it across
- Panther has a fantastic view from the rock face just before the summit

Total climbing time: 12 hours 35 minutes

Left trailhead at: 6:00, returned at 6:35

Summitted Panther at 11:02, Couchsachraga at 12:37

Sawteeth, Short and Sweet

Order in Ranking:  35

A few weekends back (I’m late getting this up), Steph and I set out to climb Allen, with the Santanoni Range as our Plan B.  We parked at the trailhead, and slept in the car, as is our custom when hiking some of the outer-lying High Peaks.

5:00 rolled up way too early, and we hit snooze a couple of times.  When we finally did get up, it was blacker than black outside.  The forecast had been calling for rain, and it looked like it was going to be right – thick, dark clouds obscured the sky.  We debated the wisdom of starting out on Allen, or even the Santas, in what was promising to not be a very good day.  Plus, we really didn’t feel like getting out of the car to eat, change and get our gear together.

We eventually decided to drive to the Sawteeth trailhead at the St. Huberts parking area, near the Ausable Club.  We still had Sawteeth to climb, and though if nothing else that would make a good Plan C.  We had no idea how long it would take us, or how far the hike was, but we had a map, and we’ve been down the trails by the Ausable Club often enough that we felt confident we’d figure out where we were going.

We drove along the I-87, and the clouds cleared enough to give us a glimpse of….red sky.  I don’t know if you know that saying, but Steph and I both do – “Red sky in the morning, sailor’s warning.  Red sky at night, sailor’s delight.”  We figured the red sky was not a promising sign, and were glad that we had decided not to attempt our Plan A or Plan B.

We parked at the parking lot up the road from the golf club, and got our gear together, greeting one duo of hikers headed out, and chatting with another duo who pulled in around the same.  The four of us set out, as the clouds dissipated and the sun came out.

Hiking off down the Lake Road

We reached the trail register, and manager to confuse the ranger at the station by replying “Sawteeth” and “Dial” when he asked where we were going.  We quickly explained that we were two groups going in two directions – we had no plans to climb both Sawteeth and Dial.

We set off down the Lake Road together, the other two breaking off when they reached the trail to Dial.  They mentioned that if the weather held and they were making good time, they would try for Nippletop as well.  Steph and I continued along until near the end of the Lake Road, to the cut off for Sawteeth.  We did have a few moments of "which trail marker colour again?"  and "let's just pull out the map" but we knew the trail we wanted was close to the end of the Road, so we kept going, eventually find the path that leads down to the dam - it's the last trail on the right, about 20 steps past a trail leading off to the left.

Morning view from the dam

 At around 8:40, we took a quick break on the far side of the dam, enjoying the sun and the warm temps – taking off a layer, and lamenting that we had given up too quickly on our plan to hike Allen.  It was shaping up to be a good day.  We quickly headed back off, and took the quick route (not the scenic route) up Sawteeh – if it did start to rain later in the day, we wanted to be well off the summit and on our way back to the car.  We had another moment of "Um..which way do we go?" When we saw that sign post just after the dam - to the left the sign said "Sawteeth via Scenic Trail" and to the right "Rainbow falls" and a third sign pointing straight on that just said "Gothics and Sawteeth."  We took a chance and went straight on - turns out we were right.

The trail was easy to follow, and we walked in silence for a while, just enjoying being outside.   My last hike had been with Steph and a group of 4 others up Gothics, Armstrong and Upper Wolf Jaw, and Steph had done Marshall with 3 others not too long before, so we were both eager to have some quiet time out on the mountain.  We rock-hopped across a couple of streams - the water level was low and they were easy to ford.  The trail itself started off at a moderate grade - typical Adirondack steepness, with various parts that were slightly steeper, and various parts that were a little flater. 

Just after we hit the lookout for Rainbow Falls,  clouds began to roll in again, making it somewhat dim under the trees.  We commented on how if the clouds held, it would seem dark a lot quicker on the trail, and it was a good thing we weren’t out doing a long hike, like Allen or the Santas.  This trail was just as quiet as we've heard both Allen and the Santas are - we only met a few other people – perhaps two or three groups – in total on the trail.  It was a very quiet day out in the Adirondacks.  Given that this Saturday was forecast for rain, and the next day was supposed to beautiful, I'm not surprised other people held off on their hikes.

