Huffing on Hough

 Top of Dix

 Elk Lake from Dix

 Top of Hough

View off of Dix















On Sunday we hiked Dix and Hough. It was a tough climb but very enjoyable and very pretty. We started from Elk Lake at 6:30. Parking would've been an issue if we had gotten there 10 minutes later. It is a very small parking lot and it gets filled up very quickly. The walk in was nice but got more rugged after the turn off for the herd path for Macomb. We went up the Beckhorn trail and it was quite steep but was very pretty with views of the Great Range and Elk Lake all the way up. We got to the top of Dix at 12:00 and had our lunch. We then went back to the Beckhorn and were confused on where the herd path began. At the top of the Beckhorn is a trail off to left (as you are coming off of Dix) and it is a steep, narrow trail that leads you along the ridge. We got to the top of Hough around 2:00 and then headed to the Lillian Brook herd path. It was steep until we came to the brook where it felt flat instead of losing elevation. Once we hit the main trail we made a left and headed out. It was a good trip and was absolutely gorgeous.
-ADK Gurl

Touching the Sky on Skylight

 Flowed Lands

One foot on either side of the Hudson

 Top of Skylight

 Top of Gray

 Top of Redfield

 Top of Cliff

 Lake Tear of the Clouds

 Henderson Lake

View off of Skylight

Last Sunday morning we set off on the trip we had been planning since July of 2011. We had planned on doing this trip after Irene came through but the High Peaks Wilderness area was closed so we hiked Seymour instead. We set off from Upper Works at 7:30 with heavy packs on our backs. We were planning on hiking into Feldspar and camping there for two nights and having a three day adventure. The walk in was long. We had 7 1/2 miles up to Feldspar and 1,600 of elevation to gain. Most of it was when we were hiking into Flowed Lands and when we were hiking up from Lake Colden to the Uphill lean-to. Not only was it a hard climb with our packs but it was a very rugged trail. We got to the lean-to at 12:30 and we were luckily the first people at the campsite which gave us the opportunity to grab the lean-to. We had our lunch and then headed up to Lake Tear. The climb up from Feldspar to Lake Tear was very hard. We got to Lake Tear around 2:00 and then headed up to Skylight. The climb up to Skylight was not very hard and was easier than I had expected. We got to the top around 3:30 then headed back down to do Gray. Gray was said to be a hard climb but it wasn't all that bad. You gained your elevation right from the start and there were just a few muddy rock scrambles. It took us about 20 minutes to get from the start of the herd path to the top of Gray. We then headed back down to our lean-to and got there around 7:00. The next morning we set out do Redfield and Cliff. We decided to do Redfield first and then go up and do Cliff. On the way up Redfield we met up with Veranoenvermont from http://www.forums.adkhighpeaks.com/index.php, a forum my dad is a member of. We got to the top of Redfield around 11:00. Veranoenvermont decided to go ahead because she had decided she was going to try to hike Skylight, Gray, and Cliff in one day. We headed back down and had lunch at the split between Cliff and Redfield. Then we headed up to Cliff. The beginning was very muddy and wet and then the mud turned into steep cliffs. Cliff isn't called Cliff for nothing. We got to the top around 2:00 right as a storm was starting to come in. The rain wasn't all that bad since the cliffs were wet anyways. We got to the campsite at 4:00. A little bit of advice for Cliff: There is a false summit and once you think your there you need to drop about a 100 feet and then gain about 150 feet. Also there is a steep rock slab (you will know it when you see it) that is hard to manipulate. If you go to the right you can avoid it. The next day we took our time packing up. We left the campsite at 10:00 and had lunch at Lake Colden around 11:30. We were out of the woods around 3:00. This was a very fun trip and I'm glad we got to do it.

