Hough, S. Dix, Grace, Macomb, Giant & Rocky Peak Ridge
The six-hour drive home after hiking in the Adirondacks is sometimes harder than the hike itself. Not this hike.
Sean Carpenter – Photographs and Work
Personal Photography and Work
The six-hour drive home after hiking in the Adirondacks is sometimes harder than the hike itself. Not this hike.
I had recently hiked the three Santanoni mountains in June, at the time remarking on how wet it was. Earlier this month, the drought had dried up even the wettest of trails; the thunderstorms that preceded this hike brought them back to their soaked and muddy glory. The lead-in trail to Bradley Pond was, unimaginably, even wetter than in June.
Cascade (without Porter) was our first High Peak back in 2009. Like this day, it was hot and humid. Unlike this day, it felt impossible!
After a successful hike to Big Slide and with continuing cool temperatures and sunshine, I had hoped to take Kathy on a more wintry hike. We packed the snowshoes, hoped for a white fluffy trail and headed up two of the lower Great Range, Armstrong and Upper WolfJaw Mountains.
Joe was great to hike with, just as I’d assumed, the route was as interesting as I’d imagined, and I did better than both he and I expected. For five consecutive days of hiking, accumulating 87 miles and 27,000 vertical feet, I couldn’t have asked for a better day.
On climbing Gray Peak, I have now officially climbed all 46 Adirondack High Peaks twice. This beautiful, warm, frustrating, wonderful day was a perfect way to accomplish it.
The re-routed trail to TableTop sits very nearly at the top of Indian Falls, which I knew crossed over to Mount Colden…so I decided to keep going.
I met a new friend and breakfast and convinced him to hike Street & Nye, mainly due to the cool weather being the last good chance for a bit before the El Niño warms things up.
This hike was gigantic. 27 miles — more than a full marathon. Way more than 6,000 vertical feet gained. Four summits. Just under 14 hours.
There are perfect days for hiking. This, unfortunately, was not one of them. In fact, it was the opposite of a perfect day for hiking.
Cascade was our first high peak, way back in 2009. Back then, the three quarters of a mile to Porter might as well have been a million; we were exhausted within a mile of the car.
God made me a glorious Adirondack day, with four summits and nearly 20 miles of wonderful winter hiking.
4,340-foot Allen Mountain is one of the more rued hikes for aspiring 46ers. It sits to the south of most of the other High Peaks, isolated from all the other trailheads. The start of the hike, shared with the über-cool Mount Adams and its restored fire tower, is a whopping 9 miles (one way!) from the summit.
In finishing the Adirondack 46 High Peaks a second time, I had a few of the more remote peaks to tackle. I had considered attempting Allen Mountain instead, but the planning (read: breakfast in Keene Valley) dictated this pair instead.