Me and my buddy arrived at the Garden at 10 p.m. on Friday and admired many of the Subaru Outbacks stuffed in the parking lot. We took the second-to-last space and disembarked in the dark. Our goal for Saturday morning was Upper Wolf Jaw, so we hiked four miles to the Wolf Jaw Lean-to and set up our tent on a nice, flat spot. I hope we didn't give the occupants of the lean-to bad dreams as we goofed about--it's so hard to be quiet while setting up a tent.
The next morning we decided to leave our tent where it was and begin our trip. We did Upper Wolf Jaw in no time at all, and then we went along the ridge to Armstrong and Gothics. The new cables at Gothics are pretty neat, and they allow one to dance about on the side of the mountain and have a good old time. While I don't think they are absolutely necessary, there is little doubt that the popularity of the route mixed with the possiblitity of wet conditions certainly convinced the DEC to rig them up again. There were a lot of people on Gothics, and we said hello to many of them.
Saddleback was a neat climb, especially on the Southwest side, and the view from Basin was incredible. We descended from Basin and arrived at the crosstrail between Slant Rock and Haystack. Although it was getting late and the trip back to Wolf Jaw Lean-to was likely going to take us several hours, we decided to drop our packs and scream up Haystack. What a mountain! It was my second time up there and I still can't believe how perfectly Marcy is framed by the ring of mountains all about the horizon. If I ever become governor, I am going to ammend the Constitution when no one is looking and build a house on top of Haystack (don't worry, it will be small and made of dirt).
We descended and arrived at Slant Rock at dark. After filtering some water and donning our headlamps, we began our long trek back to the Wolf Jaw Lean-to. We met some nice folks at Bushnell Falls who wondered if we were crazy. We also saw some people at John's Brook Lodge sitting around a huge campfire. Does the ADK have an exclusive fire permit?
We arrived back at our tent around 1 a.m. or so and went right to sleep. We slept until about 10:30 the next morning and packed up our belongings. Instead of taking the usual main trail back to the Garden, we took the Southside trail that goes along the opposite shore of John's Brook. I know that this trail is not often used, but I can't recommend it enough. The brook is awe-inspiring it is so clear, and there are several neat little gorges alongside of it where feeder streams have carved geometric towers and spillways into the bedrock. I might use this trail more often.
We got back to the car in the early afternoon and went to get something to eat. Overall, me and my friend had a great time. The weather was perfect and the views tremendous. I was surprised that this cold later summer and early fall has not produced more leaf changing, but I'm sure that will come along soon enough.
Jason Feulner
The next morning we decided to leave our tent where it was and begin our trip. We did Upper Wolf Jaw in no time at all, and then we went along the ridge to Armstrong and Gothics. The new cables at Gothics are pretty neat, and they allow one to dance about on the side of the mountain and have a good old time. While I don't think they are absolutely necessary, there is little doubt that the popularity of the route mixed with the possiblitity of wet conditions certainly convinced the DEC to rig them up again. There were a lot of people on Gothics, and we said hello to many of them.
Saddleback was a neat climb, especially on the Southwest side, and the view from Basin was incredible. We descended from Basin and arrived at the crosstrail between Slant Rock and Haystack. Although it was getting late and the trip back to Wolf Jaw Lean-to was likely going to take us several hours, we decided to drop our packs and scream up Haystack. What a mountain! It was my second time up there and I still can't believe how perfectly Marcy is framed by the ring of mountains all about the horizon. If I ever become governor, I am going to ammend the Constitution when no one is looking and build a house on top of Haystack (don't worry, it will be small and made of dirt).
We descended and arrived at Slant Rock at dark. After filtering some water and donning our headlamps, we began our long trek back to the Wolf Jaw Lean-to. We met some nice folks at Bushnell Falls who wondered if we were crazy. We also saw some people at John's Brook Lodge sitting around a huge campfire. Does the ADK have an exclusive fire permit?
We arrived back at our tent around 1 a.m. or so and went right to sleep. We slept until about 10:30 the next morning and packed up our belongings. Instead of taking the usual main trail back to the Garden, we took the Southside trail that goes along the opposite shore of John's Brook. I know that this trail is not often used, but I can't recommend it enough. The brook is awe-inspiring it is so clear, and there are several neat little gorges alongside of it where feeder streams have carved geometric towers and spillways into the bedrock. I might use this trail more often.
We got back to the car in the early afternoon and went to get something to eat. Overall, me and my friend had a great time. The weather was perfect and the views tremendous. I was surprised that this cold later summer and early fall has not produced more leaf changing, but I'm sure that will come along soon enough.
Jason Feulner
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