Adirondacks June-July 2008
Wright Peak/Algonquin/Iroquois/Phelps/Coldenbr /br /Friday June 27br /One of my goals is to eventually climb all of the 46 peaks in the Adirondacks whose elevation is above 4,000 feet. This past weekend I added one more to the tally, Iroquois. On Friday morning, Chris Mc and I headed down to Lake Placid and stopped in at the Price Chopper to get lunches and groceries for the long weekend. Once at camp we setup a tarp and bug net over the picnic table as suspected we would meet the bugs and/or rain over the weekend. Na, Paul and Ben would arrive at the campsite a little while later. After supper we started a fire and contemplated when Wendy and Erin would arrive. We took bets on when they might arrive and I won. They wouldn’t arrive until mid-afternoon on Saturday.br /br /Saturday June 28br /The five of us were up early (0630) and eating breakfast by 7:00 AM. Our goal for the day was to hike the mountains near Algonquin Peak much of this would be dependant on our stamina and the weather. At 8:21 AM we headed out from the ADK Loj trailhead and made our way south-west. After 30 minutes the trail splits, one direction leading to Marcy Dam and the other to Algonquin. We took the right path and headed south. The trail very gradually climbs and is a Mecca for boulders. Along the way we took in the sight of a a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/2008_Adirondacks_July/photo#5218195600451739874″waterfall/a. After climbing for about an hour we reached another trailhead. Half of the group climbed Wright Peak while the others continued on the trail to Algonquin. The view from a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/2008_Adirondacks_July/photo#5218195649465892946″Wright /awas good but we could see a storm approaching in the distance. As continued our ascent up to Algonquin it started to lightly rain and in rolled the mist. It was hard to spot the next cairn. We stopped for lunch at the summit. The mountain steward was standing on watch. The group split again and most of the people headed down a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/2008_Adirondacks_July/photo#5218195666526403058″Algonquin/a. The remainder continued east to Boundary and Iroquois. The intensity of the rain increased and the fog grew thicker. It was at this point that the GPS proved its value. At breakfast time I punched in the coordinates for all the peaks we would be climbing. A father, his son and a large poodle mistook Boundary for Algonquin. I shouted that the GPS said we had another 300 yards to hike. They were not happy by this remark. The final 300 yards involved hiking through shoulder height trees and boggy mud flats. My knee high gators kept the spruce trees from scratching my legs as well as keeping the mud away from my boots. Once we reached the summit we retreated back to the valley between the mountains. We had a choice to head back by Avalanche Lake or return the way we had come. Three groups were making the same decision and all opted for coming back the way they had come. It would be better to head back on familiar terrain that to take a longer route with an uncertain terrain. The constant rain made this choice obvious. As we headed across Algonquin the rain became more intense and my heart went out to the steward huddled next to a large rock. It would be another three hours before he could head down. Once below the tree line the rain let up and we could take off our rain jacket. The forest was steamy hot. A little while later the sun came out. As we were heading by the falls I saw some naïve hikers making there way to Wright Peak. They were wearing button-down white and blue shirts. I wonder how long they would stay clean and dry as another storm was an hour away. Once back at the camp I had a piping hot cup of tea to celebrate my ascents. Wendy and Erin had arrived by this point and prepared a marvelous pasta dish for supper. Paul and I trimmed up a standing conifer tree and as a standing dead tree is a dry tree. A blazing warm fire was a welcome site to the group.br /br /Sunday June 29br /Most of the group was awake at sunrise and we started down the trailhead early in the morning. Our goal was to climb a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/2008_Adirondacks_July/photo#5218195702365853618″Phelps/a. At the first trail junction we headed east towards Marcy Dam and took in the sights before heading further east. There was much relief as we were climbing the Phelps trail as it had fewer rocks than the trail leading to Wright. We ate lunch at the Phelps summit. The knats and black flies were swarming on the summit so we headed down shortly after lunch. We were at our campsite by mid-afternoon. After a Chinese stir-fry meal we headed into Bamp;J for ice cream. There were black clouds hanging over Lake Placid. As we were heading back to camp it started to pelt. There would be no fire tonight. It would rain for most of the night.br /br /Monday June 30br /On Monday morning, Na, Paul and Ben packed up and headed back to Ottawa. Chris Mc, Erin and I set out early to climb a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/2008_Adirondacks_July/photo#5218195833553157698″Mt. Colden/a. We headed over to Marcy Dam before hiking in a southerly direction towards Avalanche Lake. By lunch hour, we were climbing over the ladders that take you along the shores of Avalanche Lake. The edge of the lake ends in a steep cliff so they have wooden ladders and platforms hanging from the edge of the cliffs. Our trek along Colden Lake was muddy. Midway down the lake we started our steep ascent of Mt. Colden and reached the summit after much exertion and heavy breathing. It was a bright and sunny day on the summit. We ate our lunch while admiring the views, of Marcy Dam, Avalanche Lake, and the a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/2008_Adirondacks_July/photo#5218195812198272450″three other peaks /awe had climbed two days earlier. The hike down to Lake Arnold was a pleasant one as the switchbacks allowed us to gradually drop elevation. We pumped water at a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/2008_Adirondacks_July/photo#5218195875977432370″Lake Arnold /adespite the black fly infestation. Within an hour we were back at the Marcy Dam trailhead. We all headed into town for steak dinner at thea href=”http://www.blogger.com/www.lakeplacidcp.com/dining.html” Lake Placid Boat Club /awhich sits on the edge of Mirror Lake. Erin and Wendy headed north to Ottawa after dinner. Chris Mc and I headed back to camp for the final camp fire.br /br /Tuesday July 1 – Canada Independence Daybr /We were both up at 5:00 AM. I spent a little while packing my thermarests and sleeping bag before leaving the tent. Meanwhile, Chris Mc got the Coleman stove alight. We had all our gear packed and heading north by 8:00 AM.br /br /a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/2008_Adirondacks_July”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/2008_Adirondacks_July/a
