Whiteface Mountain, October 17, 2025, McKenzie Mountain Wilderness, Adirondack Park

First light and waning crescent moon from Marble Mountain overlook

Everyone knows the rules for High Peaks hiking. Make sure to pack your "Essential Ten." Leave your planned route and ETA with someone back home. Always maintain three points of contact on ladders. Bury human waste in a hole six to eight inches deep, off the trail, and away from water sources. Today, I came up with a new one. Never watch a musical-turned-motion picture the night before a solo 46er hike. I did just that before a recent hike up Whiteface Mountain and couldn't shake Gee Officer Krupke, America, and other catchy tunes from West Side Story the entire six-hour-long morning on the trail. Particularly embarrassing, on the descent, was when a hiking party rounded a bend to catch my vocalization of the most earworm West Side Story song of all -- I Feel Pretty. Oh well, Muhammad Ali wasn't afraid to say it.

Approach to Whiteface summit buildings

Mount Whiteface looms large over the towns of Wilmington and Jay, our go-to base of operations whenever we visit the Adirondacks. You can see Whiteface from the pond loop hike in the cabin subdivision where we often stay. You can see it from two of our favorite hikes in the area, the Bluffs at Silver Lake and Cobble Lookout. And it is the prominent landmark in views from Catamount, Clark Mountain, Silver Lake Mountain Jay Mountain and other lower elevation peak hikes in the Wilmington/Jay region. Yet in all these years of hiking in this part of the Adirondacks, I still had never visited its summit... despite having already hiked up to its nearby sister peak, Mount Esther.

View to the Northeast from Whiteface 

So, on the last day of a recent weeklong stay in Jay, I decided to use the blue bird weather forecast of sunny skies, light wind, and cold, yet still comfortable, autumn temps to finally visit Whiteface. I set off on the Marble Mountain Trail from the ASRC at 6 a.m. sharp, choosing this route because I wanted to get to the mountain's overlook point with plenty of time to watch the sun come up. It only took about 30 minutes to navigate the straight but steep scree-covered route up to the overlook with a headlamp. I then camped out for 45 minutes or so to watch the pitch black of night turn to first light and, eventually, a beautiful sunrise. It was neat.

Rockwell Kent-ing it on Whiteface pinnacle

Once on the Wilmington Trail, it is a fairly straightforward climb covering a lot of elevation over a short distance, kind of like Giant Mountain in the ADK and many of the 4,000 footers of the White Mountains. I was glad to do this hike a few days after the memorial highway had closed for the season since I was the first hiker to the top and had the entire summit all to myself to admire the 360 degree panorama and explore the eerily quiet buildings. A week earlier and I am sure that the place would have been mobbed. I didn't start encountering other hikers until I was about 1/3 of the way back down the mountain, but all of them were amiable, chatty folks clearly enjoying a beautiful day out so I didn't much mind. I was quite content that I had plenty of alone time on an otherwise ever-busy peak.

Oh, I almost forgot. Mount Whiteface makes it 46/46 ADK High Peaks hiked.

And there was much rejoicing. Yaaaay.

Peak: Whiteface Mountain
Elevation: 4,867 feet (Gain: 3,254 feet)
Distance: 7.55 miles
Route: Out and back, Marble Mountain Trail to Wilmington Trail 
Conditions: Sunny, 30 degrees F

Couchsachraga, Panther, and Santanoni Peaks, October 12, 2025, Western High Peaks, Adirondack Park

Amazing High Peaks panorama from Santanoni... view to the east of Algonquin, Iroquois, Colden and its slides, Marcy, Skylight, Haystack, Allen, Nippletop, etc., Henderson Mountain in foreground and Mt. Adams mid-distance on right

For a couple of reasons, I'd always planned to do the three 46ers in the Santanoni Range as multiple trips. For one, I knew that the trifecta was going to be a really tough hike with long mileage, high elevation gain, numerous ups and downs, difficult terrain, and a lenghy out and back to an extremely remote peak on the other side of a false summit and notoriously difficult-to-cross boggy area. Breaking it up into several comparatively-easier hikes seemed to make more sense. Another reason was more philosophical than physical. Seemingly out of nowhere, I found myself at a point only 4 peaks away from having hiked all 46 High Peaks of the ADK. Some people rush to finish the list. I didn't want it to end. Turning the Santanonis into several hikes would allow the fun to live on. 

First views of the day at the precipice above Bradley Pond

When the day that I set aside to explore the range finally came, however, the conditions were so perfect that I decided I was ready for a big day and set out to visit all three as a single hike. Since the trail head in Tahawus was 1 1/2 hours away, one way, I got up at 4 a.m. in order to make it there by 6:30 and was geared up and on the trail to Bradley Pond at 6:45 sharp. I only needed headlamp and bear bell for about 15 minutes until sunrise. It was great to have the early morning trail to myself all the way to the pond.

