Been home for 4hrs so far. Clean and fed, so I figure now is a good time to write a trip report while all the scratches, bruises and cuts are still fresh.
I was going to try for a few of the Dix range last year by going up Macomb, but the slide completely drained me, and I wasn't ready for the snow at the top. Rather then get lost at the top trying to find the herd trail to South Dix I called it off and figured I'd be back later that year. Never happened until today.
I'm in Schenectady, and driving up there to start hiking is a 3hr event. Waking up, eating, ensuring the car is packed, and the drive itself. By the time I get there, I need another 15min of stretching from the drive. I woke up at 5am this morning and got on the trail for Dix. There were no other cars in the lot, and the register said I was the only on out there (not surprising given the weather on Monday, and the fact it's a weekday).
I was making excellent time through the swampy trail, which while wet and wide wasn't deep enough to slow me down. I made the whole trip to DEC land without so much as a break, possibly thanks to the cold morning air keeping me going. I was going to unload for a 10min break at the leanto, but someone else was sleeping in there. I don't know how he got there, or where he was going. There was no car waiting for him at Elk Lake, and he didn't sign in on the register. I simply sat for 10min to catch my breath and kept going.
Pretty smooth sailing to Dix Pond, the trail has some areas that need attention from the drainage, but I couldn't tell if it was because of the storms last night or just the terrain. The water was deeper and running faster, but there were enough rocks to step on to get around it. Dix Pond itself was a majestic site to see at 7am! Saw my first Blue Heron out in the wild; frickin' HUGE wingspan! I don't know how that thing managed to get off the lake but it did. There was no wind, and very little clouds, so the pond was not only crystal clear, but perfectly reflecting the distant landscape. A nice start to the day I figured.
I decided to make the climb up Dix via the Beckhorn, so I would be able to see Hough, South and East Dix as I climbed (so I thought). The views of those 3 wasn't as good as I expected, but I did get some nice views of Elk Lake off in the distance while ascending. My "wonderful nearly-perfect" climb up the Dix range stops there.... cause the bug came out.
Once the sun started heating everything up, they came out in droves! Thank god I had my headnet with me, cause they came in all sizes and speeds. Deerflys doing suicide runs against my ears trying to get through the netting, little mosquitoes landing on the front of the screen trying to get though.... no level of DEET kept them away; for them, I was breakfast, delivered.
Climbing the Beckhorn was... a pain. I compare it to climbing Giant from Chapel Pond, where you can constantly see the top of what you're climbing, but it's not the summit. While I enjoy the sense of "I'm almost there" during the climb, hitting the top of the hill and seeing Dix in the distance looking down on me was disheartening. Regardless, pushing forward was the only thing on my mind. By the time I got to the Beckhorn, I thought I was nearing the top another 3 times and was thrilled when I saw the bare open rock at the top of this ascent. After climbing ontop of that massive rock at the top I figured "This has to be it" only to turn and see something else about the same level as where I was, but to the north. Couldn't have been another 5 min before I was ontop of Dix looking for the medallion. I think it's kinda odd that the summit isn't there blue and yellow trails meet, but actually AFTER the yellow trail, about 200ft up the blue trail. I figured they merged ON the summit, but not in this case.
I sat around for a while, called home to let them know I was OK. Took about 4hrs to get this far, and I had plenty of time. My legs were a bit sore, but I was now on the ridge itself and the remaining trial shouldn't be "too bad" I thought.
I proceeded back towards the Beckhorn and found the cairn to Hough. I gotta say, thats the most one-way trail I've ever been on. I can't even imagine climbing Dix from Hough without some rope and a hook. I knew as soon as I went down the next 300ft, I was fully committed, there was no going back; not like I had planned to, but in the event of an emergency abort I'd have to press forward instead of going back the way I came. The descent was far more dangerous then the ascent up to Hough, which while tiring, wasn't as steep as coming down from Dix. The blowdown was managed reasonably well for an "unmaintained" trail. In a few spots, theres new blowdown after last night, but I would have been more surprised if there hadn't been. Once on the top of Hough, I could have easily walked right past it. Just going down the trail, seeing an outcropping and thinking to myself "this is the tallest thing around" I walked out on it. Looking back at Dix, I saw the yellow disc nailed to a tree to my right. Theres nothing written on it, but it had to be it, its the only marker within a good mile.
