As hikers become more experienced, we plan better for certain outcomes. As a Adirondack 46er aspiring to be a winter 46er my efforts into planning have become more detailed. A trip down to the Adirondacks in March usually means longer daylight hours, warmer temperatures, and and hard packed snow spines making for easy travel. Planning for these conditions is easy - pick the longest and most challenging hikes to do at this time of year and leave the shorter ones for darker days where you might have to break trail with new snow.

For this trip my goal was to do one long day and one short day. The long day was going to be either the Dix Range or Haystack, Basin, and Saddleback (HaBaSa for short). The early spring conditions in 2024 were going to be tricky to negotiate after a short snowstorm had covered the peaks between unseasonal balmy temperatures flanking it. Breaking trail in heavy wet snow is no fun, so Deb and I scoured the internet for recent trip reports to see what was broken giving us the best chance for success. Upon arriving in Keene Valley the day before the hike, we visited the Garden parking lot, Roaring Brook and Round Pond to look at the trail registers for recent activity. It looked like the mountain with the most activity was Saddleback Mountain, so we made a decision to go for it the next day.

Leaving the Garden at 7AM, we bare booted to the DEC Outpost over slush, ice and mud. It was apparent the spring had hit the area early here as well. After crossing John's Brook at the bridge, we stopped to put on our snowshoes. I pulled out my trusty old Tubbs Flex VRTs and went to put the left shoe on first. I went to manipulate the BOA dial mechanism, and realized it was broken. It dawned on me that I had brought but hadn't worn the snowshoes for my two ADK hikes in January as there wasn't enough snow and had been carrying them around on my training hikes at home in February and March. We were in a dilemma: find something to McGyver fix the left snowshoe in the field or turn around and call it a day. I wish I had a Voile ski strap with me (I now do and will carry one from now on) but Deb started pulling off some small pieces of cord and bungee bits from her gear cache and I was easily able to rig up a simple solution that would work perfectly for the rest of the day. Note: the binding on the Tubbs Flex VRTs have great attachment holes in the plastic harness that you can easily rig a strap or cord to. Off we went.

Snow covered the slope along the Orbed trail but most streams and creeks were open requiring some hopping and snowshoeing on rock. Snow depth increased as we ascended away from John's Brook and past the Orebed lean-to. It was evident that there had been people on this trail yesterday as the trail was broken but not well packed down. The above-freezing temperatures made the snow feel like lumpy mashed pototoes with many steps resulting in snow compression of 4-6inches and the feeling of sliding backwards and not forwards. I had never ascended this trail before and found the gradual ascent very pleasant. We got to the slide and had our first peek of our peak. The wood stairs were no where to be found but a track up the exposed icy snow covered slide looked steep! The last hiker down the day before had slid on his butt and created a smooth track. We stepped our snowshoe crampons in hard and clawed our way up the slide step by step. The sun was out and the sky was perfectly blue. I was down to my base layer. Time to take out the sunglasses!

At the top of the slide, the trail weaves back into the forest before joining the Range Trail in a col between Gothics Mountain and Saddleback Mountain. This forested section was tough going as the snow depth was at its deepest and softest. I felt like I was taking lots of breaks and moving very slowly in these soupy conditions. Reaching the Range Trail, it was apparent that no one had broken trail towards Gothics (not surprising as there are better ways to ascend this mountain in the winter). We turned right and continued up Saddleback taking in the views of Gothics, Whiteface and Big Slide in the distance. A couple of tricky icy sections that were luckily soft with the sun pounded on them and we were at the top. For this summit, we continued over the top and to the far side where there is a rocky outcropping and views of Basin Mountain, Marcy, Phelps, etc. We played 'name that mountain' in the distance as well. The views were spectacular on this bluebird day. We did something we don't normally do: we lingered on the summit! We checked out two rocky viewpoints. We took loads of photos and videos, ate and drank, and analyzed what to do next.

Looking at the path over to Basin, it didn't look inviting. We had read a trip report of one single hiker that had broke this trail the day before, but had difficulty going solo in the conditions. We decided the best decision was to turn around, and leave Basin (and Haystack) for another day. The conditions did not present an opportunity to do 2 or 3 of the triple crown HaBaSa today. The soft snow was much faster to travel on during the descent and we almost didn't want drop off the summit too quickly. The views on all angles were stunning. For every one bluebird low wind day up high there are nine others that are cloudy, foggy, freezing, or raining in the ADKs. We lucked out this time.

It didn't take long to get to the bottom of the slide before re-entering the forest. I kept feeling parched and stopped to drink water more than usual. Little did we know the valley temperature was up to 15C! No wonder I was thirsty. The creeks and streams were running a bit higher on the way back but nothing to slow down your pace on. The trail conditions were definitely deteriorating quickly and the snow melt that normally occurs mid April was happening now in mid-March. Before we knew it were were back at the bridge and hadn't seen a single soul all day. We walked over to the Outpost cabin and sat in the sun on the porch and had another long break. It took me a minute to get my snowshoes off with all the ropes attached to it but it did the job well - I didn't notice any loss of function. We bare booted our way back to the parking lot and found the trail to be more slushy and muddy than in the morning. We saw one woman and her dog a minute before the parking lot but that was it for the day. 