East Dix – South Dix – June 2008
I spent the past weekend hiking in the Adirondacks and visited two peaks I had climbed last fall (a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Dix”East Dix/a and a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Dix”South Dix/a). A recent microburst and the unmarked and unmaintained herd trails made the trek more challenging. On Friday afternoon four cars headed south from Ottawa and rendezvous in Keene Valley at the a href=”http://www.rockandriver.com/”Rock and River lodge/a. On the way down we stopped at Price Chopper to buy lunches for the Saturday and Sunday hikes. I replenished my stock of fig newtons. Our group stayed in one of the largest chalets which was a converted a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/June2008_Adirondacks_EDix_SDix/photo#5212589644689001090″barn /aand had a a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/June2008_Adirondacks_EDix_SDix/photo#5212589550144767682″climbing wall/a on the back side of the fireplace.br /br /On Saturday morning after a hearty breakfast we headed 20 km south to the East Dix trailhead. I fired up the GPS and punched in the coordinates for the East Dix summit. At the critical point on the trail we forded the Bouquet River learning from our mistake from last year. As we meandered along the river the GPS “distance to final” fell very slowly. At times we were slowed down due to downed trees but soldiered on. Our OHOC group (12) broke up into three smaller groups and the distance between them grew. Every half-hour we would regroup. Brian and I were the first to reach the East Dix slide after a three hour hike. There is a well defined path to the west side of the slide which takes you about halfway up at which point you have to cross to the east side. One had to be aware of your colors. A black or brown colored rock is slippery while a gray will give a firm purchase. With the GPS running I could watch the feet to the summit ever so slowly decrease. It was slow going up the slide. Our goal was to climb toward a cliff that looked like a hammerhead. There is a path along the edge of the cliff that leads to the summit. It was a big relief when we reached the a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/June2008_Adirondacks_EDix_SDix/photo#5212589963796294354″summit/a. We took a couple of pictures and started our one mile trek to the summit of South Dix. We made the hike with a certain amount of urgency as there were looming dark clouds overhead. Once again the GPS allowed us to keep our bearing. As we were taking pictures on the cliffs of South Dix it started to rain. I fished out my rain jacket and Brian and I headed back over to East Dix. Midway along the trail the rain stopped but we continued to wear our jackets as the forest was wet. Once back on East Dix the sun came out and quickly dried off the rock face. It was mid-afternoon by this point and I ate my sub quietly and pushed back some fig newtons and diet coke. We would spend the next 40 minutes climbing very slowly down East Dix and in some cases walking on all fours. With a little luck I found the trail that runs down the east side of the slide and eventually leads to the campsite. Once off the slide I sighed with relief as we were out of harms way. The journey back along the trail was more brisk than I would have liked. By this point I had consumed three liters of water and only had one more to spare. The forest was warm and muggy. We bumped into the other group midway along the trail which was a relief for me as we as there was no longer a need to travel at a breakneck speed. We learned that the other groups had made it halfway up the slide but missed the cairn that tells you to cross over to the other face. They turned back as it was raining and thundering overhead. Once back at the car I headed down to the Bouquet River and stood in the cold river for 15 minutes to cool myself down. It felt awesome. As we were driving back to the lodge the skies opened and it pelted with rain.br /br /Once back at the lodge I had a blistering hot shower and washed the caked mud from my legs. We had a group pasta dinner. After supper I bedded down really early as I bushed.br /br /On Sunday morning I awoke really early and headed over to the lodge for a hearty breakfast with the rest of the crew. The goal for the day was a short four hour hike up Pitchoff Mountain. It was a good day hike as long as you kept moving. Our turnaround point was “the ridge” which had a great view of Cascade Mountain. At is at this point that we experienced our first bugs of the trip. The black flies were out but they were not in a bitten mood and were more of an irritation.br /br /a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/June2008_Adirondacks_EDix_SDix”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/June2008_Adirondacks_EDix_SDix/a
Off to the Adirondacks soon…
In just over a week, I’ll be heading down to the Lake Placid area for my second hiking trip of the year. The plan is to climb a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Dix”East Dix /a(4012 feet) anda href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Dix” South Dix /a(4060 feet). Last year, Chris Mc, Kevin and I camped at the base of what we thought was East Dix and later confirmed once we were at the summit. This year we are taking a different approach and staying at a hostel overnight in a href=”http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=enamp;q=Keene+Valley,+NY,+USAamp;um=1amp;ie=UTF-8amp;sa=Xamp;oi=geocode_resultamp;resnum=1amp;ct=title”Keene Valley /aand to summit both Dixs peaks as part of a long day hike. Now that we have the GPS coordinates we can start at the car and just follow the GPS arrow as it counts down the kilometers/miles to go. Chris Mc and I are leading a group of a href=”http://ohoc.ncf.ca/”OHOC /ahikers this time round. There is still one unsolved mystery and that is, will there be bugs and how fierce/intense they might be as this is the earliest in the spring that I have been hiking in the Adirondacks.
