Mount Colden
Always special to us, Mount Colden is now even more so. We led my niece and sister-in-law up their first High Peak on this absolutely perfect hiking day.
We were somewhat relaxed in the morning, since we haven’t had trouble getting parking all week. Today would be the same, starting our hike at 9:22 AM.
It was cool in the morning, so we headed out layered up and moving quickly. Kayla and I rock-hopped past Marcy Dam and we made the first three miles in short order before the climbing began.
We set a consistent pace and sooner than we expected were at Lake Arnold. After a brief stop we continued around the lake towards the summit. This portion is usually wet and muddy, but despite the recent brief rains today it was fairly dry. The mud was firm enough to walk straight through without losing shoes.
Kayla set the pace up to the false summit, at which we arrived a few minutes ahead of the others. We took our time picking out all the north-facing peaks and met the rest of the crew for the hike to the top.
From here, the trail crew has been amazing over the past year. New bridging, a fantastic new ladder, and walkways over almost all of the mud pits – simply fantastic work! We noticed the three or four spots marked with flagging which will make this route to Mount Colden even better.
We enjoyed lunch on the summit, only to be pushed off by the cool temperature and brisk wind. The descent was consistent, and we were back at the car in under 8 hours round trip. Kathy and I were incredibly proud — two new aspiring 46ers with Mount Colden as their first ever High Peak. Way to go!