First Trip

[mikevdm]

I have hiked, hunted, fisged and backpacked the adirondacks for the last 15 years but never have found the time to hit any of the peaks. Well this is the my friends and I start the list. Being that we are in the early stages of planning our first trip for late April, early may to the peaks we have been surfing the sites (Adrindack forum ) and reading all when one of the guys came across this agenda that sounded like the perfect long trip. I thought I would ask for some experienced feed back, in-put or suggestions? Other 5 day trips suggestions are also welcome.

Day 1: Hike in from Upper Works to Uphill Brook lean-to.
Day 2: Climb Cliff and Redfield via their herd paths only a stone's throw away.
Day 3: Goof off or climb Day 4 agenda if not to tired.
Day 4: Climb Gray Peak via its herd path which begins off the Feldspar Brook Trail at the outflow of Lake Tear-of-the-Clouds. Next climb Skylight and Marcy from Four Corners (the saddle between Skylight and Marcy; also the terminus of the Feldspar Brook Trail).
Day 5: Hike out to Upper Works

(found on the adirondack journey site which is great)

Thanks from the greenhorn!
Mike

[Kevin]

Gray, Redfield, and Cliff are well used herd paths but not marked. If you have experience following unmarked trails it won't be too tough.

The itinerary is aggressive but do-able if you get up early and expect to maybe hike out via headlamp. Don't save the sunset hike for Cliff, the trail isn't that great and there's a tangle of different paths in the blowdown field.

[adkdremn]

You should also note that in late April you will more than likely be running into snow, some of which could be quite deep. Last year I climbed Gray, Skylight and Marcy the second to last week of May and used snowshoes on all of Skylight(til the exposed rock summit), most of Gray and most of Marcy. Keep an eye on conditions and be prepared for snow/ice.

[mikevdm]

Thanks for the heads up on the snow. We are heading to rochester tonight to get our snow shoes for our first peak the end of this month. Any suggestions for a fun first snowshoe peak?

Thanks again all!

Mike

[Kevin]

Any suggestions for a fun first snowshoe peak?

Thanks again all!

Mike

Same peaks in the summer make for good first peaks in the winter:

http://www.adkforum.com/showthread.php?t=4239

Beware that there's a lot of additonal precautions to take in the winter. I would suggest going out with someone experienced at winter climbing, they can make all the difference in ensuring you are properly prepared.

[rondak100]

Thanks for the heads up on the snow. We are heading to rochester tonight to get our snow shoes for our first peak the end of this month. Any suggestions for a fun first snowshoe peak?

Thanks again all!

Mike

Cascade and Porter, hands Down.

[rondak100]

Day 4: Climb Gray Peak via its herd path which begins off the Feldspar Brook Trail at the outflow of Lake Tear-of-the-Clouds. Next climb Skylight and Marcy from Four Corners (the saddle between Skylight and Marcy; also the terminus of the Feldspar Brook Trail).Thanks from the greenhorn!
Mike

Too Much for one day after two days of hiking, IMO. Do Gray and Skylight and call it a day.

[randomscooter]

Day 1: Hike in from Upper Works to Uphill Brook lean-to.
Day 2: Climb Cliff and Redfield via their herd paths only a stone's throw away.
Day 3: Goof off or climb Day 4 agenda if not to tired.
Day 4: Climb Gray Peak via its herd path which begins off the Feldspar Brook Trail at the outflow of Lake Tear-of-the-Clouds. Next climb Skylight and Marcy from Four Corners (the saddle between Skylight and Marcy; also the terminus of the Feldspar Brook Trail).
Day 5: Hike out to Upper Works

Very doable, with plenty of slack time built in (see snowshoes comment below). As a reference, a common itinerary for these peaks is

Day 1: UW to Uphill, climb Redfield or Cliff
Day 2: Gray, Skylight, Marcy
Day 3: climb Cliff or Redfield, hike out to UW

The first time I ever climbed these peaks, with my 12 year old daughter, our itinerary was

Day 1: UW to Uphill, climb Cliff
Day 2: climb Gray, Skylight, Marcy, and Redfield
Day 3: out (original plan was Marshall on way out, but skipped)

If Uphill leanto is full, Feldspar might have space

Expect some snow, probably requires snowshoes or a pared down itinerary

Herdpath to Cliff was officially cleaned up last summer, so if it survives the winter intact it'll be pretty easy to follow.

If conditions and energy allow, your slack day could be used for an easy hike of Colden via Lake Arnold trail.

[the_swede]

Sounds like an awesome trip. I am inevitably jealous since my Adirondack trip this winter has just been canceled due to my hiking partner being sick. Ugh...frustrating.

[mikevdm]

Thank you all for your in-put. Its nice to have a place to get help from experienced people.

Mike

[hikerdad]

I hiked Redfield on April 15 one year a few years ago. There was 3-4 feet of snow going up Redfield. No problem with this since we had snow shoes but the problem was that the packed track high (past the waterfall) on the mountain basically disappeared. It was a HARD very crusty snow (our snowshoes barely left scratches in the snow) and the packed trace in the snow had (I guess) melted away (or evened out with the surrounding snowpack) so the path was very hard to follow. We eventually totally lost the trail. I was surprised since I was expecting typical clear, packed "trough" in the snow....

[five_head]

Last summer my son and I made a similar trip that we enjoyed. Here's a recap:

Day 1: Upper Works to Uphill lean-to in the morning. Set up camp. Hiked Redfield in the afternoon.
Day 2: Hiked Cliff in the morning. Back to camp for breakfast and a rest. Hiked Gray and Skylight. Purposefully saved Marcy for another trip.
Day 3: Packed out.

The herd path up Cliff was in much better shape than it was the first time I hiked it about 3 years ago. Very easy to follow now.

[chudski63]

Thanks Everyone For All The Great Info......answered Many Questions I Had.....plan On Starting The 46 In The Spring And Now I Have A Good Idea On Where To Start...thanks Again