Not using the tree to climb, just to pose

 We hit the col around 10:10, and we stopped for another quick break and snack.   We were happy to see that it was only another .6 miles to Sawteeth, and were a little disappointed that the weather wasn't going to cooperate for a quick jaunt over to Pyramid, but figured that could always be left for another hike.  Our snacks helped kick us back into gear, and we headed off to hit the summit.  The temperature was cooling off, and the cloud cover was a bit thicker than it had been.   We continued our climb, up and over a few open patches of rock that were very easy to rock scramble up, before coming to what we assumed was the summit.  I went a little further down the trail, but saw nothing else that came close – there was a sign that said “…” one way and “Lake Road” the other, and the distances matched up with those in the guide book, so we decided that that had to be the summit.  We sat down to eat some lunch, and watched the clouds blow in and over the summits of Pyramid, Gothics and the other high peaks.

There are peaks in there....somewhere

The wind also picked up around this time, so we hurried through our lunches and photos (making sure to snap a few of the clouds obscuring the other peaks) and back onto the trail.  We had to put our long sleeve shirts back on, to ward against the chill.  We hurried down, meeting only one group on their way up (doing a loop with Pyramid, Gothics and Armstrong).  As always, I managed to slip and slide my way down the rocks, although only ended up with one small scratch along my knee.

What a difference a few hours make!

We hit the dam and stopped for another quick break – pulling out the rest of our sandwiches.  As we sat, a large group of people (about 10) walked by, and into the forest.  At that was when the rain started.

We quickly packed up, headed over the dam and up to the Lake Road, as the rain began to pound down.  We were glad to be at the Road portion – there was no way, no matter how bad it got, that we could lose the trail.  Plus the trees along the road provided a bit of shelter (if not as much as we would have gotten on the trail.)  We marched along in our own worlds, just making for the car and getting as wet as a person can get.

We signed out, noticing that our hiking partners from earlier hadn’t signed out (we assume they headed towards Nippletop), and hoped that they would be back soon – the rain had let up somewhat, but it was still cool and wet.  We slogged our way to the car, and managed to get changed in the front and back seats, staying dry.  We threw out wet clothes into garbage bags, glad to have though ahead.

In all, it wasn’t a good day to hike Allen or the Santas, but we still have them hanging over our heads.  As for the "non-scenic route" - it was incredibly pretty and fun to hike.  It wasn't a slog (as most of the hikes that we have left are) and it quiet.  There were no "ladders" to scramble up, but a few short rock scrambles that were fun.  It was a great short hike that I enjoyed, and would probably do again just to see what the view really looks like, when it's not obscured by low-lying clouds!

 

These boots were made for hiking...

Total climbing time: 6 hours 14 minutes

Left parking lot at: 7:15,

Signed in at register 7:30, signed out at 1:44 returned at 4:42

Summitted Sawteeth at 10:40

Cables, Ladders, Rock Hops and Summits

Order in ranking: Gothics 10, Armstrong 22

Orebed slide

After our hike up Seymour, Steph and I drove to Keene Valley and to the Garden parking lot.  The sign said that the lot was full, but we continued on, as we had seen at least two cars heading from that direction, and thought we might get lucky.  (We did, we got a spot right away.)

We finished packing up our things into our large packs for our hike into JBL.  We were meeting friends who had arrived earlier in the day and had already hiked in.  We set off around 4:00, and arrived just in time for dinner at 6:30.  (We arrived fifteen minutes ahead of dinner, so had time to change into non-hiked in clothing.)

The next day at 8:15, after a great breakfast of pancakes and eggs, we started off on our hike up Gothics and Armstrong, which had been derailed the summer before due to rain.  We were doing a loop - up Gothics, and the infamous cables, over to Armstrong, and down via Upper Wolfjaw.  The friends we were with were also hoping to tack on Lower Wolfjaw.  Steph and I had decided to skip it as we had done it previously, and after our Seymour hike the day before, we wanted a bit of a rest (Ha!  Rest.)

Oh, stairs, how I love you!

