David Metsky
Well-known member
We arrived on Friday night at Spencer's in the rainstorm and we wondered what the trails would be like the next day. At dinner that night we discussed some options and came up with Dix for some views and a new 46'r for me. There was one stream crossing we were worried about but figured we could always wade across in sandals if things were bad. So, Mimi, Prino, Rich, and Paul all headed to the Round Lake trailhead and got the last two parking spots. We chatted with the rangers for a few minutes then signed in at the register at 8:33AM.
Yes, there was mud. It wasn't pretty, but honestly, it wasn't as bad as I'd expected. We quickly made it up to Round Pond and took in some nice views, then pushed on. The trail was very pretty, lots of mushrooms, and yes, a fair bit of mud. Did I mention the mud? We got to the shelter and took a look at the stream crossing. The water wasn't too high so those with long legs (Phil) didn't have any problem crossing. Those with short legs (Mimi) had a bit more difficulty, but we all made it across safely.
From there, up through the birch glades and finally out on the slide. The Daks seem to have slides scattered about like tissues after a cold. This one was lovely, lots of bare rock with freshly fallen water flowing. We paused there for our first major break of the hike. From here we started the serious climbing, and I began to reacquaint myself with the reality of the long approaches of the Daks. Up we went. Up and up.
Paul and Phil were hiking a bit faster then the rest of us, so they took off during the climb. We reached the ridge eventually and caught sight of the summit. Hrmm, I thought the ridge was close to the top? On we went and finally came out of the trees. There were a few bumps before we hit the true summit where Paul and Phil were waiting for us, and two other guys who had bushwacked up the rest of the Dix range. It took us about 5 hours to reach the top, so we stopped for a well earned lunch break.
The views were quite spectacular. We all felt blessed to have such a wonderful day. I hope to get to the Daks much more in the future, so looking all the peaks I have in my future was a great inspiration. Friends, views, exercise; does it get any better? We still had 7 miles ahead of us so we packed up and started down. Mimi had dropped her camera on the summit ridge so we hoped to find it on the way down. Fortunately we found it quickly and then started the big descent.
For no apparent reason we started singing and kept it up pretty much for the next 6 miles. It makes the miles go quickly. At the bottom of the slide we stopped for some mountain yoga to ease the mind and stretch the body. Which was essential, because somehow the trail got longer while we were up on the summit. During this part of the trip we did an in depth (no pun intended) study of the Adirondack Boot Sucking Mud scale of difficulty. We had experienced BSM 1 and 2 on the way in, but we sought out and explored what BSM 3 does to the psyche. Our study wasn't exhaustive, but we concluded that it wasn't good.
From the final trail junction to the trailhead seemed to take forever, but we made it out at in 9:30 for the 14 miles. I finished up my 3 liters about 30 minutes before the end and we were all a bit dehydrated, so we hit a truck stop near Spencer and Maddy's for liquids and salt, then back to the house where the BBQ was underway. It was a great day, my re-introduction to the Daks after an absence of several years.
La vraie liberté c’est le vagabondage.
More pictures HERE. Video is on the way.
Yes, there was mud. It wasn't pretty, but honestly, it wasn't as bad as I'd expected. We quickly made it up to Round Pond and took in some nice views, then pushed on. The trail was very pretty, lots of mushrooms, and yes, a fair bit of mud. Did I mention the mud? We got to the shelter and took a look at the stream crossing. The water wasn't too high so those with long legs (Phil) didn't have any problem crossing. Those with short legs (Mimi) had a bit more difficulty, but we all made it across safely.
From there, up through the birch glades and finally out on the slide. The Daks seem to have slides scattered about like tissues after a cold. This one was lovely, lots of bare rock with freshly fallen water flowing. We paused there for our first major break of the hike. From here we started the serious climbing, and I began to reacquaint myself with the reality of the long approaches of the Daks. Up we went. Up and up.
Paul and Phil were hiking a bit faster then the rest of us, so they took off during the climb. We reached the ridge eventually and caught sight of the summit. Hrmm, I thought the ridge was close to the top? On we went and finally came out of the trees. There were a few bumps before we hit the true summit where Paul and Phil were waiting for us, and two other guys who had bushwacked up the rest of the Dix range. It took us about 5 hours to reach the top, so we stopped for a well earned lunch break.
The views were quite spectacular. We all felt blessed to have such a wonderful day. I hope to get to the Daks much more in the future, so looking all the peaks I have in my future was a great inspiration. Friends, views, exercise; does it get any better? We still had 7 miles ahead of us so we packed up and started down. Mimi had dropped her camera on the summit ridge so we hoped to find it on the way down. Fortunately we found it quickly and then started the big descent.
For no apparent reason we started singing and kept it up pretty much for the next 6 miles. It makes the miles go quickly. At the bottom of the slide we stopped for some mountain yoga to ease the mind and stretch the body. Which was essential, because somehow the trail got longer while we were up on the summit. During this part of the trip we did an in depth (no pun intended) study of the Adirondack Boot Sucking Mud scale of difficulty. We had experienced BSM 1 and 2 on the way in, but we sought out and explored what BSM 3 does to the psyche. Our study wasn't exhaustive, but we concluded that it wasn't good.
From the final trail junction to the trailhead seemed to take forever, but we made it out at in 9:30 for the 14 miles. I finished up my 3 liters about 30 minutes before the end and we were all a bit dehydrated, so we hit a truck stop near Spencer and Maddy's for liquids and salt, then back to the house where the BBQ was underway. It was a great day, my re-introduction to the Daks after an absence of several years.
La vraie liberté c’est le vagabondage.
More pictures HERE. Video is on the way.
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