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Kevin and I arrived at the Loj Parking area at 0800 for our planned climb of the Colden 1990 slide. As we waited for others to show up we observed how perfect a day it was. The sky was a perfect shade of blue, temps were in the 60’s, the humidity was low and there was the occasional breeze. We waited until 0830 and when no one else showed up we set off.
The storms and heavy rains of the previous day had muddied the trail considerably. Regardless, we made great time to Marcy Dam. We took some time at Marcy Dam to take pictures of a large contingency of snakes that had gathered on the eastern end of the dam. There was a large milk (?) snake and another, smaller species. I got several close-ups. Soon we pushed on; we had a long day ahead of us.
Before long we had made it up to Avalanche camps. Kevin decided that he wanted to check out the new lean-to so we took a short break there. We refueled at the lean-to and headed up to Arnold Pond.
On the way up to Arnold pond there was much water on the trail. Many small run-off streams crossed the trail and in spots small streams ran down it. It was wet! Kevin brought up the possibility of not being able to do the slide because any water on it would make it slick and dangerous. I had been very much anticipating the slide for a while now. The alternate hike we discussed had me equally excited though…Skylight and Marcy. Skylight is first on my fair weather reclimb list. The first time I was up we were socked in without views. Marcy I had never climbed from Lake Tear and my two previous trips up had been in winter conditions. Still, I was a bit disappointed to not be able to do the slide. We decided to leave the final decision until we could observe the slide.
We made it up and over the height of land near Lake Arnold. As we descended down all that elevation that we had just gained beautiful views began to open up. The trail is sandwiched in between Colden to the west (right) and a 4300 foot unnamed peak to the east (a shoulder of Marcy?) Soon the trail begins to follow the beginnings of the Opalescent River. As the 1990 slide of Colden came into view we could see that it was obviously still wet from the rains of the day before. The left of the slide had large wet streaks. More importantly, the location where we would have to cross over to the right was all wet. I was a bit disappointed but immediately began to look forward to Skylight.
After passing by the lower part of the slide we come into a lush, green and wet valley. Here much trailwork is in need of repair. In several spots what appeared to be a solid bridge over 1-2 feet of water sank under our feet and floated away. One crossing was very difficult and we both found it easier to cross on a near-by fallen log than on what was once a bridge. We figured that the recent flooding had wreaked havoc on the numerous bridges and boardwalk in this area. This along with the frequent need to take photos of the beautiful landscape slowed us through this area. It was easy to stall through this section. The beauty was mesmerizing and I could have spent all day there.
We finally made it to the Feldspar lean-to, a lean-to l beautifully built by the 46er organization. When visiting it I promised myself to return for a night (or two, or three). It is in an amazingly beautiful area complete with mountain views. There are several campsites nearby as well. I am already planning hikes that I can do with Feldspar as a base camp (including the Colden slide).
We came out onto the trail that runs along Feldspar Brook and made our way up to Lake Tear. My last time on this section of trail I had very little visibility. I was amazed by the views we had this time. After a few stops to take in the views and for a snack we made it up to Lake Tear. Marcy towered behind it, a sight that I was robbed of my last time to this lake. The skies were still a crystal clear blue. With much anticipation we started over to Skylight.
At the Skylight-Marcy junction we headed up right to Skylight. The trail up the mountain was essentially a stream but still easily hiked. It still seemed longer than the .5 miles stated on the trail sign at the last junction. Once above tree line the spectacular views began to open up. I was very happy to have returned here on such a perfect day. We shared the large summit with only 3 other people. The areas of rock interspersed with the patches of alpine grasses and alpine blueberry bushes give this summit a very wild feel. The views were amazing. Marcy and Haystack are close by with the upper Great Range stacked up behind and in between the two. Below is a great view of Panther Gorge. Dial, Nippletop, Colvin and Blake are all visible. It is a good perspective of the Colvin range and a good indication of how difficult a traverse of it would be. Behind that, Giant and most of the Dix range can be seen. To the west Redfield, Cliff, the McIntyres and Colden can be seen (the slide was starting to look dry). Even the Santanoni range was clearly visible and an interesting slide could be seen. I would rate these views as some of the best from any peak.
