[GaliWalker]

Is there a more satisfying feeling than to look around and see the horizon eclipsed by towering mountains, and then, a few hours later, to stand atop one of those peaks? There is nothing I like more in this world than mountains: the soothing peace one gets from walking their forest trails, the thrill of gazing at the sweeping views from atop them, the lightness in one's soul evoked by the sparkling lakes and splashing waterfalls that hide in their folds, the sense of accomplishment from summiting, and the humbling feeling when gazing up at their lofty heights from the valleys. This was my first trip to the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York. By the end of my four days there I had fallen in love with them. Sep 16: Arrival Whiteface Mountain, High Falls Gorge, Connery Pond I left Pittsburgh around 4:00am. 9.5hrs later I reached Lake Placid, my home for the next four days. Since I didn't want to tire myself out for my hike planned for the coming day, I decided to do more touristy things on my arrival day. Whiteface Mountain (drive up) The town of Lake Placid lies at the northern edge of the High Peaks Area of the Adirondacks, nestling around the shores of lake from which it gets its name. At the far end of the lake 4,867ft high Whiteface Mountain - one of the 46 peaks above 4000ft that the High Peaks are named for - dominates the skyline. A 12mi hike would put the intrepid hiker atop said mountain, but a road accomplishes much the same for the more delicate. Since I was in delicate mode, I made my way up by gasoline power. A $10 fee was small price to pay for the relaxing approach up; I was informed that this price was reduced by $5 because "the elevator was not working" and that I would have to walk the final 0.2mi to the summit. 300ft of elevation were gained on this 0.2mi, up a narrow rocky ridge guarded by railings, so I was panting a bit when I reached the large summit area, crowned by a spiffy stone tower. Despite the vastness of the summit, people teamed amongst the rocks like ants at a picnic spread.

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The 360° views from the top were amazing, even if hazy skies had visibility down to 30mi. At this time the various mountains identified on the helpful information boards were just names to me, but over the next few days I would become intimately familiar with some of them. Equally arresting, was the interesting ladder shaped Lake Placid, laid out below me; an obvious focal point for photography. Fall colors were beginning to appear, much earlier and in more perfusion that I had expected, so these were a welcome surprise. It was a breathtaking intro to the Adirondacks.

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6- The Great Range, a barrier across the horizon

High Falls Gorge Near the base of Whiteface Mountain the Ausable River passes through a narrow rocky gorge. Four impressive waterfalls provide sound and fury, as viewed from the precarious comfort of a boardwalk stapled to one side of the gorge. Entry to the gorge costs $12, but just like the Whiteface Mountain drive, it was money well spent.

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Connery Pond Next to the trailhead for hiking Whiteface Mountain lies the picturesque lake called Connery Pond. Grassy shores and a nice view of Whiteface Mountain are the selling points of the lake. I had originally planned to use this as a location for photographing Whiteface Mountain at sunrise, but the map suggested that sunsets would also work, so I decided to at least check it out. Score!

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[GaliWalker]

Part II: Great Range sampler (Sep 17) Gothics, Armstrong, Upper Wolfjaw After spending my first day in the Adirondacks doing sightseeing I was ready to hit the trail. The next three days were to be spent doing dayhikes; the plan was to spend as much time as I could manage out on the trail, come back to my motel in Lake Placid for the night, and then repeat. Obviously, I anticipated that my current flatlander conditioning would take a beating with the steep ups and downs of the Adirondacks, so each successive day was scheduled to be a bit easier than the one before. I kicked off the proceedings with a partial tour of the Great Range. The Great Range stretches like a picket fence across the eastern horizon of the Adirondacks High Peaks, and includes seven (or more, depending on which source you consult) of the 46 High Peaks. The 1-day traverse of the entire range is a grueling 25mi, 10,000ft elevation gain extravaganza. I had much more modest goals in mind and was content to settle with three of the 4,000 footers, on a 13.7mi loop. The day before, I had taken a look at the Great Range from Whiteface Mountain's summit. So, I was fairly rubbing my hands in anticipation of walking atop it when I pulled into the Ausable Club's hiker parking lot at 6:00am. Fifteen minutes later I was on my way, walking up the dirt road that one has to endure for 0.8mi until you hit the actual trailhead. After signing the register, I finally hit the trail, and proceeded to cross over the East Branch of the Ausable River on a spiffy bridge. Immediately afterwards, I hung a left to pick up the West River Trail.

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The West River Trail, sporting a beautifully soft tread, took me gently alongside the river. Serenity ruled in these early morning hours.

