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We grouped hiked most of Saturday. Friday and Sunday I hiked some peaks solo, so this is my report for the weekend.
LONG POST
Day 1
Met Scott (sacco) at lumberzac's (Zac's) home Friday 9-10-04 around 7AM. Had breakfast and made the Upper Works trailhead around 9-9:30AM. Hiked with full packs (mine weighing about 45 pounds) through a lot of mud and standing water to Lake Colden. Total time was 4.5 hours (it was real messy). Once at camp I ate, pumped water, and headed for Cliff and Redfield at 3PM. Scott stayed back to wait for Zac (and wasn't very interested in hiking Cliff anyways
).
While heading up the Opalecent I took a bunch of photos. With all the recent rains the river was flowing VERY well and the cascades and waterfalls were in full action. Trail was a mess (was much less messy the next afternoon). Once I arrived at the cairn I somehow ended up on the Redfield trail (didn't realize it for about .3 miles when it wasn't "that bad"). Decided to just continue up Redfield. Another great series of rapids along Uphill Brook, more photos. The trail meandered in and out of the brook and a few times I had to back track to be sure I was still on course. There were a lot of low clouds at this time, so there wasn't much to see. Finally made summit about 5:30PM. While on the summit the clouds magically broke and I had good views south to snap photos. Views to the north were still socked in the clouds. VERY "wilderness" feel to Redfield, and I enjoyed the hike and summit immensely. Definitely one I will gladly rehike someday.
With renewed vigor I headed off Redfield, assuming I could find the Cliff trail and hike Cliff before dark.
I found the Cliff trail after double-checking with my GPS and seeing the pink/red ribbons. I partly found the green ribbon trail Mavs00 had made reference to in the past, but I think even that has started to deteriorate. While Cliff's trail(s) are horrible, they were not as bad as I expected. Imagination runs wild when you hear reports of "fields of blowdown", etc. There WAS a lot of mud, water, and blowdown... just not as much as I had prepared myself for (and thats a GOOD thing).
I made what I later learned to be the "false summit" of Cliff just as dusk settled in (took a photo of the sunset). While not having completely clear views, you could see Colden very well much of the way up Cliff. I noticed the trail just kept going and going, and I realized I had heard there was a false summit. Oh well, I was that close and I wasn't about to turn back (I always bring my led headlamp). After another 30 minutes climbing, even crawling through one stretch, I finally made it to the summit, snapped my photo and had a snack. It was now dark. I literally used my instincts to find my way back down. Looking back on it now, I wonder how the hell I made it. The trail was very 'washed out' on the top/ridge. There were only traces of a herd path at times and I just ended up at a spot where someone sawed or stepped on some blow down that toild me I was on the right track. Then, once further down the mountain, I just kept heading down and right and eventually found the main path back out. This whole time I knew if I didn't find a steady path I could literally be lost for hours in there. As it was, I may have lost 5 minutes hitting a few dead ends.
Took over 2 hours going as fast as I could to make it back to camp. I didn't want Scott and/or Zac to be worried for too long. When I arrived at camp it was 10:10PM, about 2 hours longer than I expected the hike to take. Scott, Zac, and their friend from another forum Bruce were all there. NOTE: While climbing Cliff and Redfield I didn't encounter a single person, and only saw hints of recent travel. If you want to 'get away', here's a good spot!
Day 2
I woke to voices at 8AM. By 9AM Zac, Bruce, Scott and I were on the trail around Lake Colden heading up to Colden Mountain. It was a perfect, clear and cool morning for hiking. Ascending Colden from this side was a good idea. It was very steep at times, and this early in the morning it was a bit of a workout. But it was a buttkicker hike, so oh well! Once on top, and even on the way up, the views I had seen posted on the net appeared. Some of the best in the entire Adirondacks. It was 11:30PM, so we ate lunch and joked about how everything was and will forever be Artec's fault.
From Colden we dropped down to Lake Arnold, cut over to Indian Falls and pumped water and soaked in the views (2PM). Next stop for Scott, Zac and I was Marcy. Having only done Marcy in the winter I was looking forward to some fresh perspective. Bruce did a separate loop of Phelps, Tabletop, and Avalanche Pass and met us back at camp.
Marcy was a lot easier in the winter, but I like rock scrambles so the last ~600 feet to the summit was a lot of fun to climb. There were a ton of people heading down. About 10 on top when we arrived. Views were as good as you can get anytime of the year. It was now 4PM.