Getting down from Hough wasn't nearly as bad as getting down from Dix. The trail wasn't as steep, but it was narrow from older blowdown and some spots for footing were concealed and wet, making for a few scrapes and bumps on my arms and ass. A couple of spots I had to make my own way through the fallen trees and was worried once or twice I got lost in the maze up there. I managed to set my bearings straight and got back on the "trail" and kept moving (every step with the bugs right behind me).
I made it to the campsite in the middle of nowhere and found 3 trails waiting for me. I pulled my compass out and made an observation, the herd paths all go in all 3 directions I would need. The one on the left seemed to point to East Dix, the one right head sorta pointed to South Dix, and the one dead ahead pointed down Lillian Brook. I had originally planned for South Dix, then East Dix (then double back to South and then Macomb if possible, to get back to the car). I set off on the middle trail towards South Dix. While there was blowdown, it was manageable, and I only got turned around once or twice. I don't know what woulda happened if I needed to turn around, because every time I looked back, it was hard to distinguish the trail from a lull in the fallen trees and almost looked like other people tried making their own *small* herd paths. I made an ascent, and felt pretty good about it mentally. I was starting to ache in the legs because I wasn't resting as often/long as I like due to the bugs. So I'm at the top of this hill just shy of South Dix looking around and saying "No way I did it THIS fast after doing Dix and Hough". I had to pull out my camera and look at the pictures I took from Dix to see theres actually this little "fake mountain" in between that I got on top off. So, I went down, and up, then down again, then back up to finally get ontop of South Dix.
I do a ton of driving between work and school, and its just amazing on how ya think you know exactly how far a mile is, until you have to hike it.
Compared to the views from Dix and Hough, it's a good second placer for now. Dix offered excellent panoramas and Hough was more of a "Look west" outcropping. I didn't spend too much time ontop of South Dix, as I was eager to get East Dix done then double back to South Dix and rest for a long-break. The view from the summit wasn't that great either. A lot of grown in areas, and I didn't feel like pushing though the brush to get a shot of anything that I might be able to get from East Dix (or already got when I was on Dix). From the pictures I took on Dix and the map in my bag, the traverse from South to East was going to be pretty simple, almost easy enough to ride a bike on. I figured 30min one way, no problem.
Man was I wrong with that guesstimate. Took me almost an hour, one way, to get to East Dix. The view was sooo much better then South Dix, but the elevation change was a shock compared to what I was expecting [I dunno why I thought it'd get easier the further I went]. Coming down from South Dix was nice, just what I expected. A nice slow, steady decline which became mildly steeper. I was NOT expecting the sudden steep climb up to the summit though [again, I dunno why I thought that, but I'll blame it on exhaustion at this point]. It was a hard climb to the top, but the summit was visible in some spots making it easy to judge my distance. The boulders at the top weren't as impressive as the ONE on the Beckhorn, but still respectable, and the open summit for views made it worth the trip. Actually, it was kinda a godsend, cause the wind coming over the summit kept the bugs away from me long enough for me to get a 30min nap in. Kinda chilly, but it beat being eaten alive in the woods.
With that, I drudged back over to South Dix (with the bugs back in pursuit). I realized no matter how long I rested for, my legs were aching to go home. Just looking at Macomb made my legs sore, and I decided that I'd head back down to the col between Hough and South Dix to head home via Lillian Brook then go over Macomb. I've done Macomb before, and really wanted to say I did the whole range in a day, but that would have been pushing my luck beyond reasonable limits. I went down, up, then down again to the campsite, and headed down the herd path. For the first mile or so, it seemed great! It was following my compass bearings exactly at 225 degrees, making a beeline for Elk lake. Then after that, it changed course and leveled out, almost following the official trail parallel. I look back now and realize it was the blowdown that was so high and thick it would have made carving a trail through it almost impossible. I finally came out along side some tiny little creek with 2 boulders on both sides and some 5-rock cairns on, I don't even think I passed a second glance at it earlier in the day.
I slowly made my way back to the trailhead, at this point not caring how deep/muddy the trail was. A nice dearfly kept me company for a good 2 miles before I killed it (I don't think anyone would have objected had they been forced to put up with it for that long)... that was the only time I stopped since coming down until the register. Only 2 other people came up to Elk Lake today, one from North Carolina, and another from right across the river in Scotia.
Hope you all enjoyed the description.... the scratches/bruises/aches/cuts will remind me in the short-term, and the pictures will remind me for the rest of my years.
