Dix Mountain, October 11, 2022, Eastern High Peaks, Adirondack Park

View of Noonmark, Round Mountain and Giant from Dix Mountain Summit

I always overpack when hiking solo in the Adirondack High Peaks. Even on the heavily-trafficked trails, I still want to have enough gear to spend a night in the woods in the event of some wilderness calamity. Usually, I'll also bring along a summit bag and find a higher-elevation spot to stow the heavy pack before tackling any final, super steep sections. Per usual, I took a full pack with me on a recent hike to Dix Mountain. The trail via Round Pond, however, just didn't really offer a naturally-convenient place to stow my pack so I wound up lugging all of my gear the full distance up to the summit. Oh well, that just meant a slower pace and a bigger-than-expected workout. No worries.

Round Pond

I was fortunate to get the last of the handful of parking spots available at the Round Pond lot. Since I was already getting a later start, I was particularly happy since snagging a spot here meant that I could take the Round Pond route as opposed to my backup plan - hiking in from the AMR, which adds another 400 feet of total elevation gain. I was on the trail with a headlamp at 6:30 a.m. and followed the trail up and around the east shoulder of Round Mountain, arriving at the shore of Round Pond at first light. There, I was treated to a great seasonal view of the vibrant autumn leaves and the moon reflecting in the gleaming waters. From the pond, the trail again gains elevation - consistently but at a gradual, easier grade - until the turn off to the Old Dix Trail that leads up from the AMR. This is also the junction for the trail to Noonmark.

Icy Slide on Dix Mountain Trail

The next 3+ mile section is one of long, easy miles with no elevation gain leading all the way to the crossing of the north fork of the Boquet River. After the crossing, the trail again gains elevation - again fairly gradually - until it emerges from the forest at the base of a huge slide. I took a long break on the slide, admiring the direct view to the craggy peak of Noonmark and across the valley to Giant. It turned out to be a good spot for a break because it is here that the real climbing begins, first up the slide itself and then into the woods and up an unrelenting, very steep section. I was glad that it had not rained recently because this is the kind of ADK trail that turns into a waterfall-filled stream. It was on my slow slog up this section that I got passed by another hiker. I'll chalk that up to the fact that he was carrying nothing more than a tiny daypack and half-full 12 ounce bottle of water. 

Entering the Alpine Zone on Dix

The steep climb finally eased up not far from the summit where the trail from Elk Lake connects and the alpine zone begins. From here, the trail to Dix climbs much more gradually until it reaches the rocky summit ridge and its wide, sweeping views in all directions. I found the bolt that signifies the true summit and took a long break there in order to take in the fantastic views. Looking east, one can observe the full distance covered on the day with the Round Mountain starting point appearing far off in the distance between Noonmark and Giant. The clear, full-sun conditions, light winds, colder temperatures, beautiful fall colors and sweeping views made for a great day hike. Even better, I only encountered five people during the entire eight and a half hours of trail time. Gotta love weekday hiking in the Fall. 

Peak: Dix Mountain
Elevation: 4,857 feet (Gain: 3,569 feet)
Distance: 15 miles roundtrip
Route: Out and Back: Dix Trail via Round Pond
Conditions: Sunny, 40 degrees F

Lost Pond, October 14, 2022, Hurricane Mountain Wilderness, Adirondack Park

Lost Pond

It's always nice to revisit the Hurricane Mountain Wilderness. After all, Hurricane Mountain proper was one of our first hikes in the Adirondacks. But since the summit gets so much traffic, I much prefer some of the other trails in the area, especially the trail to Lost Pond. We first visited Lost Pond back in 2019. As we remembered it, the hike to Lost Pond was a pleasant, not too difficult uphill hike to a secluded pond with a large rocky beach on which we took a long, comfortable lunch break, skipped stones, and admired the pleasant scenery on the opposite shore. With that memory in mind, we decided to use one of our last days on a recent ADK trip to visit Lost Pond once again.

The most difficult thing about the Lost Pond hike is the parking. To get to the trailhead, you have to wind your way up a very narrow road with blind curves and washout gullies on either side which leave just enough room for one vehicle. Meeting an oncoming car, therefore, is an absolute disaster. But if you make it there, the reward is a very pleasant trail. The first mile, fully on the level, leads to a hillside lean-to and the turn off for one of the trails to Hurricane Mountain summit. It seems that most people on this trail are heading to Hurricane, so after the junction it becomes pretty quiet and lightly-trafficked. The second mile is a long, steady climb via switchbacks through a pleasant forest with the sounds of a nearby brook pretty much the whole way.

