Dial and Nippletop 09/17/16

Since the Buffalo Bills' home opener was on Thursday night 9/15/16, I had planned on taking Friday off of work and decided it would be a good time for a trip up to the High Peaks. So on Friday 9/16/16, I took off from Buffalo and made my way up to Keene Valley to spend the weekend at the Keene Valley Hostel.

I arrived around 6:30 and unpacked my car. I was about to head off to Stewart's to grab a sub for dinner and something for breakfast in the morning when another hostel guest, Alex, asked me if I was heading that way. He only had his bike as he was biking around the Adirondacks and he asked to tag along. We both picked up some goodies and headed back to the hostel where I hung out for awhile before checking that everything was packed for the morning and getting to bed.

I didn't have the best night's sleep as the world's loudest snorer was also spending the night. I woke up a few minutes before my alarm went off at 6am and got up to start getting ready for the day. After getting dressed, taping my feet to prevent blisters, and warming up the breakfast sandwich I had bought at Stewart's the night before, I was off to the St. Huberts trailhead.

A little under 2 years ago, I had attempted to hike Dial and Nippletop but ended up not feeling well so I turned around after reaching the shoulder of Noonmark. Since it has been almost exactly 2 years since I had last successfully climbed a High Peaks, I was determined to finish the two peaks today.

After making sure I had everything and checking about 5 times to make sure my car key was secure in my pack, I locked my doors and headed down the road at 7am. I signed in at the register at about 7:15am where the guard was asking everyone what their plans were for the day. I started down Lake Road and made it to the turn off for the Henry Goddard Leach trail by 7:30am. Another hiker headed to Colvin and Blake was taking a picture of the sign and we talked for a few minutes before going our separate ways.

Turn off for the Henry Goddard Leach Trail to Dial and... Nippletop

I started making my way up, up, and up toward my first landmark, the shoulder of Noonmark. After hiking for about a mile or so from the road, I stopped for a break since I was feeling quite warm. I caught my breath, drank some water, and unzipped the legs from my pants. A group of 3 women came up behind me and passed by after we exchanged a few quick words. After talking myself into continuing on, I started going up again. I quickly ran into the 3 women again and passed by as they had stopped to take a break. For awhile I could hear them behind me until they finally caught back up and passed me again. I would be able to hear their voices ahead of me almost all the way until the shoulder of Noonmark which was helpful since I could kind of tell which way the trail would be going up ahead from the direction their voices were coming from. It was also somewhat encouraging to me, it made me want to keep up with them.

At 9:00am I reached the shoulder of Noonmark and once again ran into the 3 women. I walked out onto the open rock and enjoyed the views for awhile while taking pictures. A few other people would pass by during this time.

View from the shoulder of Noonmark

Me on the shoulder of Noonmark

After taking in the views as much as I could, I decided I was feeling good and was ready to continue on my way, not turn around and head back down like I did 2 years ago. So down I went to the col between the shoulder of Noonmark and Bear Den. For awhile I could again hear the women in front of me but I did end up losing them. Once I got down, I went right back up and made it to the summit of Bear Den at about 10:00am.

The gorgeous view from the summit of Bear Den

Since there is nothing much to see at Bear Den, the summit is treed in, I soon continued on. With only 1.3 miles to go to the summit of Dial, I was ready to hit a High Peak summit! Soon I started hearing some voices ahead of me and hit the summit at 11:00am. I dropped my pack and climbed onto the summit boulder to take a look at the views.

View from the summit of Dial

Looking down the ridge toward Nippletop (not in view)

Me on the summit of Dial with a section of the Great Range in the background

It was pretty breezy but the day was warm and humid so for awhile, it felt good to cool off. The clouds were beginning to cover the Great Range but the view was still awesome. After some pictures, I hopped back down off the boulder to let some other people have their turn. I put my sweatshirt on as the breeze was starting to feel chilly on my sweaty shirt and I ate a snack. Most of the people on the summit, including the 3 women from earlier, had continued on so I had the peak to myself for a few minutes. I took some video and a few more pictures from the boulder. As I was jumping down to get ready to start going again, a couple came up the trail. I packed back up and let them have some time on the summit to themselves as I continued down the trail.

