Got up and going from Syracuse at 4am east towards Albany and cut across to hit the Northway to Keene. Parked at Roaring Brook lot across the street from south entrance raod to Ausable Club. It was my first time on those grounds; what a nice little club. Hit the trail at 8am. All the trails except bypass trail are marked off of the lake road, but being that it's the last one and past the Gill Brook Trail I figured it was it. Nice easy gentle hiking for the first mile and a half or so, and then began steady rise. Last mile to the summit seemed like two with what could only be descibed as false summits. It just always felt and looked like you could not get any higher. Nice summit with two outlooks (one on the way to Blake, where you can see Blake), but it was VERY hazy and it never really burned off. Small thunderstorm chased me down into the col, and then hiked up Blake with the many rock slabs that made it a little slow. Definetely took my time knowing that I was the only one on the trail and help would not be coming for some time if things went bad.
Stated getting a little weak come back from Blake and had left my pack on Colvin for a more speedy trip to Blake and back. Could have really used some Gu or water to get my slow butt moving but once I rested again on Colvin I got down in a little over an hour to the lake road. That is the not so fun part, hiking back out on gravel...but a great hike overall and what a closeup of the Range. Can't wait for Sawteeth where it looks like you could reach out and touch the Range. About nine hours roundtrip with total of and hour of downtime on summits and waiting for storm to pass in the col. On a side note, I would highly recommend taking a swim in Chapel Pond after hiking in the area. Very cool and refreshing and gets all the mud off of you!
Stated getting a little weak come back from Blake and had left my pack on Colvin for a more speedy trip to Blake and back. Could have really used some Gu or water to get my slow butt moving but once I rested again on Colvin I got down in a little over an hour to the lake road. That is the not so fun part, hiking back out on gravel...but a great hike overall and what a closeup of the Range. Can't wait for Sawteeth where it looks like you could reach out and touch the Range. About nine hours roundtrip with total of and hour of downtime on summits and waiting for storm to pass in the col. On a side note, I would highly recommend taking a swim in Chapel Pond after hiking in the area. Very cool and refreshing and gets all the mud off of you!
Comment