Hike totals:
Distance: 23km
Time: 8hr 45mins (1 hour of stopped time)
Elevation Gain: 1093m

Up to 31/46 for the winter round

BOA update: BOA products are guaranteed for life. After taking a photo of my dial, BOA has sent me a replacement in the mail!

The forecast for Thursday January 4th, 2024 was only marginally better than the day before. It included snow, clouds and winds in the morning moving to partially sunny in the afternoon. We arrived at the Loj parking at the same time as the previous day but this time with more hiker activity and a gate attendant. 

Deb and I signed in at the register just before 8AM while Glenn decided to do a short hike around Heart Lake to get some movement in. Due to his foot re-injury, he needed to stay on flatter ground and hike at a slower pace to make sure his foot placements were solid so off we went in opposite directions. Unlike yesterday the trail was now covered in about an inch of snow which was just enough to provide us with traction to get up to the waterfall part way up to the Wright Mtn junction. There was one male party of 3 in front of us whom we caught up with part way up the trail. We yo-yoed with them and another couple with their dog on the ascent. We put on our traction devices and continue up watching our foot placements between rocks, on slushy ice puddles and snow covered ground. My traction devices got balled up with snow and ice once and I had to knock them off. We noticed that all the other parties seemed to be moving faster than us as they weren't carrying the extra 4lbs of snowshoes we were. We decided at the Wright Junction to leave the snowshoes behind and hid them behind a tree root.  We appreciated the lighter pack weight and did not need them for this entire hike either. From this point on, we were the first group up the last steep ascent to Algonquin's summit. When we arrived at the tree line huffing and puffing after hours of uphill travel where we donned some warmer clothing and followed the cairns to the summit. The wind was fierce - between that and the new snow there was no footprints left in any exposed areas. The wind guts were over 40mph and frostbite was imminent. My sweaty body from the ascent was now dry thanks to quick drying clothing (like my OR Refuge air jacket) but the wind was cold and I could start to feel it hit my body. Debbie reminded me the summit was up on my right hand side at the top and I recognized two boulders that are in many Algonquin summit photos. The exposed summit rock was covered in rime ice, snow drifts and rock cairns. Just as we were about to take a summit selfie, one of the male hikers in the group we were yo-yoing with appeared out of no where. Deb risked frostbite and took a summit photo of him and he took one of us (above). It wasn't a place to linger so we told him he should quickly re-trace his vanishing footprints back down (it was his first ever summit and he left his buddies behind as they didn't make it). We turned quickly and headed down the back side of Algonquin. The cairns were visible but the wind was blasting so hard we could barely stay on our feet. The above zero temps in the morning had quickly dropped to -10C. Added to that the wind chill made it feel below -20C easily. On the decent, I felt the wind pummel my right cheek which was concerning for me with frostbite. I had have 2 previous incidents of bad frostbite on my right cheekbone and was worried I was in for a third. My hood wasn't  covering the exposed skin well so I had to turn my head or cover the cheek with my mitt. When I got down into the alpine scrub between Algonquin and Boundary, I threw on my shell and a neck warmer that would cover the area from now on. There was no point stopping earlier to put on my shell jacket as opening the backpack would have meant that all the contents would have blow off the mountain.

We moved through the scrub forest and over another exposed bump called Boundary Mountain. We needed to keep moving to stay warm and lucky for both of us we had battery heated mitts on to keep our fingers from freezing. We descended the far side of Boundary and went through another scrub trail section where on two occasions I fell into shallow post holes that had been covered by recent snow. Luckily I only fell in about 10 inches and did not hurt myself. A fractured ankle up on that ridge in those conditions was not something I would have wanted. Survival would have been extreme. Luckily I had packed down clothing, a bivy bag and a Rab Silbothy and Deb had a sleeping bag but still, it would have been an awful place to wait for rescue.

We followed the cairns up to the summit of Iroquois deciphering where the trail might be in the drifted snow and rime ice. We got to the summit cairn and I quickly took out my phone and took 2 selfies before stuffing it back in my chest pocket. We didn't waste anytime being in a whiteout and returned back to the protection of the scrub forest for a quick water break. Being after 11:45 AM, my stomach was growling and was able to grab a pepperette to munch on as my usual lunchtime at work is 11AM. We passed two parties headed to Iroquois on the way back to Algonquin and Deb kept remarking that only the hard core hikers need apply on a day like this.

