Our first Adk High Peak- Big Slide - Katie

As I am writing this we are finally sitting in bed again after leaving our house at 9AM. Our day started with me not being able to find my hiking socks I bought a week ago. Once I gave up the search and we filled up 4 water bottles, we headed out to breakfast. After a big protein filled breakfast at our favorite diner in Saratoga, we hit the road. It is around a hour and a half drive up to the Lake Placid area where most of the high peaks are. The town most of the trailheads are centered around is called Keene Valley and you drive through a cute, old, small town main street which clearly caters to the tourists brought in by the peaks. We drove on a one lane gravel road (very typical) to the parking lot where there was a DEC attendant collecting the parking fee crazy!

So there are 2 paths up to Big Slide, which obviously means people go different ways in and out and around. Technically where we parked is called "the garden" and you can reach lots of different peaks from there. We chose to start by going over the 3 brothers which are 3 different peaks (although not high peaks). This trail starts you off with an immediate incline which doesn't really let up until you get to the top of the first brother. Immediately out of breath and tired, we drank 2 smaller water bottles before we even got to the first summit. This ended up being a problem later. And this was our first mountain with a rock scramble. Ben had asked me what that means and I had laughed at him previously. He will know tell you that he definitely does NOT like them.

So after our first rock scramble we took a break... and apparently I never wrote about the middle soo...

- after the third brother was the first significant descent of the day. It was so cold in that area my hands went numb. Yes, it was a beautiful 78 degree day but a dark damp forest combined with my crummy circulation meant that I was holding my hands together and blowing into them like it was January.

That last .5 of a mile felt like the longest of my life. I am not sure if this is the longest hike I have ever done but it is certainly is the longest hike I have done in the past 5 years so I felt like I was dying. Every step I could feel every rock or stick through my boots like I was barefoot.

My favorite pics from Whiteface 6/20 - Ben

6 and 7 of 46 - Cascade Mountain and Porter Mountain

It is advised that hikers not hike the high peaks until June as the sensitive alpine vegetation is particularly fragile in early/late Spring and our winter was pretty long.  So now that it's June, we were raring to go.

Cascade and Porter were the obvious choice for our first High Peak trek of the season.  Last year we started off with Big Slide which was a particularly difficult hike for two beginners.  After a long off-season with minimal training, I thought we could use an easy break-in hike.

This hike is somewhere around 6 miles round trip and you get two peaks in that distance, so it's really not too bad. The weather forecast was showing around 70 as a high in nearby Keene Valley, so we were expecting a decent warm day.  Fortunately, we brought along our jackets and some clothing, just in case.

It was a little chilly at the base so we started with our jackets on, though we quickly removed them as we were sweating quickly in an early steep ascent.  The climb is pretty consistent on the way to the fork in the road, but we made pretty good time, stopping only rarely to catch our breath.  We actually gained on some hikers in front of us, which is not all that typical for us.  Later, we passed them, well before the fork.  Many of the descending hikers looked wet.

A couple guys coming down from the top stopped for a second to chat with us.  They gave us tips about finding the mostly unmarked summit of Porter.  Then they expressed some concern for our clothing.  We had taken off our jackets and I was wearing shorts.  They said the peak of Cascade was getting hail and it was very cold and windy.  We assured them that we were properly equipped and marched on.  They advised that we hit Porter first and then double back for Cascade, which was my plan to begin with.

When we got to the fork, we branched off to Porter, only 0.7 miles according to this sign.  You go right to Porter and left to Cascade.

First you go downhill for a bit, then come back up as you climb to the summit.  Between that sign and the summit a very cold chill settled on us and I quickly put my jacket on.  It was very cold and I put my hands in my jacket pocket for a bit as I was gloveless.  As advised, the summit is unmarked. You come to a sign that tells you how far it is to the next major point of interest and that's really it.  There isn't much of a view on a normal day, but on our cloudy day it was really nothing, so we immediately doubled back.

We stopped again at the fork and had a quick snack.  If it was still hailing on the summit of Cascade, we wouldn't be able to stop and snack there, so this was our best bet.  As we snacked, the two hikers that we passed finally arrived at the fork.  We really beat these guys if we had already taken on one high peak and they just got there.  We advised them how cold it was at Porter's summit and they trekked on.

