I’d heard that the range was difficult and possibly nightmarish in bad conditions. But yesterday, with a beautiful day, broken out trails, early start and a great team with me, the 18 miles were done quickly and with no snags.

Yesterday was the 8th Winter Gathering where the organizers try to put someone on each one of the 46ers in the Adirondacks. I had asked to be on the Santanoni Range team.

Six of us started out at the trailhead at 6:30 after a night spent in Newcomb. But there were much more than 6 of us out there. In my last year of hiking, aside from Cascade, I had never seen as many people on the trails.

Roughly 3 1/2 hours after starting, we were atop Panther. The walk up to Herald Square was constant and in the packed snow, relatively easy. Snow shoes were donned somewhat early in the hike, something that I hadn’t done often this year.

Then commenced the walk down to Couchsachraga. At 11AM, we were at it’s summit and at just over noon, back at Time Square to have some lunch. Again, snow conditions were more than perfect.

Santanoni was then quickly dispatched and at 1:30 we were back on our way to Times Square. Some time was lost on Santanoni trying to find the express way back down, but we figured that the extra few miles weren’t worth the risk of having to bushwhack through spruce traps.

At 2:20, we were back at the Time square and at 4:45, back at the cars.

The Stats

My GPS died for a few minutes of the hike, so the track log isn’t necessary precise. Nonetheless, the tracklog can be viewed here.

Panther Peak stands at 4,442 feet; Couchsachraga at 3,783 feet and Santanoni at 4,606. The hike took us about 10.5 hours and had us walking close to 19 miles (30km). The elevation gain was in the vicinity of 5000 feet.

Current Conditions

As mentioned before, the conditions were perfect. No tricky sections worth mentioning and all water ways were frozen over.

The Pictures

The Tracklog

Exactly 1 year ago, day for day, I had failed to get to the top of Haystack having stopped at Little Haystack. A lack of proper equipment coupled with my courage shrivelling under the extreme winds had me going back to to the LOJ with my tail well tucked between my legs (what a horrible analogy).

Yesterday started pretty much the same way all my hikes begin: Leave home at 5:00AM, border crossing at 6:00, McDonalds and finally the trailhead at just before 8:00.

This time, I used the Garden trail going through JBL, Bushnell Falls and Slant Rock. The hike up to Slant Rock was easy and without anything to report. I had a few problems with my feet after this. First off, with my new boots, I could feel blisters forming on my heels. I quickly stopped and applied Duct Tape therapy to the affected region. 30 minutes later, I could feel my toes getting very cold so I stopped another time to put foot warmers in my boots. Both solutions took care of the problems and I was ok for the rest of the day.

At the bottom of Little Haystack I got ready for the 1.5km of exposition. The day was again very windy. Every step was deliberate and precise; a fall on the ice field that is now the Haystack ridge would have been unfortunate (and that’s under-representing the consequences of a fall). The descent from Little Haystack towards Haystack was nerve racking. My ice axe was useful for the first time.

The top of Haystack was reached at 1:00PM; getting back to the lodge from here was then easy and leisurely. At the JBL, I stopped about 30 minutes chatting with some nice gentlemen who were very curious about these extreme hikes we all do.

The Stats

A 30km (19 mile) hike with 4648 feet of elevation gain done in just under 10 hours. Haystack stands at 4960 feet. The Trimble Outdoors info is here.

Conditions

Snow pack is very hard on the trails. Micro-spikes up to Slant Rock, then full on crampons to the top of Haystack. I changed back into micro-spikes at the JBL. I wouldn’t recommend anything less than crampons on the Haystacks at this point in time.

The Pics

Of note: For different reasons, I’ve been exploring the possibility of changing to doubled plastic boots for my hikes. I rented a pair of Scarpa Inverno’s at the Mountaineer this morning to see how I would fare … I didn’t; the boots hurt my soles as well as the whole of my lower leg. I’ve read great things about the Inverno’s, so I’m thinking it’s just that my foot isn’t adapted to their boot.

Other note: I was sick for this hike; very sick. I knew I should have stayed home … but didn’t. I hadn’t checked the stats for this hike and thought it was an easy one. As it turns out, without being a very hard one, it’s definitely not an easy one (being the second longest I’ve hiked in a day).

The stats

Colvin stands at 4080 feet and is 39th in the list of 46. Blake, even if below 4000 feet still counts, and stands at 3970.

A 26km (16.2 mile) hike done in just over 8h30 mins. The total elevation gain was 1296 meters (4252 feet).

The GPS data can be seen here.