"Times Square" base camp for the day

On the other side of Bradley Pond, the herd path along Panther Brook rises steeply to a first view of the day overlooking the valley and the pond down below. Here, I overtook a pair of friendly hikers who had started at 6 a.m. and were doing all three peaks as well. I was surprised to see them at this location as most hikers tend to do Santanoni first via the Express. Instead, my plan called for a counter clockwise route. I wanted to get the long slog of Couchsachraga out of the way first. The psychological boost of still having a couple of peaks with nice views as motivation, I reasoned, would help me on the long, two-hour out-and-back to a lower, wooded, and less interesting peak. 

Yes, there is a view from Couchie!

So that's what I did. Once at the height of land at the top of the Panther Brook herd path, I stowed my heavy pack at Times Square - the unofficial name of the trail nexus - and began the trek to Couchsachraga with just a  summit bag. I knew that it would be long, but this descent goes on and on and on and on. Then it goes up, then down over a false summit before finally dropping steeply to the infamous bog. At this point, I encountered a pair of hikers pushing out of the woods to the right (north) of the bog and they informed me that this was the best way to go. Indeed, following a faint bushwhack through the saplings here allows for the complete circumnavigation of the dreaded bog. Glad to have avoided the wet work, I started climbing again and finally made it up to Couchsachraga. People always complain that it is a waste of a hike because the peak offers no views. That's true, to a point. The summit proper is just a small wooded clearing. But there is actually a very nice overlook with a wide view back to Santanoni just to the east of the summit. After tagging the sign, I backtracked to this point and stopped here to admire those very views. 

Views from Panther Peak to Santanoni (left) and to Couchsachraga and its false summit (right)

It was on the long return from Couchsachraga to Times Square that I encountered the bulk of the hikers who I would see that day, about ten or so, who had all started after me and done Santanoni first. This was promising, I thought, because it would mean that I would probably have Santa all to myself later in the day. I hit Panther next, which involved backtracking the way I had come in, but I stuck with the summit bag and that made for a quick and easy up and back. The views on Panther are great. It was neat to look down on Couchsachraga and its false summit knowing that I had already done them. Phew! The view to Santanoni, the biggest of these three peaks, is spectacular as well, and for me was also a little daunting knowing that I was heading there next. I chatted with two solo hikers hanging out on the summit and then moved out for the last climb of the day.

Fresh socks as a reward for the climb to Santanoni, view to Panther Peak

As I had hoped, I did get to have Santanoni Peak all to myself. After visiting the summit proper, I returned to a small clearing with a vantage point back to Panther and took a long break to rest, eat, drink and change socks - my go-to late-day psychological boost to close out the last miles of a long hike in the ADK. Everybody raves about the view from the open slabs on Panther, but the best views are to be had on Santanoni. Looking east from one of the overlooks, a full High Peaks panorama unfolds before you... easily one of the very best vista points of all the 46ers. It took a while but eventually I got around to starting my descent on the Santa Express. It was rough, but pretty straightforward technically until I got to the top of the so-called "Hillary Step," a super steep, forty-foot-tall open rock slab. When ascending this trail, I found out later, there is a clearly discernable reroute which bypasses the slab itself. But I entirely missed this option on the descent and had to take a few minutes to contemplate the safest route down. I ended up just tossing my poles and pack off the ledge and climbing down the center of the slab using the cracks and fissures as hand holds. Channeling the inner Alex Honnold? Not.

Looking back up the Hillary Step on the Santa Express

Once off the Express, the Bradley Pond Trail seemed to go on forever but I finally made it back to the parking area around 4 p.m. for a total trail time of about 9 1/2 hours. I had scraped shins, cut hands, bruised shoulder, ripped pants, saturated boots, and aching legs. All in all, doing all three peaks in the Santanoni Range as a day hike lived up to my expectations as a real beast.

Should have split 'em up.