Upon reaching the pond, we turned to one another with matching looks of confusion. We both had remembered a wide open, rocky beach but no such topographical feature even remotely existed. There was no shoreline at all, the water of the pond actually pushing its way well into the woods. Thinking that our fondly-remembered destination must be farther along the trail, we continued along the path around the western shore of the pond. By the time we reached the Biesemeyer Memorial lean-to, we still had not found what we were looking for and decided to backtrack to that first point where the trail meets the pond. Returning to that spot, we scrutinized the landscape more closely and realized what had happened. There were noticeable signs of heavy beaver activity on the eastern edge of the pond at the outlet point. Indeed, beavers had decided to build a dam there, seemingly enlarging the pond and completely flooding the rocky beach that had served as our special lunch spot several years prior.

Laughing off our mistake, we found a fallen log and used that as seating for a long, much-needed lunch break and then took a bunch of photos of the pond and the beaver constructions. On the return hike, K's phone started acting funny by suddenly showing the wrong date and time. We didn't pay it too much mind until later when we realized that all of the photos that she took of the pond were completely gone, as if she never took them and/or we were never even there.

Further, when we checked our 2019 photos from the first trip to Lost Pond, they didn't show a rocky beach at all.

Worm Hole? Close Encounter? Brain Fart? Whatever. There's something strange about Lost Pond.

Destination: Lost Pond
Elevation: 2,840 feet (Gain: 650 feet)
Distance: 4.2 miles roundtrip
Route: Out and Back, Hurricane Mountain Trail to Lost Pond/Weston Mountain Trail
Conditions: Partly Sunny, 40 degrees F

Wildcat, August 19. 2022, White Mountain National Forest

Wildcat Party

Back in 2011, a Carter Ridge and Carter Notch Hut stay and Wildcat Ridge hike was one of the first overnight hikes that I did with my brother on our joint quest to complete all of the 48 NH 4,000 footers. We always recalled it fondly and recently decided to make a long-overdue return trip to the same location. But this time, we'd invite the next generation of hikers along as well. So on a rainy Wednesday in the late summer, I met my brother and two nephews at the usual White Mountain meet point and we made the long drive to our base of operations for the weekend -- The AMC Highland Center in Crawford Notch. The plan was to stay there on the first and last nights. Sandwiched in between would be a hike up the Nineteen Mile Brook Trial, an overnight stay at Carter Notch Hut, and then a climb up to the top of Wildcat.

Upper Carter Lake

At one point, it seemed like the hike to Wildcat might not even happen. It rained buckets throughout our first night at the Highland Center and we awoke to continued downpours that lasted for most of the morning. We killed as much time as possible before starting the drive over to the eastern side of the White Mountains, but the rain seemed to follow us wherever we went. Fortunately, just as we turned south into the town of Gorham, the cold front blew through and the rain suddenly started to taper. As we pulled up to the trailhead, the sky remained overcast but the rain was done. We dubbed our good fortune "Gorham Magic" and started the long, slippery climb to the hut. 

Lower Carter Lake

Once we reached the hut, the friendly staff informed us that we would have one of the 6-person rooms completely to ourselves. Carter Notch is by far my favorite hut. I like the small, homey feel of its common area and you can't beat having smaller rooms instead of the large, snorefest bunkrooms that characterize the other huts. After settling into our digs, we took our time exploring and admiring the scenery from the shores of the Carter Lakes -- two small picturesque ponds that surround the hut grounds. 

View from Wildcat climb

The last time that we stayed at Carter Notch, we left the hut before dawn and were up to the top of Wildcat by sunrise. That was in caretaker season, so we could leave as early as we wanted. For this trip, we had to wait around for the breakfast and morning skit before heading out. We finally hit the trail around 9 a.m., anxious to get moving after such a lazy morning. Even the youngest of our party had no troubles navigating the steep ascent to Wildcat Summit. He even carried his older brother's pack part of the way. The day before, I had asked him if he could "cut the mustard" on such a daunting climb, so that phrase became the oft-repeated words of the day. Once at the top, we took a long break admiring the views of massive Carter Dome across the valley and the speck-like buildings of Carter Notch Hut far below us. It really is a sensational vantage point.