This time we went left, and it's only 0.3 miles to Cascade's summit, according to the sign. This is probably more accurate as it felt like no time at all.  About halfway, you arrive at open rock face.  This is pretty common in the Adirondacks as there is a lot of bedrock and lots of rock faces.  In this case, though, I wish it was more sheltered.  We were right in the clouds and it was very windy as soon as we were out in the open.  The moist cold cloud air was rushing around and very cold.  We could see a decent distance ahead though and it was all open rock.  This was the steepest section and the rock was a little slippery.

However, in what seemed like no time at all, we were at the summit.  I found this guy for proof:

These markers are found on most of the high peaks.  While it wasn't hailing at the summit, it was very cold and the air was so wet (because we were in clouds) that my hair was dripping and my jacket covered in beads of water.  It was also extremely windy.  At one point I almost fell down while climbing into the wind.  I would guess the gusts were over 50 miles per hour, but that's a very uneducated guess in this case.  While I thought that Porter was cold, Cascade was much, much colder.

Again we quickly got the heck out of there.  We got down the rockface in record time as were both very cold and couldn't wait to get back to the shelter of the trees.  Here's a picture of where the rocks meet the trees.

On the way back down, the clouds were clearing up just a little bit and I happened to get one picture with a slight view.  This is the best view we got all day.

You can't see much, but there is a lake down in that valley, and the sun shining through the clouds off in the distance.  We got off the mountain in decent time.  All in all the hike took about 4 hours, which isn't bad but isn't great.  My shirt was absolutely soaking wet when we got back and I don't have any idea how much was from sweat and how much was from the occasional rain we experienced.  I didn't think I'd be too sore because I never felt rough on the hike, but I'm feeling it quite a bit today.  That's really the consequence of taking all winter off.  We had two preparation hikes to get back to the High Peaks, but it only gets MUCH harder from here and I expect to hurt a lot more after the next couple.

It was very exciting to get two peaks to start the season in such an easy fashion, but I can't wait to get back up and get some more!  Next up: nothing easy.

Katie- 2014! Buck Mountain

OMG we did a non-high peak. Why you ask? Because we are only mildly crazy! Current conditions on Big Slide (which we did last year) 4-5 FEET of snow. Legally you are required to wear snowshoes in that much snow. Although we do have snow shoes, they are difficult and more tiring. I am also afraid of rock climbing sections with ice on them. Little did I know we were still winter hiking this weekend.
     This was a trip weeks in the making in order to get a shared day off without a little munchkin. We thought we might be deterred again when our friend who lives in the Adirondacks mentioned that the road to the mountain was closed due to mudslides! However there is a second entrance and trail that is actually better (longer). I almost made us switch to a mountain with less of a climb but I stuck it out. I layered up well - rain coat(windproof layer), sweatshirt, long sleeve wicking shirt. We finally got to use our new water backpacks. And I broke in my new boots with real waterproofing!
   Driving into town we realized there was more snow in the area then by our house. So we get to the parking lot and it was busy. As soon as we register we can see snow along the trail. Walking along flat, packed snow is no problem. Walking on ice up a hill is a bigger problem, hiking up a river bed with snow breaking apart is even worse. Rocky sections were actually appreciated as they have traction. We were being followed by some girls- one in shorts and sneakers! When we reached a deep stream I expected them to turn back. They actually caught up to us at the top. Overall, it was a pretty average hike. Flatter sections of slush and then climbing sections where you slip back so much it feels like twice the effort! Our GPS watch was so so so wrong. You pass a 2.1 miles to the top sign and after a mile Ben said wow only 1 mile left! However it was woefully undercounting our miles. At the top it said we went 4.6 miles. After fewer than usual, but still too many, false peak sightings we were there. Kind of. Technically we didn't go all the way to the top oops. Some guys coming back down in shorts said that they were up to their knees. We got to bald summit and took photos and relaxed.
The way down was different and um interesting in the beginning. I think I got about 5 steps without falling. I would love to say I fell gracefully but no. Once on the ground I just slid a little bit further. Of course this happened about 20 more times in the next 20 minutes. Thankfully I have appropriate waterproof pants! I only hit my hip bone once and hurt my arm once. I did avoid falling on to rocks or sliding off the mountain so I will say I did okay! Ben did fall at least twice! Amazingly, after we got further down I stopped falling. I will guess it is because it got less deep. After the falling down section it was actually very easy to get down. Each step isn't as far because the incline has been evened out by snow. Snow has more give than rocks so it absorbs more. 2 hours later we were back down. It felt really slow considering the distance wasn't that long. But as the first hike of the year, I will say we did good!