Peaks: Couchsachraga Peak, Panther Peak, and Santanoni Peak
Elevation: 3,820 feet, 4,442 feet, 4,026 feet, 4,607 feet (Gain: 4,707 feet)
Distance: 15.1 miles roundtrip
Route: Loop, Bradley Pond Trail to Panther Brook herd path, to Times Square, to Couchsachraga herd path, back to Times Square, to Panther Peak herd path, back to Times Square, to Santanoni herd path to Santanoni Express, to Bradley Pond Trail
Conditions: Mostly sunny, 35 degrees F
Notable Flora/Fauna: Nothing of note in the so-called "dismal wilderness"

Allen Mountain, September 20, 2025, High Peaks Wilderness, Adirondack Park

Misty dawn on Lake Sally

Although I didn't plan on it until the last minute, I decided to do the super long hike to Allen Mountain based on the fact that the region had not seen much rain in the past few months and the forecast called for perfect autumn hiking conditions. I anticipated that the Opalescent River would be low enough to rock hop when it often runs so high that hikers need to lug Tevas or other water shoes and actually wade across. The trail to Allen Mountain is muddy, like all ADK High Peaks, so I figured on less mud due to the lack or rain. More importantly, I expected that the dreaded "red slime" on the rocky slabs up Allen migbt be slightly dried up, making that notoriously tough ascent a little bit easier. All of these elements of the hike that I had anticpated turned out to be true. The one thing that I didn't anticipate was having a hiking partner for almost all of the long, 11-hour, 18-mile day.

Frosty morning and autumn colors on East River Trail

I never hike the High Peaks on Saturdays due to the trail traffic, but figured that I could make an exception on a challenging and remote peak like Allen since it is much less popular than almost any other High Peak. I still made sure to head out early and got one of the last spots in the East River Trail parking lot at around 5:45 a.m., well before sunrise. Several hiking parties looked to be waiting for first light to start out, but I put on my headlamp and hit the trail in the pitch black of pre-dawn at 6 a.m. sharp. The first part of the trail is flat and easy but you still need to watch carefully for rocks and roots. Head down with the light on the trail, I didn't see much of anything until reaching the shore of Lake Sally and took a few minutes to watch the mist rising above it by the dawn's early light. It was a peaceful, pleasant site.

In the middle of the low flow Opalescent River

About 2 hours in, after the expected super-easy crossing of the dried up Opalescent River, I caught up to a hiker and greeted him with a comment of starting out in a headlamp. John was a friendly, gregarious fellow and we chatted for a few minutes before he hit the trail again. I needed to fix my boots and take a water break, but sure enough I caught up with him again about 20 minutes later. This time, he invited me to hike with him. What the hell, I thought. Allen is a long, grueling slog of a hike and it might be a nice change of pace to join a fellow hiker for a while. I figured that maybe we'd hike together for a few hours and then I'd break off and have my alone time later in the day. But in the end we spent the next 9 hours on the trail together. Good times.

John ascending the slabs, view west to Mt. Adams and the Santanoni Range

Eventually, the East River Trail heads north towards the Great Range and one must find and turn due east on the unmaintained herd path to Allen. There's no sign, but if you've done your homework it is easy enough to locate. The herd path continues on the flat for a while, then drops down in elevation slightly before the ascent begins as a comfortable incline through pleasant woods followed by steep climbing after the Allen Brook waterfall. Here one finds the dreaded red slime slabs for which Allen is known, and often reviled. There were definitely some hidden slime patches and I slipped and scraped my knee when socializing and therefore not paying close enough attention, lamenting that such a thing never happened to me when hiking solo. But the red slime was not that bad and the slabs were very dry and easy to cross. At one point, the trail becomes unclear and the ideal route is to hug the treeline to the left. We followed another hiker to the right and found ourselves needing to traverse the slab in a very precarious spot with a steep drop at our backs. We made it, but John's comment "I don't feel good about this," spoken while we traversed the slab, became the hilarious catch phrase of the day.

View to Marcy, Skylight, Haystack and Little Haystack from Allen east lookout

At the summit, we encounted a small group of 10 or so hikers strewn out at the summit sign and various lookout points. It was a very nice bunch of friendly, talkative folks and we took a quick lunch break together and conversed about our High Peak adventures. With blue skies, comfortable temps and no wind up top, I would have normally spent more time at the summit but my hiking buddy was rearing to go again in no time. This could have been my out to finish the day alone, but I was enjoying the companionship and we set out together to make a careful descent of the slabs and the long return to the parking lot, arriving back at the trail head at 5 p.m. All in all, Allen was a fun but grueling, 11 hour day covering 18+ miles. As we signed out at the trail register, John reminded me that this was his second trip up Allen, a peak that many 46ers lament as one of their least favorites but that he liked so much he wanted to pay another visit.

You know what? I would do it again, too.

Peak: Allen Mountain
Elevation: 4,340 feet (Gain: 3,740 feet)
Distance: 18 miles
Route: Out and back, East River Trail to Allen Mountain herd path
Conditions: Sunny, 40 degrees F
Notable Flora/Fauna: Hairy Woodpecker, Ruby-Crowned Kinglet