Summer Vacation Part 1: Beijing

Earlier this year I had decided that my trip this summer would be to Mongolia.  The majority of the flights (that is, the cheapest) had me connecting to a flight to Ulaan Baatar (UB) in Beijing; this of course led to one my famous “Let’s make this bigger!  Turn it up to 11!” moments.  I decided to do a multi-city flight – Ottawa to Beijing, and then UB to Ottawa for the return flight.  I would arrive in Beijing in the afternoon of July 31, and leave in the morning of August 5, taking the Trans-Mongolian Train to UB from Beijing.  This would give me a few days to take in the sites in and around Beijing, and give me time to get over any jet-lag I might have.  (For future reference:  So far, I have not experience jet lag.  Even with the 12-hour time difference between Ottawa and Beijing.)  This time, I was travelling with a friend from university.

Our flight to Beijing was uneventful.  We flew from Ottawa to Detroit, where we had a short layover, and then onto Beijing – a 13-hour flight that passed quickly.  Upon arrival in Beijing, we found a taxi (that we probably overpaid for.  So, note for next vacation:  contact hostel/hotel/B&B and ask how much a taxi from the airport to their front door should cost).

A hutong street scene

We were staying at a hostel located in the Dongcheng district, down a very narrow hutong street.  There were times where we thought the taxi would get stuck, but no – he made it all the way to the hostel.  (Our tour guide would have us meet him outside the hutong, as the roads are actually that narrow).  Our hostel was clean and comfortable, and the staff were friendly, but we were mislead on one feature – the reason that we booked the hostel we did, was because they advertised that breakfast was included in the price.  Upon arrival, we found out that breakfast was NOT included.  (We were not the only travellers who noticed this, so it wasn’t a problem of simply reading the advert wrong).  Breakfast wasn’t that much – 15 to 25 yuan, but I did end up wondering if there would be any more surprises in store.

My travelling companion had wanted to book a tour guide for two of the days we would be in Beijing, so upon recommendation from a coworker of his, we had booked the services of Beijing Mike – he would pick us up in the mornings, and drive us to various sites, as well as act as guide and interpreter.  After a few emails back and forth, we settled on

                Day 1 -  Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, tea house, rickshaw tour of hutong

                Day 2 – Great Wall (Mutianyu Section), and the  Summer Palace, driving by the Olympic buildings. 

Both days included lunch, and water, as well as all entry fees.

From Tiananmen Square looking towards Forbidden City

Our first full day, Mike met us at the front door of the hostel, and led us out of the hutong to his car.  (The next day we met him outside the hutong, in order to leave early for the Great Wall).  We headed the short distance to Tiananmen Square, where Mike walked us through and explained the buildings, and the architecture (there’s a lot of Feng Shui involved).  

For those planning to see Mao (having previously seen Lenin and Stalin in Moscow, I wasn’t too interested in seeing Mao), Mike advised us to arrive early.    Jason had planned on going one morning, but early is....well, early, and we were busy enough (and the one day we had nothing planned, it rained) that he ended up skipping the visit.

We walked through the Square, and were promptly pulled over for pictures with a few Chinese tourists.  This would be a feature of our stay in Beijing - children asking for our autographs, parents wanting pictures, teens wanting to practise their English. (And one time where a young boy screamed 'HELLO' in Mandarin in Jason's face)

Statues in the Forbidden City

From there we walked into the Forbidden City.  It was interesting listening to the history that Mike was telling us, as he led us through the maze of buildings.  At first it's really impressive, then it begins to lessen - all the buildings are the same style/colours/architecture....you become immune to the grandiosity of it.  Still, it was interesting seeing items that residents had used in times past.  Everything is well preserved and well presented, if a little crowded.  (To be fair, all of Beijing is crowded.)

Park surround the Temple of Heaven

We exited the Forbidden City and walked back to the car, and went to the Temple of Heaven.  If I have one piece of advice, it's to break up the Temple of Heaven and the Forbidden City.  By the time we got to the Temple of Heaven I was in architecture overload.  The only way I can tell the pictures apart in my gallery is the colour of the roofs - the Forbidden City has yellow roofs, the Temple of Heaven blue. 