Adirondacks 2008
span lang=”EN-US”o:p/o:p/spanst1:date year=”2008″ day=”28″ month=”3″ st=”on”span lang=”EN-US”Friday March 28 2008/span/st1:datespan lang=”EN-US”o:p /o:p/span p class=”MsoNormal”span lang=”EN-US”It was under spring-like conditions that the a href=”http://picasaweb.google.ca/moulec/Adirondacks_March_2008/photo#5183952060740676770″uOttawa /aOutdoors club headed south to the st1:place st=”on”Adirondacks/st1:place for a long weekend of winter camping, mountain climbing and snowshoeing. The weather conditions would be a mystery until we arrived at the trailhead. st1:city st=”on”st1:place st=”on”Ottawa/st1:place/st1:City is within a hare’s breath of setting a seasonal snowfall record. Would there be more snow in the Lake Placid? On our way south we stopped at st1:place st=”on”st1:city st=”on”Malone/st1:City, st1:state st=”on”NY/st1:State/st1:place for the traditional Friday fish and chips pre-trip meal. We briefly detoured to Price Chopper so I could buy fig newtons and pretzel goldfish. /span/p p class=”MsoNormal”span lang=”EN-US”o:p/o:pAs we headed south the condition grew worse. It started to snow. The snow was accumulating on the road. span style=”" /spanAs we drove down the park access road we spotted wild turkeys grazing on a nearby field. Further along the road we had to make an emergency stop as a deer was in the middle of the road eating road salt. We arrived at the a href=”http://picasaweb.google.ca/moulec/Adirondacks_March_2008/photo#5183952112280284386″ADK Lodge/a and loaded our backpacks with group gear. This year we would split into two groups as there is a cap of nine people per campsite, we had 15. Under blustery conditions we headed out on the trail towards to a href=”http://picasaweb.google.ca/moulec/Adirondacks_March_2008/photo#5183952168114859314″Marcy Dam/a. We left at an inopportune time as they were four other groups that would be heading towards Marcy Dam at roughly the same time all in search of scarce lean-tos. I was asked to scout ahead and try to get first dibs on the largest lean-to, known as the a href=”http://picasaweb.google.ca/moulec/Adirondacks_March_2008/photo#5183952176704793922″“palace/a.” (N44 09.443 W073 57.079 e=2347 feet) It is the largest on st1:place st=”on”st1:placetype st=”on”Lake/st1:PlaceType st1:placename st=”on”Marcy/st1:PlaceName/st1:place. I got lucky but by only five minutes before the next group arrived in search of an abode. The snowy conditions would work to our advantage keeping the evening temperatures in the mid-twenties. Despite the higher elevation of the st1:place st=”on”Adirondacks/st1:place had received there annual average amount of snow. span style=”" /spanFor supper, we had started with a mixture Knorr Swiss soups mixed with coconut paste. The main course was pasta. While sitting around eating supper a href=”http://picasaweb.google.ca/moulec/Adirondacks_March_2008/photo#5183952198179630434″Steph/a, the leader, offered us some wisdom, what freezes will stay frozen over the weekend. This could mean that your toothbrush, toothpaste, liquid soap or water bottle might freeze and stay frozen. As we settled in for the night, I ditched my snowlion boots and donned my booties and gators. A pair of tights and Gore-Tex shell pants would keep my legs warm. As the conditions grew chillier, I applied more and more layers making it hard to bend forward. On top, I had base layer coolmax top, a REI lightweight shirt, 200 weight Polar fleece vest, a 300 weight Polar Fleece jacket and a Gore-tex shell. I felt toasty wearing all this gear. Before bedding down for the night I dropped a couple of layers./span/p p class=”MsoNormal”span lang=”EN-US”Saturday/span/p p class=”MsoNormal”span lang=”EN-US”I awoke at 0500 to find it was still dark. I dozed off for a couple of hours before getting up at 0730. For breakfast we had a deluxe breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon and bagels. A cup of black coffee would be all that was needed to restore one’s senses. After breakfast I had my first experience with the cold. It would take two hands to squeeze out toothpaste as it as had frozen overnight. As well, I had to de-thaw my toothbrush in my mouth as it was crunchy from freezing overnight. At 10:00 with bags packed we head west to pickup the Algonquin Peak trail (Junction N44 10.334 W073 57.528). Along the way we were passed by the other group traveling at a brisk place and they were eager to be the first to ascend the mountain. There speed would become a hazard. Over the course of the hike we would gain 3,000 feet. As we climbed we peeled off layers as we were working up a sweat. Along the way we eyed the frozen falls (N44 09.578 W073 58.779 e=3277 feet). This would be a water refilling stop on our return. We stopped at the st1:place st=”on”st1:placename st=”on”Wright/st1:PlaceName st1:placetype st=”on”Peak/st1:PlaceType/st1:place trail junction (a href=”http://picasaweb.google.ca/moulec/Adirondacks_March_2008/photo#5183952254014205378″N44 09.156 W073 59.152 e=3994 feet/a) to put on warmer clothing. At this point we were close to the edge of the tree line. We could see the snow blowing near the peak. I headed out first and did a a href=”http://picasaweb.google.ca/moulec/Adirondacks_March_2008/photo#5183952296963878386″solo /asummit (st1:place st=”on”st1:placename st=”on”Algonquin/st1:PlaceName st1:placetype st=”on”Peak/st1:PlaceType/st1:place summit solo @1400 a href=”http://picasaweb.google.ca/moulec/Adirondacks_March_2008/photo#5183952279784009186″N44 08.613 W073 59.206 e=5115 feet/a). (http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=6022) On the way up, I had a weird experience as I was breathing hard and sweating profusely while receiving a blast of arctic cold air. The going got a little rough near the top and I was forced to bash my snowshoes’ crampons into the snow-ice base to get a purchase. A misstep could cause one to slide down the side of the peak. I took a self-portrait and headed down to lead the remainder of the group up to the summit. The going was challenging as the crampons on their rented snowshoes were not aggressive as mine. We would use rock carrons for navigation. There was much relief once we back into the shelter of the trees. It was at this point that the fun began. It was child like. We slide down the trail on our bums. Once back at the Wright Peak trail junction we took a a href=”http://picasaweb.google.ca/moulec/Adirondacks_March_2008/photo#5183952339913551410″lunch /abreak. Our trek back to the waterfalls was a brisk one. Using a a href=”http://picasaweb.google.ca/moulec/Adirondacks_March_2008/photo#5183952361388387922″precarious /amethod we refilled water bottles. We took another rest break at major trail junction and met a href=”http://picasaweb.google.ca/moulec/Adirondacks_March_2008/photo#5183952417222962834″Peter Fish,/a one of the early Park Rangers. We were arrived back in camp late in the afternoon to find a surprise. Something had attacked the food pack and left discarded package of brownies underneath the bag. A quick check of the bag revealed that the a href=”http://picasaweb.google.ca/moulec/Adirondacks_March_2008/photo#5183952202474597746″martin /amust have a penchant for chocolate. There was some discussion if it would pay us a visit overnight. Would the martin climb into someone’s sleeping bag for warmth? Steph came back to camp a little later to pass along news of the other group. They were a disappointed lot. They didn’t reach summit. Without a compass, a map, or