Last week my friend Courtney and I took another trip into the mountains of the Adirondacks to hit Gray and Skylight peaks! We arrived Tuesday afternoon and were greeted with rain just as we parked. We put the rain covers on our packs and hit the trail!
A lovely rocky "trail" in true ADK fashion...
We found a decent campsite close to Lake Colden by 5pm after around 6 miles hiking and set up camp for the next couple of days. our plan for the next day was to day hike Gray first, then catch the sunset on Skylight. Thankfully this meant we did not need to catch an early start, so we didn't hit the trail on Wednesday till about 11am.
I love the ladders and bridges! I'll take all the help I can get.
The beautiful Lake Colden, with Colden peak on the right (my #2 high peak that I have PTSD from....
read about that trip here)
We knew the trail would be interesting on the return hike in the dark...
Deep waterfall along the Opalescent River
And the beautiful Lake Tear of the Clouds! This is at the base of Gray peak, and is actually the source of the Hudson River!
We refilled on water here, then headed up the herd path to the summit of Gray Peak (my #9). There were lots of rocks, and a few tricky scrambles but we made it successfully to the marked summit. Just down from the peak was a rocky ledge that we took a snack break on with a view of the southeast.
Our next destination was Skylight peak! It didn't take long to get there from Gray, and included more of the rocky trail hopping and climbing that we expected. This summit had an amazing 360* view of the surrounding peaks, and is right next to Marcy--the highest summit in NY state. We had intended to hike Marcy the next day...but we knew after our current day that was a bit too lofty.
Marcy behind me!
Looking at Gray which we had just come off of.
We arrived at Skylight summit at 5:30pm, and sunset was at 7:45pm so we had a couple of hours to kill! We were the only ones up there the entire time. We cooked dinner (which was a bit tricky keeping the stove lit in high winds!) then basically tried to stay warm until it was showtime. The temp was in the upper 40s, and the winds were 30-40mph. I had 4 layers on, and hid behind a rock with occasional peaks at the sun to check the status.
But when the sun finally settled into that sweet spot, it was breathtaking! We got our pics, then flew down the trail to hit the junction before it was dark enough to need our headlamps. We braved the dark for the next 4 hours and navigated our way back to camp.
Lake Tear of the Clouds again, but in the dark this time!
Night hiking! Really fun when there's water crossings....
We made it back to our campsite at 11pm after 9 miles and were ecstatic to see everything in order. We promptly changed clothes and passed out.
Due to our muscle soreness, we mutually agreed to pack up the next day and head out. We slept in and had a quick breakfast before hiking back to the car for another 6 miles. The trip totaled up to 20.9 miles and almost 4200' elevation gain, and brought me to 9/46 for the high peaks.
We weren't done there--we added a side trip to Green Lakes State Park because it was right on the way home and neither of us had been there yet!
We arrived there around 7pm and ended up doing a leisurely stroll around the entire lake for another 2 miles. It was cake compared to what we had just finished, and easily done in flip flops.
Beautiful crystal clear water with scenic views, a huge sandy swimming beach, and lots of room for kids to play. Definitely a place to visit!
A rolling stone gathers no moss, and so we are set to go on another adventure next week! This time it's the whole family. Check back soon!
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