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Eventually, things became a bit more hectic as the trail began to gain elevation in short stints of steeper grades. At 2.7mi, I passed the junction with the Wedge Brook Trail, down which I would return, to enter an extremely scenic stretch. Over the next 0.7mi I meandered through pretty woods, making frequent forays down to a much more energized, cascading Ausable River. The end of this stretch put me at the base of the misty veil of Beaver Meadows Falls. The waterfall shimmered in the sunlight, as it splashed its way down in a curtain of froth.

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The next instant, my magic carpet was rudely pulled out from under me: the climb up to the Gothics-Armstrong col had begun. A ladder began the butt kicking process, helpfully boosting me up a slab of rock. The route paralleled the stream upstream of Beaver Meadow Falls for a while, alternating between good tread, tiresome roots, creek-bed style boulders, steeply angled rock slabs, ladders, stone steps, wooden steps fixed to rock slabs, and just general mayhem. The ickiest bits for me, at least initially, were the slanted rock slabs: these were frequently wet and slimy looking; however, I began to realize that despite appearances the grip my boots found on the (Anorthosite) rock was great. For a while I stayed wary of them, seeking out any veggie belay available, but I was soon able to relax somewhat and just walk up them.

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As I made my way up I played leapfrog with a bunch of youngsters, that I learned later were part of the Boston College cross-country team. They would scamper past me, but I would catch up to them in my steadily plodding way as they stopped for the occasional snack break or bout of revelry. Just before the Gothics col the gradient eased up and I came upon this huge boulder, balanced acrobatically on another one. This was a glacial 'erratic', and had been artfully placed there for our amusement by some bygone ice age. The Boston College team was busy scrambling all over it!

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A little bit further, and a few more scramble drills later, I crested a ridge and got my first sight of Gothics Mountain, pockmarked with exposed rock slides. An eyebrow path clinging to the far side of the ridge, festooned with yet more ladders and steeply down-sloping rock slabs, took me to Gothics col. I hung a left here, and in a final half mile push was soon standing on the summit of Gothics, 6.1 long miles from my car.

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Wow, what a view! A sea of peaks eclipsed the horizon in every direction: here a Mount Marcy, there an Algonquin Peak, a Mount Colden betwixt them and a Whiteface Mountain standing aloof in the far distance. I got drunk on the mountain brew, staggering from one jaw dropping perch to the next, then wiped the froth from my mouth and retraced my steps to Gothics col. Time for more Great Range fun.

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29- GaliWalker on Gothics

From Gothics col I headed north along the Great Range to Armstrong Mountain. The steep terrain and scrambling continued, but by now I was hitting my stride. I hummed along, a song in my heart. In a mile I was on my second great summit of the day. In one unique way the view from Armstrong was even better than Gothics: yes, it didn't offer a 360° vista, but the ridiculously steep looking Gothics bulking huge in front of me was spectacular. I went up and down that?

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For a while I joined forces with a lovely couple from Philadelphia, who were hiking the same route as me. The ensuing exchange of pleasantries took our minds off the up and down scrambles. One near vertical series of skinny ledges, down which we had to down-climb, culminating in the longest ladder on the hike, had me laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. The most rugged official trails - as opposed to off-trail routes - I'd ever been on previously were in New Hampshire; I think this was worse.

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My final summit of the day was Upper Wolfjaw. The view from this was filtered and disappointing. I took this opportunity to decompress and have lunch. The interesting development that took place here was that we were joined on the summit by a young lady, who wanted me to take her photo doing a handstand! Evidently, she was a yoga instructor and her goal was to document herself doing a handstand on all 46 of the High Peaks. She was about halfway done.

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I had initially toyed with tucking in Lower Wolfjaw as well, but I decided to skip it so as to conserve my strength for the coming days. As we hit the Wedge Brook Trail, I said goodbye to my fellow Pennsylvanians and dropped down, off the Great Range. A bit of steepness, but then a more normal descent feathered me back down to the West River Trail, to close my loop. Autopilot walking had me back at the car 10.5hrs after starting, tired but grinning from ear to ear. Hiking/photography stats: 13.7mi, 4650ft gain, 10.5hrs, numerous interesting people met

[GaliWalker]

Part III: "Hitch up Matildas" and Mount Colden (Sep 18, 2017) This was to be my second consecutive day of hiking in the Adirondacks. As I got up early in the morning, my quads burned from the previous days excesses. Experience told me to ignore them; they would adjust as they warmed up. Other than this little trifle, I felt good as I drove over to the Adirondack Loj trailhead. After taking care of the bureaucracy of paying my $10 parking fee and self registering, I finally got boots on the trail at 6:30am. I motored along the wide, smooth Van Hoevenberg Trail. Nothing much seemed to happen in the initial going, so I reached the site of the Marcy Dam without much of a fuss. 2011's Tropical Storm Irene had washed out the dam, as well as the small lake, but not the mosquitoes which seemed to be making do quite well with just Marcy Brook, thank you very much. From here, the view of Avalanche Mountain and Mount Colden, amongst other luminaries, was great.