Still, it was nice at the Temple of Heaven - the park surrounding the buildings has far fewer people (it's still noisy - the cicadas were near deafening) and it was cool in the shade.  The park portion is open (and free) to everyone - residents of the city gather here and visit, or exercise.  The portion with buildings is the tourist part, with an entry fee.  Every time tickets needed to be bought, Mike would point out an area where we were to meet him, and he would go and buy the tickets.  It was nice, especially on the first full day in Beijing, to not have to deal with language barriers, or trying to understand where to line up,  which wicket for was what, and if there was a tourist/national price difference.

Temple of Heaven

Mike lead us through the park to the gate, and took us through the different areas telling us about the ceremonies and rituals.  We wandered through various arches, along several buildings, and up a giant, circular dais that has nine levels of nine steps, and each dais has a multiple of nine tiles around.  When we came to the actual Temple of Heaven (which includes not a single metal nail) we even came across a bride having her photos taken.  The pace here felt less hectic than it had at the Forbidden City, but the smog and heat had gotten worse, so we didn't last too long.

After the Temple of Heaven, we stopped by a tea house, where we were taught how to hold the cups, how to sip (no more or less than three sips to finish the cup) and which teas require which type of pot.  We got to taste five different teas, and most importantly - sit inside, where the a/c cooled us down considerably.

Rickshaw ride through a hutong

We quickly pressed on to the bicycle tour of the hutong.  This area wasn't too far from where we were staying (we would walk back on one of our solo days in Beijing), but it was interesting to see how this hutong was different from the one we were staying in.  We had a guide (who disappeared more often than we saw him) and a "driver" - a man who did all the real work - pedalling us around the streets in the humid temperature.  I was impressed that he could manage to get us up some of the inclines - it was really hot, and I'm sure two adult passengers weigh enough to give anyone pause!

We visited one of the original homes in this particular hutong, getting a brief history lesson on who (grandparents, sons, daughters, etc.) lives in which building and why (hint: feng shui), and got to tour the family's house - which are still in use.  We didn't see their private homes, but rather open public areas - an artist's studio, and a formal living room.  It was interesting to imagine how it would have been even a hundred years ago.  Members of the family were the ones to give us tours of their buildings, which gave us a greater appreciation of the history that we were walking through.

So smoggy!

But it sort of cleared

The next day we drove to the Great Wall.  There are several sections you can visit, the Badaling section is probably the most visited.  We went to the Mutianyu section, and we arrived early.  This is key - the earlier you arrive the quieter it is.  We were sharing this section with about 10 other people, for the first hour or so.  We took a chair lift up which was terrifying for me because I hate heights.  However, for those of you that aren't - you get some great views of the mountains!  Even if you are, it's a (relatively) quick way to get to the wall.  Mike came up with us, and explained a few historical points to us up at the top.  Then he left, back down to the parking lot, giving us a few hours to walk along the wall. 

 We wandered down to Watchtower 1, which is at the end of the tended (maintained) section of the wall.  From there, we sneaked out a window (no glass, so nothing to prevent you from doing this) to an "untended" section of the wall.  These sections are overgrown and the rocks are tumbling down.  It's wonderful.  We walked along a path that had been worn into the dirt/stone, being careful - there are parts where the wall has eroded so much, you swing out over nothing to step on the next section of wall.    We had seen one other person sneak out ahead of us, but he was long gone by the time we came strolling through.

Untended section of the wall

Tended section of the wall

We saw  a lot of lizards, butterflies and (ugh) centipedes on this part of the wall, but didn't manage to get many photos -they were quick to scamper/fly away....except for the centipedes but there was no way I was getting a picture of one of those.  We followed the path quite a way, wondering what else we might see, before deciding to head back to the tended section and exploring in the opposite direction.  We sneaked back through the window (which was harder, because more people had arrived by this point) and headed back down the steep stairs.  Definitely make sure to wear comfortable walking shoes - you don't need hiking boots or trail shoes, but something with a good grip, and is comfortable is definitely key.  