A couple on Dial's summit boulder

The trail was pretty flat for awhile along the ridge which was a nice change from the ups and downs I had experienced so far. I started hearing some people up ahead and got excited that I was getting close to the summit of Nippletop even though I knew it felt like it was too soon. I turned a corner to find a couple enjoying some lunch at a big rock on the trail. I told them they got me excited thinking I was close to Nippletop and we all laughed. The guy commented that it did appear to be a high point of some sort. I later determined it must have been the second summit of Dial which happens to have the same elevation as the main summit of Dial but is missing the views.

I hiked on as they finished up their lunch. Some more ups and downs finally brought me to the junction with the trail down Elk Pass. Two guys were there that had just come down from the summit of Nippletop. We had a short conversation and they stated it had been cloudy on the summit. We then parted ways as they continued on to Dial and I moved forward to Nippletop.

Elk Pass trail junction

The trail continuing on from the junction was narrow and surrounded by the stubby trees you find at higher elevations. Most of it was on bare rock where the soil had eroded away from hikers' steps. I rounded a corner thinking I had to be getting close, the summit is only 0.2 miles from the Elk Pass Trail junction. I was surprised to find that I was on a false summit, I could see the main summit a short distance away. So down and up I went again and a few minutes later, I arrived on the summit of Nippletop.

Me on the summit of Nippletop

The trio of women who I had seen often during the first half of my hike greeted me by exclaiming, "You made it! Congrats!" I dropped my pack and jumped up onto the rock to take in the fleeting views as the clouds quickly blew past.

Fleeting views from the summit of Nippletop

After some pictures and videos and enjoying the breeze, I moved into the shelter of the stubby trees and sat down to have some lunch. More people arrived while I was eating. After lunch, I walked the short distance to the other side of the summit where I admired the awesome closeup views of the slides of the Dix range. I also found the "toilet," eww.

Close encounters with the slides on Dix

I went back to the summit to see the views one last time and played photographer for another group (and they returned the favor) as everyone else had left the summit.

Me on the summit of Nippletop

A group of boy scouts showed up and as it was started to get crowded again, I began to make my way back down.

After spending an hour on the summit, it was a quick walk back to the Elk Pass trail junction. I found out I was out of water but I wasn't too worried because I knew there was water lower down the trail and I had brought my filter. I had gone through 2.5 liter already since it was such a warm and humid day. So I started down the steep trail. I felt like it was slow going, I was making sure to plant my feet safely to not twist an ankle, and a few groups passed me, but going down wasn't too bad. There were a few spots where I threw my poles down ahead of me and used my hands and feet to lower myself down some of the steeper stuff. It kept the hike exciting. I definitely would not have wanted to hike up this steep section.

Heading down the steep Elk Pass trail

After a long mile the trail let up as I made it to Elk Pass. I passed by one of the groups that had passed me as they set up camp near the ponds. I got to a wet spot and continued to the left. I followed along for a little while before determining there was no way I was still on the trail. I backtracked and found out that at the wet spot, I was supposed to have crossed over the water. I carefully picked my way across and came out dry on the other side.

I followed along the ponds for a little while. I thought about stopping for water but the ponds didn't look too inviting and I knew I would come up to a creek sooner or later. Past the ponds the trail continue through the woods. I had heard of bear encounters in the area recently and knew of someone who had seen one just a few week prior so I was a little on edge. Since I was by myself, I would click my poles together every so often to let anything around know I was coming.

Elk Pass Ponds

I started hearing voices up ahead which reassured me. I followed the voices for awhile and finally caught up to them at the trail junction to Colvin and Blake. It was the 3 women I had been seeing all day. Both they and I were impressed that I had caught up to them, they had left the summit 30 minutes before I did.

Trail junction to Colvin and Blake

We continued along together. I mentioned how I was out of water and one of them offered me an unopened bottle. I tried to refuse but she insisted, stating she wasn't going to end up drinking it and it would be less weight for her to carry. So I graciously accepted the water and quickly drank about half of it.

The trail seemed to drag on from here, we kept expecting to get to a junction but it seemed like forever until we actually got there. I stayed behind the 3 women and had a conversation with the last one in line. They had a pretty good pace going but I was able to keep up. We passed by a few campsites and were hiking along Gill Brook. I saw a good spot to get down to the creek to filter water and thanked and said goodbye to the 3 women. They offered to give me another water bottle but I declined since I had my filter and I wanted to take a little break anyways.

