Mt. Marcy 2007

Mt. Marcy, Adirondacks, NY June 29 – July 2 2007

Short version

Climbed Mt. Marcy 5344 feet
Climbed Mt. Phelps 4161 feet (hiked solo)
Climbed Tabletop 4427 feet (hiked solo)
Ascended three more of 46 tallest mountains in the New York
Met some great folks that want to climb the other 46 peaks
Met my first mountain steward
Great hiking weather, cool and sunny – it only rained at night, but rained every night
Ate some expensive lasagna
Missed the iPhone release
Restocked on fig newtons

Long version

Friday June 29 2007

Over the weekend, I accomplished a goal that I long thought was unattainable which was to climb Mt. Marcy, the tallest peak in New York at 5344 feet. I knew that I would eventually climb it but didn’t know under what circumstances. I had heard that it would be a long and hard climb but it seems that the rumors preceded the reality. Climbing Mt. Marcy would be a long day but with plenty of water, food and snacks, 250 people climb it during the peak summer season.

On early Friday morning, Chris and Elaine picked me up and he took the long way to Lake Placid via Ogdensburg, New York. Normally, we would cross at Cornwall, Ontario but the native Indians were having there day of protest. The Cornwall border crossing runs through the Indian reservation. Rather than run the risk of delays due to the protest we opted for another nearby crossing. The US Custom/DHS were ready for the long weekend and pre-screened the cars in the queue which sped up the custom formalities. We cleared customs quickly and started our trek south. Four other cars in our group would cross at Cornwall at various points later in the day. Our first stop was a Price Chopper in Lake Placid where we bought lunch and provisions for the next couple of days. I bought pita bread, packaged tuna, fruit, soda, ice tea, propel and fig newtons. I also bought some new 3M bandages that come in a neat package. We arrived at our group campsite in the early afternoon and set up our tents. Over the next couple of hours fourteen more tents would be setup at our group campsite.

I setup my new REI Chrysalis tent and footprint and pleased that it went up quickly. This would be it inaugural use in the wilderness. I have to thank Jason for suggesting the tent as it worked great and kept me warm and dry through the three nights of rain that we got on the trip. The rain would collect and drain from the footprint and not accumulate in the tent. I next inflated my thermarest and unpacked my new MEC 7C down sleeping bag. Once the tent was up I ate lunch. Chris, Elaine and I went to the registration office and did a hike around Heart Lake. Our goal was to find the trail head from Mt. Nye and Mt. Street (trail #25). Both peaks are part of the 46 series but have undocumented trails. We headed into Lake Placid for ribs and pulled pork. On our drive in we spotted the rib festival and decided to check it out. The food was expensive, minimal and I ate some of my lunches when back at camp. The plan for Saturday was to climb Mt. Marcy and leave camp at 0830. We would have to be up early (0545) to get everyone else ready to hike. A little after we got the fire going the elements acted against us. It started to rain. We headed to our tents. It would rain for an hour.

Saturday June 30 2007

I awoke at 0545 and had the Coleman stove boiling water in a little while. It would take the smell of brewed coffee to get most folks to leave the comforts of their tent. The breakfast conversation was interesting. Normally, there is the discussion about who snores and not. A couple of folks were upset by the sound of zipper being opened and closed at various point during the night. We were given a stern warning to minimize our zipper interactions. The 12 folks that would hike up Mt. Marcy have different fitness levels. It was decided to break the group into a fast and a slow group. The slow group would leave an hour before the fast group. I was in the fast group and we left at 0830. Our first stop would be at Marcy Dam where we met the main trailhead. Before heading out I had filled my 100 oz camelback with water and my 2 liter dromerdary bag. I think I was carrying the equivalent of a galloon. Kevin and I broke away from the main group and would work off each other for much of the day. We both have similar fitness levels and would change the lead when we got tired. Along the way, I eyed the Phelps peak trailhead and wonder whether I could climb it over the weekend. We stopped at the Indian Falls and checked out the view. As we were climbing over little Mt. Marcy we passed the slower group. We would be at the top in about three hours and forty-five minutes. There was a cool wind blowing and I put on my shell. I took a picture of the summit plaque and then the battery on my camera died which sucked. Over the next half hour, the remainder of our group would reach the summit. The summit steward, a summer student from PA, talked about the environmental sensitive conditions of the peak. Mt. Marcy was first climbed on August 5 1837. It was renamed in honor of Governor William Marcy. (N44 06.767 W077 55.415) (Chris on top of Mt. Marcy) We spent about an hour eating lunch and chilling. The slow group started to head down a little after lunch. I followed a little while later. I spent much of the afternoon passing and being passed by the assistant forest ranger. We had met in March just after he had sprained his wrist skiing. The trek back to camp was equally as brisk as it took a little over four hours. The trip was made much easier as I sipped the camelback at will which meant that I never got dehydrated or needed to stop. My fuel for much of this hike would be Clif bars. Once back at camp I was bushed. I made myself a cup of strong tea and talked with Chris and Elaine. They had climbed Marcy last year and so they had hike Phelps and Tabletop instead. At this point, the idea of climbing two more of the 46 started to develop. I was happy that I had brought along my Keen Sandals as it was great to get out of the warm hiking boots. The hot shower felt good. The others would return over the next couple of hours. The Saturday evening meal was an interesting and expensive situation and even now, still puzzling.