We walked on, dodging the groups that had arrived while we were off exploring.  The heat was starting to get to us - we ended up stopping several times in the watchtowers to cool off in the shade.  We walked on, but decided to head back down to the parking lot (and Mike) after two and a half hours of exploring.  The crowds, the heat and the smog were really starting to annoy us.  So we headed to the "toboggan" ride.  It's really a sled on wheels, with a break.  You slide down the mountain, a ride that lasts a few minutes.  It's a lot of fun, and the brake allows you to slow your speed if you feel nervous.  (In fact, the brake is in a constant 'on' position, by pushing forward on it, you release the break.  Anytime you let go, the brake comes back on.)

Taking a break

Summer Palace

After lunch, we headed to the Summer Palace.  You should definitely arrive early in the day.  By the time we arrived, it was incredibly crowded.  We bought tickets for a boat ride across the water, and walked back to the beginning.  We walked through a covered walkway, that caught a nice breeze of the water, and watched a portion of a Chinese Opera.  Mike continued to explain the significance of various statues, trees and buildings.  But we were definitely running out of steam by this point.  In retrospect, we could have visited the Summer Palace on our own.  While it was nice to have a guide - we didn't have to figure out where to buy tickets, where to line up, what were the most important parts to visit - it was also the kind of place perfect for wandering around and discovering.

Lama Temple

The next day we had to ourselves, so we walked the few blocks between our hostel and the Lama Temple after breakfast.  We got there early, and quickly got tickets and entered.  We were handled bundles of incense, for the smudging ceremony that was going on near the first temple.  We burned our incense and watched the people - it was clear that this was a mix between devout Buddhists, and tourists.  From there we walked through the different temples and courtyards, slowly as each building was packed with people.  If you plan to go to the Lama Temple go early, and don't go on a weekend - not only will it be packed with tourists, but also with devout Buddhists.  I felt a little intrusive as I walked around, watching people trying to prey, having to push through throngs of tourists to do so.

Jason had rented an audio guide, which he found somewhat useful.  I preferred to just wander around on my own.  If you're interested in the history of the Temple and in Buddhism, then the audio guide is a good investment.  If you're like me, and just want to wander and soak it in, then it's not as worthwhile.  He's also much more interested in learning about the religion, and the history of the buildings, I just wanted to soak in the atmosphere!

Smudging Ceremony

 With a final visit of a museum inside one of the buildings, we headed back out to the street and started walking towards the hutong we had visited the day before.  To the north of the hutong is the Bell Tower and Drum Tower, to the south Beihai Park.  The hutong itself is situation around Shichahai Lake.  That area had plenty of restaurant and bars, many with roof top patios overlooking the Lake.  Along the way, we came across a small street market, so wandered down through there as well.   

People watching from a rooftop

We had no plan as to where to go (but we did have a map!) so we just wandered, turning right or left depending on what we saw.  We eventually ended up at a major road, and managed to find it on our map.  We were not to far from the hutong we wanted to visit - we walked one block south, cross the road (quickly!  The cars don't stop) and walked along the water until we came to the area with shops, bars, and restaurants.

Most things seemed closed, so we continued to wander around, finally stopping off at one restaurant for lunch, before heading back towards the water.  By this time some of the bars and cafes had opened, so we sat on the roof top patio to people watch.  It was a crazy mix of people, cars, rickshaws, and bicycles.  But somehow they made it all work - it was incredibly impressive!

Confucian Temple

The next day was overcast and raining, so we started out late.  We went to the Confucian Temple, close to the Lama Temple that we had visited the day before.  Instead of being on the right of Dongsi Beidajie, you continue to head north until a small street called Guozijian Jie, and follow it for a few minutes.  The Temple is on your right.  As with the Lama Temple, we had no trouble buying tickets, and we filed in the gates in the walls.  You enter into a square, surrounded on all sides by long one-storey buildings, with a few taller, thinner buildings in the square, as well as a few trees.  We wandered around the square a bit, before the rain started again in earnest, so we headed into the buildings, which were museums, detailing the life of Confucius in one building, and the history of the religion in another.