By the time we got done eating lunch we had the summit to ourselves. We took a ton of pictures and began our descent off of Skylight. On our way down Kevin pumped water from the stream that ran in the trail. Once back to Four Corners we immediately began our ascent of Marcy. It was starting to get late, we figured about 4pm. This trail up Marcy started out rocky and narrow with thick spruce on either side. It almost felt like a herdpath and was fun to hike. It wasn’t long until I hit tree line and the bare rock of Schofield Cobble, I turned around many time to soak in the views on my way up. I soon noticed that Kevin had fallen behind. When he caught up told me that he had been repairing a toppled cairn, something that he often does (obsession?). We continued on the rest of the way together. At one point I stopped and sat to get a picture of Haystack with some brown sedge in the foreground. Kevin stood about 4 feet above me and told me that he was at the top. Wow, that was quick!
This was my first time on Marcy when ice and snow did not blanket the summit. I have to say that it looks better with snow covering the various signs, posts and thin roping. Even with all the instructions to stay off the vegetation it is obvious that people still tread on it. Even still, the views were great. Due to the late hour we did not spend much time on the summit. We took our pictures and headed down the Van Hoevenberg trail. As we started to descend I looked back at Mt Colden and noticed that the slide looked dry.
The trail down to the first junction was a pleasure with the views looking back, the boardwalk and other clearings. From the junction down to Marcy Dam it was a bit of a trudge. Kevin described it best as “glorified rock hopping with mud pits”. The trail down to Indian Falls was definitely longer than the sign stated and Kevin noticed a huge discrepancy in the mileage marked on the signs. The area around Indian Falls was quite nice even with the areas of devegetation. The Marcy Brook crossing was lovely. All this was sort of new to me because both previous times through here the landscape was snow covered at and above this elevation. We passed the herdpath for Tabletop and made pretty good time past the trail for Phelps and on to Marcy Dam. The trail was very muddy in spots through here.
We took a short break at Marcy Dam and notice some gentlemen wearing camo and toting rifles. We figured they were either there for some bear hazing or to put an end to a problem bear. I just discovered it was the latter.
With a sudden second (or third or forth…) wind we made it quickly back to the parking lot at around 1930 in surprisingly good shape for what we had just hiked. We attributed this to the conditions on this very pleasant day. It was the perfect day with the perfect company. Even a dry Colden slide couldn’t have made it any better.
The storms and heavy rains of the previous day had muddied the trail considerably. Regardless, we made great time to Marcy Dam. We took some time at Marcy Dam to take pictures of a large contingency of snakes that had gathered on the eastern end of the dam. There was a large milk (?) snake and another, smaller species. I got several close-ups. Soon we pushed on; we had a long day ahead of us.
Before long we had made it up to Avalanche camps. Kevin decided that he wanted to check out the new lean-to so we took a short break there. We refueled at the lean-to and headed up to Arnold Pond.
On the way up to Arnold pond there was much water on the trail. Many small run-off streams crossed the trail and in spots small streams ran down it. It was wet! Kevin brought up the possibility of not being able to do the slide because any water on it would make it slick and dangerous. I had been very much anticipating the slide for a while now. The alternate hike we discussed had me equally excited though…Skylight and Marcy. Skylight is first on my fair weather reclimb list. The first time I was up we were socked in without views. Marcy I had never climbed from Lake Tear and my two previous trips up had been in winter conditions. Still, I was a bit disappointed to not be able to do the slide. We decided to leave the final decision until we could observe the slide.
We made it up and over the height of land near Lake Arnold. As we descended down all that elevation that we had just gained beautiful views began to open up. The trail is sandwiched in between Colden to the west (right) and a 4300 foot unnamed peak to the east (a shoulder of Marcy?) Soon the trail begins to follow the beginnings of the Opalescent River. As the 1990 slide of Colden came into view we could see that it was obviously still wet from the rains of the day before. The left of the slide had large wet streaks. More importantly, the location where we would have to cross over to the right was all wet. I was a bit disappointed but immediately began to look forward to Skylight.
After passing by the lower part of the slide we come into a lush, green and wet valley. Here much trailwork is in need of repair. In several spots what appeared to be a solid bridge over 1-2 feet of water sank under our feet and floated away. One crossing was very difficult and we both found it easier to cross on a near-by fallen log than on what was once a bridge. We figured that the recent flooding had wreaked havoc on the numerous bridges and boardwalk in this area. This along with the frequent need to take photos of the beautiful landscape slowed us through this area. It was easy to stall through this section. The beauty was mesmerizing and I could have spent all day there.