Back in the saddle - Buck Mountain

Katie and I have been anxiously awaiting Spring so we can finally get hiking.  We have been using the gym and working out as often as we can (Katie much more than me) to stay/get in hiking shape.  Since the temperature has been hovering in the high 40s low 50s for about two weeks now and we haven't seen any new snow in a little longer, we thought we could get moving.

Of course, we jumped the gun a little bit.  The high peaks, where we really want to hike, still has up to 3 feet of snow according to the snow pack chart I checked out online.  They are experiencing mid-winter conditions.  So really, we've got at least another month, maybe more, before we can head up that way.  So we decided to get some practice in our own backyard.  

Lake George is about 40 minutes from our house and the mountains here are part of the Southern Adirondacks.  A friend of mine lives right down the road from this mountain and told me earlier in the week that the rear access road was closed off due to a mudslide, so we took an alternate route to a hiking path that was listed as a 6.7 mile hike with a little less than 2000' feet of climbing.  We weren't sure what the weather was going to be like so we prepared for everything.

Here's a picture of Katie right as we got started.  Isn't she cute all bundled up for winter conditions?

Of course, it was around or a little over 50 degrees out and we were moving pretty fast so that didn't last long.  Here is a picture of Katie shortly thereafter.

No hat, no jacket, sweaty forehead.  Anyway, look at all the snow!  The first picture is right at the starting area and there isn't much but the higher we get, the more there is.  Near the peak there was 1-2 feet in most places.  The trail we took was pretty stamped down but sometimes I'd go a little off trail and my foot would sink in up to my knee.  It was also very slushy and very slippery.  This made for fairly tough climbing and after a whole winter off, we really didn't make great time.

I also was wearing a GPS watch that Katie gave me last year to measure the distance so we could know when we were getting close to the summit and, while it recorded the data very accurately, it misreported as we were going along.  On a 6.7 mile hike I expect to be at the summit at 3.35 miles, but we didn't get there until around 5 miles.  We were quite sure we had been misled about the mileage, but after I uploaded the data to my computer, 6.7 seems to be right.  But it was also disappointing to believe we were so close when my watch said 3.3 miles and to be so far away.

The summit area was very sunny and very warm.  Here's how Katie celebrated!

That's right.  Sweater off!  I, too, was rocking just a polo most of the day as I had worn only a very light windbreaker style jacket and was too hot to continue wearing it about 10 minutes into the hike.  We lingered up on the summit taking in the view and the warmth for 20+ minutes before heading back down.  I was surprised that Lake George was still 100% frozen, but on the way back home we drove by it and the shoreline is starting to melt up quite a bit, you just can't tell from 2800' feet up.

The downhill portion of the hike was slippery and treacherous and Katie had a few falls, but I mostly stayed up.  There were also quite a few stream crossings and we were both very happy to have bought waterproof boots.  Bottom line: it feels great to be hiking again, even if we are hiking in the snow.  I wish we had spikes for our boots, but we haven't bought those yet.  I really can't wait to hit the High Peaks again, but we've definitely got some waiting to do.  Bear with us, we'll have more to come!

4 and 5 of 46 - Algonquin and Wright

Katie and I were planning on hiking Algonquin alone on Friday.  At a total distance of about 8.4 miles and 3000 feet of ascent, this is no small feat, but with the confidence of several other peaks behind us, we knew we could take it.  Algonquin is the second highest of the 46 high peaks, and one of only two peaks over 5000 feet(the other is Mt. Marcy).  At a gargantuan 5115 feet, this is a biggie.

We parked at the same parking area as for Phelps mountain, as there is some shared trail.  The first 0.9 miles is the same flat and easy trail into the forester.  Instead of turning left for Marcy Dam, we forged right from the fork towards Algonquin Peak.  The trail didn't stay easy long as we started climbing upwards over a series of stone steps that resembled stairs.  The trail was very muddy and early on we encountered a lot of mosquitoes, many more than we expected since most of the bugs seem to already be in winter hibernation.

