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| Summit Approach, Mount Skylight |
By many people's standards, Mount Marcy is THE ONE. For 46er aspirants, it's often the final peak on their lists. For many first time hikers, Marcy is the first and only high peak they ever want to do. It's a summit that one never has all to oneself, even at dawn, because people like to hike through the night and see sunrise from the highest mountain in New York State. It's the peak where there are often actual parties on top, complete with music, six packs of beer, drones, juggling sticks, and even hula hoops. All true.
So for me, Marcy has never been a preferred destination. And, as it turned out, I finally climbed Mt. Marcy simply as a way to get home from a much more pleasurable peak, Mount Skylight.
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| Lake Tear of the Clouds |
I arrived at the Adirondack Loj parking area at 5:40 a.m. Since it was Columbus Day, a good number of hikers were also setting off on their holiday hikes. I grabbed my envelope, parked, and then walked over to drop my payment, losing a few minutes playing gate attendant for a few bewildered first timers who didn't know the parking payment protocol. I really hate hiking out from the Loj due to the sheer numbers of people, especially when they are all wearing ultra-bright headlamps, yapping, and banging around in the pre-dawn hours. Morning hiking is supposed to be quiet and peaceful.
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| View of Skylight from Gray Peak Herd Path |
Once underway, I did the easy miles to the Dam by headlamp and then pressed onwards and upwards past Lake Arnold. My plan was an out and back to Gray and Skylight, accessing both peaks via the trial that runs alongside Feldspar Brook. Once past the Dam, I had the trail all to myself until finally encountering the first hikers of the day near the famous "floating bridges" -- partially submerged logs that are supposed to help with crossing a deep bog. Those "bridges" turned out to be nothing of the sort and I had to avoid them altogether by following a partially-hidden bushwhack trail that negotiated around the bogs. This section really needs some trail maintenance.
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| View to Mt. Marcy from Mount Skylight Summit |
After the bushwhack, I worked my way up the pretty trail that follows Feldspar Brook up to Lake Tear of the Clouds. The lake is notable as being the highest source of the Hudson River. It is also famous for being where Vice President Teddy Roosevelt was hiking when he first learned that President William McKinley was not going to survive an assassin's bullet. Roosevelt was soon after sworn in as president when McKinley died. Pretty neat tidbit of New York and presidential history.
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| Trail Break, Approach of Marcy from Four Corners |
More importantly, Lake Tear of the Clouds is where the unmarked "herd path" to Gray Peak begins. I did the quick up and back not expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised by some of the technical challenges of the trail and the partial views from the mountain. I then moved on to the Four Corners intersection and took the marked trail south to Mount Skylight. With its above-tree line approach, lack of heavy hiker traffic, and fabulous, 360 degree views, Skylight was the absolute highlight of the day and one of my favorite of the high peaks.
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| Mount Marcy Summit |
It was during a long break on Skylight that I looked over my maps and decided that I would head back to the Loj by going up and over Mt. Marcy instead of retracing my route. (BTW, When hiking solo in the backcountry, I always leave my route with K and this alternate return route was in the notes I left behind with her). The climb up Marcy from the south is long, steep, and across open rock, but it's fairly straightforward with no hand-over-hand boulder scrambles. Halfway up Marcy, the rigors of climbing a pair of 46ers and working on a third finally began to take its toll. I forced myself to take another break at the Panther Gorge overlook in order to recover and regain the energy needed for the final summit push. Indeed, there are great views the whole way up and I found myself stopping quite often to turn around and catch some vistas. I can see why people often prefer to descend this way.
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| Autumn on the Van Ho Descent from Marcy |
Needless to say, the Mount Marcy summit itself also offers amazing views. But for me, the whole experience was somewhat ho-hum. I took a couple of pictures but didn't even stop for a break or to chat with the other hikers. Instead, I quickly started the long, seven mile return to the Loj via the Van Ho trail. Notorious for being packed with hikers, I fortunately only encountered a few people along the entire route -- most of them in the log jam between Marcy Dam and the Loj. I was back to the car at 4:30 p.m., clocking a 10.5 hour day of trail time, 19 miles of distance, and more than 5,000 feet of elevation gain.
It wasn't until later that I realized that Marcy was my 23rd peak on the Forty-Sixer list. Halfway. I guess Marcy has some meaning after all.
Peak: Gray Peak, Mount Skylight, Mount Marcy
Elevation: 4.840 feet, 4,926 feet, and 5,344 feet (Gain: 5,000 feet)
Distance: 19 miles
Route: Loop, ADL Loj, to Marcy Dam, to Lake Arnold, to Feldspar Brook, to Gray Peak herd path, to Four Corners, to Mt. Skylight, to Mount Marcy, return via Van Ho Trail to Loj.
Conditions: Sunny, 35 degrees F., some icy spots on Skylight and Marcy.
Elevation: 4.840 feet, 4,926 feet, and 5,344 feet (Gain: 5,000 feet)
Distance: 19 miles
Route: Loop, ADL Loj, to Marcy Dam, to Lake Arnold, to Feldspar Brook, to Gray Peak herd path, to Four Corners, to Mt. Skylight, to Mount Marcy, return via Van Ho Trail to Loj.
Conditions: Sunny, 35 degrees F., some icy spots on Skylight and Marcy.
