Lower Wolfjaw 3/16/14

Saturday afternoon my brother and I drove up to the Adirondacks for his first High Peak and my first actual winter High Peak. We arrived in the early evening and got our stuff unloaded at the Keene Valley Hostel. We then jumped back in the car to get gas and so I could show Chad some of the sights. First stop was the Garden trailhead where I ended up getting stuck in the snow when trying to turn around in the parking lot. Chad got out of the car to push me out and a few embarrassing minutes later we were on our way back down the narrow, slippery, snow covered road. Next we stopped for gas, some beer and M&Ms and then continued on all the way to the Adriondack Loj. While we drove down to check out the Loj, which I had actually never seen despite camping and hiking there, I pointed out to Chad the different High Peaks I recognized. Once we got back closer to Route 73, I stopped and jumped out of the car into the wind to take a few pictures. We then headed back to the hostel to hang out before going to bed. We had a big day ahead of us tomorrow.

It was pretty windy out

Leading up to the trip I had contemplated hiking either Colden or Lower Wolfjaw with the option to add on Upper Wolfjaw depending on how we felt. Based on the cold and windy weather forecast, it ended up being in the single digits all day, I decided on the Wolfjaws.

Sunday morning, 3/16, we got to the parking area at the Ausable Club and started the hike up the road at 7am. We signed in at the register at 7:15. At least 1 or 2 people had signed in for Lower Wolfjaw the day before so we were expecting broken trails. There was a pair of guys putting their snowshoes on at the register that said they were planning on taking the West River trail to Sawteeth and head back on the East River trail. They took off behind the ranger’s cabin and we headed down Lake Road. We were wearing snowshoes but there were some bare boot prints and microspikes would have been fine as well. We took the turnoff after the Ladies Mile which headed to the East River trail, Cathedral Rocks, and Bear Run. This wasn’t broken out but it was a quick hike to the bridge to get to the West River trail. Here we met back up with the pair from the register. They stated they had been breaking trail the whole way so far and we continued to break trail along the West River trail all the way to the junction with the trail to Canyon Bridge. We initially were taking turns being in front but I couldn't keep up with the pace so the pair ended up ahead of us. As we got closer to the junction with the trail to Canyon Bridge, I could see a single guy hiking up the trail on the other side of the gully. The single guy got to the junction before us and was gone before we got there. Once we reached the junction, we stopped to take a break for a few minutes. We continued up the West River trail and another pair of guys passed up. We met back up with them at the junction with the Wedge Book trail where we stopped to take a snack break. The West River trail wasn’t broken out past here so the pair from the register who had initially planned to do Sawteeth decided to back out of that plan and head up to the Wolfjaws.

With the two pairs of guys ahead of us, my brother and I brought up the rear. We climbed slowly, taking lots of short rest breaks, and soon we got to the flat section of trail before starting a steep climb again. Here we saw and heard some people up ahead of us. We finally ended up catching up with a total of 7 other people and found out they had been taking turns breaking trail the whole way up. Apparently the people who had signed in at the register in the previous days had altered their plans and had not actually ended up going up the Wolfjaws. My brother and I stayed in the back due to our (really my) slow pace. And ended up catching back up to the group at the col. We did some quick wardrobe changes, ate another snack, and headed up the last bit towards the summit.

Nearing the summit

We finally made it to the summit at about 1pm. The views weren't the best, it was hazy and snowing a little. We took a few pictures with my brothers phone to prove we made it, unfortunately my camera and phone were frozen.

Views from the summit

Views from the summit

Proof we made it to the summit!

Chad on the summit

We then headed back down to the col with quite a few initially unplanned sitting-glissades on the way back down.

Me on the way back down to the col

Chad on the way back down to the col

Once back to the col we chowed down on our St Patrick’s Day bagel sandwiches. After about a 45 minute break we started the hike back down. Upper Wolfjaw was not going to happen today.

Green bagels for St. Patrick's Day!

On the way back down we made great time now that the trail was decently packed down. I had brought along some plastic sheets and we put them to good use butt-sliding down the steep sections of the trail. At one point I ended up sliding into a tree which left a pretty nice bruise on my upper left thigh. We played leapfrog with another guy/girl pair along the way. We made it back to the junction with the West River trail in 2 hours. Once back at the junction to Canyon Bridge, we continued on the West River trail, the same way we came up. From here the time seemed to drag on. It appeared everyone else had taking the trail back to Canyon Bridge so the only tracks were ours from earlier that day. We were happy to see Lake Road again. We took off our snowshoes at the register and were back to the car by 5pm.

All together it was a good hike. I was definitely very tired and slow. I knew it had snowed a lot the previous Wednesday but I guess I was still hoping the trail would be nice and packed down 4 days later, but no such luck. That makes High Peak #6, winter peak #1 for me and High Peak/winter peak #1 for my brother, Chad.

On Monday 4/17, Chad and I went to Whiteface to do some skiing and snowboarding. It was a clear sunny day and the views were great!

Lake Placid from Little Whiteface

Looking towards the summit of Whiteface

Me and Lake Placid

Lake Champlain in the distance

The High Peaks from afar

Marcy, a shiny looking Colden, and Algonquin

Chad on Little Whiteface

Whiteface Ski Area

I was still pretty tired out from the previous day's hike, although not as sore as I thought I would be. The conditions weren't the greatest either, not necessarily icy, but it was very scrapey. We did a few easier runs then I went to take a break while Chad hit some of the harder slopes. After lunch I went out for a few more but wasn't feeling very comfortable with my tired legs and the conditions. So I went and hung out in the sun on the patio while Chad did a few more harder runs. We then headed into Lake Placid to do a little shopping and had a delicious St Patrick's Day dinner of corned beef and cabbage at the Lake Placid Pub and Brewery to top off our trip. On the way back to the hostel we stopped at the Adirondack Loj road and Marcy Field for a few final pictures.

Colden and Algonquin dominate

Lower Wolfjaw (the right point of the notch in the mountain) from Marcy Field

The rest of my pictures