The second mile of the hike is a lot of hopping from rock to rock, or walking through mud.  Usually on the first half of the hike, I avoid the mud, but that's almost always a mistake.  It's a lot easier on the legs just to trudge through it than rock-hopping and wearing out my legs early on.  Eventually we passed by a couple of picturesque waterfalls and took brief water breaks.  The trail intensified after these falls and we kept a steady uphill pace for a long while.  Katie was nervous about the distance traveled so I checked my map software and was relieved to find we had already gone about 3 miles.

Not long thereafter we arrived at a junction that we didn't know was coming.  The sign said 0.9 miles to Algonquin summit and 0.4 miles to Wright Peak.  This piqued my interest so I checked my phone.  Miraculously, we had cell service(at just below 4000 feet in the middle of the high peaks wilderness!).  I looked up quick details on Wright and confirmed that it was a high peak.  I suggested that maybe we could bag that one on the way down if Katie was feeling up to it.  She didn't confirm or deny her interest at that time.

The last 0.9 miles to the summit of Algonquin are grueling!  Very shortly after the intersection with Wright, we came to a very large and long and steep section of solid rock.  We had scrambled up some rock before but never anything that seemed to stretch on so far into the distance, especially at the steepness that this one offered.  We slowly made our way, stopping for breaks on the occasional, wonderful, boulder that rested on the side.  We had never climbed such a long and steep rock before and this section alone took quite some time.  Thank goodness for hiking boots because the grip was probably the only thing that got us up.

After this, we entered the Alpine vegetation zone and the trees began to disappear.  We were achingly close to the summit and finally above the treeline.  The views were absolutely amazing from here on out.  From our perspective, it seemed like we could see the summit from our position so we were energized and started working our way up the rocky sections to the top.  However, each time we'd get over the next hump, we'd see that the summit was even further away than we though.  This illusion of the peak happened about 8-10 times before we saw the true summit, evidenced by the number of people resting at the top.

The summit was almost indescribable.  There were 360 degree views and we instantly spotted a number of other noticeable peaks.  Mount Marcy was obvious because it's the only one higher than the one we were on.  We also recognized Whiteface towering over the town of Lake Placid.  I saw our previous destination Big Slide off in the distance and Katie didn't believe that I could recognize it (a High Peaks Steward on the summit confirmed for me).  We also had a great view of the accompanying peak that I wanted to take on, Wright Peak.  We rested on the summit and spotted a 5 year old who had amazingly made the climb as well!!!  The sun was out, the views were incredible and we probably could have stayed all day, but I was determined to convince Katie to take on one more.

After getting back down the difficult rocks in excellent time and getting back to the junction, I sat down for a break.  I looked at Katie, practically pleading to take on one more peak.  I urged that it would only add 0.8 miles to our total trip, and asked how bad it could be.  It turns out, pretty bad.  We hadn't done a twofer to that point and this was a tough one to take on.  When she finally relented, we got going and immediately found ourselves facing steep and difficult rock sections.  In fact, the whole ascent is steep and difficult rock sections.

After we'd traveled about three tenths of mile to the summit, Katie asked to stop.  She was exhausted and the physical toll felt like too much.  I could relate, as I was constantly stopping to catch my breath and drink water.  I waited for a few minutes with her and urged her to finish.  After all the false summits at Algonquin, we were worried that it was much further still than it looked.  Thankfully, the end came much sooner than she expected and we both made it to the summit.  Wright Peak is the 16th highest peak and also lives in infamy after a B47 plane crashed near the summit.  Many pieces of wreckage can still be found and a plaque has been placed near the summit to honor those who passed.  It's also known as the windiest of all the high peaks, likely due to the bareness and flatness around the summit area and no trees to block the wind.  It wasn't too bad though as the weather was fantastic on this day!

At the summit, just as we began descending, I started to feel deep and painful leg cramps in my lower legs and my quads.  It would be a long trip down to the bottom.  We ran out of water with over a mile left and our pace dipped well below average, even on the fairly flat last mile.  Katie had to take off my boots for me because reaching down to my feet caused so much pain I couldn't get them off myself.  All in all, this took us 7 hours and 15 minutes as we started at 11 and finished around 6:15.  More experienced hikers might have also added the third Iroquois Peak, which was another short trip from the Algonquin summit, but we'll have to go back for it.

We missed out on seeing the B47 plaque because of our exhaustion but we are very proud to have conquered two peaks in one day.  This is a fairly common way of completing the peaks as many are close together and this hike will serve as good practice for future hikes where we may combine even more in one day.  Not sure how many more we will do this season before winter arrives, but it's nice to have 1/9th of the peaks under our belt, and especially the second highest out of the way!

