Colvin, Blake, Nippletop & Dial (Winter)
God made me a glorious Adirondack day, with four summits and nearly 20 miles of wonderful winter hiking.
Allen Mountain (Winter)
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.
Cliff & Redfield (Winter)
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.
Esther & Whiteface (Winter)
After doing about 11 miles the day before, and having a 6-hour ride home afterwards, the close combo of Whiteface and Esther fit my plan perfectly. I started from the Atmospheric Science Research Center, which sits at the base of the old ski lift on Marble Mountain.
Iroquois, Algonquin & Wright Peaks (Winter)
Conditions were perfect for hiking, with hard-packed snow almost the entire length of the hike. There was enough snow along the entire route to smooth out the innumerable boulders, rocks, and roots which are a hallmark of this trail.
2015 By The Numbers
As I flip the calendar to 2016, I took the time to look back at how I did hiking in the Adirondacks in 2015.
Giant & Rocky Peak Ridge (Winter)
The snowy summit of Giant Mountain at 8:15 AM was completely clouded in, but the wind was low making it beautifully quiet. I snapped a couple photos and quickly turned back to head towards Rocky Peak Ridge, hoping for it’s wonderful views.
Santanoni, Panther and Couchsachraga Peaks (Winter)
I would ascend via the “Express” trail directly to Santanoni Peak, then descend all the way to Couchsachraga, and hit Panther Peak on the way out via Bradley Pond. Looping this way makes the total hike about 15 miles with 5,000 vertical feet of climbing.
Porter Mountain and Little Porter Mountain
After climbing Porter Mountain via Little Porter (and Blueberry Mt.) this summer solo, I wanted to bring Kathy along this interesting and scenic route.
Nippletop Via Elk Pass (and Dial Mountain)
We enjoyed an unusually comfortable hike up the icy Elk Pass to Nippletop for our December Adirondack weekend.
Tabletop, Marcy, and Phelps
Upon finishing this 18.5-mile, 5,400-vertical foot hike, I reflected that these three mountains are really just hiked together by peakbaggers.
Street Mountain & Nye Mountain
It helps that the weather was perfect, and that it’s been a dry summer so mud and water were eminently avoidable. But it’s also a lovely and wild forest, you just have to look 10 feet off the trail to see it.
Mount Colden and Mount Marshall
With autumnal weather finally arriving, I jumped on an opportunity for one more Adirondack hike. Keeping with this year’s theme, I carved out a plan to hike two new trails, alternative approaches to Mounts Colden and Marshall.
Gothics, Sawteeth, and Mount Haystack
My plan was ambitious, so I stayed overnight at the interior Johns Brook Lodge (JBL), cutting 7 miles round trip to and from the car. Seeing no morning rain, I started on a loop over Gothics and Sawteeth to Haystack via the Warden’s Camp.