Katie really wanted to do this hike. I, on the other hand, was trying to get out of it. I had some genuine ailments, and would have happily stayed home. In fact, my right knee area and some of the muscles or ligaments around it were STILL sore a week after our first High Peak. I was very nervous that my leg would start hurting badly very early in the hike and that I would be hurting the whole time. Fortunately, this was not the case. Since Katie also already wrote a post, I will leave out some shared details. Read her post also.
The website we use to plan our hikes estimated that this hike would be 4.1 miles to the summit, giving us an 8.2 mile round trip hike. The ascent was to be about 2000 feet. One blogger commented that the first few miles are fairly easy, so I thought it sounded like a walk in the park. Definitely an easier trip than Big Slide was.
I had to attend a mandatory sexual harassment meeting at my company's corporate office that morning so I got that out of the way at 9am and then we took off for the Adirondacks. This was a further drive as we had to go almost all the way to Lake Placid. After finally locating the Adirondack Loj parking area, we got out of the car, strapped on our boots and took off.
The first two miles were awesomely easy. It felt like it was mostly flat, though my map software confirmed that we were ascending very slowly and moderately. At the end of two miles, we arrived at Marcy Dam. The next mile(or slightly more than) was more uphill. It was also very rocky and difficult to walk. We passed 4 college-aged boys who were swimming in the brook. The place they were swimming in was a small pool where rocks held a lot of the stream water. We thought to ourselves that it would be a nice place to cool off on the way back down. We eventually reached the Phelps Mountain 1.0 mile sign. This sign is misleading. It gives the impression that you are close to the top. This is false.
The last mile is pretty rough. Very steep and quite exhausting. Katie was really dragging on this part and I kept losing her. I would get so far ahead and then realize I couldn't see her. I would wait for her to catch up and it was a nice breather. Not nice for her because she never really got to stop, considering that by the time she caught up to me I was ready to go again.
At the summit, two groups of French Canadians lingered. Both arrived before us and both left after us. The only people we saw on our hike today were all French Canadians. I don't know why they love our High Peaks so. My legs were fairly Jell-O by the time we reached the top, but downhill is almost worse for me. I take very large steps downhill and move very fast. I frequently lose Katie downhill because she has more trouble descending. I accidentally catch up to some French Canadians who are peeing in the woods and catch them with their pants down. They are quite embarrassed, and I'm too winded to say much so I just keep trucking.
We do decide to take a break at the small pool on the way back down. This time there are two college girls in their underwear just hanging out IN the pool. The water is freezing and after just two minutes with my feet under it, I have to pull them. I dry them on my already soaking wet shirt and we get out of there. We again make great time on the last 2 miles as they are really just a meandering stroll up and down some small hills. We pass some American hikers right at the end.
All in all, this hike took us a little under 5 hours. Big Slide was 6 and a half hours, and about the same distance so I'd venture to say that this was a much easier hike, but you couldn't tell it by the looks of us. I was just as sweaty and my legs were pretty torn up again. Katie has blisters on her feet and clearly felt the effects more than I. In any case, we've conquered 2 and we're setting our sights on more. Next week won't be the next hike since we'll be in Jamaica, so it may be a while before the next one, but I'm ready!
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