Well I just got back from my first hike in the Adirondacks. I have been planing this trip for about 2 months and was going to the gym 4 nights a week and using the stair master for hours on end. Thinking I was in good shape I decided to Hike Mt. Marcy, panther gorge, haystack and loop around and get basin, saddle back, gothics and pyramid. I work at Gander Mountain and my friend Bob who works there and has done all 46 high peaks and almost all of them in the winter. I was sick of listening to all the fun and great stories he was telling me and decided to go out and try it out myself. Getting a discount at Gander Mountain I bought a bear vault, tent, sleeping bag, stove, fuel, etc etc. I had 50+ lbs., of junk in my pack.
I started my morning around 8:30 at the Garden parking lot and had blisters before I reached Johns Brook Lodge. The hike was a blast and before I knew it I was on top of Marcy around 2:30. The sky was clean and I could see forever. The view was amazing, the ranger said it doesn't get much better then this. After staying on top of Marcy for about 20 minutes I hiked down the backside of Marcy to the four corners. This is where it gets interesting. I had been training on the the stair master at the gym climbing uphill, but when it was time to go downhill my legs turned to jello and I was whooped.
After climbing down into panther gorge I set up my tent at a small clearing next to the lean-to. It rained all night and I woke up around 5am and it had stopped raining. So I packed all my gear up and decided to head out and get over haystack before the rain came back. Little did I know that climbing haystack from panther gorge was not easy. It must have been the worst thing I have ever done in my life. I was deffently not ready to be climbing some of the rocks that were on that trail. I was scrambling with 50 lbs of gear grabbing onto little tree roots to pull myself up some of those rocks. And to make things worse a storm had came in about half way up haystack. I was getting poured on with rain and Hail of all things. Finially I got to the rock face of haystack and it was so windy that I thought it was going to blow me off the top of the mountain. I didn't have any rain gear, just an emergency pancho that I bought from gander mountain. So I used that to help protect me while I found shelter here and there behind big rocks. The hail that was coming down was actually knocking rocks off those little triangle rock marker things on the trail. Finally after what seemed like forever I made it to the top of haystack. Having no view at all from the rain, wind and hail I just walked right over the top and down as quick as I could. Starting to walk downhill was great, or so I thought untill I met up with little haystack. Which at the time look enormous and not something I wanted to climb.
While I was catching my breath I decided to have a drink of water, I took my pack off and noticed my water bottle had fallen off on the trail somewhere. Oh no, it must have fell off somewhere on haystack, which I really wasn't going to climb back up. After starting my climb up "little" haystack I came across someones bible on the trail. Which wasn't a good sign I thought. Here I lose my water and find a bible.
Eventually I made it over little haystack and down to slant rock and then to Bushnell falls where I stopped and had something to eat. Heating up some warm grub I heard something behind me and there was a deer 15 feet away just walking around eating with me. I had to admit that after the morning I had this was a very pleasant surprise for me. It made for a wonderful trip. Next time I go hiking i'm going to go lite and take a buddy with me. After that morning I swore I would never do it again, but now I really cant wait to get up there.
I started my morning around 8:30 at the Garden parking lot and had blisters before I reached Johns Brook Lodge. The hike was a blast and before I knew it I was on top of Marcy around 2:30. The sky was clean and I could see forever. The view was amazing, the ranger said it doesn't get much better then this. After staying on top of Marcy for about 20 minutes I hiked down the backside of Marcy to the four corners. This is where it gets interesting. I had been training on the the stair master at the gym climbing uphill, but when it was time to go downhill my legs turned to jello and I was whooped.
After climbing down into panther gorge I set up my tent at a small clearing next to the lean-to. It rained all night and I woke up around 5am and it had stopped raining. So I packed all my gear up and decided to head out and get over haystack before the rain came back. Little did I know that climbing haystack from panther gorge was not easy. It must have been the worst thing I have ever done in my life. I was deffently not ready to be climbing some of the rocks that were on that trail. I was scrambling with 50 lbs of gear grabbing onto little tree roots to pull myself up some of those rocks. And to make things worse a storm had came in about half way up haystack. I was getting poured on with rain and Hail of all things. Finially I got to the rock face of haystack and it was so windy that I thought it was going to blow me off the top of the mountain. I didn't have any rain gear, just an emergency pancho that I bought from gander mountain. So I used that to help protect me while I found shelter here and there behind big rocks. The hail that was coming down was actually knocking rocks off those little triangle rock marker things on the trail. Finally after what seemed like forever I made it to the top of haystack. Having no view at all from the rain, wind and hail I just walked right over the top and down as quick as I could. Starting to walk downhill was great, or so I thought untill I met up with little haystack. Which at the time look enormous and not something I wanted to climb.
While I was catching my breath I decided to have a drink of water, I took my pack off and noticed my water bottle had fallen off on the trail somewhere. Oh no, it must have fell off somewhere on haystack, which I really wasn't going to climb back up. After starting my climb up "little" haystack I came across someones bible on the trail. Which wasn't a good sign I thought. Here I lose my water and find a bible.
Eventually I made it over little haystack and down to slant rock and then to Bushnell falls where I stopped and had something to eat. Heating up some warm grub I heard something behind me and there was a deer 15 feet away just walking around eating with me. I had to admit that after the morning I had this was a very pleasant surprise for me. It made for a wonderful trip. Next time I go hiking i'm going to go lite and take a buddy with me. After that morning I swore I would never do it again, but now I really cant wait to get up there.
I'll bet you could wirte a book on things you learned from those mountains.
Lesson #1-The mountains are a sweet mistress. But don't tangle with her because she sends her friends, Cold, Rain and Hail to teach lessons.
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