The museums are interesting, if only for some of the comments about how popular Confucianism is in other parts of the world.  I personally found the history of Confucius himself to be the most interesting part of the Temple.

The next day we packed up our gear, checked out of the hostel, and walked to the road to catch a taxi.  Make sure you give yourself enough time!  It took a while before we managed to flag one down.  It was a quick ride to the train station, and then a bit of a hassle trying to figure out where to go - it's the mass of people in the middle who are going through turnstiles.  You show your ticket, go through the turnstile, then through a metal detector (and send your bags through an xray machine) before going to a lobby to wait.  We were a bit "late" (we were told to be there an hour before our train left, we arrived 40 minutes before it left), so we hustled off to where the train was waiting.  It was a bit of a mad dash, but we finally got there, got on, and got ready to start the next part of our vacation - Mongolia!

TL;DR version:
- always ask your hotel/hostel how much a taxi should cost from the airport to the hotel/hostel
- don't do Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven in one day
- The Mutianyu section of the Great Wall is great, if you arrive early
- chair lifts are terrifying
- but toboggans are fun
- Lama Temple and Confucian Temple can be done in one day
- give yourself lots of time to flag down a taxi if heading to the train station
- the entrance to the train station is in the middle, where the crush of people is
- you're told to be there an hour before, there is wiggle room with that.

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

The Legendary Mount Marshall

Order in ranking: 25

Ever since Steph and I decided to hike the 46 High Peaks, we've been hearing horror story after horror story after horror story of hikers not being able to climb Mount Marshall - having to turn around and try again (and again, and again).  We were told we would need a map and compass, and more than just a passing knowledge of how to use them both.  We were told there were so many false herd paths, that it was easy to lose your way, that it was difficult to get to and would be a long hike.

So we put off hiking it, thinking our skills just weren't there yet.  We thought we would hone our skills on other unmarked trails first.  But we're getting to that point where there isn't much left - it's time to tackle the legendary Mount Marshall.

But of course, as our plans have always shown us, there was a wrinkle.  The plan was to climb Mount Marshall in August - have a girl's weekend camping at Wilderness Campground at Heart Lake, and do the hike then.  Then I went and bought a plane ticket to Mongolia for August, which squashed my attempting it in August.

Enter in ADK's guided day hikes.  They had a hike up Mount Marshall at the end of June, conviently coinciding with the Canada Day weekend.  I signed up, and promised to give Steph an idea of the trail for her attempt in August.

First, a note about the guided hike.  There were 8 hikers, including myself, on this hike.  Besides myself and one other young woman (I'd say in her 20s) the rest were people in the mid-40s to 60s (I'm not good at guessing ages).  If you're a fast hiker, a guided hike might not be the best idea.  If you're a slower hiker, this is a wonderful way to meet people, and gain confidence for longer hikes, or unmarked herd paths.  Our guide was great - knowledgable about the area (gave me some great recommendations for GF restaurants in Lake Placid), the vegetation and the birds - he identified several birds by their calls, which I found impressive because I have no clue. 

If you do go on a group hike, some things to remember:
1.  If you move a branch, don't let it whip back and hit the person behind you.
2.  Keep your poles under control, don't whip them back behind you and stab the person behind you.
3.  Be patient - everyone has their own pace, and you're all on this hike together.

All of the hikers met up at the Adirondack Loj at 7 am, and after a brief round of introductions ("Hi, I'm Anya, from Ottawa.  This will be my 32nd High Peak") and instructions (be respectful and patient, we go at the pace of the slowest person, if you want to leave the group, you can sign a release form) we set off towards the Indian Pass trail, skirting around Heart Lake and signing in at the trail register there.

Sign post for the Cold Brook Trail

Our guide set a moderately quick pace, but everyone had no trouble keeping up.  The first 4.9 miles are relatively easy (by Adirondack standards).  The terrain is flatish, with a few ups and downs, but nothing steep, no large rocks that break up your walking rhythm.  Just after passing through Scott Clearing (a large, grassy, meadow-ish area with few trees) we came to a sign post along the river marking the beginning of the Cold Brook Trail. 