37- Mount Colden (photo taken on the return)

From Marcy Dam I continued onwards, towards Avalanche Lake. 1.2 more miles of relatively flat hiking, albeit slightly rockier and muddier, brought me to the junction with the Colden Trail, which is what I would be returning on. I stayed right, towards Avalanche Lake. Finally, the trail started to wake up and I was dragged rudely and steeply up to the claustrophobic confines of Avalanche Pass. What a spot: Cliffs loomed high on either side of a densely wooded corridor. The temperature dropped and time seemed to stop as I picked my way across. I even fancied I spied a woodland nymph at one point. I could well see the spiritually sensitive amongst us getting all tingly.

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Avalanche Pass spat me out onto the dramatic shores of Avalanche Lake. Mount Colden's cliffs soared dizzyingly up from the lake shores on my left, while Avalanche Mountain's kept pace on my right. The surface of the lake was amazingly still and the reflections were hypnotic.

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45- Entrance to the Trap Dike route up Mount Colden

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As I made my way around the lake, I had to scramble my way along an obstacle course that was masquerading as a trail. The going was slow and cumbersome, as I had to deal with ladders and some huge boulders to clamber over. Eventually I was at the series of boardwalks, fixed to the sides of vertical cliffs, that are known as "Hitch up Matildas". One legend says that in the late 1800s two sisters were being guided past the lake. As the water level began to get higher their skirts began to get wet, whereupon one sister yelled out, "Hitch up Matilda!"

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0.5mi after getting around Lake Avalanche I was Lake Colden. Here, I headed along the left side of the lake until I was at the base of the climb to Mount Colden. 2,000ft of elevation were gained over the next 1.6mi. The first half was easier; just the occasional slimy staircase or ladder to scuttle up on, and relatively short corridors of steeply slanted rock slabs, called slides, to gingerly walk on. The second half was mostly just one interminable series of steep slides.

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50- Steeper than it looks

Finally, I broke out into the open and was able to bask in the expansive views. Lake Colden and the Flowed Lands beyond, nestling below a tumultuous mountain landscape, took away whatever breath I had left. Buoyed by this heady concoction of mountain-lake magic I skipped up the final bit to the summit. Yet more views, from a magnificent perch right in the heart of the Adirondacks High Peaks: Mount Marcy, New York's highest peak, a stone's throw away to my right, and Algonquin Peak, New York's number two, another stone's throw away to my left.

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53- Algonquin Peak

After wandering around and trying to drink in as much of the summit experience as time allowed, I headed north towards the false summit, which many hikers who approach from that side get confused by. There was a great view of the main Mount Colden summit from the false one. I relaxed for a while, had lunch, and generally decompressed for a while, before dropping off the mountain towards Lake Arnold.

54- False summit in the distance

55- GaliWalker at the false summit, actual summit behind ('selfie')

56- Mount Marcy

Lake Arnold was definitely not up to the standards of Lake Colden and Avalanche Lake, but pretty lily pads that decorated its surface allowed it to save face. Regretfully, my photos of the lake were uninteresting and generally crummy; face not saved. The Lake Arnold Trail, downhill of the lake, was a boulder strewn ankle buster, so I took my time on it. Thankfully, as I picked up the Mount Colden Trail, which would close my hike's loop, the tread improved and I was able to make much quicker progress, all the way back to the car. Approximate hiking/photography stats: 15mi, 3000ft gain, 11hrs

[GaliWalker]

Part IV: Indian Head, Chapel Pond, Copperas Pond and departure Sep 19: Indian Head, Chapel Pond, Copperas Pond My final full day of hiking, and I was suffering slightly. The previous two days of steep ups and downs had left me the proud owner of chaffing burns on the front of both ankles, where the boot uppers had been given a thorough workout. This was the first time I'd ever had any issues in these spots, a testament to how unrelentingly rough and steep the travel had been. I was glad that I had scheduled a relatively easy set of hikes for this day.

57- iPhone photo, after my return to Pittsburgh

Indian Head and Fish Hawk Cliffs Now that I live in Pittsburgh I seldom get to see alpine lakes. Hence, seeing the view of the Ausable Lakes from Indian Head had made the viewpoint one of my must-visit destinations. I had planned a loop hike, that would have me approach Indian Head via the Ausable River and return via Gill Brook. I began my hike from the Ausable Club trailhead, the same one I'd used for my Great Range hike. The first 3.4mi, along the West River Trail, was familiar from my previous hike, so I was planning to zip along it. I was initially successful in this, but the Ausable River was such a pretty presence from the 2.7-3.4mi section that I just had to stop and enjoy it for a while.