We finally made it to the Feldspar lean-to, a lean-to l beautifully built by the 46er organization. When visiting it I promised myself to return for a night (or two, or three). It is in an amazingly beautiful area complete with mountain views. There are several campsites nearby as well. I am already planning hikes that I can do with Feldspar as a base camp (including the Colden slide).
We came out onto the trail that runs along Feldspar Brook and made our way up to Lake Tear. My last time on this section of trail I had very little visibility. I was amazed by the views we had this time. After a few stops to take in the views and for a snack we made it up to Lake Tear. Marcy towered behind it, a sight that I was robbed of my last time to this lake. The skies were still a crystal clear blue. With much anticipation we started over to Skylight.
At the Skylight-Marcy junction we headed up right to Skylight. The trail up the mountain was essentially a stream but still easily hiked. It still seemed longer than the .5 miles stated on the trail sign at the last junction. Once above tree line the spectacular views began to open up. I was very happy to have returned here on such a perfect day. We shared the large summit with only 3 other people. The areas of rock interspersed with the patches of alpine grasses and alpine blueberry bushes give this summit a very wild feel. The views were amazing. Marcy and Haystack are close by with the upper Great Range stacked up behind and in between the two. Below is a great view of Panther Gorge. Dial, Nippletop, Colvin and Blake are all visible. It is a good perspective of the Colvin range and a good indication of how difficult a traverse of it would be. Behind that, Giant and most of the Dix range can be seen. To the west Redfield, Cliff, the McIntyres and Colden can be seen (the slide was starting to look dry). Even the Santanoni range was clearly visible and an interesting slide could be seen. I would rate these views as some of the best from any peak.
By the time we got done eating lunch we had the summit to ourselves. We took a ton of pictures and began our descent off of Skylight. On our way down Kevin pumped water from the stream that ran in the trail. Once back to Four Corners we immediately began our ascent of Marcy. It was starting to get late, we figured about 4pm. This trail up Marcy started out rocky and narrow with thick spruce on either side. It almost felt like a herdpath and was fun to hike. It wasn’t long until I hit tree line and the bare rock of Schofield Cobble, I turned around many time to soak in the views on my way up. I soon noticed that Kevin had fallen behind. When he caught up told me that he had been repairing a toppled cairn, something that he often does (obsession?). We continued on the rest of the way together. At one point I stopped and sat to get a picture of Haystack with some brown sedge in the foreground. Kevin stood about 4 feet above me and told me that he was at the top. Wow, that was quick!
This was my first time on Marcy when ice and snow did not blanket the summit. I have to say that it looks better with snow covering the various signs, posts and thin roping. Even with all the instructions to stay off the vegetation it is obvious that people still tread on it. Even still, the views were great. Due to the late hour we did not spend much time on the summit. We took our pictures and headed down the Van Hoevenberg trail. As we started to descend I looked back at Mt Colden and noticed that the slide looked dry.
The trail down to the first junction was a pleasure with the views looking back, the boardwalk and other clearings. From the junction down to Marcy Dam it was a bit of a trudge. Kevin described it best as “glorified rock hopping with mud pits”. The trail down to Indian Falls was definitely longer than the sign stated and Kevin noticed a huge discrepancy in the mileage marked on the signs. The area around Indian Falls was quite nice even with the areas of devegetation. The Marcy Brook crossing was lovely. All this was sort of new to me because both previous times through here the landscape was snow covered at and above this elevation. We passed the herdpath for Tabletop and made pretty good time past the trail for Phelps and on to Marcy Dam. The trail was very muddy in spots through here.
We took a short break at Marcy Dam and notice some gentlemen wearing camo and toting rifles. We figured they were either there for some bear hazing or to put an end to a problem bear. I just discovered it was the latter.
With a sudden second (or third or forth…) wind we made it quickly back to the parking lot at around 1930 in surprisingly good shape for what we had just hiked. We attributed this to the conditions on this very pleasant day. It was the perfect day with the perfect company. Even a dry Colden slide couldn’t have made it any better.
We do know with 100% certainty where it starts now, and thanks to members here the 'safest' route up. So when conditions are perfect (a few days of dry weather before) we'll give it another try. I just didn't want to take unnecessary chances climbing wet barerock with nothing to stop a fall for a few hundred feet.
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