Basin and Saddleback, June 16, 2021, Eastern High Peaks, Adirondack Park

 

View to the South to Ausable Lakes from Saddleback Mountain Summit

For a late-summer, mid-week section hike of the Great Range, I knew that the famed Saddleback Cliffs were something that I'd very much prefer to go up, rather than down. I therefore mapped out a hike over Basin and Saddleback as a counterclockwise loop wherein I'd hike past both and then circle back over the summits. The hitch? This route meant going up the Shorey Shortcut, a route with the ignominious reputation as being the "most hated" trail in all of the Adirondacks.

First Trail Break Spot - John's Brook Lodge

I arrived at the Garden just before 6 a.m. and was on the trail within a matter of minutes. It didn't take much energy to do the easy 3.5 miles on the Phelps Trail to John's Brook Lodge, where I took my first break of the day to fill up my water bottles. I never stay overnight there, but the great thing about the JBL is that you can save water weight on the first part of your hike by traveling with empty bottles and filling up there. I hung out on the porch and figured that I'd talk to a few hikers while eating second breakfast, but the place was super quiet and not a soul stepped out of the lodge. Too early, I guess. 

John's Brook Running High

I soon pressed on along the Phelps Trail and quickly noticed that John's Brook was raging, probably from the previous two days of showers and thunderstorms. My observation of high water was quickly confirmed by three hikers who passed me heading down to the lodge, warning me of a tough crossing. Sure enough, the crossing point was way too high to cross safely, so I spent a good 15 minutes scouting for a better place. I finally found one that was pretty safe to negotiate using trekking poles for balance on the slippery rocks, but it did require one fairly substantial leap. I made sure to lunge low and forward on the landing rock in the event that it was algae-covered and fortunately had no issue.

View of Saddleback from the Shorey Shortcut

After the crossing, the trail starts its gradual climb to the junction with the Shorey Shortcut. The Shorey really wasn't THAT different from many other muddy, seriously-steep-trails-turned-streams in the High Peaks, but I guess I can endorse its hated reputation. The issue is that the trail makes you climb high up above the col on the west side of Basin and then you have to climb all that way back down to get to the point where you even begin your climb of the high peak. Why didn't this Shorey dude just build the trail directly there?

View of Marcy from Basin Summit

Once I negotiated ups and downs of the Shorey Shit Show, I was ready to head east to the two high peaks of the day. I made quick work up the many scrambles to Basin and admired the bare summit view back towards Mount Marcy. It was windy, so I decided against my usual practice of taking a break on the top and instead quickly pressed on to Saddleback. The Range Trail requires you to go over one "hump" before finally arriving at the eagerly-anticipated highlight of the day's hike - the Saddleback Cliffs.

Approaching the Saddleback Cliffs

When I arrived, I encountered a flummoxed solo hiker with his black lab. I quickly learned that they had hiked the same route as I did, but were now stuck. Much of the time, four legs work better than two in the high peaks. But not here. The Saddleback Cliffs are seriously vertical, requiring hikers to use hand and foot holds to clamber up the open rock faces to various ledges, each leading to the next hand-over-hand climbing point. I offered to help the guy out and our strategy was for me to climb up first. Then, when I got situated and balanced on the ledge, he would lift his dog up and then toss me the leash so I could lead the pooch up to the ledge. It worked on the first section, but that was it. It became way too steep and, coupled with the high winds, the poor dog kept getting scared and pulling out of his collar. In the end, they had no choice but to retrace their steps the way they came. 

After bidding farewell to the unfortunate pair, I finished the climb. There are tons of descriptions of these cliffs online - some say they are easy, and others are overly alarmist. None of them accurately describe just how exposed you are on the bare rock, so I was unsure what to expect. In the end, it really wasn't that bad. After taking a few quick summit pictures (it was still too windy to linger), I pressed on and started my descent via the Ore Bed Brook trail. This is one of my favorite trails in the High Peaks as it offers sweeping views on the descent, with one remarkable section in which a wooden stairway descends 100 yards to allow safe passage back into the valley over a long section of bare rock. One of my favorite birds, the White-Throated Sparrow, was singing his distinctive song at a pretty spot where runoff was cascading down a granite slab. I stopped for a quick break and then entered the woods on the final section that pretty much follows a brook the whole way down. 

Stairs on Ore Bed Brook Trail

I needed to re-visit the John's Brook Lodge to fill up my water bottles again and took my final break of the day on the porch to change my socks, which were totally soaked from the mud and slop of late spring trail-streams that I had been sloshing through all day. After chatting with the caretaker for ten minutes, I did the 3.5 back to the Garden wondering why these stretches always seem so short when ascending and so long when descending. I was back at my car at 4 p.m. sharp for a total of 10 hours on the trail... a chunk of that wasted trying to cross a nearly-impassable brook and attempting to help a four-legged friend climb up a mountainside.

Peaks: Basin and Saddleback
Elevation: 4.827 feet and 5,515 feet (Gain: 4,100 feet)
Distance: 15.7 miles
Route: "The Garden" to Phelps Trail to Shorey Shortcut to Range Trail to Ore Bed Brook Trail to Phelps Trail
Conditions: Partly Cloudy, 40 degrees F, 15-25 mph winds

Catamount, October 15, 2020, Taylor Pond Wild Forest, Adirondack Park

View of Silver Lake from Catamount Summit

I needed two days of rest after completing a 19-mile, single day loop of Gray, Skylight and Marcy. After two days off, my plan was to tackle another couple of High Peaks before heading home. Although the precip and temp forecasts for the day were perfect, there was a high wind warning with gusts in the  higher summits predicted as upwards of 75 mph. I don't mess with high winds above tree line, so I bailed on my plan and figured I would use the day to visit a lower peak that had long been on my to-do list -- Catamount. 

Catamount Approach

Catamount is in the Taylor Pond Wild Forest, just south of both Taylor Pond and Silver Lake. The Silver Lake Bog Preserve has long been a favorite short hike for K and me, so I was looking forward to getting a birds eye view of it from the Catamount summit. I also remembered reading a past issue of ADK Mountain Club's magazine that had short bios of people running as club officers. One candidate had listed Catamount as their favorite hike in the ENTIRE Adirondack Park. I always found that curious and wanted to see what Catamount was really all about.

View of Catamount from False Summit

As it turned out, that person was spot on. Catamount is a great little hike. It is short - just under 4 miles round trip - but in those few short miles it packs all the features of a classic ADK hike - open ledges, boulder scrambles, a "chimney" climb, remarkable 360-degree vistas from the 3,000 foot summit, and, as expected, a nice view down onto Silver Lake. 

Descending the Catamount Ledges

Despite the short distance and modest, 1,500-foot elevation gain, Catamount is not to be underestimated. It's not marked very well and there is potential to get lost on the ledges, especially when descending. And the boulder scrambles can be dangerous when it's wet or icy. The high wind forecast proved correct as I hit some serious gusts on the ledges and summit. I only managed to stay on top for a few minutes and quickly started my descent, thankful that I wasn't bopping around the High Peaks in that nastiness.

Peak: Catamount
Elevation: 3,169 feet (Gain: 1,571 feet)
Distance: 3.6 miles
Route: Up and Back, Catamount Trail
Conditions: High Winds, Partly Sunny, 35 degrees F

Gray Peak, Mt. Skylight and Mt. Marcy, October 12, 2020, Eastern High Peaks, Adirondack Park

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.