We returned to the backside of Algonquin to see blue sky peeking out every so often mixed with clouds. I really wished I could have had a video clip of the winds on this section. There was no way you could record this safely - Debbie was almost blown off her feet by the winds. If you could see clearly (the winds made your eyes water) you could get a 2 second view of the surrounding mountains only to be clouded in again a second later. The system was clearing out! Heading back up the mountain was just a brutal as the way down wishing I had brought ski goggles. I stayed along the cairn line and tried to say on the windblown rime ice as the traction was much better than the soupy snow drifts. When we got back to the summit of Algonquin, it was crowded! There were over a dozen hikers there lingering and waiting to pull out there cameras for the second or two there was a view. As it was the second time up Algonquin that day, we took a couple of snaps of the "view" and then bolted down to the tree line. We were chilled to the bone from the wind and the temperature was dropping that evening to -17C. 

We returned to the Wright junction and ate our lunch at 1PM. We had time to go tag the summit of Wright Mountain but I decided to leave it for later as it's been a long term goal to ski it. We kept our layers on on the decent and our traction devices all the way to the parking lot. Another great adventure day on the Adirondacks.

Winter peaks #29 and #30 of 46

Hike stats:
Distance: 17.08km
Elevation: 1351m or 4432ft
Time: 7 hours, 5 minutes

The forecast for Wednesday January 3rd, 2024 was not great. As we drove through Cascade Pass towards the Adirondack Loj parking lot, freezing rain was falling onto our windshield and the mountain summits were obscured with clouds. The plan for the day changed in the car as we felt that a less exposed summit was in order. We chose to head to Mount Colden instead of the MacIntyre range.

Arriving at the Loj parking there was very little human activity. A handful of cars, no attendant at the gate and one little light on at the HPIC. We signed in at the trailhead just before 8AM and the three of us (Deb, Glenn and I) bare booted our way along a frozen dirt trail to Marcy Dam. Glenn's participation in the day was questionable after a recurring foot injury had be re-aggravated before the trip and by the time we reached Marcy Dam his day was over and had to turn around. 

Deb and I continued towards Colden and not long after Marcy Dam, we donned our new Hillsound Trail Crampons (we normally use Kahtoola microspikes but these are beefier) and continued up the trail that was a mix of rock, ice and snow. After passing the bridge and the junction that splits the trail towards either Avalanche Lake or Lake Arnold, the normally rockier trail became increasingly a hard packed snow/ice path. It was very evident up to Lake Arnold that in the milder temps the previous week that many hikers had post holed leaving the sides of the trail a bit of mess. The holes were sometimes 2 feet deep leaving me worried that one miss step could cause catastrophic injury. As long as you stuck to the center of the trail and were careful of your footing, you were fine. Time to increase focus and concentration. 

We took one drink break in this gradual uphill section and reached a messy log filled junction that pointed to Mount Colden. We passed through the campsite area without a view of Lake Arnold as we were now hiking in a cloud with no views in any direction. The trail up to the summit had several ice bulges and and a couple of tricky steps. The trail is steeper here and I considered stopping and switching to the snowshoes we brought to use the heel lifts but decided that spikes were working fine and the transition time putting on snowshoes wasn't worth it. We continued on and before we knew it we were at the false summit. With no view to speak of, we didn't break but carefully descended a few icy steps into a mini-col and then zoned in on our final approach to the summit. I hadn't been to Mount Colden for over a decade and had forgotten what it's summit approach looked like. I did recognize two spots: One was a large boulder area that you have to hike through an opening to pass through and the second was another large boulder that is perched on the summit and serves as the summit marker. 

We reached the summit around 11:20 AM. The winds at the top were up and it was snowing. We quickly removed our mitts and took a few summit selfies and then decided to descend all the way back to the campsite to have lunch. On the way down, we got a brief glimpse of a view and with my cellphone handy, I was able to catch it. We had passed one solo male hiker on the way up and on the way down we passed a group of 3 female hikers. We took a lunch break drinking tea and eating cheese, pepperettes and hiker cookies near Lake Arnold and then got back on trail re-tracing our steps from earlier in the day.

We saw more hikers and backpackers on the way out and about half of them had snowshoes and half of them didn't. There hadn't been clear communication from the NY DEC regarding if snowshoes were required or not after the huge melt and floods that had hit the area in late December. There definitely wasn't 8 inches of snow on the ground but being Canadian the $250 fine jumps to $325 with the exchange so we carried them the full 21km without wearing them. An extra 4lbs! 

My 28th winter peak of the 46!

Hike Stats:
Distance: 21.12 km
Time: 6 hours 48 minutes
Ascent 1049m or 3441ft

After two cancelled trips this winter I was finally able to get down to the Adirondacks to pay a visit to my old friends the High Peaks. My husband Glenn hadn't been down to the Lake Placid area since pre-Covid, so he was extra excited to cross the border again and be back in our old playground. Looking at my winter peak-bagging 'to-do' list, I had Whiteface and Esther Mountains still to complete. The winter season seems to allow a variety of creative ways to bag summits and Whiteface and Esther seems to present multitude of pathways and methods to get there. As it turned out our plan A didn't end up working out and we resorted to a new one altogether!

