Hiking NY: Climbing Whiteface and Esther

On Aug 4 I had my last full day off work at the summer camp, so I planned one more day hike in the high peaks of the Adirondacks. I decided on Whiteface and Esther starting from the Atmospheric Science Research Center trailhead. Unfortunately there was rain in the forecast and cloudy skies so I knew I wouldn't have the great views I wanted. Maybe another day!

The trail started out going down which is not really what you want when you are on your way to climb a mountain! That means you will be going UP on the way out with tired legs. It was gently and rocky but once the ascent started it was basically 2 hard miles of elevation gain.

Lots of critters and flora along the way, as well as a couple of these....not sure what they are for?

I passed the junction for Esther where I had a snack and refilled on water shortly past there. After the junction the elevation gain seemed to ease up a bit and I was able to catch my breath a bit easier. I passed a couple ski clearings as well.

As I got closer to the summit I could see the layer of clouds waiting for me!

Then I came to a wall, which meant the road going to Whiteface summit (the only high peak that has that) was right next to the trail for a bit and I was getting close! The trail rose steeply up and after a bit of climbing I was way above the road looking down on it and out at the horizon. But I could also see the clouds getting closer and it was getting windy and misty.

It was pretty neat climbing the ridge with the wind and clouds blowing up from the side!

As I expected, the summit had zero views. Thankfully the cold wind cooled me right down and I was able to rest a bit while I ate my lunch and chatted with fellow hikers.

I ended up taking the road back to where it intersected with trail for a different view, then the trail down to the Esther junction went pretty quickly. The rain came and went, and as I got to the muddy summit of Esther I saw a bit of sunshine. Unfortunately Esther did not have great views due to the trees so I just rested my feet for a moment with a snack, then made my way back down and headed for the car.

Total miles: 10.4 miles

Elevation gain: 3,596ft

Whiteface = #23/46

Esther = #24/46

Check back soon for a post with tons of pics from our summer at camp!

Hiking NY: Climbing Big Slide

A couple of weeks ago on my day off from camp I headed into the high peaks region of the Adirondacks for a solo hike up Big Slide. Thunderstorms were in the afternoon forecast so I tried to hustle so I would not get caught on the steep sections in the rain!

I started from the Garden parking lot trailhead and hit the trail around 9:30am. The sun was out at that time and made for a very warm and humid morning on my ascent. You know I love steep climbs! Ha. I drank lots of water and electrolyte powder but I had to go so slow to keep my breath and energy. My legs were tired and sweat just poured off of me.

As I got to the First Brother I had amazing views from the slide and tons of wild blueberries to snack on! This bolstered my spirit a bit to push on for the long haul over the second and third brothers to the summit.

Water was a bit scarce but I did come across this great mossy little nook where I was able to refill my bottles to keep going.

There was definitely some steep sections, and I just kept thinking how I did not want to go down them in the rain! The final push to the summit had some scrambles and the storms moved in as I got there so I got back into the forest for a quick lunch break then started the descent as quickly as I could.

The rain started out gentle and was actually refreshing with how warm it was, but it quickly turned into a downpour. I had to stop to put the rain cover on my backpack and then I continued on. I hiked about an hour in the rain before I finally saw my car! It was so nice to get my muddy wet shoes and socks off.

Miles: ~7.8

Elevation gain: 3,200'

#22/46

Check back soon for my post about my next hike!

Hiking NY: Backpacking Allen Mountain

Last weekend Brad and I headed out to the mountains again for another great backpacking trip. This time we met up with another lady and her two boys. We all got along really well and the 3 boys banded together and led us the whole way.

This hike is notoriously hated for it's length and the "red slime" on the ascent of Allen. There's several steep rock slides that are covered in green and red miss and are super slippery. Thankfully there was a way to go around them! I did fall once (and slipped about 20x) but it wasn't bad.

As for the length, I'm really happy we were able to break this 20 mile hike up over 3 days. There is not a designated DEC campsite along this trail, so we just had to hike in and find our own flattish spot for setting up. We had some idea of where others had done it, but we couldn't find anything good until about 6.5-7miles in. 

Friday we got to the trailhead around 2pm and joined our new friends on the trail. We decided on a decent site and set up camp around 6pm and got to work on dinner and winding down.

It really was a great trail coming in, and although there was a river cruise we were a bit anxious about... It ended up being no issue and we were able to rock hop across it.

We woke up with the sun and the birds around 6am and after breakfast then getting ready for a hard hike we got on the trail with our day bags around 7:30am.

Shortly after reaching the base of the mountain where we began the steep ascent, we reached a great waterfall where we refilled on water and had a snack.

We happily reached the summit and took a well deserved rest with lunch. And enjoyed the views!

We made our way back down and got so in the groove on the trail, we passed our campsite by about a quarter mile! We had to back track but still made it in time for dinner and smores before dark.

The next morning we had a quick breakfast and packed up our bags to head back to the car. We took a little break along the way for a snack, and found some wild blueberries as well!

Total miles: 21.5

Total elevation gain: 3,727ft

#21/46