The waterfall on Gill Brook I stopped at the top of to get water

I walked out onto the rock right above a waterfall and filter some water. It was nice and cold and refreshing. I drank a bunch right away and added about a liter to my bladder. I got back on the trail and continued down about 100 yards and realized I was at the turnoff for the Gill Brook Cutoff Trail.

Trail junction with the Gill Brook Cutoff trail

I was excited to know I was getting close to the road. The trail rolled through the woods and finally I could see Lake Road. The trail paralleled the road for a bit, I could see the road but felt like I'd never get to it!

I finally popped out on the road and took a short break. It had started to lightly rain. I continued down the hard road. I thought it would be nice to get back to the relatively flat road as opposed to the rocky and rooty trail in the woods but walking on the hard packed dirt hurt my feet. I took a few short breaks to get off my feet and after what felt like forever, the AMR gate came into view. I signed back out at the trailhead and continued the last half mile down the road. I was ecstatic when my car finally came into view.

I was overjoyed to complete these two peaks after my failed attempt 2 years prior. At the time, only my feet felt sore from being on them all day. The rest of my soreness would catch up the next day. Overall, I felt great all day after getting past my usual wall in the first few miles. The 3 women that I hiked near or with for a decent amount of the day were very encouraging to me, even if they didn't realize they were. This hike got my High Peak count to double digits. Only 36 more to go!

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Peaked Mountain Pond Backpacking 07/18/15 - 07/19/15

Saturday morning 7/18, a group of 4 of us from a Meetup group met up at the trailhead on Thirteenth Lake off of Beach Road to backpack into Peaked Mountain Pond. The weather had been looking iffy and it had been raining on and off all morning which caused a few potential members to drop out of the trip.

After having introductions in the parking lot, Jason and I hit the trail a little after 10am while Greg and Bill paddled along Thirteenth Lake in their Hornbecks. A mile or so down the trail we met back up with them as they were getting the canoes ready to be carried the remaining 2 miles to the pond. Jason and I were already pretty sweaty from the heat and humidity so the light mist that was falling felt good. We took a break while Bill and Greg got situated before we all continued up the trail.

Greg paddling on Thirteenth Lake

Misty morning on Thirteenth Lake

We followed the trail along Peaked Mountain Brook as it started climbing. The creek was very pretty and there were some nice waterfalls along the way. The heat and humidity was pretty brutal and I was starting to get pretty tired out from the climb but right as I was about to stop for a break the trail flattened out and I was able to catch my breath. The rest of the trail to the pond was fairly flat with just some rolling ups and downs. By the time we got to the pond we were all ready for a swim. Lexie was the first to get her feet wet.

Lexie took a dip as soon as we got to Peaked Mountain Pond

Bill, Jason, and I continued hiking the short distance to the campsite while Greg got in his boat to paddle there. We all met up and sat around for a few before setting up camp. There was a bit of a breeze at the campsite and when we were just sitting around relaxing, the temperature was pretty tolerable. The sky even started to clear up and any threat of rain disappeared. Jason had forgotten his tent poles so our team building exercise was to jury rig his tent up. I think we did a pretty good job!

Jason untangling my rope for his tent

The guys inspecting our work getting Jason's tent to stand without poles

Our campsite on Peaked Mountain Pond

Peaked Mountain from our campsite

After getting everything situated and having some lunch (and waking Greg up from his nap), Jason, Greg, and I headed up the trail to Peaked Mountain. Bill stayed behind with Lexie since she is getting a bit too old for steep climbs. The half mile trail to the summit is pretty steep and it took us about a half hour to reach the top. Once there, the guys decided they were going to jump down to some lower rocks even though they weren't sure if they would be able to figure out how to get back up. I stayed up high in case I had to pull them back up (we did figure out how to get them back up safely). We stayed on the summit for about an hour just relaxing and enjoying the views of the surrounding mountains and of Bill paddling down on the pond. The black flies decided to swarm around me and they left me bleeding in a few spots.