The pics

The tracklog

In bullet point form, here it is:

• I started from Deux-Montagnes at 5:00AM and was at the trailhead by 8:15. At that time the border crossing was a breeze.
• I missed the “Old Nye ski-trail” branch off (concentrating on some music I was listening) and didn’t realize it until I was 2.5km passed it. Add 5km to the normal Street/Nye hike because of this stupid mistake
• I was heading back down from summiting by 12:30 and was back down at the Loj just before 3:00 PM

The stats

• Street Mountain stands at 4150 feet and stands at #31 in the 46er list.
• Nye Mountain is actually below four thousand feet at 3895 feet. You can read about why here.
• The hike was about 20km and was done in just under 7 hours.

The photos

After a prematurely aborted attempt back in September, the timing seemed good for me to attempt a pemi-loop. A solo winter pemi-loop at that. I’d been watching trail conditions and weather reports for the last couple weeks and the stars were definitely aligned.  

Day 1 (Dec 29th) : The long one

The plan was to get to the Garfield campsite on day 1; roughly a 22km hike. A lofty goal considering that I was carrying a 45lbs pack and that I’d gotten a late 9:30AM start (with an early 5:00AM departure from home, it was difficult for me to get started earlier).

The real hiking starts here.

The day is beautiful.

The journey starts off well enough; on the way up to mount Flume, my first target, I’m feeling strong. The pack doesn’t feel all that heavy and my pace is good. Then comes Liberty which I dispatch relatively quickly as well. Things start to slow down on the way up to Lincoln. The un-abating wind which hits me non stop when I get above tree live takes a toll.

At the top of Mount Flume.

From the ridge, looking back at both Flume and Liberty which I hiked earlier in the day.

Looking at Lincoln from LIberty.

On the top of Lincoln, having trouble staying on my feet, I look towards Lafayette then back at the setting sun. I already know that I’ll be getting off the ridge in the dark. And it won’t be fun …

Looking towards Lafayette with the sun getting dangerously low

Un oh ... I'll be coming down Lafayette towards Garfield in the dark ...

Mighty Washington in the back

As I hit the summit of Lafayette, it’s almost dark. Most people start going down towards the hut at this point. Therefore most don’t know (including me) that the ridge continues for another kilometer or so above tree line. Just my luck, if I thought the winds were bad on Lincoln and Lafayette, tonight the winds are even harsher on the north end of the ridge. As I try to hurry towards the tree line, I feel the corners of my eyes, unprotected by goggles because it’s now dark, start to freeze severely. More than once, I’m thrown to the ground by the winds. Because of the darkness, I often lose track of the trail. Finally I hit tree line, mercifully, exactly on target.

Hiking in the dark

Cold and dark

Then begins the moderately steep descent towards Garfield Pond which sits roughly at 3800 feet. A cold night is in view; -25 celsius I’m told by hikers who also spent the night out. I’m exhausted; making it to the Garfield campsite, still 2 miles away won’t be possible. I’d still have to hike up Garfield which is definitely not in the cards for tonight. I setup my tent, boil some water, eat a cliff bar and try to get some sleep. The night will be short, shivering for most of it.

My setup for the cold first night out

Tally for the day: Over 10 hours of hiking, 4 summits (Flume, Liberty, Lincoln, Lafayette), 20 km (12.64 miles), 5500 feet of elevation gain and 2800 feet of elevation loss.

Day 2 (Dec 30th): The exhausting one

I wake up feeling surprisingly well given the horrible night I just went through. My legs aren’t sore and my back feels fine. After breaking camp I set out for Garfield. Immediately, I realize that stopping where I did the night before was a good thing. The 600 foot ascent towards Garfield is immediate, and somewhat long. I also realize that my legs won’t bring me as far today; they aren’t sore, but they feel like jello.

The summit of Garfield tells me what I already know; the weather is horrible and there will be no views today. I’ll be spending the day in the clouds. Small consolation, it’s not nearly as cold as the day before.

The odd view at the top of Garfield

Once at the top of Garfield, I descend back to 3400 feet at which point starts the horrible Garfield Ridge Trail. An unending series of ups and downs which mercifully stops at Galehead hut. At the hut, I debate with myself if I should do the .4 miles to go tag Galehead. I decide that I’d feel silly if I didn’t. I remove my pack, and fly up, literally, towards the nondescript and boring Galehead mountain summit.

Galehead hut, closed for the winter.

The very un-noteworthy summit of Galehead

Then starts one of the hardest sections of the loop; the ascent towards the 4900 foot South Twin mountain. It involves 1000 feet of ascension in .8 miles. I resorted to use the trick used by mountaineers: 50 steps then rest; 50 steps then rest, … At the top of South Twin, I decide that tagging North Twin wouldn’t be wise; the 1 mile hike in the opposite direction of the Guyot campsite (my target for the day) coupled with the late time of day means that it will have to wait for another time.