GPS they decided to take a shortcut and see if they could summit by sighting the peak and snowshoeing off trail in hope of beating our group to the top. This wasn’t a wise idea. Midway up the slope they had to turn back as the snow was too deep.span style=”" /spanFor supper we had a couscous stew along with a raspberry, apple flan for dessert. Tonight, would be a colder night as we had a healthy crop of stars visible overhead. In anticipation I added another layer of clothing, a down vest (-15C/5F overnight). /span/p p class=”MsoNormal”span lang=”EN-US”Sunday/span/p p class=”MsoNormal”span lang=”EN-US”Once again I was awake early but didn’t emerge from my toasty sleeping bag until there were others about. Breakfast was hot fruit mixed with a dry cereal. By mid-morning we were back on the trail heading in a southerly direction bound for a href=”http://picasaweb.google.ca/moulec/Adirondacks_March_2008/photo#5183952511712243506″st1:place st=”on”st1:placename st=”on”Avalanche/st1:PlaceName st1:placetype st=”on”Lake/st1:PlaceType/st1:place./a It would be a warm hike. The snow was melting and starting to gum up our snowshoes. We had lunch while sitting on the frozen st1:place st=”on”st1:placename st=”on”Avalanche/st1:PlaceName st1:placetype st=”on”Lake/st1:PlaceType/st1:place. (N44 08.117 W073 57.883 e=2959 feet) The bright sun reflecting off the snow gave many of us the start of a tan on our faces. Once back at camp we had to peel off more layers as there was melt water dripping from the roof of the lean-to. With a href=”http://picasaweb.google.ca/moulec/Adirondacks_March_2008/photo#5183952520302178114″lighter packs/a we reached the van in record time. We stopped in st1:place st=”on”st1:placename st=”on”Saranac/st1:PlaceName st1:placetype st=”on”Lake/st1:PlaceType/st1:place for a hearty post-trip meal./span/pp class=”MsoNormal”br /span lang=”EN-US”/span/pp class=”MsoNormal”span lang=”EN-US”a href=”http://picasaweb.google.ca/moulec/Adirondacks_March_2008/photo#5184365322493898578″map/abr //span/p
10 days to go before my next winter adventure
Tonight, we had our planning meeting for the uOttawa Adirondacks winter camping, snowshoeing and mountain climbing meeting. Steph, one of the guides, walked us through our gear list and hammered home the fact that we will need two sets of clothes, our day outfit that will get wet during the day and our night set which will keep us warm, dry and toasty overnight. During these meetings he likes to put the fear into the foreign-exchange students so that they take him seriously when he says to pack warm clothing. This year he toned it down a bit. I think this will be the fifth trip that I have taken with Steph and they are always fun and interesting. We talked about peaks and will likely climb a href=”http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock/150395/algonquin-peak.html”Algonquin Peak/a or maybe a href=”http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock/150567/phelps-mountain.html”Phelps mountain/a this year on Saturday. The weather-of-the-day will determine which peak we attempt to summit. I talked to Steph about changing the trip date in 2009 to the April 3-4 weekend so that it does not conflict with the Boston Tea Party. It would be awesome if a href=”http://jasonplancaster.com”Jason /acould come on the trip in 2009. With Easter coming up rather quickly, I’ll be visiting a href=”http://www.mec.ca”MEC /aa couple of times over the next couple of days to load up on provisions.
Noonmark and Hopkins Peaks
Late on Friday night I got a call from Chris MacDonald to say that he was organizing a last-minute weekend hiking trip to the the Adirondacks. The plan was to climb Noonmark (3491 feet) and Hopkins (3150 feet). This would be my third hiking trip with Chris Mc this year so I knew what to expect. After catching my breath, I replied that I was eager to go. The plan was to meet at 7:00 am on Saturday morning. I headed over to the 24 hour grocery store to get some last minute supplies.br /br /On Saturday morning, we met at John Galbraith’s house and headed over to meet Kerry McDaniels at her house along the way out of town. Our next stop would be Lake Placid where we bought lunch for Saturday and Sunday. We registered at the a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/Adir_Nov2007_Noonmark_Hopkins/photo#5129524377802857938″Adirondack Loj /aand then drove south to Keene Valley to a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/Adir_Nov2007_Noonmark_Hopkins/photo#5129523866701749378″start our trek/a up Noonmark. Before heading out we registered at the sign out box a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/Adir_Nov2007_Noonmark_Hopkins/photo#5129523892471553170″a/a, a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/Adir_Nov2007_Noonmark_Hopkins/photo#5129524309083381138″b/a. As we started to climb the temperature started to drop. a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/Adir_Nov2007_Noonmark_Hopkins/photo#5129524042795408610″Ice crystals/a were visible in the soil and we would find a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/Adir_Nov2007_Noonmark_Hopkins/photo#5129524201709198674″ice /aat the summit. Along the way we had to climb a couple of neat a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/Adir_Nov2007_Noonmark_Hopkins/photo#5129524141579656466″ladders/a. I was the first to reach the summit which was a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/Adir_Nov2007_Noonmark_Hopkins/photo#5129524163054492978″cold and windy/a. I was under-dressed for the conditions having left my polar fleece jacket, gloves and hat in the car. Before we heading back down the trail we took a a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/Adir_Nov2007_Noonmark_Hopkins/photo#5129524244658871666″picture /ain the lee of the wind. It would take about 30 minutes before my hand warmed up. Chris Mc, Kerry and I were the first to reach the trailhead and I took a picture of the a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/Adir_Nov2007_Noonmark_Hopkins/photo#5129524339148152242″sunset /awhile waiting for John to finish the hike. Once we were all together we headed into Lake Placid for a meal and headed back to the Loj.br /br /I was up at 6:30 am on Sunday and had a quick shower. The cook would bang his breakfast gong at 7:15 am and I wanted to hit the shower before the masses did so. Breakfast took the form of all-you-can-eat pancakes and oatmeal which were a welcome sight. After checking out we headed back down into the Keene Valley to summit Hopkins. Along the trail I snapped a picture of a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/Adir_Nov2007_Noonmark_Hopkins/photo#5129524407867629026″myself /awhile catching my breath. As I was getting closer I noticed a rock face off the trail and wondered if a href=”http://jasonplancaster.com”Jason /awould climb it if he was a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/Adir_Nov2007_Noonmark_Hopkins/photo#5129524467997171202″here/a or a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/Adir_Nov2007_Noonmark_Hopkins/photo#5129524506651876882″here/a. Chris Mc, Kerry and I had lunch on the summit of Hopkins and I showed Kerry how to sight a bearing with her compass. When the sun was out it was pleasant to sit out on the rocks and catch the rays. Once the food has settled in our stomach we started our reluctant slow descent back to the car. As the sun was setting we bid the Adirondacks goodbye and started our trek north.
