Rocky Peak Ridge #35

August 25, 2017

This was my first hike of the year up in the High Peaks.

We have had an unbelievably rainy spring and summer. This, combined with overtime that had me working 6 days and many 10 hour shifts made it impossible to get out until now.

Now at the end of August we are finally beginning to see some blue skies. With a day off up against my weekend and a forecast of dry, cooler fall type weather it is time to head to the hills.

I arrived at the trailhead just ahead of sunrise, finished my coffee and apple fritter from Stewart's Shop in Keene, powered up Spot and headed out.

The day began with temperatures in the low 40's which left my hands a little cool at the start. Within 30 minutes the combination of walking uphill and perhaps rising above the cold air inversion in the valley I was comfortable in a t-shirt and shorts.

Noooooooooooooooooo!

Signs of fall and I'm just getting started.

There is a short-cut trail, which I used on the way down, but going up on the main trail I enjoyed the views to the south from many opportunities along the edge of the ridge.

This has to be one of the best marked trails. Obvious path at lower elevations, painted dashes on rock further up and yellow blazes almost always visible.

Silverrod

Blue-stemmed Goldenrod

From a view on Mason Mountain across Blueberry Cobbles, Bald Peak and what I thought was Rocky Peak Ridge. (Only to find out when I got there, that it was a little further along)

One of the few steep rock climbs along the trail. Fortunately this type of rock has a very course texture and excellent traction.

Though I am not the fastest person on the trail, I keep moving, resting only every couple hours. This group of kids passed me like I was an old man. 62 is not old! But, my weight is up about 8 pounds and I haven't been walking as much as I usually do leading up to hiking season. Definitely out of shape. I met up with them again at the summit of Rocky Peak before they continued on to Giant and out to Keene Valley.

The summit of RPR is just behind and to the right of the high point in the center and just to the left of Giant Mountain in the background.

Lake Mary Louise in this wide angle view is about a half mile short of the summit on the left.

Looking northeast from the summit Lake Champlain and beyond Vermont.

The trail descends to Lake Mary Louise just visible left of center on the bottom, then up over the point on the right.

Giant Mountain

In the distance on the left with its summit in the clouds Marcy. On the right Iroquois, Algonquin and Wright. Closer, the Great Range with (l-r) Gothics, Armstrong, Upper then Lower Wolfjaw. 

Me, with Giant in the background.

Blueberries

Overhanging rocks the trail passes under.

On the way down, I took very few pictures except for a couple of interesting abstract rock patterns

Along the way I met up with another hiker and we kept each other company on the way down. 

Being tired, I was very cautious when crossing more difficult sections going down.

According to my Fitbit; 43,373, 527 floors & 4561 calories. Hike was 13.4 miles according to trailhead sign.

Saddleback and Basin #s 33 & 34

September 28, 2016


This is likely my last hike of the year and it almost didn't happen because after a hot and mostly dry summer, fall brought with it unsettled weather. Luckily a stretch of good weather between two systems has come along while I was on vacation.

With only 12 hours of daylight a hike that could be completed without a headlamp was needed. Saddleback and Basin seemed to fit just right.

Though not in the forecast, during the night it rained. When my alarm went off at 5:15 it sounded like it was still raining. Emerging from the tent I was met by a star filled sky. The rain sound was from water drops dripping from trees on my tent.

With coffee from Stewarts in Keene I made it to the Garden trailhead parking just as it was getting light.

First light and moonrise from state highway 73 north of Keene Valley

From the Garden it was about an hour and twenty minutes along the John's Brook trail to the junction with the Range Trail that would bring me to Saddleback and Basin.

 Ranger station at the start of the Range Trail before crossing John's Brook.

 Simple suspension bridge across John's Brook. Stepping onto the bridge I found it had a little bounce to it as I walked across.

I always get a kick out of these house sized boulders lying on the side of the hill. Did they roll down the hill? Were they dragged off the mountain during the last ice age?

It never dried out in the woods this day. The humidity stayed close to 100% in the forest. Trees dripped, the ground was wet, rocks stayed damp and worst of all, almost all day my camera lens was fogged up.

