While the High Peaks are easy to rise above soaring on winds forced up and over, they are just as breathtaking and beautiful as from the ground. Maybe even more so from the magical vantage of a soaring bird.
It was these visits that reminded me just how much I love the mountains, and this climb that inspired me to declare my intent to climb the 46 NY peaks over 4,000' and become a 46er!
It was mid September and I was looking for a relatively easy climb. I picked Phelps Mountain. It is 8.8 mile round trip from the Adirondack Lodge with an ascent of 1942' to the peak at 4161' It is #32 in order of height.
As I approached the hills on Adirondack Loj Rd I saw the mountains cloaked in the remnants of the retreating storm system. The forecast was for improvement through the day. Planning to drive home to Central New york that day I wanted an early start and was on the mountain just after 7:00 am.
Bridge across what I believe is Algonquin Brook
About 2.5 miles along I reach Marcy Dam I am already into the low clouds.
Recent rain has the stream running enough that I chose to cross Marcy Brook on the "high water" bridge.
Another mile brings me to the start of the trail up Phelps.
Hiking up in the fog I learned that bluejeans really have no business here. I wore them expecting cold temperatures to be a problem higher up the hill. If I had stopped to think for a second it would have occurred to me that cold would likely be less a problem than hot. When have I ever been cold while hiking up a hill? Never. An even bigger problem was the restricted movement damp jeans impose on me when trying to lift a leg up onto a rock ledge. I had shorts, in the car...
In spite of the discomfort cause by the humidity, the mountains are way more interesting when there is weather and clouds.
Bunchberry, ferns and lichen.
Fall colors paint the forest in gold below.
Maple leaves on a young tree.
As I approached the top clouds began to lift. Drier air was finally making its way in from the west. A while back I had passed a couple returning from the summit, they had waited for a break in the clouds to get a view but it had come too late for them. This is an HDR photo from the top of Phelps. I had a hard time capturing both the dark landscape and the brighter skies in one exposure so I resorted to combining 3 using Photomatix for a High Dynamic Range (HDR) image.
I love the mountains as storms move in or out.
While descending from the summit of Phelps the atmosphere was quickly drying and passing Marcy Dam I was given a very different sight then just a few hours before.
Blue skies and fall colors.