I was going to try for a few of the Dix range last year by going up Macomb, but the slide completely drained me, and I wasn't ready for the snow at the top. Rather then get lost at the top trying to find the herd trail to South Dix I called it off and figured I'd be back later that year. Never happened until today.
I'm in Schenectady, and driving up there to start hiking is a 3hr event. Waking up, eating, ensuring the car is packed, and the drive itself. By the time I get there, I need another 15min of stretching from the drive. I woke up at 5am this morning and got on the trail for Dix. There were no other cars in the lot, and the register said I was the only on out there (not surprising given the weather on Monday, and the fact it's a weekday).
I was making excellent time through the swampy trail, which while wet and wide wasn't deep enough to slow me down. I made the whole trip to DEC land without so much as a break, possibly thanks to the cold morning air keeping me going. I was going to unload for a 10min break at the leanto, but someone else was sleeping in there. I don't know how he got there, or where he was going. There was no car waiting for him at Elk Lake, and he didn't sign in on the register. I simply sat for 10min to catch my breath and kept going.
Pretty smooth sailing to Dix Pond, the trail has some areas that need attention from the drainage, but I couldn't tell if it was because of the storms last night or just the terrain. The water was deeper and running faster, but there were enough rocks to step on to get around it. Dix Pond itself was a majestic site to see at 7am! Saw my first Blue Heron out in the wild; frickin' HUGE wingspan! I don't know how that thing managed to get off the lake but it did. There was no wind, and very little clouds, so the pond was not only crystal clear, but perfectly reflecting the distant landscape. A nice start to the day I figured.
I decided to make the climb up Dix via the Beckhorn, so I would be able to see Hough, South and East Dix as I climbed (so I thought). The views of those 3 wasn't as good as I expected, but I did get some nice views of Elk Lake off in the distance while ascending. My "wonderful nearly-perfect" climb up the Dix range stops there.... cause the bug came out.
Once the sun started heating everything up, they came out in droves! Thank god I had my headnet with me, cause they came in all sizes and speeds. Deerflys doing suicide runs against my ears trying to get through the netting, little mosquitoes landing on the front of the screen trying to get though.... no level of DEET kept them away; for them, I was breakfast, delivered.
Climbing the Beckhorn was... a pain. I compare it to climbing Giant from Chapel Pond, where you can constantly see the top of what you're climbing, but it's not the summit. While I enjoy the sense of "I'm almost there" during the climb, hitting the top of the hill and seeing Dix in the distance looking down on me was disheartening. Regardless, pushing forward was the only thing on my mind. By the time I got to the Beckhorn, I thought I was nearing the top another 3 times and was thrilled when I saw the bare open rock at the top of this ascent. After climbing ontop of that massive rock at the top I figured "This has to be it" only to turn and see something else about the same level as where I was, but to the north. Couldn't have been another 5 min before I was ontop of Dix looking for the medallion. I think it's kinda odd that the summit isn't there blue and yellow trails meet, but actually AFTER the yellow trail, about 200ft up the blue trail. I figured they merged ON the summit, but not in this case.
I sat around for a while, called home to let them know I was OK. Took about 4hrs to get this far, and I had plenty of time. My legs were a bit sore, but I was now on the ridge itself and the remaining trial shouldn't be "too bad" I thought.
I proceeded back towards the Beckhorn and found the cairn to Hough. I gotta say, thats the most one-way trail I've ever been on. I can't even imagine climbing Dix from Hough without some rope and a hook. I knew as soon as I went down the next 300ft, I was fully committed, there was no going back; not like I had planned to, but in the event of an emergency abort I'd have to press forward instead of going back the way I came. The descent was far more dangerous then the ascent up to Hough, which while tiring, wasn't as steep as coming down from Dix. The blowdown was managed reasonably well for an "unmaintained" trail. In a few spots, theres new blowdown after last night, but I would have been more surprised if there hadn't been. Once on the top of Hough, I could have easily walked right past it. Just going down the trail, seeing an outcropping and thinking to myself "this is the tallest thing around" I walked out on it. Looking back at Dix, I saw the yellow disc nailed to a tree to my right. Theres nothing written on it, but it had to be it, its the only marker within a good mile.