From a small rock outcrop I got a view of the side of Saddleback

This slide, if I am correct was created during Hurricane Irene a few years back. The steps were put in the following spring. That year I hiked Upper Wolf Jaw, Armstrong and Gothics and descended on these with wood looking like they had just been completed. Now they have a bit of a weathered look.

 The 2 hikers came from Ohio for our mountains and were headed to Gothics

Looking the other way down the slide. 

Until later in the day as I descended Basin this was the only time the air was dry enough for my lens filter to stop fogging up!

Just beyond the junction with the trail up Gothics a smooth and moderately sloping section absolutely glowing in green. Beautiful!

Several steep rocky sections required a little planning, but as always you could find spots for hands and feet to work your way up.

Once at the top of Saddleback I was in mostly solid cloud. It was damp and cool in the breeze, but every once in a while a little sun would shine through a thin spot in the clouds and warm me for a moment.

At the top while resting and having a snack I looked over the edge and spotted the trail markers on the rock below seeming to lead off the end of the world. That's the trail to Basin? No way! Then I see it actually goes off to the right and around the summit. Maybe this isn't too bad...

Well, it was.

The descent from Saddleback towards Basin was the most difficult and scary point in 33 mountains that I had done so far. The clouds obscured view of the tree line below and I had no idea just how far these steep rocks would go on for. 

The advice is to hike these peaks in the opposite direction, but I'm not sure I would have been able to go up. At several points as I lowered myself down I simply had to commit because I wouldn't be able to pull myself back up if things didn't go as planned.

I wish there was something to show the scale of this one, of many, difficult sections. The slope of this was probably over 80 degrees and from the trail mark to the bottom of the image is about a body length. But again there were enough cracks or lips on the rock to grip or wedge a foot into.

Looking down with the trees below just coming into view. The sloping rock, before reaching steeper ledges, was right about the limit of my tolerance. On the up side, this rock is super coarse and grippy to the point of being very harsh on your hands.

Bench mark atop Basin

Atop Basin I met up with a group coming the other way who were at the Garden as I left. A little later another lady came up the trail from Haystack.

Haystack emerging from the clouds.

Off the summit of Basin looking to the NW towards Lake Placid on the right.

A ladder. I think a few more of these would be nice...

Basin from the Shorey Short Cut trail between the Range Trail and Phelps Trail

John's Brook

John's Brook Lodge

Sunset was at 6:40. At 5:45 I had about 2-1/2 miles to go. Though the hills to the south and cumulus clouds overhead were still in the sun, it was already quite dim in the forest that was shaded by hills to the west. As the sun set I was only about 10 minutes from the Garden, any further and my headlamp would have to be pulled out of my pack.

Signing out I needed to use light from my phones' screen to find my name in the trail register.

As I was at my car a few minutes later I could see the headlamps from 2 other hikers working their was down the trail.

A good day.  Before sunrise to after sunset!

Fitbit stats:

47,951 steps

21.99 miles

490 floors

5,480 calories

603 active minutes

Couchsachraga, Panther and Santanoni #30,31&32

Finally! About 5 weeks after I normally begin my hiking season, a long enough stretch of descent weather for hiking and it even coincides with a week of vacation.

Being able to move my hike from Sunday to Monday allowed time for drier air to move in from the northwest. Saturday and Saturday night still carried the threat of showers and I didn't want to be setting up camp in the rain or starting out the next morning wet if the moist air lingered longer than expected.

I arrived in Newcomb mid-day, set up the tent and then headed to Goodnow Mountain for a short hike. This short hike turned out to be a bit longer than I expected and had me worrying that the following day I would regret walking so much. As it turned out it wasn't a problem.

At the summit of Goodnow the fire tower exceeded my comfort level by a factor of two! Reaching the 5th level out of 10, after pausing to take a few pictures, I didn't feel like continuing. I hate fire towers! But with shaking knees usually climb them anyway. Next time, keep head down, concentrate on next step and just don't stop until at the top.

 From the half-way point on tower looking NE over Lake Harris towards the High Peaks

A couple weeks earlier I had made a day trip here and hiked the trail to Bradley Pond/Santanoni lean-to. It was another weekend that had rain the day before and again the following day. Leaving home before 6 put me at the trailhead around 10 with plenty of time for a relaxing walk out and back. 