Our plan was to ski up the Toll Road as far as possible and bag Whiteface, and then ski back down the road to the hairpin turn where we would transition to snowshoes and hike downhill on the hiking trail to tag the summit of Esther and then ascend a short distance back up where we would transition back to skis and ski down the road back to the car. We left the toll road gate just after 8 AM on Monday March 13th in mild conditions. Luckily due to a healthy snow season, the toll road had full coverage from bottom to top. We skied up in backcountry nordic gear and fell into a steady rhythm and kept a comfortable aerobic pace so the conversation rolled as we ascended. Every thousand feet or so of elevation gain, we stopped to add more warmer layers: First a toque, then warmer mitts, then a shell jacket. The balmy spring like temperatures at lower elevation quickly disintegrated into full on winter conditions including snow fall, wind gusts, and in a cloud of grey! We were the only ones on the toll road that day and seemed to have the place to ourselves!

We reached the castle in 2.5 hours (2400' gain) where we took off our skis and threw on a pair of microspikes and headed up the last 200' of stairs and railings to the summit sign. The summit did not offer any stunning views on this day so we didn't linger. The summit at 4867 feet is exposed - and between the wind, cold, snow and clouds we took a few photos and scurried back down to our skis. We pulled off the microspikes and stepped into our skis and skied downhill through some wind scoured powder on the road and then picked up speed on a section of hard snow crust combined with some blinding upswelling wind gusts to the top of the first hairpin turn where the hiking trail and road meet. There is a small wooden post with a red trail marker here that indicates the merging of the road and hiking trail. Here Glenn mentioned to me that he had developed a blister on the back of his heel on the ascent. His ill fitting backcountry nordic boots had worn through the heel pocket and also worn the skin right off his heel. Even though I had blister bandages with me, I suggested that instead of snowshoe hiking down to bag summit #2, he just ski down the toll road back to the car in order to not make matters worse. We have been down this blister road before...

​So we agreed that I would transition into snowshoes and hike down to the second summit of Esther while he would ski back to the car and meet me at the bottom of the hiking trail. I quickly threw on my winter hiking boots and snowshoes, packed up my ski boots into my pack, and grabbed some hot chocolate and snacks. My body temp was dropping and I needed to get out of the wind and get moving so off I went. I would have liked to have stayed to have gotten a photo of Glenn's descent set-up as he had a backpack on carrying not only his snowshoes but also my nordic skis A-framed on his pack! Alas, I was on a mission so I descended down the hiking trail at a feverish pace still with my battery operated mitts on and hood cinched in. 10 minutes into my hike I found myself looking at the top of a chairlift from the Whiteface Ski Resort which was barely noticeable in the cloudy conditions but could hear the strange hum of electricity not normally found in the woods! I crossed two ski runs and then kept my brisk pace on broken trail looking for the cairn and turn to Esther. I passed 3 young guys on rental snowshoes blaring their bluetooth speaker on their way up and a moment after I then took a sharp left at the herd path cairn. I took a moment to de-layer here as I was now 30 minutes into my hike and started to warm up. I wondered how Glenn was doing and if he was down to the car yet. I ascended over Lookout Mountain (there was no lookout views today) and kept up a brisk paced along the brushy herd path. I remembered how much I like solo hiking and being able to walk at your own pace. I ducked under a few fallen trees and felt a couple snow showers fall down the back of my neck. Along the way I encountered several trees with rime on them and spruce trees with icicles hanging down off them. I had forgotten to get the GPS from Glenn so I wasn't 100% sure I had reached the summit of Esther when the herd path ended but my Garmin watch was reading the right elevation at the time so I knew this had to be it. The summit marker for Esther is a plaque in a rock that was snow under several feet of snow that I couldn't see to confirm. I took a photo of me (with very red cheeks!)  in the spot the plaque should be and checked my watch again. It took me 30 minutes to walk out to Esther from the marked trail and it had been 1 hour to get to Esther's summit from the toll road. I think my original plan would have worked well re-tracing my steps for the hour or so back and then skiing down the road. My estimate of 6-6.5hours would have been a pretty efficient plan!

Back on the summit of Esther, I had told Glenn I would send him an inReach message to him so he would know where I was at and how long it would take me. As Canadians in the US, we both don't have a US cell plan or opt for cellphone roaming charges but now that both of us have our own Garmin inReach communication devices, we can text back and forth and communicate via satellite. At my current pace, he was to pick me up at 2:30PM at the hiking trailhead. As I waited the minute for the inReach message to send, I chugged back another cup of hot chocolate and had another quick bite of food. Out of the wind, in the trees, and 600 feet lower than Whiteface, Esther's summit was a nice warm hug on a winter day. I re-traced my steps quickly on the beat down trail back to the marked trail. Snowshoes were definitely still needed even though the trail was broken. Winter hadn't given up it's fight yet! I started to descend down the marked trail through a few steeper areas keeping up a fast pace. At 3500', I got my first glimpse of the valley as I exited the cloud but the snowflakes kept pounded my face like they had for most of the day. I heard a beeping noise from my inReach - it was Glenn responding. He was back at the hotel and was coming to pick me up for 2:30pm. Technology works great sometimes! At the first junction at 2750', it was evident in winter that all of the traffic turns left towards the ARSC and Marble Mountain Road. The marked trail hadn't been used much at all and it didn't look like hiking traffic uses the marked trail to the reservoir parking at the bottom. The last time I had been to Whiteface and Esther in July of 2010, I we started at the bottom so that is where I told Glenn to pick me up. Not wanting to break a new trail for 3km, I turned left and descended a neverending  well trod ramp down Marble Mountain. At the bottom were some green buildings and later found out there is a parking lot that hikers can use. I could have ended my hike here!