View of the hut from Wildcat Summit

The climb to Wildcat had some significance to my youngest nephew -- it was his first 4,000 footer. I was also present when his older brother did his first, Mount Cabot, since we had timed it in such a way that Cabot was both his first and our last. The long descent back to the car had us all talking about making a late-summer White Mountains trip into an annual occurrence. 1 and 2 down, 47 and 46 to go. I'm confident that they can cut the mustard.

Peak: Wildcat
Elevation: 4,422 feet (Gain: 2,929 feet)
Distance: 8.6 miles roundtrip
Route: Out and Back: Nineteen Mile Brook Trail to Carter Notch Hut to Wildcat Ridge Trail
Conditions: Rainy to Partly Sunny, 65 degrees F

Cold Mountain, June 30, 2022, Shining Rock Wilderness, Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina

 

View from Cold Mountain Summit

Once we had made the decision to turn a July 4 weekend wedding in Asheville, North Carolina, into a full week vacation, I immediately got hold of some maps of Pisgah National Forest to investigate some hiking possibilities. Of course, the highest peak east of the Mississippi River - Mount Mitchell - immediately came to mind. I charted several approach options but all roads still led to the same undesirable place - a summit swamped with cars, buses, motorcycles and the hundreds of tourists that those vehicles would be bringing up the auto road with them. In the end, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. At the end of a long hike to a mountaintop, I want my one square inch of silence. So instead of achieving any bragging rights to the eastern United States' highest point, I instead decided on a hike to the top of a way more quiet peak - Cold Mountain. And for you literati, that's right, it is the same Cold Mountain of book (and movie) fame.

Cold Mountain From Blue Ridge Parkway

After snubbing my nose at Mount Mitchell, I actually had several alternate hikes in mind. I made the decision on Cold Mountain as K and I were driving along the Blue Ridge Parkway southwest of Asheville. There are many parking lot lookout points along this famous road, many with sweeping views of mountain ranges to the south. All of those were mobbed with cars, so we didn't bother to stop. Then we came to an empty, north west-facing lot with a sign "Cold Mountain Overlook" and pulled in to check it out. There, far across the hazy valley, rose a hulking mass of a mountain with no other peaks nearby. Cold Mountain. From a distance, it appeared isolated, quiet and a tad bit menacing, as if no other mountain wanted to be near it. I liked the look of it. So, I thought, Cold Mountain it is.

The Trail to Deep Gap

I chose the more difficult of the two approaches which starts on the Art Loeb Trail due south of Camp Daniel Boone, a Boy Scout camp. I arrived in the parking lot at 6 a.m. and needed a headlamp to get my bearings and find the trail, which rises steeply from the get go via switchbacks. Once high above the scout camp, the trail levels out and follows the contours of the ridges to gradually climb higher and higher. There weren't any rock hopping sections, boulder scrambles, hand-over-hand ledges or other more difficult Adirondack and White Mountain trail features. Just a sure-footed, steady ascent on a long, graded incline with a few steeper pitches through a really beautiful forest. 

Rhododendron Tunnels on Cold Mountain Trail

At the top of the ridge - a place called Deep Gap - the Art Loeb Trail turns south and the Cold Mountain trail heads north. I took my first break of the day at this point, where a fire ring and log seating suggest it to be a stopping point for backpackers heading south on the Art Loeb trail. My route to the summit climbed around the back of the summit cone and up to the top. Though 6,000 feet in elevation, the summit is fully tree-covered but there are still a few good lookout points. The first one that the trail reaches is the best, with an impressive, sweeping view to the south and the many famous peaks located along the Blue Ridge Parkway with colorful names like Shining Rock and Dog Loser Knob. I took a nice long break admiring the view and trying to figure out the exact location of the overlook where we had first glassed Cold Mountain a few days earlier. I then pressed on along the overgrown summit trail to the USGS marker indicating the true summit and another nice lookout point. On this particular summer day, it wasn't very cold on cold mountain. But I still wore the new wool hat that K knitted for me as a gift for my birthday - one stripe for each decade, lol.

Panorama View to the South from Cold Mountain Summit

I had Cold Mountain all to myself for five and a half hours of a six-hour-long hike. The only people who I encountered all morning were part of hiking parties just setting out as I was completing the final half hour of my hike. Just as I hit the final switchbacks leading back to the parking area, rifles and shotgun blasts from the Boy Scout gun range began to pepper the peace and quiet of the wilderness. As my hike came to a close, I recalled an excellent trail, not terribly difficult, with beautiful scenery and tons of wildlife. But when the shooting starts, it's time to get the hell off of Cold Mountain.

