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This past Wednesday, Joanne and I finished our 46th peak on Haystack. For this trip we hooked up with forum member judgeh and his friend Jim, although we had different itineraries in mind. We were lucky enough to land two spaces at the Garden by mid-Monday morning, though the lot was filling fast. Very nice weather on the way in, with only a little drizzle as we neared camp. A passing ranger noted that we could probably have any camp site we wanted, as there were few people left in the area (that would change in a day or so). He also exclaimed quite strongly: "If everyone used a bear canister, there would be no bear problem." After eating lunch at the JBL picnic table, we headed on to Bushnell Falls, and decided to camp at the lean-to across the brook, rather than go on to Slant Rock and the possibility of not finding a decent spot. The four of us were joined at the lean-to by Chris, who was a welcome addition to the mix. All of us had canisters except for Chris, who hung his food across the brook. In spite of all of the bear activity and war stories we had heard about, we saw not one bear during the entire trip, though scat and tracks were evident. All of us dined festively on Mountain House's freeze-dried best, and we also brought a little packaged salmon and some homemade jerky. Point of trivia that many may already know: the word 'jerky' comes from the South American (Quechuan) word "charqui". I did my level best not to set the lean-to on fire, as I wrestled with a new and unfamiliar stove.
Tuesday AM we went our separate ways, Chris to Haystack, and the rest of us to Basin. It was an easy trip to Slant Rock. Poking around a little (especially on the return) we were dismayed to see how much of a pig sty the place was! In the woods, not far from the open spots, were piles of garbage, candy wrappers, TP, and more. No wonder there are bears there! We had heard that the original lean-to had been hit by lightning, and that it had been rebuilt higher up and away from S.R., with reportedly very nice views. The camp sites weren't all that attractive, and we were glad to be camped at Bushnell Falls, even though that put us a little farther away from our destinations.
A short distance beyond Slant Rock is the turn-off to the infamous Shorey Short Cut. This path lived up to its reputation: very steep, rough footing at times, and some ups and downs before reaching the height-of-land. You then sink like a stone to the Basin/Haystack trail junction, though not without first some nice views of Basin. The climb up Basin alternates very steep ledges with some moderate stretches. Being faster than we were, judgeh and Jim went on ahead, while we poked our way up the ledges. The last stretch to the summit was quite moderate, and we quickly made our way to the rocky outcrop, and some absolutely phenomenal views! Judgeh and Jim soon went on to Saddleback (we had done that previously). We had an early lunch and spent considerable time there, taking pictures, enjoying the views, and talking to a couple who arrived shortly. Regretting that we had to leave, we made our way slowly, slowly down. We negotiated the ledges VERY carefully, and at one point tossed our daypacks down to the next level to avoid being knocked off the ledge by them. We're fine on these things, but slow, and we're not a pretty sight! Anyone seeing us here would probably want to set up lawn chairs and enjoy the show! The few fleeting thoughts we had about doing Haystack that day were abandoned at this point. Once off of Basin, the return to camp was uneventful, and we were met there by judgeh and Jim, who had done their Basin-Saddleback loop in less time than it took us to do our one peak! Nice lean-to conversation that evening and the next, with very nice folks.
On Wednesday Joanne and I set out for Haystack (judgeh and Jim for Marcy/Gray/Skylight), after saying goodbye to Chris. It was back to Slant Rock, and then we continued on the Red trail to the "Blue Connector" trail junction. The B.C. trail was quite steep, and annoyingly rocky at first, but it moderated in places. In general, we thought this was a nicer path than Shorey, and with more views. At the height-of-land we had our first close-up view of Little Haystack and Haystack's summit. Magnificent! After a short drop to the base (less than Shorey's drop), we made our way up Little Haystack. It was a good thing that we took pictures here, because clouds were beginning to roll in. We found this Little Haystack "bump" especially tricky descending on the summit side, with an almost sheer rockface from which to fall off. As we made our way through the tiny col and up the final summit, the fog got serious, and we were totally socked in with no views. The trip up there reminded me of the ascent to Algonquin, for some reason. Here, however, the rock seemed to go up and down and on forever. A group of four greeted us at the summit, and took our one picture from there. We found what we assumed to be the summit bolt hole, with the bolt missing. Not knowing how long the fog would last, or how bad it would get, we headed back. Frustrating, because the sun was trying to break through, and back at camp it was sunny! The trip back to camp was uneventful, save for running into some nice people, including a group who did Haystack and were on their way to Basin/Saddleback (how do they do it?). We later learned that they had zero views there as well.
On the way back to the Garden, we happened to run into someone from Joanne's work, and also met a very nice man with interests in common with us. We felt no need to rush (we met some people on the trip that seemed to be hiking as though they were late for the airport), and we chatted for a good half hour. We like to stop and enjoy things other than summits, so for us, slow and steady is better, even if we don't hike as many peaks in a day. Time and daylight are always a reality for us to be aware of.
