Tweet
... and I wasn't alone! I arrived at Upper Works/Mt Adams trailhead at 6:10AM, by 6:30 I was on my way. Arriving at the trailhead immediately after me was Claudia and 2 of her friends. I've done a few ADK Club hikes with Claudia, and it turns out they were also doing Allen today.... so we ended up hiking much of it as a group.
Day started off cool and cloudy (I wore my ski gloves for the first time this season). Under headlamp I made my way along the yellow DEC trail. After about 30 minutes I ditched the headlamp, about this time Claudia, Terry, and Doug passed. The beginning stretch to Allen is a cinch. Mostly level terrain, and a lot of it is on old roads. It isn't until you leave the yellow marked DEC path and start on the herd path that you encounter anything that resembles a trailless peak. A few times, because of all the fallen leaves, I lost track of the trail and had to 'regroup' (ie -- turn on my gps and check the saved waypoints).
The last 3 or so miles up are the toughest, especially the final mile when you gain most of the elevation. The slide is as slippery as whale's snot. But I took advice I got here and was careful and never slipped. About halfway up the mountain I caught up to Claudia and company. The summit was socked in with clouds, so we ate and exchanged stories (I also gave them some ADK Forum patches).
The hike down/out started well, we made great time coming off Allen, but then the miles wore us down. It also started raining just as we made the bottom of Allen Brook (where the little water fall is). My second wind kicked in at about mile 13 and I was able to hoof the last 3 miles at a good clip. The car never looked so good.
Arrived at the parking lot about 4:30 (10 hours).
Allen is unique and worth a reclimb on a clear day. The hike alone was challenging and fun (minus the distance). Views would have made it a perfect day... oh well.
No photos today, I forgot my camera and it didn't matter with fog and low clouds obscuring just about everything anyway...
Day started off cool and cloudy (I wore my ski gloves for the first time this season). Under headlamp I made my way along the yellow DEC trail. After about 30 minutes I ditched the headlamp, about this time Claudia, Terry, and Doug passed. The beginning stretch to Allen is a cinch. Mostly level terrain, and a lot of it is on old roads. It isn't until you leave the yellow marked DEC path and start on the herd path that you encounter anything that resembles a trailless peak. A few times, because of all the fallen leaves, I lost track of the trail and had to 'regroup' (ie -- turn on my gps and check the saved waypoints).
The last 3 or so miles up are the toughest, especially the final mile when you gain most of the elevation. The slide is as slippery as whale's snot. But I took advice I got here and was careful and never slipped. About halfway up the mountain I caught up to Claudia and company. The summit was socked in with clouds, so we ate and exchanged stories (I also gave them some ADK Forum patches).
The hike down/out started well, we made great time coming off Allen, but then the miles wore us down. It also started raining just as we made the bottom of Allen Brook (where the little water fall is). My second wind kicked in at about mile 13 and I was able to hoof the last 3 miles at a good clip. The car never looked so good.
Arrived at the parking lot about 4:30 (10 hours).Allen is unique and worth a reclimb on a clear day. The hike alone was challenging and fun (minus the distance). Views would have made it a perfect day... oh well.
No photos today, I forgot my camera and it didn't matter with fog and low clouds obscuring just about everything anyway...
Comment