The top of South Twin.

Sign at the top of South Twin. I'll be taking the Bondscliff trail.

The surreal ambiance at Guyot

Back to my pack after walking to the top of Guyot

The rest of the trail towards the Guyot campsite is easy enough. I tag Guyot thinking that it counts as a 4000er; it doesn’t … oh well. I arrive at the Guyot shelter just before dark and spend the night there, a much warmer one, with 4 other hikers from Connecticut.

A Whites lean to!

A plaque on the shelter at the Guyot campsite

2 floors in this one.

Tally for the day: 7.5 hours of hiking, 3 summits (Garfield, Galehead, South Twin), 13.5 km (8.3 miles), 3000 feet of elevation gain and 2600 feet of elevation loss.

Day 3 (Dec 31st) : The painful one

The last day is supposed to be the easiest. I’ll be going over the 3 Bonds (West, Bond and Bondcliff) followed by the long descent towards my car. But for some reason, my boots decide that they are about to hurt me and hurt me hard.

The day starts off with the ascent out of Guyot camp followed by the detour towards West Bond. As with the day before, I’ll be in the clouds. Worse yet, the weather is close to freezing, so the snow is sticky and my micro-spikes are continuously clogged. Back on the main trail after doing West Bond, I realize that my heel is hurting. I take off my boot and realize that a blister is forming … not much I can do; I put on a blister patch, tighten up my boots and keep going.

Taking a breather

Next is Bond. Again, I’m in the clouds. Then comes Bondcliff … in the clouds.

Moving towards Bond.

Summit of Bond.

When I get back below the tree line, I stop again to look at my heel; it’s getting worse. At this point, I still have about 14km to hike back to my car. A long and painful one. I need at least 2 hours more than I would normally need to get back. When I take off my boot, I’m presented with the blister to rule them all. I’ll have a good excuse to spend the next few days in slippers at work …

Lincoln Woods trail ... long, boring, straight and flat.

At a river crossing

Finish line: 55km in 3 days.

The after math .... no wonder that 3rd day took me so much time.

Tally for the day: Close to 7 hours of hiking, 3 summits (West Bond, Bond, Bondcliff), 20 km (12.6 miles), 1000 feet of elevation gain and 4100 feet of elevation loss.

Other info

I always appreciate when other hikers share some of the technical info about their hikes.

Pack contents

• Gregory Palissade 80 : 5lbs
• Mountain Hardwear Lamina -30 Long : It’s a 5.9lbs bag. I got the long version so that I could stow my boots and other stuff at the bottom of it during the night to keep everything warm. 
• Marmot Eos 1P tent : 3lbs
• Big Agnes insultated Air Core : ~23 oz
• A wonderfully comfy Cocoon ultralight air-core pillow : 3 oz
• Cooking : 1 liter of white gas, a MSR simmer lite stove and a titanium cooking pot to boil water and melt snow
• Food : 5 dehydrated packs of food, a lot of snacks (I don’t eat a full meal while hiking; I just snack) which includes dried fruits, beef jerky, a cliff bars, cliff shots and jujubes.
• Misc stuff: matches, spare batteries, 2 head lamps, duct tape, large plastic tie-wraps, fire starter, camera, misc medication (nsaid, benadryl, aspirin, …), first aid kit
• Clothing : spare socks and spare mits/gloves.
• MSR Evo Ascent snowshoes (4lbs), micro-spikes and crampons (2lbs): I used micro-spikes for 100% of the trip. 

Annotated pemi-loop panorama

Heavy? Because I had over 50lbs on my back to try out my new pack and see if my body could take the weight on a longer hike. The good news, the pack fits well, and my body was still fully functional after the 22km (13.5m) hike.

Painful? I discovered that my boots hurt the hell out of my feet. I’ve been trying to find the cause of this and I’m pretty sure it’s any time I wear snowshoes or crampons for extended periods. Micro-spikes don’t seem to bother me (I hiked 30km with them on 2 weeks ago without any pain being felt). I stopped by the Mountaineer on the way out to ask for some advice and the friendly people there told me to first replace the soles in my boots for something more rigid to see if it would help.

The Hike

I left Deux-Montagnes at 5:00AM and was at the gates by 8:00AM. The hike took me 8h40 and took me up 3650 feet of elevation gain. I started at the Ausable Club, walked the road up to the dam, took the Scenic Trail up to the top of Sawteeth and came back down the other side (the trail that deposits you back at the dam).