Instead I had to turn right on to a well-used snowmobile path backed to the marked trail and to the lower parking lot. The marked trail here did not look like it had been used by hikers much at all as there were many signs of bareboots, dog prints, and dog poop. Note to self: park at the Marble Mtn Road trailhead next time! I was slightly late for my pick up time due to the steep leg braking I had to repeatedly do on a 3000' decent. When I arrived at the parking lot Glenn and the care were there waiting for me. Glenn's descent on the toll road had been a mixed bag of hard and fast snow to some softer powder sections. He and his blistered heel did not regret his decision to ski down and I was able to get 2 more summits into my Winter 46 bag!

Unfortunately the weather deteriorated as a classic Nor'Easter parked itself over the High Peaks that same evening and shut the door on any more summits this trip. Next time!

Hike/Ski totals:
Distance: 20.82km
Time: 6hrs 39mins
Ascent: 1057m or 3467ft

March 15th, 2022

After our first day back in two years yesterday our legs were feeling the toll of the ascent the day before. We decided on a shorter, one peak hike that I needed for my winter list: Big Slide. We drove from Keene where we were staying over to Keene Valley to start from the parking lot and hike up over the 3 brothers to the summit.

Today our group of 4 was able to start at the same time and hike together after being separated yesterday with our Covid testing appointments. The last time I hiked Big Slide was back in October of 2011 when my husband Glenn and I waded through hip deep snow and crawled to the summit after starting in the parking lot on wet leaves. Surely this official winter ascent would be easier. We would find out!

Even though today was about bagging another winter peak, it was more about our friend Ivan. At 76, he wasn't sure he still had it in him to do a mountain. He had a knee replaced in 2019, and hadn't been back to the 'dacks since. He started with us up the Brothers, and we thought if he had to turn around then at least he would have been about to have a nice hike with views. The weather today was above freezing and we were down to our baselayers in no time. We hit the first brother and realized our pace was slow, but with the daylight available in March, the warm temperatures and the fact that Ivan was trying to push himself we allowed him to continue to set the pace. After the third brother it was apparent that this pace was going to really slow us down, Ivan gave Deb and I a blessing to run ahead to tag the summit and return to the junction that marked the descent down to the JBL area. 

Deb and I took off and ran up the summit which had just freshly been slid down by three women we had just passed. We dug the crampons of our snowshoes in and felt our heart rates increase as we stepped over the area that normally has a ladder (it was buried!). We got to the summit eager to see the furry summit steward (pine marten), but didn't want to linger too long as we wanted to head back down to see how Ivan was doing. We were getting worried he had pushed himself a bit too much and might need assistance getting back down. We downed some water and took a few photos and took off without even sitting down.

Unfortunately after we slid on our bums down from the summit we arrived at the junction to see that no one had gone down to JBL yet. So we headed back to the 3rd brother and within a couple minutes saw Ivan and Paul huffing their way up. They made it! We took a long lunch break at the junction and Ivan was elated that for the next while it was downhill. The downhill was indeed less energy intensive for sure but did cross a creek multiple times that had some ice bridges that were failing or about to fail. By the time we got down to John's Brook, there was little sign of the 10" of snow that fell 3 days before. In fact there was barely any snow left. We kept our snowshoes on until the parking lot though as they were beneficial most of the way. Ivan hit the wall on the way out so on a break I played one of his favourite tunes Irish Rover which we sang out loud which seemed to lift his spirits and give him a boost to finish the home stretch.

I am so impressed with the mental fortitude of Ivan on this day. For someone I thought we'd leave an hour or two into the day, here he was at the end! He had been to Big Slide's summit before and didn't care if he made it, but to walk 15km with over 3000ft of ascent is admirable. I hope I am like that at 76....

Upon return to Canada the next day, we learned about an overdue hiker that apparently had been hiking the Trap Dike in the blizzard on Saturday. Having hiked in the area for the days he was missing but not found which was a bit unsettling. According to the Adirondack Explorer, his body was found buried under 4 feet of snow in what must have been an avalanche. A very sad outcome for this hiker and his family and friends. Stay safe!