-ADK Gurl

No M&Ms On Emmons

 View of Seward off of Donaldson

 Top of Donaldson

 Top of Emmons

 Top of Seward

View off of Seward















On Tuesday night we drove into Corey's and slept in the car. The following morning we were on the trail at 6:00 hoping to grab all three peaks. The walk into the start of the Calkins Brook herd path was quick along the road. Once we got to the cairn we made a left onto the herd path. We stopped to fill up with water a couple times along the way. The climb up was not very hard it was pretty moderate all the way up with a few rock scrambles right after the split to Seward. We reached the summit at 10:00 and then headed over to Emmons. The bog was not bad but I imagine it was only because of the lack of rain. We went over two bumps to get to Emmons and there were quite a few rock scrambles. We reached the top off Emmons at 11:30. We had a half hour lunch then we headed back over to Donaldson. When we got to the top of Donaldson we were tired but had no desire to gain the elevation again, or drive all the way up to Corey's. It was 1:00 and we had time to get over to Seward and back. We decided to give it a shot and see how far we got. At the junction we dropped 150 feet of elevation and then we were in the col. We went over one small bump and then started our ascent. The trail was filled with fun not too difficult rock climbs. We got to the top of Seward around 2:00. By 4:00 we were back at the junction and then started our descent. We headed down the herd path slowly since we were pretty tired. We got to the car at 8:00 with three more peaks under our belt. It felt pretty good to get the Sewards out of the way.
-ADK Gurl

Panting Panther and Ouchy Couchy

 Top of Couchsachraga

 View off of Panther

 Santanoni Lean-to

Top of Panther



















Yesterday we hiked Couchsachraga and Panther. We had also hoped to grab Santanoni but sometimes things just don't work out. We started at 5:30 on Saturday morning with full packs in hopes of grabbing a campsite to pitch a tent. We headed up the trail with Biji from http://forums.adkhighpeaks.com/ a forum my Dad is apart of. The road was about 1.5 miles I would say and then another 3.5 miles up the trail to the campsite. Once you hit the trail we were on a steady upwards climb but it wasn't all that bad. We past the start of the herd path up to Time Square and kept going for about .3 miles to the lean-to. All the legal and illegal campsites around there were occupied by tents already so we settled for the lean-to. We dropped our packs turned around and headed for the herd path. The beginning of the herd path around Bradley Pond was confusing we searched for the path for about a half hour before finally finding it. The key is when you see the cairn by the pond go straight and around to the left right over the beaver dam. We continued up a very rugged herd path along Panther Brook. Once we reached Harold Square we made a right onto Panther. The climb to Panther was very short and not to hard. Once you got to the top there were great views. We had our lunch and headed down over to Couchy. It took about 2 hours to get over there. It was rugged, muddy, slick, and steep in some spots. The bog in the col between the ridge and Couchy was passable but I suspect if it hadn't been as dry as it had been it would've been worse. It took about an hour and 45 minutes to get back to the ridge where we decided it was too much to go onto Santanoni. Down we went again on the rugged Panther Brook herd path. We got back to the lean-to about 8. It was a long long day and we were exhausted. After the trip I actually find that I like lean-to's better than sleeping in a tent. In the morning we packed up and left around 8 and headed down back to the car. We ended our trip at 10:40 with sights set on Santanoni in the fall.
-ADK Gurl

Nyece and Easy On Nye and Street

The split to Street and Nye

 Top of Street (sorry it is so dark, the sun caused it to be this way)

Top of Nye

View from trail














Last weekend we hiked Street and Nye. We started off early at 6:30 from the ADK Loj. The hike was pretty flat going in untill we reached Nye Brook which was when the trail started gaining elevation and the day started getting hotter. The hike up was hard in the heat and deer flies pestered us endlessly. At one point I was ready to turn around but we kept heading up. Around 9:30 we hit the trail junction and headed towards Street. From the junction we headed up a little bit but not much. We were at the summit of Street at 10. We turned around and headed onto Nye. The climb up Nye wasn't really much of a climb but more like a like a staircase. We got to the summit of Nye at 11:30. Then we headed back down. The deer flies were what kept driving us down the mountain. We finished our hike at 2 right as storms were starting to come in.
-ADK Gurl

Cold Winds On Colden

 New bridge over Marcy Brook

 Mount Colden

 Avalanche Lake

 Hitch-up Matilda

 View off of Colden

Top of Colden















This weekend we hiked Mount Colden. We decided it would be our first camp out of the year. We started around 6:30 on Saturday from the ADK Loj. We hiked into Avalanche Camp and set up camp before our long day. We continued and headed into Avalanche Pass which was very rugged and slow going. We finally made it around Avalanche Lake which was gorgeous and onto to Lake Colden which wasn't nearly as rugged. The climb up Colden was extremely steep and slow going. We had to gain 2000 feet in 1.6 miles. Once we were on open rock the trail was hard to follow and we had to experiment going different ways to get to the top. We reached the summit around 1:30. The winds on top of Colden were strong enough to knock you off your feet. We ate our lunch and headed down the Lake Arnold trail which wasn't nearly as hard. It was moderately steep all the way down and was very easy. We reached camp at 5:00 and went to bed early. We started our hike out around 9:00 the following morning and got back to the ADK Loj around 10:30. It was a good first camping trip.
-ADK Gurl