I started off for Gray, while Scott and Zac headed for Skylight. We planned to meet at Lake Tear.
Gray was not a terribly difficult climb, but there were some very challenging rock walls. The views from atop Gray were much better than I would have expected. Surprisingly, I saw a fresh bear print on top! I didn't think bears went that high in the mountains for food. Maybe it's completing its own 46.
I didn't stay long on top figuring Zac and Scott would be up/down a lot faster off Skylight as it's considered an easier climb. We met at the bottom of Gray and headed back to camp after a short break. It was about 5:30PM. At 8:10PM we arrived back at camp. Food and ealry bedtime for me. I was surprised I did this well considering I climbed Cliff and Redfield the day before.
Day 3
Woke about 8AM. The rest of the group were packed and ready before me, and I was starting to toy with the idea of doing Marshall on the way out because I felt really good (all things considered). We snapped a group photo, they left and I finished my coffee.
I don't have any times for my Sunday hike because I didn't have a watch or need to turn on my GPS. It seemed like it took forever to climb Marshall because I was rather tired, had a lot of small cuts and bruises from the previous days of hiking, and my joints and muscles were starting to feel sore. NONE of this ruined my Marshall experience as anyone climbing along Herbert Brook is just bathed in the beauty of this moss covered continuous waterfall. By far, Marshall has been the most appealing ascent of any mountain I have climbed this year. It's not without annoyances (mud, more mud, roots, slippery rock, wet slide, bogs, etc).
The views from Marshall are good, but limited to south and north. Most of the east and west views are limited or completely obscured by trees. I spent some time on the summit resting and eating. I didn't encounter anyone until heading down about 10 minutes from the beginning of the path. I would rank Marshall very high on my perfect peak list. While some mountains give you a good view because they happen to have a bare rock top, Marshall gives you an... aesthetic charm.
Now was the task of hiking the remaining 5 miles with a 40+ pound pack. I obviously made it, but it wasn't easy. At about 3:30PM I arrived at Upper Works, had my ritual exit 23 McDonalds stop, and got home safely.
The Statistics
These are estimates.
total ascent for the 3 days 8,000 feet
total distance for the 3 days 30 miles
total cuts and bruises for the 3 days 12
total peaks climbed for the 3 days 6
total new peaks climbed 5 (#s 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
We grouped hiked most of Saturday. Friday and Sunday I hiked some peaks solo, so this is my report for the weekend.
LONG POST
Day 1
Met Scott (sacco) at lumberzac's (Zac's) home Friday 9-10-04 around 7AM. Had breakfast and made the Upper Works trailhead around 9-9:30AM. Hiked with full packs (mine weighing about 45 pounds) through a lot of mud and standing water to Lake Colden. Total time was 4.5 hours (it was real messy). Once at camp I ate, pumped water, and headed for Cliff and Redfield at 3PM. Scott stayed back to wait for Zac (and wasn't very interested in hiking Cliff anyways
).While heading up the Opalecent I took a bunch of photos. With all the recent rains the river was flowing VERY well and the cascades and waterfalls were in full action. Trail was a mess (was much less messy the next afternoon). Once I arrived at the cairn I somehow ended up on the Redfield trail (didn't realize it for about .3 miles when it wasn't "that bad"). Decided to just continue up Redfield. Another great series of rapids along Uphill Brook, more photos. The trail meandered in and out of the brook and a few times I had to back track to be sure I was still on course. There were a lot of low clouds at this time, so there wasn't much to see. Finally made summit about 5:30PM. While on the summit the clouds magically broke and I had good views south to snap photos. Views to the north were still socked in the clouds. VERY "wilderness" feel to Redfield, and I enjoyed the hike and summit immensely. Definitely one I will gladly rehike someday.
With renewed vigor I headed off Redfield, assuming I could find the Cliff trail and hike Cliff before dark.
I found the Cliff trail after double-checking with my GPS and seeing the pink/red ribbons. I partly found the green ribbon trail Mavs00 had made reference to in the past, but I think even that has started to deteriorate. While Cliff's trail(s) are horrible, they were not as bad as I expected. Imagination runs wild when you hear reports of "fields of blowdown", etc. There WAS a lot of mud, water, and blowdown... just not as much as I had prepared myself for (and thats a GOOD thing).