Getting down from Hough wasn't nearly as bad as getting down from Dix. The trail wasn't as steep, but it was narrow from older blowdown and some spots for footing were concealed and wet, making for a few scrapes and bumps on my arms and ass. A couple of spots I had to make my own way through the fallen trees and was worried once or twice I got lost in the maze up there. I managed to set my bearings straight and got back on the "trail" and kept moving (every step with the bugs right behind me).
I made it to the campsite in the middle of nowhere and found 3 trails waiting for me. I pulled my compass out and made an observation, the herd paths all go in all 3 directions I would need. The one on the left seemed to point to East Dix, the one right head sorta pointed to South Dix, and the one dead ahead pointed down Lillian Brook. I had originally planned for South Dix, then East Dix (then double back to South and then Macomb if possible, to get back to the car). I set off on the middle trail towards South Dix. While there was blowdown, it was manageable, and I only got turned around once or twice. I don't know what woulda happened if I needed to turn around, because every time I looked back, it was hard to distinguish the trail from a lull in the fallen trees and almost looked like other people tried making their own *small* herd paths. I made an ascent, and felt pretty good about it mentally. I was starting to ache in the legs because I wasn't resting as often/long as I like due to the bugs. So I'm at the top of this hill just shy of South Dix looking around and saying "No way I did it THIS fast after doing Dix and Hough". I had to pull out my camera and look at the pictures I took from Dix to see theres actually this little "fake mountain" in between that I got on top off. So, I went down, and up, then down again, then back up to finally get ontop of South Dix.
I do a ton of driving between work and school, and its just amazing on how ya think you know exactly how far a mile is, until you have to hike it.
Compared to the views from Dix and Hough, it's a good second placer for now. Dix offered excellent panoramas and Hough was more of a "Look west" outcropping. I didn't spend too much time ontop of South Dix, as I was eager to get East Dix done then double back to South Dix and rest for a long-break. The view from the summit wasn't that great either. A lot of grown in areas, and I didn't feel like pushing though the brush to get a shot of anything that I might be able to get from East Dix (or already got when I was on Dix). From the pictures I took on Dix and the map in my bag, the traverse from South to East was going to be pretty simple, almost easy enough to ride a bike on. I figured 30min one way, no problem.Man was I wrong with that guesstimate. Took me almost an hour, one way, to get to East Dix. The view was sooo much better then South Dix, but the elevation change was a shock compared to what I was expecting [I dunno why I thought it'd get easier the further I went]. Coming down from South Dix was nice, just what I expected. A nice slow, steady decline which became mildly steeper. I was NOT expecting the sudden steep climb up to the summit though [again, I dunno why I thought that, but I'll blame it on exhaustion at this point]. It was a hard climb to the top, but the summit was visible in some spots making it easy to judge my distance. The boulders at the top weren't as impressive as the ONE on the Beckhorn, but still respectable, and the open summit for views made it worth the trip. Actually, it was kinda a godsend, cause the wind coming over the summit kept the bugs away from me long enough for me to get a 30min nap in. Kinda chilly, but it beat being eaten alive in the woods.
With that, I drudged back over to South Dix (with the bugs back in pursuit). I realized no matter how long I rested for, my legs were aching to go home. Just looking at Macomb made my legs sore, and I decided that I'd head back down to the col between Hough and South Dix to head home via Lillian Brook then go over Macomb. I've done Macomb before, and really wanted to say I did the whole range in a day, but that would have been pushing my luck beyond reasonable limits. I went down, up, then down again to the campsite, and headed down the herd path. For the first mile or so, it seemed great! It was following my compass bearings exactly at 225 degrees, making a beeline for Elk lake. Then after that, it changed course and leveled out, almost following the official trail parallel. I look back now and realize it was the blowdown that was so high and thick it would have made carving a trail through it almost impossible. I finally came out along side some tiny little creek with 2 boulders on both sides and some 5-rock cairns on, I don't even think I passed a second glance at it earlier in the day.
I slowly made my way back to the trailhead, at this point not caring how deep/muddy the trail was. A nice dearfly kept me company for a good 2 miles before I killed it (I don't think anyone would have objected had they been forced to put up with it for that long)... that was the only time I stopped since coming down until the register. Only 2 other people came up to Elk Lake today, one from North Carolina, and another from right across the river in Scotia.
Hope you all enjoyed the description.... the scratches/bruises/aches/cuts will remind me in the short-term, and the pictures will remind me for the rest of my years.
Comment