All Out On Allen

Mist over the Hudson

Opalescent

Top of Allen

Attempting to cross Lake Jimmy

Turtle on trail














Yesterday we hiked Allen. Now that is a hard hike. We started at 5 in the morning at a good steady pace with my dad's friend from  http://www.forums.adkhighpeaks.com/index.php whose screen name is Yonzor. The hike was really long and we had to cross the Hudson River and the Opalescent. On the way up we saw a turtle, a snake, a bunch of frogs, and a dead deer. We reached summit around 12:45-ish due to a half hour of bushwhacking around Lake Jimmy and heading up the wrong slide about a quarter mile to the top. We were turned around immediately at the summit due to thunderstorms. On the way back we spotted more frogs, a wild turkey and beavers. We finished our hike around 9:30 a couple hours later than we wished to have finished.
-ADK Gurl

Windface

 Old toboggan shelter on Marble Mtn

 Whiteface ski resort

 Mirror Lake (Lake Placid)

Top of Esther

Top of Whiteface















Yesterday we hiked Whiteface and Esther. We started at the trail head from Marble Mtn road at 6:45. We hiked up the rocky, steep trail to the summit of Marble Mtn which was once a ski area. We reached the summit at 7:30 then headed over to Lookout Mtn where the herd path to Esther would start. It was pretty flat going over to Lookout Mtn. and the herd path was marked by a huge cairn and a small sign saying ESTHER MTN (not a marked trail). We reached Esther around 9:45 and stopped for about ten minutes then headed back down for Whiteface. The climb up Whiteface wasn't bad and we crossed "The Wilmington Trail" which is a ski trail on the right side of Whiteface (looking on the map) which for the most part is a very flat trail down to the Lookout lift. When we got to a spot on the hiking trail that was very close to the Memorial Highway going up the backside of Whiteface we decided to take the road since the trail was starting to get icy. When we got to the end of the road we walked up stairs they had built to the top of the mountain. This is where the wind started to kick in. We reached the summit about 12:30 and left to go back down at 12:50. We took the road down the rest of the way which was pretty boring but easier and quicker. We finished our day very early at 3:45.
-ADK Gurl

Snow Dial

 Great Range from Noonmark's shoulder

 Dix from the trail to Nippletop

 Top of Dial

 Top of Nippletop

 Hiking down Nippletop

Giant from the Ausable club














Yesterday we hiked Dial and Nippletop. It was a very chilly morning to start and there was snow everywhere starting around 2,400 feet. I was cold for most of the trip which is a shocker because usually I am super warm. We reached the summit of Dial around 11:00 and then started to head over to Nippletop. We reached Nippletop around 1:30 and had lunch. Nippletop had a very good view of the great range and Dix on the other side. When we hiked down we came down through Elk Pass which was supposed to be very steep since we had to drop 1,000 feet in one mile. Since it was snowy there were only a couple difficult sections. We came down the trail we took when we did Colvin and Blake. It was definitely a nicer trail without the rain. It was a gorgeous day in the end and we finished our hike around 7:30. A long and hard day for the second hike of the season.
-ADK Gurl

Snower Wolfjaw

 Mini, buried in snow.

 Top of Lower Wolfjaw.

 Giant Mtn.

 Ausable Club.

 Ice on the trail.

Me hiking down.















Yesterday we started our adventures yet again on Lower Wolfjaw. There were a couple mishaps like my Dad bringing one of his hiking boots and one of my old ones so he had to hike in tennis shoes and how I forgot my wool socks...It all turned out to be a good hike in the end. We started out around 6:30 AM and it was very chilly. We hiked up through Ausable Club and took the West River Trail up. Exactly around 3000 ft the snow started to appear under shady spots off to the side of the trail. Later on it started to come on to the trail along with ice. We summited around 11:10 AM and had lunch. We decided to make our decent in a loop that was a more gentle trail along the ridge, not only was it more gentle it was a couple miles longer, it was not as tracked, and it was a whole lot more icy on this side than the other. My dad had tried to do a controlled slide down part of the really icy and steeper parts but got out of control cut his knuckles really bad on the snow crystals. In the end it was much more pretty with a couple outlooks. At the end of the trail we had to hike down an old fire road which felt like a death march. It was a fun, icy hike and I can't wait for the next one a couple weekends from now.
-ADK Gurl