Peak: Cold Mountain
Elevation: 6,030 feet (Total Gain: 2,800 feet)
Distance: 10.6 miles roundtrip
Route: Out and Back: Art Loeb Trail from Camp Daniel Boone to Cold Mountain summit trail
Conditions: Partly cloudy, 75 degrees F

Mount Colvin and Blake Peak, June 20, 2022, Eastern High Peaks, Adirondack Park

The Great Range, view from Mount Colvin

When a mid-June cold front brought plummeting temperatures and moderately high winds to the High Peaks, I figured that the conditions warranted the hike to Colvin and Blake. The highs were going to be in the mid 30s to 40s up top - perfect hiking temperatures - with zero chance of rain and sunny skies. And since Colvin and Blake are among the lower elevation 46ers, nestled between the Great Range to the north and the Nippletop massif to the south, I figured the moderately stronger winds would be less of an irritation there than trying to do something higher. Fortunately, I had made a Sunday morning online reservation well in advance on the off chance that I'd want to start a hike from the AMR that day. I understand the concept of the new reservation system, believe me I do, but it is kind of a pain to have to plan 2 weeks in advance. As an early a.m. hiker, I personally prefer the good old days of first come, first serve at the AMR. Early bird gets the worm.

View to Blake Peak from Colvin Shoulder

People seem to really hate this hike. Trip reports and online chatter don't rate it too highly. This was confirmed on the trail when I spoke with a few hiking parties that had disgusted, pained looks on their faces and openly lamented that they "just wanted to get this one over with." I don't like to disparage any hikes. They all have some redeeming features. This one had great bird habitats and one nice vista, but I suppose that I do agree that the trail itself was somewhat unremarkable, especially the difficult slog down and up to Blake and back. I liked the secluded, wooded hollow between Blake and Colvin. Out of the wind and with a long, fallen log for seating, it offered a peaceful and comfortable lunch spot. But I suppose when a col between two peaks is the most memorable point, that does say something.

Rickety Old Ladders Being Replace on Colvin

Although it was a Sunday, there were not too many people on the trail to Colvin and Blake. Maybe the reservation system was the reason, or perhaps the cold, rainy weather the day before caused people to cancel their weekend plans at the last minute. I didn't encounter anyone until the cut off to Elk Pass. He was a fast-moving, gregarious hiker who had left from the AMR Lake Road gate just ahead of me by 5 minutes (I knew this from recalling his name on the trail register when I signed in). I suppose that I had beaten him to this point by my choice to take the Gil Brook cutoff, a shortcut to avoid to more rugged Gil Brook Trail. He was quite friendly and we chatted for a few minutes, commenting that we might see one another again on our respective descents, or when catching a post-hike swim in one of Gil Brook's picturesque pools. He then set off towards Dial and Nippletop, and I headed onwards and upwards to Colvin. 

Due to the high winds, I just spent a few minutes on Colvin's summit to catch a quick view to the Great Range and back down to Lower Ausable Lake. I then pressed on to Blake. Not doubt about it. It is a long, plodding, ho-hum slog to get there, with a steep, ladder-strewn descent from Colvin and then up to Blake. There aren't many good views along the way or exciting natural features. Just a tough, rock- strewn classic Adirondack trail. 

A Rare Quiet Moment on the Lake Road

The worst part of the hike, I suppose, was the 2.5 mile return to the parking area on Lake Road. On a weekday, I don't mind the road at all, In fact, I kind of like a long, gradual descent with steady footing to conclude a rugged, higher-mileage hike. But on a  sunny Sunday afternoon, I had to constantly keep an eye and ear on the road for more motor traffic than I have ever seen on that road after all these years of hiking it. What I assumed were AMR members in their Cadillacs, BMWSs  and Audis kept me company pretty much the whole way down to the gate. A real bummer... but I suppose it is their property, after all.

Peak: Mount Colvin and Blake Peak
Elevation: 4,057 feet and 3,960 feet (Total Gain: 4,000 feet)
Distance: 14.6 miles roundtrip
Route: Out and Back: Lake Road to Gill Brook Cut-off to Mt. Colvin Trail to Colvin summit; out and back to Blake Peak.
Conditions: Sunny, 25-30 mph winds, 40 degrees F

Mount Redfield and Cliff Mountain, June 14, 2022, Eastern High Peaks, Adirondack Park

 

Mount Marcy from the Cliff Mountain Cliffs

As far as big hikes go, this was one of the biggest. Many people like to tackle the most remote ADK peaks as overnight trips. That way, they can hike in, set up a base camp and then do assorted peak hikes from there. Instead, I've done all of my 46ers as single day hikes. For Cascade, Algonquin, Giant and the other easily-accessible peaks, day hiking makes sense. But for the remote peaks like Redfield and Cliff, one can easily understand why people choose to camp overnight. If you don't, you're facing major mileage, major elevation gain and major trail time in a single day.