East Dix, South Dix, Hough Peaks
a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://bp0.blogger.com/_5w5ZZWchEd4/RvgTYdx58II/AAAAAAAACA8/ygxtSTNDP7M/s1600-h/DSCF0665.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;” src=”http://bp0.blogger.com/_5w5ZZWchEd4/RvgTYdx58II/AAAAAAAACA8/ygxtSTNDP7M/s320/DSCF0665.JPG” alt=”" id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5113858687910932610″ border=”0″ //abr /o:p /o:pOn the July long weekend I did an st1:place st=”on”Adirondacks/st1:place hike with a href=”http://ohoc.ncf.ca/”OHOC/a. As a group we hiked up a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Marcy_%28New_York%29″st1:place st=”on”st1:placetype st=”on”Mt./st1:placetype st1:placename st=”on”Marcy/st1:placename/st1:place/a at 5344 feet making it the tallest peak in the st1:place st=”on”Adirondacks/st1:place. I spent much of the time hiking with Kevin Woodley as were of comparable strengths. On the second day I climbed Table Top at 4427 feet and Phelps at 4161 feet. Kevin climbed Colden at 4714 feet. While catching up on email at the Atlanta airport I received a email from Chris McDonald one of the leaders of the July trip to see if I wanted to climb a couple of more peaks. I shot back a quick email to say I was eager to climb a couple of peaks in the a href=”http://www.keene-keenevalley.com/”st1:place st=”on”st1:placename st=”on”Keene/st1:placename st1:placetype st=”on”Valley/st1:placetype/st1:place/a. Over the next couple of days we worked out the details of who would bring what gear. On Friday morning we started our journey to st1:place st=”on”Lake Placid/st1:place. We stopped in at a href=”http://www.ems.com/”st1:place st=”on”EMS/st1:place /ato rent a bear barrel which is now a requirement for overnight hiking. While waiting for ChrisMc and Kevin to sort out the barrel details I took a picture of st1:place st=”on”st1:placename st=”on”Mirror/st1:placename st1:placetype st=”on”Lake/st1:placetype/st1:place and called a href=”http://jasonplancaster.com/”Jason /ato wish him a happy birthday on Saturday. Our next stop was to buy some last minute provisions. We would drive by the st1:place st=”on”st1:placename st=”on”Heart/st1:placename st1:placetype st=”on”Lake/st1:placetype/st1:place –Adirondack Loj access road and head south for about ten miles. Since our hiking would be done on herd path or unmarked trails we stopped in at the a href=”http://www.mountaineer.com/”Mountaineer /astore to get some tips. p class=”MsoNormal”o:p /o:pbr /Once at the trailhead we loaded up Nalgene bottles and mounted our a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/AdirondacksSept2007EastDixSouthDixHoughPeak/photo#5113557868401520402″packs/a. (N44 06.729 W073 42.459) span style=”" /spanThe first part of the trail was easy going until we missed a fork in the trail. After searching for a while we walked across the river and found the trail continued on the other side. The guide book said to take note of the Rock of Gibraltar so I stopped and had a couple of a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/AdirondacksSept2007EastDixSouthDixHoughPeak/photo#5113557988660604738″picture/a of me next to it. We would like for the three hours running the risk of setting up camp in the dark as sunset was at st1:time minute=”0″ hour=”19″ st=”on”7:00 pm/st1:time. Much our time was spent hiking on either side of the st1:place st=”on”st1:placename st=”on”Bouqeut/st1:placename st1:placetype st=”on”River/st1:placetype/st1:place and constantly looking for the next carron. We soon left the river and started our climb. As the sun was setting the trail came to a sudden end. There was some discussion was to where we were. We had missed a campsite that we were going to use a reference point. We quickly set up our tents and ate store-bought subs for supper. The debate about our location continued and we decided to talk about it in the morning./p p class=”MsoNormal”o:p /o:pWe were all up at st1:time minute=”30″ hour=”18″ st=”on”6:30/st1:time. After a hot breakfast of oatmeal and tea we packed our gear. The access to East Dix (4026 feet) is via a rock slide that is about 800 yards long. Water dribbles down the slide and gave us a couple of pools in which pump water. ChrisMc was absolutely certain we had made a mistake somewhere along the hike. Gazing up at the slide it appears to be to short. We hiked down for 30 minutes and met up with the river again. I fired up the GPS and set the coordinates to UTM, ChrisMc pulled his compass and map and we studied the map. After checking and rechecking we were quite sure of where we were on the map. ChrisMc had underestimated the distance we had hiked (7.5 km/4.66 m). We decided to chance it and head back up to the slide. Once back at the slide we loaded up our daypack (a href=”http://www.rei.com/product/747522″REI UL Flash pack /a+ a href=”http://www.rei.com/product/733683″100 oz camelback/a + Nalgene bottle) with the gear and lunch we would need for the remainder of the days. It was at this point I got to know my colors a little better. Dark brown/black on rock is quite slippery while gray and white surface give you good purchase. Each of us took a different route and eventually reached the sub-summit at which point we met a well used trail. We hiked for a while before reaching the summit of East Dix (4026 feet) (N44 03.990 W073 45.413). We took a couple of pictures (a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/AdirondacksSept2007EastDixSouthDixHoughPeak/photo#5113558181934133170″solo/a,span style=”" /spana href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/AdirondacksSept2007EastDixSouthDixHoughPeak/photo#5113558233473740770″group/a) and then hiked over to South Dix along a well traveled path for about a mile. The hike to South Dix was filled with many switch backs which makes it hard to build any hiking speed. Along the way we hiked through an area where they had a blow down a couple of years ago. We stopped for lunch at the summit of South Dix (4068) (N44 03.587 W073 46.485) (a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/AdirondacksSept2007EastDixSouthDixHoughPeak/photo#5113558254948577266″pic 1/a) Lunch took the form of bagels, packaged tuna, carrots and fig newtons. /p p class=”MsoNormal”After lunch we started our descent into the valley that separated South Dix from Hough. We met two girls at the campsite midway that had climbed three of the four peaks that we had hoped to climb. They looked tired and beat up. There hike