I was considerably slowed down both by the heavy pack as well as by the painful blisters that had formed on my heels early in the hike.

A quick note about the scenic trail: I’d never read about this trail and it’s unfortunate. I believe Sawteeth probably doesn’t get much love because of that long boring walk up to it’s base. The scenic trail offers some great views and shouldn’t be missed.

The Stats

• 22km (13.5m) hike done in 8h40 minutes
• 3650 elevation gain
• Sawteeth is 4150 feet and 35th highest in the Adirondacks
• The gpx tracklog can be found here; the Trimble Outdoors page here.

The pictures

The tracklog

I knew this was going to be a long hike, but I didn’t expect it to be this difficult. The target was to do Basin and Saddleback, then decide from the Ore Bed Brook trail if I would continue towards Gothics, Armstrong and the Wolfjaws. Unfortunately, dangerous and unrelenting icy conditions forced me down early.

The highlights

• The walk towards John Brook Lodge was easy and uneventful
• I screwed up and took the big bridge leading to the North side of the river (close to John Brook Lodge). I lost 45 minutes before getting back on track on the Phelps Trail
• The trail up to Slant Rock was also easy and relatively ice-free
• Getting up to Basin was icy and dangerous
• If going up to Basin was dangerous, the hike back down was completely unmanageable … I wondered why the trail was completely devoid of other hikers. This explained it. It was icy for ALL the descent, right down to the bottom of the new slide on Saddleback.
• The somewhat scary wall of rock on Saddleback turned out to be not so scary. It is no where nearly as steep as it looks from afar.
• The debris from the new slide was quite the sight! Ice conditions on the slide kept me in the woods and hanging onto trees.

The stats

• Basin Mountain stands at 4827 feet and is the 9th highest in the Adirondacks
• Saddleback at 4515 stands at position 17.
• The total distance of the hike was 29km (18 miles), done in 10h50m with an elevation gain of 1275m (4183 feet)
• The gpx file can be found here. Note: the gpx file is here, but don’t follow it! It’s for reference only. Remember, I got lost at the Lodges.

The pictures

 

The Tracklog

A pemi-loop is a 50km hike in the Pemigawasset Wilderness; I had planned on doing it this weekend. I never really got started. That is a story for another day; instead, I ‘settled’ for doing the Franconia Ridge, which I hadn’t done before.

The hike

I took the most popular route (at least it seems): Up through the Falling Waters trail, over Franconia Ridge, then back down by Greenleaf and Old Bridle Path.  There’s nothing much to report as everything about this hike has been written many times over.

It was uneventful, but I will say it was breathtaking; spending over 2 hours on a ridge is something that doesn’t happen too often in the places I’ve been used to hiking, so it was very new to me. As ebay commenters would say: +1, would buy again.

The stats

• Mount Lincoln stands high at 5089 feet, but Lafayette outdoes it standing at 5249.
• I finished the hike in about 6h30. It was roughly a 14km hike.
• My GPS tells me there is a 3805 foot elevation change
• I’ve put my gps data here.

The pictures

The Tracklog

Thankfully, this last Sunday was the time change; that meant that the 5AM wake up call would literally feel like it was 6AM. A friend from work and I wanted to get out to Iroquois (ok, I wanted to get out to Iroquois; he wanted to get out) and take our time to appreciate the views, the company and the time away.

With the 5AM start, we were at the trail head at 8:55, on the top of Algonquin at 12, Iroquois 50 minutes later, and back at the car just as darkness was falling at 5:15.

The day was PERFECT. A 360 degree horizon. We could see the whole of the Adirondacks, the peaks in Vermont and the Whites way over out West.

The stats

• Algonquin Peak stands high at 5115 feet. It’s the 2nd highest in the Adirondacks, second to Marcy. 
• Iroquois Peak, at 4843 feet is no slouch either. 
• We hiked the normal route which starts at the Adirondack Loj, goes over Algonquin then to Iroquois. The trip back is to simply retrace your steps. An alternative to going back would be to take the trail back down to Colden lake, but we weren’t too sure of the conditions of it, so we kept to what we sure about. Many people would also bag Wright Peak on a trip like this, but given that I had already done it last winter, I didn’t mind skipping it.
• The hike is exactly 17.12 kilometers (10.6 miles) and has a total elevation gain of 1252 meters (4100 feet).
• My gpx tracklog can be found here, and the Trimbleoutdoors page here.

The Photos

A few more stats

• 5:00 AM – Leave Deux-Montagnes
• 8:38 AM – Start the hike on the Burrow’s Trail
• 12:40 PM – Back at the car
• The TrimbleOutdoors data can be seen here.
• The tracklog data is here.