A long day hike is how I chose to do Redfield and Cliff. These peaks are definitely on the favorites list and I'd happily visit either one again. But both in one day? Not a chance. I turn 50 this year, FFS.

Floating Logs

Although the approach to Redfield and Cliff via the Upper Works parking area is shorter, I started my hike at the Adirondack Loj since I wanted to minimize my morning drive time. I hit the trail at 6:30 a.m. sharp and passed the time on the boring first leg chatting with two hikers from Maryland who were (of course) on their way to Mount Marcy. I left them shortly before the dam and from there had the trail to Lake Arnold all to myself - probably because it is a notoriously rough trail. Beyond the height of land at Lake Arnold, the trail descends to the famous floating logs where I encountered a flummoxed solo hiker who had just fallen into the water. I showed her the bushwhack (into the trees/brush on the right) that allows one to circumnavigate the trouble spots. From there, I pressed on past Feldspar Brook and towards Uphill Brook.

Redfield Herd Path 

I took my first long break of the day at the cairn where the Mount Redfield and Cliff Mountain herd paths diverge in order to fuel up for big climb #1. I decided to do the longer spur first - Mount Redfield. I found it to be a great trail. For the most part, it follows picturesque Uphill Brook and then a smaller tributary thereof. At some points (in classic Adirondack fashion) the brook actually BECOMES the trail. It is a long, steady, upwards slog of rock hopping almost the whole way to the summit. The reward is a fabulous sweeping view of the southern Adirondacks.

View to the South from Mt. Redfield, Allen Mountain at Center

After Redfield, I returned to my base camp at the cairn to prepare for Cliff Mountain. The herd path to the peak couldn't be more different than Redfield. Instead of the long, steady rock-hopping climb, Cliff starts with a notoriously messy and muddy lower section which leads to the peak's apropos natural feature - the cliffs. These are vertical exposed rock slabs requiring hand-over-hand and root-grabbing technique in order to negotiate. I expected one or two of these slabs, but there are actually four super-steep sections to tackle before you reach the top. But the "top" isn't really the top because Cliff also has a demoralizing false summit. So one must go down and then back up, trudging through more mud pits, until reaching the true, wooded summit. The peak offers little more than a partial view of Mount Colden. For Cliff, the fun is in the journey, not the destination. If you don't mind the mud, that is. 

A lot of the fun of these peaks, I suppose, was the unexpected discoveries of the herd paths. My go-to ADK trail book, High Peaks Trails, is sorely lacking in descriptions of these peaks. Even the recently-published 15th edition has almost nothing about them. They really should do an update on Redfield and Cliff.

The Cliffs

In their own ways, the herd paths to Redfield and Cliff were both tough. And after all of that, I still had the 6+ mile return hike to the parking area. By the time that I had renegotiated the floating log bushwhack, I started to realize why my chosen hiking route was harder than I had anticipated. I now had yet another long climb - the fourth of the day - back up to Lake Arnold before (finally) being able to descend. But because the trail to Lake Arnold is rough, even going down didn't offer much solace. I encountered a few hiking parties on the return and chatted for a few minutes with each. When I told them that I was returning from Redfield and Cliff as a day hike from Heart Lake via Lake Arnold, they looked at me like I had three heads.

Extra Socks, as ever, are Essential Gear in the ADK

Mud-covered and weary, I finally reached the Loj at 5:30 p.m. 11 hours trail time. 20 miles distance. 5,000 feet of elevation gain.

This hike was tough... probably the hardest of all my 46er hikes.

Peak: Mount Redfield and Cliff Mountain
Elevation: 4.606 feet and 3,960 feet (Total Gain: 4,900 feet)
Distance: 20.5 miles roundtrip
Route: Out and Back: Loj to Marcy Dam via Trail 61; Trail 68 and 73 to Feldspar Brook lean-tos; Trail 121 to Uphill Brook; herd paths to Redfield and Cliff; return same route.
Conditions: Sunny, 70 degrees F