The group opted for an Italian restaurant in Lake Placid. While driving into town the group leaders described what a pain “group meals” can be as someone always comes up short. Before heading into the town there was a fair amount of beer being consumed. Folks were so bushed that they were being driven to the shower which was only 100 yards away. For supper, I opted for lasagna, a salad and soda. The folks I was sitting with decided on lasagna and a soda. The other 12 folks had a pizza and beer. We all had a ravenous appetite. Then next part is where things get interesting. It was time to tally up the individual bills. Calculating the bills for 15 people is hard, complex and difficult. I’ll say that we spent more time calculating the bill than ordering the food and eating it. It was like going through a forensic audit. I was initially asked to pay $41 for my lasagna, soda and salad. After much haggling and redoing the calculation we whittled the amount doing to $30 which is okay but still strange that the beer and pizza folks had bills of $13. I was little pissed. Kevin who also ordered lasagna less the salad was asked to pay $30. Somewhere along the line we had been double charged for the meal. Once back at camp the elements were not in our favor as it started to rain heavily. The plan for Sunday was an easy day hike.

Sunday July 1 2007 (Canada Day)

It had rained so hard overnight that any zipper concerns were masked by the sound of rain on the fly. I was up at 0630 and was eating breakfast once the water was boiled. I filled up my camelback, dromerdary bag and packed my lunch. I asked the leader whether I could opt out of the day hike and do something a little more strenuous. If I could get on the trail early enough I could ascend the mountains before the traffic started to build. I talked the day hike over with Chris and he gave me some tips on where to look for the Tabletop trail as it is an un-maintained trail. Kevin also wanted a more strenuous hike and set out to climb Mt. Colden. After putting along layer of tape on my heel (preventative taping with 3M Micropore) I headed out towards Marcy Dam. Forty-three minutes later I was at the dam. I talked to the sweet, assistant forest ranger and headed onwards to the Phelps trailhead. The trail up Phelps is a similar to the main trail. It was rocky and eventually takes you up to a ledge that gives you a panoramic view of the other mountains. I made up some Propel and had an apple for a snack. The view was weird as it was misty one moment and then clear the next. The morning mist was burning off ever so slowly. Phelps (4185 feet N44 09.409 W073 55.281) The descent was a little slower as I had to negotiate the rocks. I met six groups on my way down. I stopped for lunch at a bridge a little before Indian Falls. Pita, tuna, apple, fig newtons, ice tea and propel filled me up. At this point, I constantly consulted the map as the trail to Tabletop is unmarked. The sign for the summit is 25 yards down the trail and hidden behind a tree. I got the impression that they were trying to actively discourage folks from climbing the peak. Before heading out on the trail I used the GPS to set a reference point. This would come useful in the future. Climbing Tabletop was a fun and unique experience. Most of the hike is through conifer trees that are a shoulder width apart. There are downed tree and roots through the trail but they are all easily climbed over. There are no trail signs as you follow the opening in the trees. When the trail got too overgrown I powered up the GPS and it verified that I was at the summit. Tabletop (4427 feet N44 08.400 W073 54.958) At this point I was starting to tire. I used the GPS to give me a count down of the number of meters/yards to hike before I reached the main trailhead. Once back at the trailhead I keying in the GPS coordinates of Marcy Dam and watched the miles-to-go grow smaller and smaller. Along the way, I met a couple who asked how much further to Marcy Dam. The guy was happy knowing the distance in miles, meters or yards. I reset the GPS and it was 2.1 miles to go. The trek to the dam was uneventful as the trail was becoming familiar. After signing out at the Marcy Dam checkpoint it was time to head back to camp. At a brisk pace I hiked west getting into camp in the late afternoon. Chris, Elaine, Yuri, and Dimitri and headed into town for a meal at a local bar. We patiently smiled as we watched the skies open and the rain to come down in buckets. The other eleven folks were having chicken and salad in the rain. As we were leaving the sun came out. Once back at camp I decided to do a cool down workout and to walk around Heart Lake in the dark. I was curious to see how much of it I could hike in the dark without a flashlight. Some parts of the trail were easier than others as they had put down a bed of white cinder which is iridescent. It was like following a white line in the dark. The walk loosened up my legs as I had fears of cramps in bed if I cool them down. Just as I was getting into the tent it started to pelt again.

Monday July 2 2007

I was awake at 0500 but decided to lie in bed until 0630. Today we would be breaking camp so I packed the sleeping bag and thermarest before getting out of the tent. The goal was to have all 15 folks packed and ready to leave for 0930. After breakfast I refilled the camelback and put my lunch things together. I shook the excess water off the fly and was pleased that the tent itself was dry. The were a couple of pools of water in the footprint but less than expected as I had set the tent up so that it sloped downwards. After the tent was packed I helped Judy take down her tent. With a couple of minutes to spare we head north to Saranac Lake which is northwest of Lake Placid. Much of the morning was spent climbing Ampersand Mountain (3352 feet N44 14.075 W074 12.625). For lunch I had a log of fig newtons, 2 packages of tuna, pita bread and soda to wash it down. After lunch we headed down the mountain and started our trek north. Along the way we stopped at Price Chopper to buy five packages of fig newtons and some Pretzel Goldfish. By early evening we were back in Ottawa.