Stats:
Distance: 17.2km
Time: 8:31hr
Elevation: 1056m

March 14th, 2022

Finally!! After a long two year hiatus, I finally crossed the border and headed straight to the Adirondacks! We crossed over on Sunday March 13th, a day later than planned but a large snowstorm was warning us that blizzard conditions were going to be imminent and driving would be 'impossible'. When we finally arrived in Lake Placid and then in Keene in felt like being back to our home away from home. I have spent loads of time in the Adirondacks over the past 15 years and it definitely felt good to be back.

One hoop us Canadians had to jump through in March of 2022 was to have a negative Covid test before re-entering Canada. So we found a free one you could get done at Walgreens in Lake Placid and had our appointments booked in advance for the earliest slots on Monday morning around 9:30AM. The drive-thru test was a breeze - they did Deb and I together. Our two other trip mates had to wait a whole extra hour so we went ahead and started our day off on South Meadow road.

I needed Phelps and Tabletop for my Winter 46er list. We thought those two would fit the bill nicely as a re-introduction to the Adirondacks after our 2 year hiatus. We had tried our best to keep our legs in mountain shape by strength training, walking up and down our local ski hill and doing numerous hikes and backpacking trips in Ontario. The hills just aren't as long, so nothing would fully prepare us for our return trip to the 'dacks.

We started the day late around 10 AM at the South Meadow Parking lot and skied into Marcy dam via the truck trail with our snowshoes on our packs. I love these combo days and my goal is to make all my Winter 46ers as interesting as possible. The skiing was really good- it had just dumped 10-12" of fresh snow two days before. We managed to ski past Marcy Dam and up a little bit more across a creek towards Phelps before we transitioned to snowshoes. Being on snowshoes felt a bit weird as I had spent most of the winter cross country skiing. Off we went to the Phelps turn off and started the inclined portion of the hike to the summit. I was in the lead and told Deb I was going to keep a steady pace on the ascent (not blazing fast but not lollygagging either). Turned out we passed two other parties and reached the summit first on that day! It was a bit of an ego boost for us having not hiked a mountain in 2 years! We still got it!

We took a break on the summit with some food and drink and had some photos taken by some other summiters. We didn't linger too long as we had to descend and then continue over to Tabletop. The descent went well despite being not sure how my knee would handle it after having a knee surgery during my 2 year hiatus. The slog up to the Tabletop turnoff is a part I had forgotten about. You do ascend quite a lot in this section.  I was reminiscing with Deb about a AT ski descent I did off Marcy down the ski trail parallel the hiking trail and it is quite steep. We saw a group of AT skiers heading up Marcy earlier which would have been a great day to do it with all the fresh snow. When we finally got to the Tabletop turnoff we  couldn't remember how far it was to the top. Deb thought it was 30-40 mins or so. I think it ended up being 45 so not too far off! I remembered the Tabletop summit from my first round as being unremarkable but I found this time it does have a really nice view from it despite the dead standing trees. 

Our descent went pretty fast but by now the toll of the ascents had worn out our legs and we marched out and down to our ski stash. We transitioned back on skis and found that now being late afternoon, the snow was freezing up again and things started to get icy. The ski trail out from Marcy Dam was incredibly fast....we were averaging 22km/hr not even poling! There was one part of the ski trail that I was concerned about and made a remark to Deb on the way in. A steep descent ends a one foot ledge drop off that would be consequential at speed. Knowing it was coming, I used the metal edges on my backcountry skis to dig into the snow as best I could and snowplowed my way towards the ledge with alarm bells ringing loudly in my brain. Could I stop before the ledge? With all the extra weight on my back (winter daypack and snowshoes) I came to a screaming halt 2meters before the ledge with my legs still in a wide plow formation. My upper body position was so far forward that it catapulted me into a faceplant into the snow! Luckily I did not go over the edge and besides having a mouthful of snow, I was no worse for the wear. Deb had one wipeout too in a different location, so it was definitely fast skiing!

We zoomed out the rest of the way on skis and finished our first day in the 'dacks and a natural high from the adventure we just had. Long overdue! 2 more winters in the bag!

Stats:
Time: 7h 37mins
Distance: 25.3km
Ascent: 1323m (this could be off as my watch wasn't working well)

I have a love/hate relationship with getting out of bed. I am not an early riser, and loathe the sound of alarm clocks waking me up every morning. Alpine starts are a bit different however, as the reason you are getting up is motivated by an activity you want to do, and hiking mountains will always justify an early start and spring me into action willingly and eagerly. Our objective for the day, the Seward Range in the High Peaks Region of the Adirondacks, almost always requires an early start. The range includes 4 High Peaks but on this day we were shooting for 3 that are along the same ridge: Mt Donaldson (4140ft), Mt Emmons (4040 ft) and Seward Mountain (4361ft). In term of Adirondack Peaks, the Seward Range is not home to the highest of the high peaks but always present a challenge due to the distance you have to travel, the ascent gained and the unmarked herd paths that connect the peaks. I have done this range twice before but never in the winter and was eager to see it in a new season. We stayed at Shaheen's motel in Tupper Lake the night before the hike and set the alarm for 5:30AM.