3 of 46 - Giant Mountain

This hike was supposed to happen last week, but since we both recently started running we had some sore legs and called it off.  This week we did our running early in the week so we'd feel up for it and there we were.  I had a sore throat from what seems to be a cold developing, but I was unconcerned.  My legs felt good and that's all I needed.

Our game-plan was to hike to the summit of Giant, where we would assess whether or not we were up for a second peak, Rocky Peak Ridge.  The hike to Giant Mountain is short and misleading.  It's only 3 miles to the summit and, for once, that's a fairly close assessment.  You hike along the mountain ridge to the summit and, if desired, you can continue along the ridge to Rocky Peak.  The problem is that over these 3 short miles you must climb 3000 feet with some pretty challenging sections.

We parked on the side of the road, as there is no defined parking area for the Giant Ridge Trail, changed into our hiking boots and set out.  The ascent is fairly immediate and we were huffing and puffing before having gone even a half mile.  Early on, the trail is mostly switchbacks. You wind your way up slowly, going back and forth up the mountain.  You quickly come to a section of giant boulders in a small ravine that you basically need to hop across.  I made short work of this but Katie fell a little behind.  I think of rock-hopping as a specialty of mine and always charge at piles of rock full speed.  I use the momentum to find balance and move my feet quickly.

At 0.7 miles, you arrive at the Giant's Washbowl.  This is a high elevation pond and indicates that you've still got a lot of climbing to do.  After the washbowl, you take on even more switchbacks and some very steep trail.  After these forested switchbacks, heading out onto some clearcut rock and seeing the view was incredible.  The leaves have begun to change and there are plenty of yellows and reds everywhere.  I snapped some photos and we continued up.  It felt like forever before we finally arrived at another sign indicating that we were just 0.7 miles from the summit.

The closer we got to the top, the more we had to deal with rock scrambles.  Most were fairly easy but at least one seemed downright impossible at first glance.  We pulled our way up with some trees and roots and branches until we made it over.  They were all a little wet and slippery and made for quite a challenge on the way back down.  At the 0.7 mile sign, we were already in the clouds.  The views were gone and we were surrounded by a cold cloudy haze.  Clouds would float right through the trees and chill our bones.  I had checked the weather and it indicated a sunny day so I was not prepared for this, wearing shorts and a short sleeve shirt.  Katie had a light jacket available but our exertion mainly kept us warm on the way up.

A final sign indicated a 0.1 mile trip to the summit of Giant and a branchoff trail to Rocky Peak Ridge, another 1.2 miles.  Katie was already insisting that we not do Rocky Peak, but I hadn't made up my mind yet.  We came to the summit, which was fully enshrouded in clouds and hoped that the sun would break through while we ate.  We didn't stay long.  It was a little breezy and fairly cold at the top, clouds blowing right into us.  We got some rest and ate some food and set out again before any of the people who were already there when we arrived got moving.

Back at the Rocky Peak intersection, I tried to convince Katie that we should complete the second high peak.  The amount of time we had taken to reach our current position was a bad sign, as completing the second peak would likely leave us descending in the dark.  I also realized that if we wanted to come back and do Rocky Peak, we'd have to make this same climb all over again.  Katie declined as she was cold and we mistakenly were not equipped with flashlights.

On the way back down, just under the rocky ravine we spotted a deer.  Somehow this deer must have been hard of hearing because she didn't notice us until we were about 50 feet away.  Of course, we didn't notice her either until she saw us and started sprinting down the mountain.  I couldn't believe the speed with which she went downhill.  She almost certainly crashed into a tree at some point below our sight-line because her path was a dangerous one.

Also on the way back down, I felt like my socks were rubbing kind of funny on my toe.  I could not find my usual hiking socks and so wore an alternative.  This turned out to be a big mistake as I have massive blisters on my toes and they look pretty rough.

Some factual info: Giant Mountain used to be called Giant of the Valley.  It's the 12th highest high peak with an elevation of 4,626 feet.  The trail we took is called Zander Scott Trail.  If we had decided to continue to Rocky Peak(and we will have to at some point), we would have made our initial ascent of 3000 feet, descended 800 feet, then ascended 600 feet.  Then we would have done the reverse.  So when we do Rocky Peak, we will climb a total of 4400 feet (ouch, but can't wait).