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With the promotion of a friend, and therefore one for myself, I acquired a floating vacation day which was granted for Wednesday. Seeing how great the weather was the past couple days, I knew I had to go hike. I have really tried to vary my hikes by trailhead, so that you never get so that you are becoming too familiar and there is always something new. This time I took a leap of faith from the Loj and headed toward Marcy dam for the first time.
Up at 3:30 a.m. and in the car by 4 took just under four hours from Cicero(northern suburb of Syracuse) to Placid. I like 8 a.m. starts, but later I would change my mind. Having seen many pictures and reports from the area and surrounding mountains, I had a good idea of what I was getting into. I was also very excited to see many new areas, as I had never been past the Algonquin junction so the majority of the trip would be very new to me. First three miles to the Phelps junction was a breeze, but the ascent of Phelps was moderate in my opinion. Stunning vantage points and great weather definetily puts this one up there for great peaks.
Going down easier than going up, and had a nice stroll with a Virginian who was on his way to Marcy to claim his 20th high point. We parted at the Tabletop junction, and the ascent was also moderate in my opinion. Much thicker brush pulling at you most of the way up, but still a very fun mountain to hike. Summit views not as good as Phelps but the journey to get there was worth it, and and after you think you are on top you follow a herd path for five minutes and find the sign. Back down and onto Indian Falls to gaze at my favorite mountain Algonquin took no time at all. But this is where the day started to get tough.
I knew throwing Colden onto this loop would be a challenge, but I really felt it would be a good test to see if I can keep up with Jim (JKC1222)
. It was around one and I had plenty of food, water would hold up until I got off Colden, and I felt just fine. So off I went and made my way up Colden past Lake Arnold and just really enjoyed the day and ran into a solo hiker and a father/son that were all really nice. Topping off Colden at 4 pm, ate a little and started down when my body told me how it really felt. That descent took forever, and I do not think I would ever go up or down from Lake Colden ever again. Hearing people swimming in the lake while I was in agony was hard to stomach. On the bright side I filtered and it was great to have plenty of water to make it out with, but daylight was fading.
Avy pass was a very nice hike and probably would have been even better if had had not been so whipped. Ended up walking out the last 3 1/2 miles in pitch black, and for those of you that don't have a Petzl headlamp, I HIGHLY recommend one. Mine worked great and I never missed a single step. All in all a wonderful day/night, and would do it over again if not for the Colden descent. If anyone has actual mileage and ascent/descent figues or a reliable source to get them from it would be appreciated.
Up at 3:30 a.m. and in the car by 4 took just under four hours from Cicero(northern suburb of Syracuse) to Placid. I like 8 a.m. starts, but later I would change my mind. Having seen many pictures and reports from the area and surrounding mountains, I had a good idea of what I was getting into. I was also very excited to see many new areas, as I had never been past the Algonquin junction so the majority of the trip would be very new to me. First three miles to the Phelps junction was a breeze, but the ascent of Phelps was moderate in my opinion. Stunning vantage points and great weather definetily puts this one up there for great peaks.
Going down easier than going up, and had a nice stroll with a Virginian who was on his way to Marcy to claim his 20th high point. We parted at the Tabletop junction, and the ascent was also moderate in my opinion. Much thicker brush pulling at you most of the way up, but still a very fun mountain to hike. Summit views not as good as Phelps but the journey to get there was worth it, and and after you think you are on top you follow a herd path for five minutes and find the sign. Back down and onto Indian Falls to gaze at my favorite mountain Algonquin took no time at all. But this is where the day started to get tough.
I knew throwing Colden onto this loop would be a challenge, but I really felt it would be a good test to see if I can keep up with Jim (JKC1222)
. It was around one and I had plenty of food, water would hold up until I got off Colden, and I felt just fine. So off I went and made my way up Colden past Lake Arnold and just really enjoyed the day and ran into a solo hiker and a father/son that were all really nice. Topping off Colden at 4 pm, ate a little and started down when my body told me how it really felt. That descent took forever, and I do not think I would ever go up or down from Lake Colden ever again. Hearing people swimming in the lake while I was in agony was hard to stomach. On the bright side I filtered and it was great to have plenty of water to make it out with, but daylight was fading.Avy pass was a very nice hike and probably would have been even better if had had not been so whipped. Ended up walking out the last 3 1/2 miles in pitch black, and for those of you that don't have a Petzl headlamp, I HIGHLY recommend one. Mine worked great and I never missed a single step. All in all a wonderful day/night, and would do it over again if not for the Colden descent. If anyone has actual mileage and ascent/descent figues or a reliable source to get them from it would be appreciated.