Bad Blogger, Bad blogger

that's me! I have neglected my poor little blog. Oh well, the earth is still spinning in its proper axis, so no harm no foul.

Here is a short re-cap of hikes since mid-August:

8-13-09 #32-34 Ha-Ba-Sa Loop 18.7 miles
8-21-09 #35 Mount Marshall 14 miles
9-5/6-09 #36-39Skylight/Gray/Cliff/Redfield 22 miles
9-19-09 #40 Whiteface 8 miles
10-17-09 #41,42 Donaldson/Emmons 15 miles
10-22-09 #43 Allen 16-19 miles
10-26-09 #44 Seward 15 miles
11-4-09 # 45 Seymour 14 miles

Pheeeeeeeeeeew. That's alot of hiking! I hope to finish up this Saturday on the 14th on Esther! I can't wait!! After that, I guess I'll have to start working on my Winter 46! Not sure if I'll be able to complete them all, but I'll do my darndest!

Now, where was I.....

When I last blogged, I had just returned from High Peaks #30 and 31---Sawteeth and Gothics. Holy Canoli---I've done 8 since then!

**Part 2 of a 3 part post....I just realized I'm getting ahead of myself so I'll have to edit & add to this later....

In a nutshell, Brian, Pam and I hiked to Mount Marshall on Aug 21 in lieu of an overnight camping trip to Cliff and Redfield. There was a 70% chance of rain that weekend and if you hike with me, you can double that percentage. Safe to say, there would have been a 140% chance of rain. Not fun. Anyhoo, we decided to make Marshall a day hike and if we got wet, we knew we could go home and take a hot shower and not spend the night shivering in a tent in the middle of the Adirondacks.

We kept a steady pace all the way in---made it to the Henderson Monument. This monument was erected in 1854 to honor David Henderson, a key player in the early mining days in the Adirondacks. It sits near the edge of a pond and more often than not, is partially submerged.

We took a slight detour near Flowed Lands and happened to find some Sun Dew, a Venus Fly Trap type of plant.

After getting back on the trail, we reached the rock cairn and headed to summit, approximately 1.5 miles away. This trail was very different from the others. It was very green, ferny, and lush. I half expected a hobbit or troll to jump out at us. The trail meandered in and out of Herbert Brook--that was neat, but I prefer dirt and rocks to slippery moss-covered brook beds. Of course it rained...we were semi-wet when we stopped for lunch about .5 of a mile below the summit.

We made to the summit, none the worse for wear...attended to some warbrobe issues, tylenol and knee brace issues and potty break issues. So here I am in my dorky doo-rag trying to keep the wet hair out of my eyes. # 35 for me...woohoo!

Now, where was I.....Part 1

The Haystack-Basin-Saddleback Loop was the hike du jour on Aug 13th. We met up Chip and Siobhan at the Garden and hit the trail at 4:45am...good thing I brought my head lamp. I needed all 3 Peaks, so I knew it would be a long day...14.5 hours to be precise.

We enjoyed a nice little hike to JBL, saw a few deeer and kept moving on. We passed the Bushnell Lean-tos, Slant Rock and a gazillion tent campers along the way. It really felt good to be awake and outside. By 9:30(ish)am, we were at this sign and only half a mile from our first peak of the day.

There she (or he) is...Mt. Haystack, the 3rd highest of the High Peaks, elevation 4,960 ft. Unfortunately, to reach Haystack, you have to go up and over Little Haystack...which by the way is not little and does not resemble a haystack. It's rocky and the backside facing "Big" Haystack is steep.

See, I told you...looks like fun, huh?

We're getting closer...

Ok, now we're there! Look at those clouds and blue sky! It was very warm on the summit and windy. My feet hurt so I decided to adjust my $60 inserts which was basically a waste of time. We enjoyed a good 20 minute break. It was my choice to continue on or head back to the car. I chose to forge ahead b/c I didn't want to have to make another trip out here.

The gang--Brian, Me, Siobhan, Chip


After descending Haystack, we pushed on to Basin. It wasn't too bad---there was a ladder (below) and several steep slabs, most of which were wet. Why? Because it had just rained. Did you forget I was on this hike, LOL?!

By the time we reached the summit of Basin, elevation 4,827ft., we were in the clouds. No worry, I was just glad that I made it in one piece. Woohoo #33! That's Wally by the way. He and another guy had just come from Saddleback, our next summit. Wally looked to be in his mid-to-late 60's or early 70's. Rock on Wally! There's hope for me, LOL!