The climb up Gothics was pretty relaxed.  We followed the trail, taking photo breaks, until we came to the Orebed slide.  We clambered through the rubble until we hit the stairs, where we started the long trek up.  A few people commented on feeling a little vertigo on the stairs, and on how difficult they were climb - they certainly cause a burn to form in your thighs!  But they are much better than handling the slide itself.

Not too long after the stairs, at 10:10, we hit an open area, where the junction with the trail to Saddleback meets the trail up Gothics.  We took a quick break, spoke with some summit stewards who were hauling rocks up to Saddleback, and then headed up and over to Gothics.  The stewards had told us that shortly after the junction we would exit out of the tree line, and hit the open rock faces, and the cables.  We were only .6 miles away from the summit, and we were excited.

True to form, the trail quickly left the trees behind, and we hit rock face.  It was not too far in before we hit the cables.

Climbing the cables

I was expecting metal cables, but these are encased in tubing, which are great for you hands.  Additionally, the rock face isn't exactly that steep - most of the people in our party didn't use the cables at all.  (Apparently, they are much needed when you're going down.)  We quickly scrambled up and over the cables, before hitting more rock face (slightly steeper this time) with no cables.  Which is where my fear of heights kicked in.

I slowly climbed up, breathing deep and trying not to look behind me.  I finally hit the top and quickly got up and moved farther away from the sloping side I had just gotten over.  We ended up on a bit of a false summit - wonderful views, but not our destination. We took a quick break to wait for the rest of our party, before pushing on, back into the tree line, and scrambling up more rock faces until we finally hit the summit.

Not a garden path

There was another group up there, preparing to head out as we arrived.  After a bit of a chat, and a promise to see each other on Armstrong, the other group left and we sat down to lunch on the summit.

After lunch, we headed back out to Armstrong, following a path of rock cut into the surrounding trees and moss - it really did look like a winding garden path.  There is one section, where the path looks like it splits - keep going straight, over rock, and veer to the right, over dirt.  Go right - the straight path takes you over a giant split rock.

We hit Armstrong in time to meet up with the other group briefly, along with some other folks that had climbed up in the opposite direction.  We didn't wait too long here, preferring to keep going.

The hike to Upper Wolfjaw was uneventful.  We passed the first group, as they were slowing down, and swung up and over many a tree branch and rock, and down one perilous looking ladder.  Actually, there was a bit of a traffic jam on the ladder - between several groups coming down, and others going up our pace slowed down.  It was a bit of a shocker seeing so many people - Steph and I have been doing some of the less pleasant (i.e. no views from the summit) climbs recently, and usually have the trail either to ourselves, or only sharing with one or two other people.

Just don't fall between these two rocks

As we approached the height of the trail (and the junction with the trail to the summit of Upper Wolfjaw, which is 20 yards off the trail) we could hear people.  And it sounded like a lot of people.  A LOT of people.  The summit was packed - there was no room for anyone else - it was crowded with a large group of teenagers (teenagers, early 20s, somewhere in there) and their massive backpacks.  Steph and I squeezed in for a photo (Steph and I want to compare our summit photos, from last year's misty day to this year's sunny day) and quickly took off for JBL.  The rest of our group hung out a little longer, before heading off to Lower Wolfjaw.

Total climbing time: 8 hours 27 minutes

Left trailhead at: 8:15, returned at 4:42

Summitted Gothics at 11:19, Armstrong 12:27, Upper Wolfjaw 1:27

Back to the Sewards

Order in ranking: 34

Ok, I know that technically Seymour Mountain is not part of the Seward Range, however they are accessed from the same trailhead, and (sort of, if you take the wrong trail) follow the same trail partly. 

Our experience in the Sewards was not a good one (for a refresher, see here) and we weren't looking forward to our Seymour hike, but it had to get done.  We had been planning to come down, stay at Johns Brook Lodge, and hike Gothics and Armstrong, so we figured why not come down a day early and tack on Seymour?

Typical Adirondack trail

As is our custom with out of the way trailheads (Upper Works, Elk Lake, and Coreys Road) we car camped the night before at the trailhead.  Bright and early the next day we quickly ate breakfast, drank a little coffee and finished gathering up our things.  We were off before 6 am (we're getting better at this!), knowing that after this hike, we still had the 3.5 miles into JBL.