Peaked Mountain summit marker

Gorgeous views back towards Thirteenth Lake and Gore Mountain

Me enjoying the views of Peaked Mountain Pond

Gorgeous views back towards Thirteenth Lake and Gore Mountain

After we had sufficiently taken in all the views, we heading back down to the campsite. Bill had already gotten the fire going and was starting to cook his dinner. Greg, Jason, and I were very warm and sweaty from our hike so we all went to take a dip in the pond. Jason and Greg jumped right in but I was a bit more hesitant. After taking a few steps in, I thought I saw a leach so I went running back out. Not knowing where the leach went, I slowly started to head back in, being careful not to step off the rocks into the super mushy mud. I got myself in enough to get rinsed off and had fun watching the salamanders swim around. I didn't think the water was cold and refreshing enough but it was better than nothing.

After our rinse, we cooked up dinner and enjoyed talking around the campfire and watching the satellites fly by overhead. The temperature had cooled down nicely where it was cool enough that you didn't need a jacket. After enjoying some adult beverages, we all went to bed at a decent hour.

Bill, Greg, and Lexie hanging out around the campfire

Dusk on Peaked Mountain Pond

Me and the pond at dusk

When I woke up the next morning, Bill and Greg were already up. After breakfast, Greg went for a swim around the pond and Bill went for a paddle. I hung out at camp taking some pictures and started to pack up my gear. A while later, Jason woke up and packed all his stuff up too before making his breakfast.

Morning view from the fire ring

Greg taking a swim around the pond

Bill and Lexie out for a paddle

I thought this oil slick thing (most likely caused by decaying plants) sorta looked like a bear's face

Getting packed up and ready to hit the trail

After everyone was packed up, we were ready to hit the trail. Greg was going to take one more paddle before the hike out so Bill, Jason, and I hit the trail knowing that Greg would catch up eventually. Along the way back, we stopped to take some pictures of the views.

Marshy area

Red eft

Peaked Mountain across another marshy area

Greg caught back up with us at one of the stream crossing before the major downhill section. We all agreed that going downhill in the heat and humidity was much better than going uphill, but that didn't mean we weren't still sweating our butts off. When we made it back to Thirteenth Lake, Bill and Greg again went to paddle the remaining section while Jason and I hiked the last mile back to the trailhead. Lexie followed me and Jason about halfway before realizing Bill wasn't with us and jumping back into his canoe when he stopped on shore.

Waterfall on Peaked Mountain Brook

Much sunnier day on Thirteenth Lake

After we all made it back to the trailhead and dropped our gear off at our cars, we all went for a dip in the lake. It was very refreshing and felt good to wash all the sweat and dirt off. After floating around for a bit we decided we would have lunch at the Garnet Hill Lodge. After finally rounding everybody back up ;) we headed up to the lodge. The views were beautiful and the breeze felt great. We all enjoyed our sandwiches and a few cold ones (including 2 free ones!). My chicken pesto sandwich was incredible. After lunch, we all said our goodbyes and parted ways to head home. I ended up following Bill for awhile until he pulled off into a Stewart's to get a hot dog for Lexie (I assume).

On my way home, I decided to drive down Jessup River Road to see if I could make it all the way to the Pillsbury Mountain trailhead since I'm planning on backpacking the West Canada Lakes Loop in September. I made it in my Pontiac Vibe without any issues whatsoever. It looked like there had recently been some work done on the section from Sled Harbor to the trailhead. There were areas with fresh gravel and other areas that look like they may have been recently graded. It was a fun drive and a nice little excursion to end my adventurous weekend.

This was my third trip with this Meetup group and I enjoyed it as much as I had the last two. The company is always great and I really enjoy meeting everyone. These short weekend trips work perfectly for me too. I look forward to more trips like this in the future!

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Raquette Falls Backpacking 05/02/15 - 05/03/15

A group of 7 of us from a Meetup group, including my younger brother Chad, met up at Corey's Road Saturday morning 5/2 to backpack to Raquette Falls. This was Chad's first backpacking trip and he was really looking forward to it. We hit the trail at about 9:30am.

Ready to hit the trail!

A little under an hour later we arrived at the junction with the trail to Shattuck Clearing. I remarked, "Holy crap, we went over 2 miles already?" Apparently I can hike much faster when someone else is setting the pace.