We've now finished the 46 peaks. It feels wonderful to have accomplished this goal. So, what's next? We both have made one resolution: no more lists. They don't work for us. Frankly, at times we both felt that the 46 quest was something of an albatross around our necks. Several were "duty" hikes which we would not otherwise have done, although many we have enjoyed doing multiple times. As we approached the last ten or so, we found ourselves saying: "I'd like to hike mountain X but it's not one of the 46 and we have to finish." We feel a sense of satisfaction, but also a sense that it's time to move on to other things. There are other parts of the Adirondacks that we have hiked in and would like to continue to explore. Having also hiked in NY, VT, NH, Colorado, Yukon, and Newfoundland, and having seen that wonderful variety, it makes sense for us, at age 58, to continue to expand our focus to other places. So we will do that. But we do love the high peaks dearly, and we will always enjoy returning to them - we hope with some on this forum.
Dick
Tuesday AM we went our separate ways, Chris to Haystack, and the rest of us to Basin. It was an easy trip to Slant Rock. Poking around a little (especially on the return) we were dismayed to see how much of a pig sty the place was! In the woods, not far from the open spots, were piles of garbage, candy wrappers, TP, and more. No wonder there are bears there! We had heard that the original lean-to had been hit by lightning, and that it had been rebuilt higher up and away from S.R., with reportedly very nice views. The camp sites weren't all that attractive, and we were glad to be camped at Bushnell Falls, even though that put us a little farther away from our destinations.
A short distance beyond Slant Rock is the turn-off to the infamous Shorey Short Cut. This path lived up to its reputation: very steep, rough footing at times, and some ups and downs before reaching the height-of-land. You then sink like a stone to the Basin/Haystack trail junction, though not without first some nice views of Basin. The climb up Basin alternates very steep ledges with some moderate stretches. Being faster than we were, judgeh and Jim went on ahead, while we poked our way up the ledges. The last stretch to the summit was quite moderate, and we quickly made our way to the rocky outcrop, and some absolutely phenomenal views! Judgeh and Jim soon went on to Saddleback (we had done that previously). We had an early lunch and spent considerable time there, taking pictures, enjoying the views, and talking to a couple who arrived shortly. Regretting that we had to leave, we made our way slowly, slowly down. We negotiated the ledges VERY carefully, and at one point tossed our daypacks down to the next level to avoid being knocked off the ledge by them. We're fine on these things, but slow, and we're not a pretty sight! Anyone seeing us here would probably want to set up lawn chairs and enjoy the show! The few fleeting thoughts we had about doing Haystack that day were abandoned at this point. Once off of Basin, the return to camp was uneventful, and we were met there by judgeh and Jim, who had done their Basin-Saddleback loop in less time than it took us to do our one peak! Nice lean-to conversation that evening and the next, with very nice folks.
On Wednesday Joanne and I set out for Haystack (judgeh and Jim for Marcy/Gray/Skylight), after saying goodbye to Chris. It was back to Slant Rock, and then we continued on the Red trail to the "Blue Connector" trail junction. The B.C. trail was quite steep, and annoyingly rocky at first, but it moderated in places. In general, we thought this was a nicer path than Shorey, and with more views. At the height-of-land we had our first close-up view of Little Haystack and Haystack's summit. Magnificent! After a short drop to the base (less than Shorey's drop), we made our way up Little Haystack. It was a good thing that we took pictures here, because clouds were beginning to roll in. We found this Little Haystack "bump" especially tricky descending on the summit side, with an almost sheer rockface from which to fall off. As we made our way through the tiny col and up the final summit, the fog got serious, and we were totally socked in with no views. The trip up there reminded me of the ascent to Algonquin, for some reason. Here, however, the rock seemed to go up and down and on forever. A group of four greeted us at the summit, and took our one picture from there. We found what we assumed to be the summit bolt hole, with the bolt missing. Not knowing how long the fog would last, or how bad it would get, we headed back. Frustrating, because the sun was trying to break through, and back at camp it was sunny! The trip back to camp was uneventful, save for running into some nice people, including a group who did Haystack and were on their way to Basin/Saddleback (how do they do it?). We later learned that they had zero views there as well.
On the way back to the Garden, we happened to run into someone from Joanne's work, and also met a very nice man with interests in common with us. We felt no need to rush (we met some people on the trip that seemed to be hiking as though they were late for the airport), and we chatted for a good half hour. We like to stop and enjoy things other than summits, so for us, slow and steady is better, even if we don't hike as many peaks in a day. Time and daylight are always a reality for us to be aware of.
We've now finished the 46 peaks. It feels wonderful to have accomplished this goal. So, what's next? We both have made one resolution: no more lists. They don't work for us. Frankly, at times we both felt that the 46 quest was something of an albatross around our necks. Several were "duty" hikes which we would not otherwise have done, although many we have enjoyed doing multiple times. As we approached the last ten or so, we found ourselves saying: "I'd like to hike mountain X but it's not one of the 46 and we have to finish." We feel a sense of satisfaction, but also a sense that it's time to move on to other things. There are other parts of the Adirondacks that we have hiked in and would like to continue to explore. Having also hiked in NY, VT, NH, Colorado, Yukon, and Newfoundland, and having seen that wonderful variety, it makes sense for us, at age 58, to continue to expand our focus to other places. So we will do that. But we do love the high peaks dearly, and we will always enjoy returning to them - we hope with some on this forum.
Dick
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