We were lucky to be able to drive into the summer trailhead parking lot on this day and the Subaru was able to drive through the snow on Corey's Road no problem. Parking at the winter lot adds an extra 10km to your hike day, one that we wanted to avoid. We arrived at the trailhead parking lot at and signed in at the register before dawn at 6:45AM. With the recent snowfall we were hoping to xc ski into the Caulkins Brook turn off but there still was too many open drainages and downed tree fall. A friend of mine had been in to do this range 2 days prior but there was little to no snow in the range. How conditions can change in a day! We left the trailhead with microspikes on our feet and snowshoes on our back and hammered down the trail. We noticed a plethora of deer tracks and scrapes in the snow and then out of the blue two deer ran by us. We got to the junction just as light started to peak over the ridge and we took a quick break to turn off our headlamps and take a sip of water. The next leg of the journey is hammering down the wider double track horsetrail to the Caulkins Brook cairn and turnoff. About a minute before the turn, another solo hiker caught up to us and mentioned that he had found one of Glenn's 'past-it's-prime' microspikes. Glenn looked down at his feet and realized he had lost one some time ago! The hiker had hung it up on a tree over a 10 minute walk back and we decided to leave it there and continue on. The solo hiker whizzed by us and headed up the herd path on his snowshoes. As the ascent begun, we switched to snowshoes for more traction. It was a good call, because the snow depths increased quickly as we ascended. From my memory, I knew that the Caulkins ascent was gradual but steady and was around 2000 feet gain. For the past couple years I had been using a Garmin Fenix 5S for gauging progress on ascents with it's altimeter but as soon as I started my ascent the altimeter stopped working. I later fixed this with a software update but at the time I somewhat enjoyed not knowing how much further I had to go. It was great to follow a broken path up Caulkins - there was no trace of my friend's group's tracks from 2 days ago. Only one quick snack and drink break on the way up and were were starting to see the views.   

​After our break, we headed back up to Mt Donaldson and then followed Joe's track over to Seward, including some steeper areas in which the snow depth increased dramatically feeling like every snowshoe step sunk further backwards instead of moving upwards. It didn't help that under most of this deep snow was a thick coating of ice, so several steps sunk backwards and then slid backwards even more. Seward is a few hundred feet higher than Donaldson and Emmons, and the snow depths were that much deeper making forward progress more energy intensive. We weren't expecting to see Joe again as he would descend off the far side of Seward to continue on to his fourth peak of the day Mt Seymour. About 5 minutes from the Seward summit, Joe popped out from the trees to say he had changed his mind and conditions were too slow today for him to try to hit all 4 peaks. He was backtracking on the ridge - something we were going to do too. We hit the Seward summit at 1:20PM and then turned around and followed our broken trail back to the junction at Donaldson at 2PM.

Here we walked down the Caulkins Brook trail crawling over and under several obstacles including down trees, open streams, and re-routes around some blowdown. The trail looked definitely better packed down than when we ascended and later we would find out a third group that had a late start was up on the ridge. When we finally reached the cairn, we took our snowshoes off and I returned to my microspikes to walk in the snow on the way out. Glenn was re-united with his missing microspike which was hanging on a tree and as we marched along to the junction daylight was fading. At the junction we donned our headlamps (at the same place we had taken them off earlier in the day) and walked out to the parking lot with one thought in mind: food and drink. We arrived at the parking lot at 5:15PM and signed out at the register, noticing that the there was a third group on the ridge. We then walked over to our car, noticing that the parking lot had been plowed!! Elated we knew the drive out in the dark wouldn't be hairy and we would be back at the hotel in no time. Then we saw it....the Thule ski box on on the top of my car was open with my keys in it! I guess in the darkness in the morning I had taken out our hiking poles and forgotten to close it and didn't notice at all that I hadn't locked it up!! The hiking community is such a trustworthy bunch and nothing was stolen or taken. What a mistake! And that wasn't the last one....Glenn had unknowingly left his red gloves on the roof of the car in the dark on the way out and on the way out we sped out of the parking lot and left them lying on the road! After returning from our trip, I posted a few photos on the Adirondack 4000 footers Facebook page about the trail conditions where a member of the third party had found the gloves and are mailing them to us! The hiking community is so amazing!

Another amazing hike in the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks. Up to 22/46 peaks for my Winter ADK 46er round!

Stats:
Date: January 2, 2020
Hike Distance: 24.96km
Time: 10. 5 hours
Ascent: 5500ft
Moving average: 3.2km/hr
Overall average: 2.3kmr/hr
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Allen Mountain is one of the 46 peaks that stands higher than 4000 feet in New York State. Standing at 4347 feet, it is one of the Adirondacks most isolated mountains. As a mountain on infamous ADK 46er list, it is normally hiked by hikers pursuing the goal of ascending all the high peaks.