We continued following the ups and down of the trail, which were all a bit longer than I had hoped, and ended up down near the Raquette River. The trail had been taken over by the river for a couple hundred feet so we found a herd path and made our way around the wet area.

The trail went through this section

We passed by Raquette Falls lean-to #2, which was occupied, and made our way to Raquette Fall lean-to #1 near the DEC Outpost. A couple were there but had just stopped for a break and were about to continue on. We all were happy to get our packs off and just sat around for a bit before deciding on tent locations and setting up camp.

After we had gotten all set up and ate some lunch, we went for a hike along the river to see the falls. We stopped at Lower Falls first and everyone took lots of pictures and explored around the area.

Lower Raquette Falls

Chad on a big boulder

We then continued following the somewhat rugged footpath up to the Upper Falls. There wasn't as good of a viewing area to see Upper Falls but we stopped to take a few pictures and drink some water. Moving on, we followed the trail to the end which is the start of the canoe carry around the falls. We hung out here for a bit and Lexie took a swim

Lexie taking a swim

Looking downstream towards Upper Raquette Falls

DANGER!!!

Four guys in 2 canoes came flying around the corner of the river and pulled up to the carry. We decided to start moving back down the trail to give them more room to prepare for their carry.

We hiked back to the lean-to down the canoe carry trail. I had been on this trail twice before on canoe trips and remember it being much worse than it was. Although, those times I was carrying a way-too-heavy canoe over my head. Once we got closer to the lean-to, some of us picked up some nice looking branches for firewood.

Once back at the lean-to, we hung out a little more and then everyone went off to do their own thing for awhile. Chad and I hiked down to the little beach at the end of the canoe carry.

Little beach at the end of the canoe carry

While we were exploring around down there, an older couple paddled up in a canoe. Chad and I then headed up to check out the Ranger Cabin. It's still all boarded/locked up from the winter season so there wasn't much to see.

Chad heading up to check out the Ranger Cabin

Once everyone made their way back to the lean-to, firewood was gathered and chopped up and an attempt was made at getting the bear bag rope up. The rope got on the branch the first try, but it wouldn't come back down! The stick tied to the end got wedged up on the branch. This resulted in a lot of entertaining attempts to get the rope/stick unstuck. Eventually, everyone gave up. The rope was good enough to hang the bag for the night so we let it be and the next morning we had to leave the rope there for whoever uses the lean-to next.

Trying to get the bear bag rope OUT of the tree unsuccessfully

Everyone was pretty hungry by this point so we all started getting out our own dinners. I had recently bought a dehydrator and had brought along some chili I had made and dehydrated earlier in the week as an experiment. It was a huge success! The chili was delicious and rehydrated awesomely!

The chili was amazing!

After dinner we hung around the campfire talking and sharing stories. Bill, Chad, and I enjoyed some cold ones we had stored in the refrigerator the lean-to came with :)

Telling stories around the campfire

Free refrigerator included!

The next morning we all woke up whenever since there was no rush to leave. I was the last one up around 8:30am which I had expected, I'm not a morning person. After enjoying some breakfast we decided to hike over to Dawson Pond. We spent some time soaking in the views which included a shipwreck.

Shipwreck in Dawson Pond

Dawson Pond Outlet

Birdwatching at Dawson Pond

After hiking back to camp, we all started packing up for the hike back out. Unfortunately, none of our packs felt much lighter.

We hit the trail and soon discovered that a lot of the downhills we enjoyed on the hike in were not as enjoyable as uphills on the way back out.

Creek we crossed over on the trail

We ended up setting a pretty brisk pace and were back to the trailhead by 1:30pm. Bill went to sign us back in at the register and found that someone had left an unopened microbrew in the register!

Bill signing back out at the trailhead

After packing the cars up and changing shoes/clothes, we all said our goodbyes and headed our separate ways home.

This was a fantastic trip with a great group of people. My brother thoroughly enjoyed himself and did a great job for his first trip, he was out in front hiking faster than the rest of us for half of the hike back out! I know he has already expressed interest in going on more trips which is great because it's so hard to find hiking partners. I'm looking forward to another trip in July with this Meetup group where I'm planning on introducing one of my friends to backpacking, although I'm not sure if he is going to fare as well as my brother did :)

The rest of my pictures

Video clips of bear bag rope issues