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It apparently rained 3" the day before (according to a man I talked to who lives in Saranac Lake), so the trails were extremely wet. The streams were raging and I was a little worried about the bridgeless crossings of Feldspar and Uphill Brooks, but they were not a problem. I left the Loj at 6:45 under very murky, hazy skies. The path up Redfield is great and easy with almost no blowdown. Uphill Brook was gorgeous with many rushing waterfalls and deep pools. I reached Redfield at 10:30 and could just make out the silhouette of Allen to the south through the haze. I was amazed that the bugs were almost non-existent. They swarmed a little when I stopped but that's it.
I descended back to Uphill Lean-to and then went up the "corduroy river," the abandoned trail to the Cliff herd path. This has to be the wettest stretch of path in the High Peaks. I took the path at the first cairn and met up with 2 men who took the path at the second cairn. Both paths meet up after about 5 minutes of walking. I took the other path on the way down to see if there was a difference and I think the first one is a little better, but it doesn't really matter. There is some blowdown before the cliffs but not much. The soil on the cliffs is eroding badly, and it is good that this path won't be used much longer, after the 46ers establish the new path later this year hopefully. Above the cliffs the blowdown is extensive but negotiable. The path is easy to follow along the ridge to the partially broken summit sign and ubiquitous red trail marker above the sign. I reached the summit at 12:30. Descending the cliffs is tricky and time consuming. As I neared the bottom of the corduroy mess, I could hear Uphill Brook to my right and left the wet trail and met up with the Redfield herd path in 30 seconds and descended it the rest of the way, thus avoiding some of the wet trail. There are no cairns or other markings to mark this spot on the Redfield path.
I got back to Lake Arnold at 3:15 and decided to make the side trip to Colden, mostly because I need it for my spring round and it is only a 2.8 mile RT from there. I reached the top at 4:00 and the views were improved enough to make out the Sewards on the horizon. I got back to the Loj at 7:25 with very tired feet, but had a wonderful day in the mountains!
I descended back to Uphill Lean-to and then went up the "corduroy river," the abandoned trail to the Cliff herd path. This has to be the wettest stretch of path in the High Peaks. I took the path at the first cairn and met up with 2 men who took the path at the second cairn. Both paths meet up after about 5 minutes of walking. I took the other path on the way down to see if there was a difference and I think the first one is a little better, but it doesn't really matter. There is some blowdown before the cliffs but not much. The soil on the cliffs is eroding badly, and it is good that this path won't be used much longer, after the 46ers establish the new path later this year hopefully. Above the cliffs the blowdown is extensive but negotiable. The path is easy to follow along the ridge to the partially broken summit sign and ubiquitous red trail marker above the sign. I reached the summit at 12:30. Descending the cliffs is tricky and time consuming. As I neared the bottom of the corduroy mess, I could hear Uphill Brook to my right and left the wet trail and met up with the Redfield herd path in 30 seconds and descended it the rest of the way, thus avoiding some of the wet trail. There are no cairns or other markings to mark this spot on the Redfield path.
I got back to Lake Arnold at 3:15 and decided to make the side trip to Colden, mostly because I need it for my spring round and it is only a 2.8 mile RT from there. I reached the top at 4:00 and the views were improved enough to make out the Sewards on the horizon. I got back to the Loj at 7:25 with very tired feet, but had a wonderful day in the mountains!
I suppose once the new Cliff path is cut though, the experiences of climbing the two peaks will be more comparable.
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