had started at st1:time minute=”30″ hour=”7″ st=”on”7:30 am/st1:time from st1:place st=”on”st1:placename st=”on”Elk/st1:placename st1:placetype st=”on”Lake/st1:placetype/st1:place in the south. Over the next hour we would gain 400 feet and a rapid rate. There was a cool part of the climb I really liked. You had to take your pack off and slide sideways between two rock faces and climb up 25 feet. Once on top you could feel the full force of the wind. It was cold. We would climb for another 20 minutes before reaching the summit, a large rock (4409 feet) (N44 04.172 W073 46.667) I was forced to take off my hat as it the wind was a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/AdirondacksSept2007EastDixSouthDixHoughPeak/photo#5113558306488184866″whipping/a. At this point we decided not to attempt a climb of st1:city st=”on”st1:place st=”on”Macomb/st1:place/st1:city as we were short for time and it would be easily accessed from st1:place st=”on”st1:placename st=”on”Elk/st1:placename st1:placetype st=”on”Lake/st1:placetype/st1:place.span style=”" /spanRetracing our steps we hiked from Hough, to South Dix to East Dix. Before starting our descent of the slide we stopped for a Clif bar to rejuvenate. I was running low on water. I had drunk my camelback and half a nalgene bottle. Over in the distance there was some ominous black cloud. It looked like rain or snow. Just as we were starting our descent the cloud opened and it started to pore. ChrisMc and I sat underneath an overhang and waited out the rain. After clearing the sub-summit we each took a different route down to the base. I opted to head into the bush as soon as it was available. Trudging on brush gives you good traction as you hike down. This worked for a while until I mis-stepped a slipped on a black rock. I rolled as I was going down and landed on my bum and left pelvic. At a quick check over, I headed down the slide at a snails pace. Once back at camp I make some hot tea and munched on fig newtons. We were all relieved for a hot drink and something to stop the hunger pangs. Kevin and I cooked dinner which was combined three chili, bean and curry dishes. After dinner, I cut down a small maple and spruce tree. It was great to sit around the fire and reminisce about the day’s hike. /p p class=”MsoNormal”We were up at st1:time minute=”30″ hour=”19″ st=”on”7:30/st1:time to find that the weather had changed at it was a cool 40F. The hot tea and oatmeal were what was needed to warm us up. Once we were packed up we headed down the trail and were able to make good headway. I had set the GPS to count down the miles-to-the-car as reference marker and watched the distance diminish quickly. Before reaching the car we stop at a a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/AdirondacksSept2007EastDixSouthDixHoughPeak/photo#5113558431042236514″swimming hole/a and had a brisk swim. Once back at the car we changed into our street clothes and took aa href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/AdirondacksSept2007EastDixSouthDixHoughPeak/photo#5113558461107007602″ final picture/a. We stopped in at st1:place st=”on”st1:placename st=”on”Keene/st1:placename st1:placetype st=”on”Valley/st1:placetype/st1:place for a late breakfast. /p
Mt. Marcy 2007
Mt. Marcy, Adirondacks, NY June 29 – July 2 2007br /br /Short versionbr /br /Climbed a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Marcy_(New_York)”Mt. Marcy /a5344 feetbr /Climbed a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adirondack_High_Peaks”Mt. Phelps /a4161 feet (hiked solo)br /Climbed a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adirondack_High_Peaks”Tabletop/a 4427 feet (hiked solo)br /Ascended three more of 46 tallest mountains in the New Yorkbr /Met some great folks that want to climb the other 46 peaksbr /Met my first mountain stewardbr /Great hiking weather, cool and sunny – it only rained at night, but rained every nightbr /Ate some expensive lasagnabr /Missed the a href=”http://www.apple.com/iphone/”iPhone /areleasebr /Restocked on a href=”http://www.nabiscoworld.com/newtons/”fig newtons/abr /br /Long versionbr /br /Friday June 29 2007br /br /Over the weekend, I accomplished a goal that I long thought was unattainable which was to climb a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Marcy_(New_York)”Mt. Marcy/a, the tallest peak in New York at 5344 feet. I knew that I would eventually climb it but didn’t know under what circumstances. I had heard that it would be a long and hard climb but it seems that the rumors preceded the reality. Climbing Mt. Marcy would be a long day but with plenty of water, food and snacks, 250 people climb it during the peak summer season.br /br /On early Friday morning, Chris and Elaine picked me up and he took the long way to Lake Placid via Ogdensburg, New York. Normally, we would cross at Cornwall, Ontario but the native Indians were having there day of protest. The Cornwall border crossing runs through the Indian reservation. Rather than run the risk of delays due to the protest we opted for another nearby crossing. The US Custom/DHS were ready for the long weekend and pre-screened the cars in the queue which sped up the custom formalities. We cleared customs quickly and started our trek south. Four other cars in our group would cross at Cornwall at various points later in the day. Our first stop was a Price Chopper in Lake Placid where we bought lunch and provisions for the next couple of days. I bought pita bread, packaged tuna, fruit, soda, ice tea, propel and fig newtons. I also bought some new 3M bandages that come in a neat package. We arrived at our group campsite in the early afternoon and set up our tents. Over the next couple of hours fourteen more tents would be setup at our group campsite.br /br /I setup my new a href=”http://www.rei.com/product/731428″REI Chrysalis tent /aand footprint and pleased that it went up quickly. This would be it inaugural use in the wilderness. I have to thank a href=”http://www.jasonplancaster.com/”Jason /afor suggesting the tent as it worked great and kept me warm and dry through the three nights of rain that we got on the trip. The rain would collect and drain from the footprint and not accumulate in the tent. I next inflated my thermarest and unpacked my new MEC 7C down sleeping bag. Once the a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/Mt_MarcyJuly2007OHOC/photo#5083044616938667922″tent /awas up I ate lunch. Chris, Elaine and I went to the