I tried to eat my PB&J but the smell of Brian's salmon was making me gag. Accccck. I could only choke back some crunchy cheetos and a swig of gatorade. The hike down Basin was steep in spots. By the time we reached the col, it was raining and we heard thunder. And boy, did I get dirty looks!!! I'll take responsibility for the rain, but not the thunder!z

Alrighty, onward to the cliffs on Saddleback. Yikes! WTH have I gotten myself into...seriously? I don't know what else to say except holy crap! There is a faint trail up the middle where the trees are and the rest is on the cliffy sections...just follow the blaze marks. Big girl panties don't fail me now.

Not a hike for weenies or the faint-hearted...

Brian said "don't look down"

Look Ma, no nets!

Siobhan giving me a push

Yes, it was that steep!

I can't even put into words what was going through my head at this moment...

I'm glad you find this amusing!

The summit is up here somewhere

Nope, not yet....

Ok, now we're on the summit of Saddleback, elevation 4,515ft and I'm holding back some serious tears. That was the scariest thing I have ever done. Ever. It was complicated by the fact that it was raining.

Me and Brian---woohoo # 34 for me!

About 10 minutes after summiting, we were headed down the Range Trail and don't ya know, it started to pour..and I mean POUR. The rain drops were HUGE! Nothing like a good soak. After a few minutes, it slowed down we were on our way again. We took the Ore-Bed Trail back down to JBL--where I removed the insert from my left boot. On the way to the Garden, I stopped again at the Deer Run lean-to and removed the right insert. Ok, the boots inserts went back to the Merrell Outlet the next day.

Great hike---18.7 miles round trip and 14.5 hours :)

Sawteeth & Gothics

Could it be true....another gorgeous day for a hike and NO RAIN! I'm stunned...actually I'm shocked! We invited "Posthole Pam" to join us--we haven't hiked with her since the Dix Range Hike (the 16 mile/16 hour hike). Hmmm, do you think she was mad at us? Our neighbor Dom "da Bomb" also tagged along. He hiked a High Peak a few weeks ago and was interested in doing some more.

We left the St. Hubert's parking area a little after 7am--we ended up in the overflow lot b/c the main lot was already full! We had a nice leisurely walk to the trail register. The AMR guard-ranger type person asked us what our plans were and said we would enjoy terrific views. Boy, the High Peaks were hopping that day---there were tons of people out all doing the same thing!

Anyhoo, we had to walk about the entire Lake Road up to the dam...somewhere around 4 miles. Dom wasn't even breaking a sweat! Brian wanted to be sure we saw Indian Head, Rainbow Falls, and Beaver Meadow Falls...check, check, double check!

At the dam--Lower Ausable Lake in the background

Eye level view of the Lake

I finally got a decent view of Indian Head!

Rainbow Falls---tucked away in a little gorge



Rainbow Falls viewed from above

I kept a slow pace, slower than normal that is--for some reason I couldn't find my groove. Oh well. I was sure I would "find" it at some point. I usually get my second wind later in the day. We finally got to the junction---fortunately only half a mile to go to Sawteeth!

Here's Dom giving Pam a helping hand on one of the scrambles as we neared the summit.



Yay! We made it! Let's eat!

The view of Gothics from Sawteeth--looks scary! Hell, Sawteeth looked scary too! Those two names aren't very inviting or friendly-sounding like Cascade and Porter.

High Peak #30 for me!

Me, pointing out that we are ONLY 6.1 miles from the truck. There was another group that came up from the Scenic Trail...we were already done with lunch so we packed up and down so they could enjoy the summit.

On to Pyramid and then Gothics! It was only 1 mile from the junction to the summit of Gothics, but that is one hell-of-a-mile! We had to go over Pyramid, a steep sub-peak.

The views were fantastic as expected. I took the opportunity to clean dirt from under my finger nails---I don't like dirty nails, LOL! We were only .3 of a mile from the summit and could see hikers going up the trail. It looked intimidating from where we were...

Here's Dom taking some photos

We headed over to Gothics after our rest on Pyramid. I think it only took about 15 minutes to get over there. It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. We stopped and chatted with a group very close to the actual summit. You could see for miles and miles! It was pretty neat---just about a 360 degree view--we saw the roof top of Johns Brook Lodge, the beach house on Lower Ausable Lake and of course several of the High Peaks.

Brian and I on the summit of Gothics, # 31 for me!

Pyramid from Gothics

Pam, me and Dom on the right, standing right over the survey bolt.

Time to move on...we started down the trail to the col between Gothics and Armstrong. It didn't take very long to get down, but there were several slabs us short-legged people had to navigate carefully. When we reached the col, Dom realized it was only half a mile to Armstrong and asked if we could go up. Brian said I could find a shady spot and rest if I wanted. What!!?? I already did Armstrong in May so I really didn't need to do it again. However, I did not want to be outdone by a 17 yr old!! Whippersnapper!! Geez, I'm not that out of breath! The scoot up to Armstrong wasn't that bad and seemed to go by quicker this time. Hurray for Pam and Dom--they came thinking they would summit 2 High Peaks and ended up with 3!