Here we began to slow down as this trail is no longer being maintained.  It is still marked with yellow disks, and is still relatively open, which makes it easy to follow.  There was a bit of overgrowth, but thankfully there wasn't much blowdown.  The terrain, though, was much rockier and rougher, and started to climb, albeit gradually at the beginning, but getting steeper as we went along the trail.  We crossed Cold Brook 6 or 7 times in total - we were lucky and the water wasn't too high, so it was easy to rock hop across (or if you're like me and have terrible balance, it's easy to turtle it across.)  We hit a few mud patches, but for the most part the trail was dry....unless the trail was in the brook (which it was from time to time) but at this point the water was only a trickle.  I enjoyed this trail - it was a fun challenge.  It was one of those challenges where you think "YEAH!  LET'S DO THIS!" and not "Oh dear god, what was I thinking?  Why am I doing this again?  Can I quit?  Will someone carry  me out?"

As we followed the trail, we slowed down a bit more, as it got steeper and rougher.  Not only did this allow us to "not blow a lung" as one person put it, but to also get to know our fellow hikers.  We chatted and joked as we ambled up to the height of the trail (around 1.7 miles), which is where the cairn marking the herd path up Marshall is.

Cairn marking the path up Mount Marshall

This is where the trail became steep.  Even then, it felt like an ordinary-Adirondack-level of steepness - there were rocks to avoid, rocks to step on, rocks to scramble over, but it wasn't the steep scramble that you find on Saddleback, Colvin or South Dix.  This was your regular scramble over a giant boulder.  We took it easy here, as we adjusted to the new terrain.  More rocks, more scrambles, more dodges around trees.  And not once did we lose the trail.  I'm not sure how we could - this herd path was well defined.

Near the beginning of the trail, one of the members of the group decided to bow out.  His legs were cramping up, and he didn't want to risk our not making the summit.  I'm sure this was a rough decision for him, I know I felt bad that he couldn't continue with us.  Our guide asked him to wait for us at the cairn, to be sure that he wouldn't get lost on the way out, and to be sure that his leg cramps didn't become worse as he descended.  At this point, we were not very far from the summit - I would guess maybe another 30 or 40 minutes would see us there.

We promised to be quick, and continued up the herdpath.  As we climbed, we could see Iroquois ("Ear-o-kwah" in Canadian, "Ear-o-kway" in American,  apparently) across from us.  Cold Brook actually passes between the two mountains.  Just as with the Cold Brook trail, this herd path up Marshall was free of blowdown, but lots of overgrowth.  It's worse on the way back - the branches are much more "grabby" in the other direction.  It was also incredibly muddy when we went through - our guide nearly lost a shoe when he stepped into what we all thought was just a bit of mud.  Sank nearly up to his knee. 

Great views of Iroquois

After being on this path for a little bit, you come out to an open view, and see a peak way off in the distance.  This is Marshall, but it's the Nippletop Syndrome - it looks forever away, but it's really less than a mile.  The path dips down, then starts climbing again.  Eventually the path came to a sort of T-junction.  You can go left (down) or right (up).  Left takes you down Marshall, along the Herbert Brook trail, right takes you up to the summit.

Immediately after this junction, the trail splits again.  You go right again and shortly after come to a large boulder on the side of the path, with a summit sign on top.

I'm glad that I signed up for an ADK guided day-hike.  It was lots of fun, it was great meeting other hikers, and I didn't have to worry about whether or not I was on the right trail.  But I do feel that hikers that I talked to when I was first starting out were lying to me.  Mount Marshall, while being a long hike (~17 miles) is certainly not as fear-inducing as they had led me to believe.  The trail was easy to follow, there were no signs of other, misleading herd paths, at least not on the route that we took.


Group shot!

Total climbing time: 10 hours 59 minutes

Left trailhead at: 7:15, returned at 6:14

Summitted Mount Marshall at 1:00