registration office and did a hike around Heart Lake. Our goal was to find the trail head from Mt. Nye and Mt. Street (trail #25). Both peaks are part of the 46 series but have undocumented trails. We headed into Lake Placid for ribs and pulled pork. On our drive in we spotted the rib festival and decided to check it out. The food was expensive, minimal and I ate some of my lunches when back at camp. The plan for Saturday was to climb Mt. Marcy and leave camp at 0830. We would have to be up early (0545) to get everyone else ready to hike. A little after we got the fire going the elements acted against us. It started to rain. We headed to our a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/Mt_MarcyJuly2007OHOC/photo#5083044659888340930″tents/a. It would rain for an hour.br /br /Saturday June 30 2007br /br /I awoke at 0545 and had the Coleman stove boiling water in a little while. It would take the smell of brewed coffee to get most folks to leave the comforts of their tent. The breakfast conversation was interesting. Normally, there is the discussion about who snores and not. A couple of folks were upset by the sound of zipper being opened and closed at various point during the night. We were given a stern warning to minimize our zipper interactions. The 12 folks that would hike up Mt. Marcy have different fitness levels. It was decided to break the group into a fast and a slow group. The slow group would leave an hour before the fast group. I was in the fast group and we left at 0830. Our first stop would be at a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/Mt_MarcyJuly2007OHOC/photo#5083044672773242834″Marcy Dam /awhere we met the main trailhead. Before heading out I had filled my a href=”http://www.rei.com/product/733683″100 oz camelback /awith water and my 2 liter dromerdary bag. I think I was carrying the equivalent of a galloon. Kevin and I broke away from the main group and would work off each other for much of the day. We both have similar fitness levels and would change the lead when we got tired. Along the way, I eyed the Phelps peak trailhead and wonder whether I could climb it over the weekend. We stopped at the Indian Falls and checked out the view. As we were climbing over a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/Mt_MarcyJuly2007OHOC/photo#5083044728607817762″little Mt. Marcy /awe passed the slower group. We would be at the top in about three hours and forty-five minutes. There was a cool wind blowing and I put on my shell. I took a picture of the a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/Mt_MarcyJuly2007OHOC/photo#5083044715722915858″summit plaque /aand then the battery on my camera died which sucked. Over the next half hour, the remainder of our group would reach the summit. The summit steward, a summer student from PA, talked about the environmental sensitive conditions of the peak. Mt. Marcy was first climbed on August 5 1837. It was renamed in honor of Governor William Marcy. (N44 06.767 W077 55.415) (a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/Mt_MarcyJuly2007OHOC/photo#5083069553518788658″Chris on top of Mt. Marcy/a) We spent about an hour eating lunch and chilling. The slow group started to head down a little after lunch. I followed a little while later. I spent much of the afternoon passing and being passed by the assistant forest ranger. We had met in March just after he had sprained his wrist skiing. The trek back to camp was equally as brisk as it took a little over four hours. The trip was made much easier as I sipped the camelback at will which meant that I never got dehydrated or needed to stop. My fuel for much of this hike would be Clif bars. Once back at camp I was bushed. I made myself a cup of strong tea and talked with Chris and Elaine. They had climbed Marcy last year and so they had hike a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adirondack_High_Peaks”Phelps /aand Tabletop instead. At this point, the idea of climbing two more of the 46 started to develop. I was happy that I had brought along my Keen Sandals as it was great to get out of the warm hiking boots. The hot shower felt good. The others would return over the next couple of hours. The Saturday evening meal was an interesting and expensive situation and even now, still puzzling.br /br /The group opted for an Italian restaurant in Lake Placid. While driving into town the group leaders described what a pain “group meals” can be as someone always comes up short. Before heading into the town there was a fair amount of beer being consumed. Folks were so bushed that they were being driven to the shower which was only 100 yards away. For supper, I opted for lasagna, a salad and soda. The folks I was sitting with decided on lasagna and a soda. The other 12 folks had a pizza and beer. We all had a ravenous appetite. Then next part is where things get interesting. It was time to tally up the individual bills. Calculating the bills for 15 people is hard, complex and difficult. I’ll say that we spent more time calculating the bill than ordering the food and eating it. It was like going through a forensic audit. I was initially asked to pay $41 for my lasagna, soda and salad. After much haggling and redoing the calculation we whittled the amount doing to $30 which is okay but still strange that the beer and pizza folks had bills of $13. I was little pissed. Kevin who also ordered lasagna less the salad was asked to pay $30. Somewhere along the line we had been double charged for the meal. Once back at camp the elements were not in our favor as it started to rain heavily. The plan for Sunday was an easy day hike.br /br /Sunday July 1 2007 (Canada Day)br /br /It had rained so hard overnight that any zipper concerns were masked by the sound of rain on the fly. I was up at 0630 and was eating breakfast once the water was boiled. I filled up my camelback, dromerdary bag and packed my lunch. I asked the leader whether I could opt out of the day hike and do something a little more strenuous. If I could get on the trail early enough I could ascend the mountains before the traffic started to build. I talked the day hike over with Chris and he gave me some tips on where to look for the Tabletop trail as it is an un-maintained trail. Kevin also wanted a more strenuous hike and set out to climb Mt. Colden. After putting along layer of tape on my heel (preventative taping with 3M Micropore) I headed out towards Marcy Dam. Forty-three minutes later I was