I made what I later learned to be the "false summit" of Cliff just as dusk settled in (took a photo of the sunset). While not having completely clear views, you could see Colden very well much of the way up Cliff. I noticed the trail just kept going and going, and I realized I had heard there was a false summit. Oh well, I was that close and I wasn't about to turn back (I always bring my led headlamp). After another 30 minutes climbing, even crawling through one stretch, I finally made it to the summit, snapped my photo and had a snack. It was now dark. I literally used my instincts to find my way back down. Looking back on it now, I wonder how the hell I made it. The trail was very 'washed out' on the top/ridge. There were only traces of a herd path at times and I just ended up at a spot where someone sawed or stepped on some blow down that toild me I was on the right track. Then, once further down the mountain, I just kept heading down and right and eventually found the main path back out. This whole time I knew if I didn't find a steady path I could literally be lost for hours in there. As it was, I may have lost 5 minutes hitting a few dead ends.
Took over 2 hours going as fast as I could to make it back to camp. I didn't want Scott and/or Zac to be worried for too long. When I arrived at camp it was 10:10PM, about 2 hours longer than I expected the hike to take. Scott, Zac, and their friend from another forum Bruce were all there. NOTE: While climbing Cliff and Redfield I didn't encounter a single person, and only saw hints of recent travel. If you want to 'get away', here's a good spot!
Day 2
I woke to voices at 8AM. By 9AM Zac, Bruce, Scott and I were on the trail around Lake Colden heading up to Colden Mountain. It was a perfect, clear and cool morning for hiking. Ascending Colden from this side was a good idea. It was very steep at times, and this early in the morning it was a bit of a workout. But it was a buttkicker hike, so oh well! Once on top, and even on the way up, the views I had seen posted on the net appeared. Some of the best in the entire Adirondacks. It was 11:30PM, so we ate lunch and joked about how everything was and will forever be Artec's fault.
From Colden we dropped down to Lake Arnold, cut over to Indian Falls and pumped water and soaked in the views (2PM). Next stop for Scott, Zac and I was Marcy. Having only done Marcy in the winter I was looking forward to some fresh perspective. Bruce did a separate loop of Phelps, Tabletop, and Avalanche Pass and met us back at camp.
Marcy was a lot easier in the winter, but I like rock scrambles so the last ~600 feet to the summit was a lot of fun to climb. There were a ton of people heading down. About 10 on top when we arrived. Views were as good as you can get anytime of the year. It was now 4PM.
I started off for Gray, while Scott and Zac headed for Skylight. We planned to meet at Lake Tear.
Gray was not a terribly difficult climb, but there were some very challenging rock walls. The views from atop Gray were much better than I would have expected. Surprisingly, I saw a fresh bear print on top! I didn't think bears went that high in the mountains for food. Maybe it's completing its own 46.
I didn't stay long on top figuring Zac and Scott would be up/down a lot faster off Skylight as it's considered an easier climb. We met at the bottom of Gray and headed back to camp after a short break. It was about 5:30PM. At 8:10PM we arrived back at camp. Food and ealry bedtime for me. I was surprised I did this well considering I climbed Cliff and Redfield the day before.
Day 3
Woke about 8AM. The rest of the group were packed and ready before me, and I was starting to toy with the idea of doing Marshall on the way out because I felt really good (all things considered). We snapped a group photo, they left and I finished my coffee.
I don't have any times for my Sunday hike because I didn't have a watch or need to turn on my GPS. It seemed like it took forever to climb Marshall because I was rather tired, had a lot of small cuts and bruises from the previous days of hiking, and my joints and muscles were starting to feel sore. NONE of this ruined my Marshall experience as anyone climbing along Herbert Brook is just bathed in the beauty of this moss covered continuous waterfall. By far, Marshall has been the most appealing ascent of any mountain I have climbed this year. It's not without annoyances (mud, more mud, roots, slippery rock, wet slide, bogs, etc).
The views from Marshall are good, but limited to south and north. Most of the east and west views are limited or completely obscured by trees. I spent some time on the summit resting and eating. I didn't encounter anyone until heading down about 10 minutes from the beginning of the path. I would rank Marshall very high on my perfect peak list. While some mountains give you a good view because they happen to have a bare rock top, Marshall gives you an... aesthetic charm.
Now was the task of hiking the remaining 5 miles with a 40+ pound pack. I obviously made it, but it wasn't easy. At about 3:30PM I arrived at Upper Works, had my ritual exit 23 McDonalds stop, and got home safely.
The Statistics
These are estimates.
total ascent for the 3 days 8,000 feet
total distance for the 3 days 30 miles
total cuts and bruises for the 3 days 12
total peaks climbed for the 3 days 6
total new peaks climbed 5 (#s 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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