Brian and I on Armstrong---with better views this time. Dom was interested in going on to Upper Wolfjaw, but I gave him the evil eye, LOL, Ok, I was getting tired by this point.

Dom going up one of the ladders

and Pam going up the same one

The hike down the Weld Trail was uneventful, although Pam's knee was acting up and my left hip was doing the same. Dom got poked in the eye by a branch. Pam and Dom got to see Beaver Meadow Falls. It wasn't running like it was in May, but it's still pretty and you could feel the "coolness". We made it back to the Lake Road and stopped at the smaller dam to see the fish.

Not a bad day--total of 14.1 miles in about 12 hours. Pam brought some homemade Maple Syrup Pumpkin Cheesecake for the ride home...mmmmm, it was very tasty! Thanks Pam!

The curse is broken...I think

What curse you ask? The curse that it must rain everytime I hike. It was brought to my attention a few months ago that whenever I have hiked with a group, it has rained. I wish it wasn't true, but it is. I checked my hiking log-book and sure enough, almost every hike since May, it has rained. At least it wasn't the beginning of each hike, it was usually on the way out.

Anyhoo, Brian and I decided to take advantage of a forecasted "dry" day and hike to Iroquois on Thursday. In order to summit, Iroquois, we had to hike up to Algonquin, down the other side, up&over Boundary Peak, down again and then up Iroquois...and then do all that in reverse.

We started from the HPIC around 8:10am and made good time to the junction. We were going to stop at the falls below for a snack, but stopped about 15 minutes before reaching it. The terrain was very different this time around. The last time I was on this trail was in January when I did Wright with Brian and Pete. Summer hiking definitely takes a toll on the knees and hips with all that rock hopping! I remembered some of the landmarks like the falls, the brown sign with the yellow arrow pointing right, passing the camp site on the left side of the trail and the ledges on the right side. Other than that, it was like a brand new hike.

Photo op at the falls--in the winter, this entire area was filled in with snow and ice.

This is an example of ATIS work---maintaining and improving trails to avoid erosion. Wouldn't it be nice if all the trails were like this all the way to the top?! Unfortunately, they are not.

The trails are more like this...

and this...

and very often, like this.

Lots of slabs on this trail!


Did I mention this trail was very rocky?

This was a section of the trail after the junction for Wright Peak. And yes, it was that steep.

Sub-alpine flower--the sandwort

On the summit of Algonquin for the second time! We were not the first ones to summit, maybe the third group that day. We said "hi" to the summit steward and looked for a spot to sit that was out of the wind.

Lake Colden and the Flowed Lands

Enjoying lunch behind a rock--sporting my Dollar Store sunglasses because I lost my favorite pair on the Dix Range hike.

One last look at our dry boots!

Gentian, another alpine flower

Brian with Mt. Colden in the background

Summer hiking vs Winter hiking

Headed down Algonquin to Boundary. We should have known that the rain the night before would not let us get away so easy. There were several muddy sections on the way over to Iroquois, so much so that I felt the need to name the larger puddles--Boundary Bath & Body Works, Lower Lake Iroquois and Upper Lake Iroquois...ok, I guess you had to be there, LOL. There was one really wide puddle that was a good 12 to 14 inches deep! Could have been deeper than that, but I didn't want to find out.

Forgot the name of this...will have to edit

Another scramble going up Iroquois...not nearly as bad as the one right below the summit....having flashbacks to the Colvin hike.

Mission accomplished---On the summit of Iroquois! I had a little snack and changed socks while Brian went to take pictures of Shepard's Tooth. We left shortly after that so we could beat the crowds on the way out. I think we made it back to Algonquin by 2:30ish. The summit was pretty crowded at this point.

Brian at one of the cairns on Boundary. Poor guy--he is officially a "redneck". We forgot to bring sunscreen so he ended up with a nice little sunburn on his neck.

Wallface Mountain from Algonquin

Mount Marcy---been there, done that, will probably do it again!

A wood wasp perhaps...Brian spotted this on the way back to Boundary. I had just stepped over it and some roots when he noticed it. He thought it looked like some sort of wasp and wanted to take a picture of it. Good luck with that. I'll be up ahead about 500 feet.

Headed down Algonquin---we passed so many people as they were going up.

Lake Placid in the distance

Heart Lake

Not a bad day at all in the Adirondacks! We hiked a total of 10.2 miles in 8.5 hours and worked up one heck of a sweat. Oh boy, did we stink when we got back to the truck! We got a snack at the HPIC and headed home. We ended up stopping in Keene Valley to eat at the Noonmark Diner. I wasn't sure if they would serve smelly hikers, but they do!