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From the 3.4mi mark, at the base of Beaver Meadows Falls, I continued on the West River Trail, all the way till the dam across Lower Ausable Lake. The sparkling blue waters of the lake, clear blue skies, the beginning of fall colors made for an extremely picturesque setting.

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I crossed over to the other side of the Ausable River. The grade had been flat to moderately angled to this point. Now, it steepened, but nothing like the previous days, so it was smooth sailing all the way to the rocky outcrop of Indian Head. Vertical cliffs and steep slopes, glowing in the morning sun, marched down to the deep blue waters of Lower Ausable Lake. Upper Ausable Lake glinted silver, at the far end of its sister. I had the whole place to myself, so I took my time soaking it all in.

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From Indian Head I dropped steeply for a short spell and then climbed back up to the nearby vista of Fish Hawk Cliffs. Another smashing spot!

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From Fish Hawk Cliffs, I continued along the trail to drop down to Gill Brook. I took a left here, heading back towards the car. Gill Brook ended up being far prettier than I'd anticipated. Scenic cascades and waterfalls splashed their way down beside me. There was one secluded spot in particular, which I called the "waterfall room", that was simply amazing! Unfortunately, this late in the season Gill Brook was flowing weakly, otherwise that spot would have been supremely special.

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70- Gill Brook waterfall room

Approximate hiking/photography stats: 10.5mi, 1800ft gain, 8hrs Chapel Pond With my main hike for the day over and done with, I drove over to nearby Chapel Pond, right beside the road. Some amazing cliffs there!

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Copperas Pond In my research I had selected Copperas Pond as a possible site from which to take sunset photos of Whiteface Mountain. I got to the trailhead at 5:50pm, and made short work of the surprisingly steep and rocky 0.5mi trail to the lake. I had to walk around the lake to its southern shores before I got the view I'd wanted, but get it I did.

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Stats: 1.5mi, 300ft gain, 1.25hrs Sep 20: Misty sendoff at Whiteface Mountain I was hoping to tuck in one final set of parting shots from the Adirondacks before I headed back to Pittsburgh. With this in mind I initially headed to Connery Pond, but opaque fog thwarted that plan. I decided that I might as well make one more visit to Whiteface Mountain's summit, via the road. Swirling mist made for quite different conditions from my previous visit.

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[Malachai Constant]

When we lived in Ottawa we went there many times. No big mountains in Ontario. The trails are surprisingly difficult. The Daks are Americas first wilderness.

[GaliWalker]

Yeah, I saw lots of hikers from Canada. It seemed like half the people there were speaking French. I was extremely impressed with the Adirondacks, so it wasn't surprising to encounter so many visitors from north of the border.

[Malachai Constant]

What was fun was nearly every peak ended with a bare granite scramble.

[GaliWalker]

Parts II and III are now up.

[Jim Dockery]

I'm normally not that interested in NY TRs, but glad you posted this since my wife and I are headed back that way next week. Nice pics as usual, some nice color in this one

My first day in the Adirondacks. I spent the evening at Connery Pond, which ended up being far better than I'd expected, with some beautiful golden light. Adirondacks, Upstate New York (Sep 16, 2017)

[GaliWalker]

The Adirondacks were definitely 1-2 weeks further ahead than other places. Some nice color was already showing up. You might be timing it perfectly.

[tmatlack]

Gali, Thanks for fond memories. I went to Paul Smiths College, a 2 yr. school on Saranac Lake and hiked up Gothics with a buddy. Right outside our campus was St. Regis Mtn., with 360 views and incredible fall color. I know our Cascades/Olympics are more alpine and dramatic, but we get ass kicked by eastern peaks in fall foilage. Tom

[Malachai Constant]

We did the Colden Algonquin loop as our first hike in the Daks shortly after Sandy went through. We thought it would be like Tiger Mountain in vertices and length. We were wrong it was near as hard as the JMT the direct route up Algonquin was up a 30 degree "slide" of bare granite marked on our map as a "trail". We loved it😍. Thanks for the pics, did you do Marcy?

[GaliWalker]

[chefothefuture]

Great TR of my home turf :-) Gee, you missed the adventure of Saddleback and Basin (on the range trail)! Love the pictures.

[GaliWalker]

It's like discovering a new author and then wanting to read all of his/her books.