Not Dial and Nippletop 11/15/14

Friday 11/14 I drove up to the Adirondacks with the intention of hiking Dial and Nippletop on Saturday. I checked in at the Roostercomb Inn and headed to Lake Placid for dinner. After a delicious meal and an Ubu or two I headed back to the inn. Some other hikers were hanging out around the fire and we talked for a little while before heading to bed around 10ish. They were headed to Tabletop and Phelps in the morning.

Throughout the night I kept waking up and in the morning when my alarm went off I wasn’t feeling 100%. But I got dressed and packed my last few items in my pack and headed to the parking lot at the Ausable Club. I decided I wanted to at least attempt my hike and see how it went.

I signed in at the gate at 7am and started down the road.

Giant in the morning

Some deer checking me out

My plan was to do the route clockwise since I’d rather go down than up steep sections and in case I didn’t finish until after dark, the road walk would be easy with a headlamp. I made it to the turn off for the Henry Goddard Leach trail by 7:15. I stopped to take off my softshell jacket and then headed up the trail. The trail was covered with leaves and only had a slight dusting of snow in areas.

Start of the trail from Lake Road

 At the spot where the trail turns a sharp right away from the creek, I guess I must not have been paying attention because I missed the turn and kept going straight along the creek. A minute or 2 went by before I realized I was no longer on the trail and I backtracked to pick it back up again. I was moving quite slowly and I saw there was a group of 5 a bit behind me on the trail. They soon caught up and I let them pass. I would pass them again before the shoulder of Noonmark where they had stopped to look at some views a little ways off the trail. I encountered some ice up here but as it was mostly flat, it wasn’t worth it to stop and put on my trail crampons.

Nice trail through the conifers with only a dusting of snow

 At about 9am I reached the shoulder of Noonmark. I stopped to put my jacket back on and walked out onto the bare rock to soak in the views and take some pictures.

Dix, Dial, and Bear Den

The Great Range from the shoulder of Noonmark

Me and the Great Range

Marcy sticking her head out

The sun still making its way up into the sky

It was pretty cold and the wind didn’t help. After my fingers started to go numb, I made my way back to the trail. At this point, I still wasn’t feeling my best so I stood there trying to decide if I should push on or not. My knees were already starting to bother me and I wasn’t looking forward to hiking out in the dark which looked to be inevitable at the pace I was going. After arguing with myself for a few minutes, I decided it would be best to quit while I was ahead and hike back out. 

Noonmark through the trees

Just in case you thought it was a hand trail

Going down

On the way down I encountered 2 groups of people headed up to Dial and Nippletop. They were impressed thinking I had already summited Nippletop and Dial coming from the opposite direction until I informed them otherwise. After hiking back down the road, I took a quick detour behind the guard’s cabin to take a look at the Ausable River.

Bridge over the Ausable River

After walking by the golf course and admiring Giant’s looming presence, I walked across the street to quickly hike to the base of Roaring Brook Falls.

Giant keeping watch over the golf course

Zoom view of Giant's summit and slides

Panorama of Giant and the golf course

The falls were icy and gorgeous. I also took a trip across the brook to check out the campsites there.

Icy falls

 After hiking back to my car in the Ausable Club lot and chatting with a father and son (I assume) heading out for an afternoon hike of Round Mountain, I drove back to the inn for a shower and a nap. After I woke back up, I headed back into Lake Placid for dinner before calling it an early night and going back to sleep.

The infamous barn

In the morning I woke up feeling better and packed up to head home. After a stop for breakfast in Lake Placid, I started the drive home a different way than I normally go. I stopped at a fishing access point on Upper Saranac Lake, part of the canoe carry from Stoney Creek Ponds to Upper Saranac Lake. I walked across the little bridge there and checked out one of the campsites on the lake.

Checking out the campsite on Upper Saranac Lake

I then drove down Corey’s Road a bit just to see what it was like.

Corey's Road

After stopping for a few quick photos at Tupper Lake, I drove by the sign pointing to Buttermilk Falls and immediately turned back around to go check the falls out.

Buttermilk Falls

Me and the falls

Canoe carry

Cool trees, "I'll never let you go!"

I spent some time wandering around there admiring the falls and exploring the canoe carry. I finally got back on the road for good to complete my drive back to Rochester.

So, it wasn’t exactly the trip I had planned but I still enjoyed my few days in the Adirondacks away from home. I got to see some great views from the shoulder of Noonmark and had a chance to check out a few places I hadn’t been before. Dial and Nippletop will be waiting for me another day, hopefully one with longer daylight hours.

The rest of my pictures