This time we started out  in the light, so we managed to find the trail that we had missed on our first go-around when we did the Seward Range.  The trail is marked with a small ‘trail’ sign – it’s easy to miss, especially if you’re hiking in the dark!  At any rate, the junction is about 15 minutes past the trail register.

After a little up and down, we came to the junction with the truck road that (if you turn left) will take  you to Calkin’s Creek Trail.  We continued on over the flat terrain, crossing a few streams (one with a rickety bridge, several others require rock hopping) until we came to Blueberry Lean-To at 7:55, two hours after our starting time.  From here, it was an easy walk past the cairn marking the Ward Brook trail up Seward (which we shook our poles at) and over to the Ward Brook Lean-To, where we stopped for a quick snack just after 8.  

Cairn and bucket marking the Seymour trail

There was a bit of blow down along the path – one in particular was a massive tree that required some negotiating – the branches were in rather awkward spots to get around.  Soon after this, we hit the cairn + metal bucket that mark the start of the herd path up Seymour.

We started to climb up the easy grade, enjoy the day and the hike.  The path was quite nice – it started out at a moderate grade, and got steadily steeper (although not rock face steep).  We certainly got a workout climbing up.

We hit the summit early, and walked past it a little to look out over the Santononis.  We took a few pictures then headed back to the summit for lunch (at 10:30).  We were alone and enjoyed the peace and quiet, until a group of about 5 guys showed up.  We headed back down, as there wasn’t much room up at the top.

View of the Sants from Seymour

  The walk down took us about as long as the walk up – 2 hours.  We ran into a family of 4 who were hiking up, but otherwise didn’t see anyone else on the trails.  It was a fairly uneventful hike – it’s a very cute hike (yes, I called it cute) – that can be broken into 2-hour chunks – it’s about 2 hours in from the trailhead on a mostly flat trail, 2 hours up the herd path to the summit, then 2 hours down, and 2 hours out.  

Total climbing time: 8 hours, 16 minutes

Left trailhead at: 5:55, returned at 2:11

Summitted Seymour Mountain 10:10

Cloudy with a Chance of Summiting Colden

Order in ranking 11

I’m sitting here listening to the rain thunder on the roof, and watching a lake grow in the parking lot out front, so it seems an apt time to write a post about climbing Mount Colden.

Not that it rained when I climbed Mount Colden, but it was forecast to.

I was set to climb Colden the day after my Mount Marshall trip with ADK.  On the Sunday, the forecast was for thunderstorms (not good), but the forecast had been changing a lot over the days preceding it, so I thought I’d wait until morning and check the forecast for the day at the Loj.

I woke up to the pitter patter of occasional raindrops on my tent.  I hurriedly packed up everything, and went over to the Loj for a better idea of whether this was to get worse, remain the same, or clear up.  50% chance of rain was all the forecast said.  Utterly uselessly.  (Side note:  If I knew the American  version of Nav Canada, I’d go to their  website for an aviation forecast – it’s so much more detailed.)

I decided that 50% was ok – I’d head out, along my planned route – through Avalanche Pass, up and over Colden, and down via the Lake Arnold trail.  I figured I could evaluate the weather situation at Marcy Dam, and then again at Avalanche Lake.  From talking to the other hikers the day before, I had decided not to descend via Avalanche pass (and was I ever happy with that decision!)

Bridge along Avalanche Lake

The hike to Marcy Dam was great – I’ve done this hike countless times, but every time I still think “Wait….did the path turn this way here?  I don’t remember this little down bit….I though it went left, why are we going right?”  until I come to boardwalk area (that’s what I call it, I have no idea what other people call it) and then I feel confident that I’m on the right track.

I hit Marcy Dam in about 40 minutes – I must have been really motoring.  I had given myself a turn-around time of 12:30 – it rain and/or thundershowers were to start, I did not want to be anywhere near the summit.

From Marcy Dam towards Avalanche Lake, the trail continues relatively flat for about 1.1 miles, which is where the junction with the Lake Arnold trail is.  At about this point it starts to get a bit rockier – it’s hard to maintain a rhythm as you dodge between rocks, but it still isn’t too steep.  There were also lots of bridges over muckier and/or wetter areas.  