Talking with some hikers on the previous walk, I was told they heard that it was about 12 hours round trip from Bradley Pond to do the 3 peaks. Add to that about 4 hours from the trailhead to Bradley Pond and it was going to be a 16 hour day! 

Prepared for walking in the dark with a headlamp on the top of my pack I was at the trailhead as the horizon was just coming visible in the northeast. Getting out of the car it became clear to me that walking down the trail in the dark was not something completely comfortable for me. After a 15 minute wait there was enough light for easy walking and I headed out about 5:40

The first part is an easy walk on a little used dirt road. A little under 2 miles up this road the trail to Santanoni lean-to exits to the right. There are 2 stream crossing shortly after this. Over the first the bridge is completely out, but crossing using stones was quite easy with the water level as it was. At the second crossing the bridge is fine but the exit on the far side it falling apart. Weeks earlier I was wearing a full pack and it was a bit of an effort coming down off the bridge. This time with a light day-pack it barely slowed me down.

Standing on the bridge looking at the exit ramp

After this crossing, the hike to Bradley Pond area held no surprises and was mostly easy uphill and good walking to the 2900 foot level

I made it to Bradley Pond in well under 2 hours and crossed the marshland onto the trail to Times Square.

After rounding Bradley Pond shortly after turning up this trail you then begin a moderately steep ascent to the 4,300 foot Times Square.

Along this section I joined up with a family that had the same goals as me for the day. While giving them a little room during the walk, we were together for most of the day and on the summits together. I ended up being their photographer for group photos using cell phones handed to me. I hope that made up for intruding on their outdoor time.

Leaving Times Square it was a long and annoying(?) walk to Couchsachraga giving up 500 feet along the way. I say annoying only in that if the original survey of this mountain was done correctly, we  probably wouldn't even know the name of this 3,793' peak as it falls short of the 4,000' height of a 46er.

There was one good muddy area that had logs across it to step on. Some were steady other not so much. There was a supply of sticks on the approach end that could be used to steady yourself on the crossing. It might have been possible to get by without any but it seemed a good idea to not take chances as the mud was at least knee deep judging by how far my sticks sank in.

At the top it was a little crowded. We took pictures, had a quick snack and headed back.

From Times Square it was a short walk over to Panther.

Looking back towards Couchsachraga from Panther. After posting this on Facebook : Aspiring Adirondack 46ers, Michel Rochefort commented saying that was him in the picture below.

And a bit more room for relaxing

Leaving Panther and the trail off the peak down to Times Square with Santanoni in the distance.

Arriving atop Santanoni ahead of the group I was there when this young lady (in purple) completed her final peak and became a 46er!

Looking down at Bradley Pond at the base of Henderson Mountain where the trail turns for the climb to Times Square. Beyond that Algonquin, Colden and Marcy from the center to the right.

Looking back towards Tahawus and the start of the trail just this side of the lake and mine in the center of this picture

Leaving Santanoni the plan is to descent the "Express" route rather than backtrack to Times Square. This route was quite steep with one particular section that was very difficult. It is a large rock face with a slope that increases until exceeds the traction of hiking shoes. The first of the party tried to descend along the right side using plant growth to keep from sliding. This woman also had a medium sized dog along for the hike. I'm not sure exactly what happened as they were out of my view but she slipped and slid to the bottom. Fortunately only a few scrapes and she was okay. The youngest of the group and the new 46er tried the other side and found with the help of plant growth a was to lower ourselves to a narrow ledge that we could work our way down to a point where lowering to the ground was possible. I tried to get a picture but at it was too close and wide to capture well.

One of the group who has hiked this before said this was the worst section until you come to the part with the ropes. Ropes? You mean to steady yourself like on Gothics, right? So, all the way to the bottom I'm thinking about the ropes. Well, he was just pulling our leg, no ropes. The trail ended up at at this pool about a half hour below Bradley Pond, then into the woods to join up with the trail I came up on.

My total time on the hike was 12 hours and 15 minutes. Much less than what I expected and planned for. Stopping at a sandwich and ice cream stand just outside Harris Lake State Park I bought a wrap followed by an ice cream cone and I was back to camp in time to see sunset on the lake.