There are two normal approaches to summit this mountain and I have done both. The first is from the Flowed Lands camp spot (a 23km/14.3 mile hike with 4100')  which I first hiked back in 2012, or from the Upper Works road which we chose to do on this day March 31st, 2018.
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Allen Mountain Stats from Upper Works Road:
Distance: 30km/18.6miles
Total Ascent: 4062 feet
Time: 10.5 hours (March 31st soft snow conditions)
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Within a few minutes of leaving the parking lot you cross the Hudson River over a rickety metal bridge. Soon after, you will hit Jimmy Lake. Commonly crossed in the winter months as a shortcut, we decided on March 31st, 2018, that the water pooling on the top of the ice meant that we shouldn't chance it and take the 0.5km/0.3mile detour around the lake to get to the other side. Soon after you will pass the turnoff to the McAdam's Fire tower hike and then you travel on flat trail passing a few lakes on your right. At the 4km/2.5mile mark, you get your first glimpse of Allen when passing a small swamp. 

Marching along flat trail, one begins to handrail the Opalescent river on the right. Eventually you will come to a newly constructed bridge crossing (after the old bridge was destroyed by flooding in 2011). Crossing the bridge, you finally begin to gain your first bit of elevation for the day but only a couple hundred gradual feet. At the 8.5km/5.3mile mark you hit the turnoff junction to the herd path. This turn off is fairly obvious with signs pointing towards Allen (right) or Marcy (left). Only .5km/0.3miles later, you cross a gravel road and see a clearing turn right here and head towards a second register that signifies the beginning of the true herd path towards Allen. From here it is 6km/3.4miles to the summit. The trail immediately begins to rise and the terrain crosses a few small streams and brooks. The rolling terrain continues until reaching the Skylight brook. From here, the terrain consistently climbs heading upstream along Skylight brook. 

As your heart begins to beat rapidly, the sounds of the Skylight brook fade as the trail trends to the right. All of a sudden it hits you. The Allen brook drainage and the beginning of the steep slidepath. The terrain here rises steeply for about 1500' meandering in and out of forested areas and up and over downed trees. The trail trends on the right- hand side of the slide and in the winter climbs over snow and ice in the open areas. The icy areas may require the use of crampons and ice axes, so come prepared. In the summer, red algae can cover the exposed rock making passage slippery. Be warned!

Finally reaching the top of the slide, your body has now broken into a total sweat and you welcome the relief of entering the shady forest trees once again. Thinking the summit may be near, the final 500ft of climbing is very steep and will make anyone's heart pound hard. You know you are near the end when the terrain finally flattens out for a moment before making a final short rise one last time to reach the summit proper. Both times I have been on Allen there has been a summit sign and a protected treed area to enjoy a well deserved break. Today we had a special reason to celebrate summit success on Allen: My husband Glenn's 46th summit finish! He is now a ADK 46er!

No time to linger on this hike... another 15km/9.3miles await you on your descent and way out. The steep slide section requires attention and precise footing as does the brook crossings in early spring. Soft snow requires the use of snowshoes and skis could be uses for the first leg to the Opalescent bridge and back if conditions allowed. By the time you return to your car you will have known you have completed another good day out in the Adirondacks! Allen is the most isolated peak in the Adirondacks and can't be combined with any other peaks. The challenge is the long approach combined with a steep ascent making for a long-ish day depending on what time of year you chose to tackle it. Good luck!

It's no secret that winter took a long time to arrive in the east in December 2015. When my husband and I booked accommodations in Keene, New York with friends for around New Year's, we expected to be spending most of our time ice climbing and skiing. When we arrived, there was very little snow, so we decided to do what we always do in the Adirondacks: Hike!

After our New Year's Eve festivities, we selected Hurricane Mountain as our New Year's Day 2016 objective. With a late start at 11AM after sleeping in and chowing down on a greasy breakfast, we decided to do the hike as a traverse instead of an out and back.

We set up a shuttle with two cars, leaving a car on route 9N at the Hurrican Mountain trailhead, near the Baxter Mountain trailhead. We drove to our starting point on the Hurricane Road, and turned right onto O'Toole Road that took us to a trailhead that also provides access to the Nun-da-ga-o Ridge and Big Crow Mountain. The actual road to the trailhead itself was not fully plowed, which added an extra 5min walk on a snow covered road to the actual trailhead. We decided to forego signing in at the register, as we knew doing a traverse we would not be returning to sign out. 

The route started with a flat mile or so warm up on a broken trail. Once turning right at the junction and rock hopping over a brook, the trail gradually ascended the 2000ft over 2 miles or so. Temperatures were around -8C/17F. The trail was snow covered, so I wore my microspikes the entire way for extra traction. The ascent travelled through beautiful birch forests, and we all remarked how enjoyable the trail was. Nearing the 3600ft height, the winds picked up and the temperatures plummeted. We stopped at the junction about 100ft below the summit, donned our down and windshells and ascended to the open rocky summit just to be blown off by 50mph/80kph winds.