at the dam. I talked to the sweet, assistant forest ranger and headed onwards to the Phelps trailhead. The trail up Phelps is a similar to the main trail. It was rocky and eventually takes you up to a ledge that gives you a panoramic view of the other mountains. I made up some Propel and had an apple for a snack. The view was weird as it was misty one moment and then clear the next. The morning mist was burning off ever so slowly. Phelps (4185 feet N44 09.409 W073 55.281) The descent was a little slower as I had to negotiate the rocks. I met six groups on my way down. I stopped for lunch at a bridge a little before Indian Falls. Pita, tuna, apple, fig newtons, ice tea and propel filled me up. At this point, I constantly consulted the map as the trail to Tabletop is unmarked. The sign for the summit is 25 yards down the trail and hidden behind a tree. I got the impression that they were trying to actively discourage folks from climbing the peak. Before heading out on the trail I used the GPS to set a reference point. This would come useful in the future. Climbing Tabletop was a fun and unique experience. Most of the hike is through conifer trees that are a shoulder width apart. There are downed tree and roots through the trail but they are all easily climbed over. There are no trail signs as you follow the opening in the trees. When the trail got too overgrown I powered up the GPS and it verified that I was at the summit. Tabletop (4427 feet N44 08.400 W073 54.958) At this point I was starting to tire. I used the GPS to give me a count down of the number of meters/yards to hike before I reached the main trailhead. Once back at the trailhead I keying in the GPS coordinates of Marcy Dam and watched the miles-to-go grow smaller and smaller. Along the way, I met a couple who asked how much further to Marcy Dam. The guy was happy knowing the distance in miles, meters or yards. I reset the GPS and it was 2.1 miles to go. The trek to the dam was uneventful as the trail was becoming familiar. After signing out at the Marcy Dam checkpoint it was time to head back to camp. At a brisk pace I hiked west getting into camp in the late afternoon. Chris, Elaine, Yuri, and Dimitri and headed into town for a meal at a local bar. We patiently smiled as we watched the skies open and the rain to come down in buckets. The other eleven folks were having chicken and salad in the rain. As we were leaving the sun came out. Once back at camp I decided to do a cool down workout and to walk around Heart Lake in the dark. I was curious to see how much of it I could hike in the dark without a flashlight. Some parts of the trail were easier than others as they had put down a bed of white cinder which is iridescent. It was like following a white line in the dark. The walk loosened up my legs as I had fears of cramps in bed if I cool them down. Just as I was getting into the tent it started to pelt again.br /br /Monday July 2 2007br /br /I was awake at 0500 but decided to lie in bed until 0630. Today we would be breaking camp so I packed the sleeping bag and thermarest before getting out of the tent. The goal was to have all 15 folks packed and ready to leave for 0930. After breakfast I refilled the camelback and put my lunch things together. I shook the excess water off the fly and was pleased that the tent itself was dry. The were a couple of pools of water in the footprint but less than expected as I had set the tent up so that it sloped downwards. After the tent was packed I helped Judy take down her tent. With a couple of minutes to spare we head north to Saranac Lake which is northwest of Lake Placid. Much of the morning was spent climbing Ampersand Mountain (3352 feet N44 14.075 W074 12.625). For lunch I had a log of fig newtons, 2 packages of tuna, pita bread and soda to wash it down. After lunch we headed down the mountain and started our trek north. Along the way we stopped at Price Chopper to buy five packages of a href=”http://www.nabiscoworld.com/newtons/”fig newtons /aand some Pretzel Goldfish. By early evening we were back in Ottawa.
User experiences…
Today, I was at Mountain Equipment Co-op (a href=”http://www.mec.ca/”mec.com/a) buying some last minute provisions for my hiking/camping/climbing trip (a href=”http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441775397″a summer sleeping bag /aand Clif bars). It was during lunch hour so the checkout line was long and slow moving. I let my eye wander over to a computer screen that you can use to search the online catalog and order stuff from the mail order department. The flat screen was embedded in a wood frame and part of a wall where you could post notices. From a distance it looked like a touch screen. A person walked up and started to touch the screen thinking that it was a touch screen. They would double-click on an icon and nothing would happen. The mouse point was visible on the screen and they tried to move the pointer by dragging their finger across the screen and nothing would happen. It was sort of fun to watch while killing time in the queue. The problem is it wasn’t a touch screen. There was mouse and keyboard on a shelf underneath the screen but it was so low that most folks didn’t see or ignored it. Just as they were ready to bolt, a stranger nearby pointed to the mouse and keyboard and suggested that perhaps these were would be useful. I was at the cash by this point so didn’t see what happened next.
Mt Marcy
This coming weekend we celebrate a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_day”Canada Day /aon July 1 which occurs on a Sunday this year, so most folks get Monday off as a holiday. I met with the people that I’m hiking in the Adirondacks on the weekend and we are planning on climbing three mountains, one of which is in the top 46 list. The plan is to climb a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Marcy_(New_York)”Mt. Marcy /a whose elevation is 5,344 feet. It is the tallest mountain in the range. We will set out from camp early on Sunday to ascend the mountain. The other two mountains we want to hike up is Ampersand and Rooster Comb. I’m eager to sleep in my tent for the first time, to try the span class=”blsp-spelling-error” id=”SPELLING_ERROR_0″camelback/span in the day pack and break in a summer sleeping bag. As well, I’m getting low on fig newtons and will use the trip to span class=”blsp-spelling-corrected” id=”SPELLING_ERROR_1″stock up/span on them. Things are shaping up well for the adventure…