When I hit Avalanche Lake, I was a little confused.  There’s no sign post telling you which way to go, and I couldn’t see any trail markers either.  I was also getting a little nervous, as I had only met people heading back to the trailhead (all of them had massive packs, so I assume they had camped at lean-tos), and the summit of Mount Colden (and in fact, most of the peaks) were covered in clouds.  

I looked at my map and decided (rightly) that right was the way to go, and quickly picked up the trail on the edge of the lake.  I’d read on several forums (and in the guide book) that the mile of trail around the Lake was challenging, and to give yourself extra time to get through.  As I walked along, scaling boulders, shimmying down ladders, and trudging over the bridges, I made up a little song:

Hitch up Matilda

                 

                You want boulders and rocks?  It’s got plenty

                It’s got ladders and bridges galore

                You want hitch-up matildas?  It’s got 20!

And I’m taking a few liberties there – there aren’t actually 20 hitch-up matildas.  It was actually a really fun portion of the hike!  There was one moment where I thought I lost the trail – I’d been skirting some blowdown when the trail disappeared……over the blowdown.  Once I figured that out, it was smooth sailing again.

I signed into the interior register at 9:50, and started my ascent.  The first little bit is uphill, but not terrible too steep.  It also evened out every now and then, so you didn’t feel like it was relentlessly up.  I flew through this, stopping once to eat a bit, but just kept going.  And then it hit.  It was like the trail just suddenly went vertical.  It didn’t it just felt that way.  Rock face and rock face, steep rock face.  I’d climb one bit, take a breather, climb another.  I swear it was an hour of just trudging up rock face.  Wet, steep rock face.  It thankfully wasn’t too slippery, but I could just picture myself slipping down, down, down – not getting hurt, just losing all my hard-won altitude!  (Second side note:  I did slip once, but only lost about a foot, and several layers of skin on my knee)

I came across a broken ladder (*sob* the only time I would have gladly climbed a ladder), and just kept going until…..I was in cloud.  I had reached cloud level, and just about then a ladder appeared, leading up a cliff, and then the tree line disappeared, and I was in the alpine zone. 

I was slightly nervous on the exposed rock in the clouds.  I desperately did not want to step off rock – as far as I knew I was the only one on the mountain, given the previous days forecast.  I just kept putting one foot in front of the other, watching for yellow paint blazes (follow the yellow paint trail!), and keeping an eye on the surrounding rock.

At 11:21 I finally hit the summit, to some clearing clouds (not enough for a good view), and two other hikers (coincidentally from the same city as me).  We chatted a bit, ate some food, and then I was off on the L. Morgran Porter trail, incredibly happy not to be climbing down all those rocks faces.

Summit selfie, sun in eyes

The trail continues over the rock, and down into the treeline, before reaching a col.  It then climbs a little, goes over more exposed rock, and then veers sharply right to descend back down into the trees.  There are some paint blazes that lead the way, making it hard to lose your way.  It’s about 1.4 miles to the junction with the Lake Arnold trail, you'll one sign points towards Lake Colden, and a little yellow marker with a hand-written “Marcy Dam, 2.6” is just under it.

I hit the junction  at 12:37, nearly an hour after leaving the summit.  The trail down had been steep in places, but easily handled – it was very similar to other trails in the Adirondacks – giant rocks in your way that you have to awkwardly step down, tree roots in your way, same old same old.  The Lake Arnold trail was similar – it honestly felt like 2 hours of “when is this going to end?”  There was nothing to break up the monotony of the trail.  I came up with another song (I got a little bored):

                This is the trail that never ends, it goes on and on my friends, some people started walking it,
                not knowing what it was, and they’ll continue walking it forever just because…

Try getting that out of your head.

From the split it’s about 1.5 miles to the end of the trail, where you re-join the trail from the morning, following along Marcy Brook for 1.1 miles to Marcy Dam.  And did that trail ever feel nice after the rocky trails down!  Just going flat (ish) was a nice change of pace!

Total climbing time: 7 hours, 55 minutes

Left trailhead at: 7:38, returned at 2:33

Summitted Mount Colden 11: 21