All 46 peaks and NO Rain?

[eddie]

This is a copy of a recent trip report:

Santa and Couch 9/14/09

Our route was N/O trail to Santa, over to Times Square, out and back to Couch, and down the Panther trail to Blue and out. Total time was just under 12 hours. we never needed lamps though the walk down the gravel rd was pretty dark at 6:00 AM. The N/O trail was beautiful, now one of my favorites. The trail over to TS was fun and took about an hour, longer and with more elevation loss than I expected. To Couch was long, as expected, but easy to follow and pretty dry. Even the bog which gets so much press was tame and didn't get our boot tops wet. Perhaps the N/O trail would have been a better choice for return but the idea of climbing back up Santa wasn't attractive. Down the Panther brook trail, I think thats what its called, was pretty easy to follow and we made good time. This trail is rocky and eroded but was pretty dry and the last section toward Blue trail was very enjoyable. The biggest bummer of this hike was the Blue trail. It's sad to see a trail in this condition and this is probably as good as it gets. It was much worse in July. The weather was stellar so we kept our unintended record of no rain through 44 peaks. We have toted rain gear around for 8 years and its never seen the light of day! Maybe we'll leave it home for Cliff and Redfield.

44 peaks in the ADKs and no rain???!!! This is an absurd anomaly. Has anyone ever completed all 46 without rain? Even when you think you have a rain-free day it sometimes rains. I think we have a record in the making.

 

[ColdRiverRun]

44 peaks in the ADKs and no rain???!!! This is an absurd anomaly. Has anyone ever completed all 46 without rain? Even when you think you have a rain-free day it sometimes rains. I think we have a record in the making.

Darn close, if you count being in the clouds on Giant and Rocky in a moving windy mist more than rain. And your right on the last part of this statement too.

 

[Mark Schaefer]

Has anyone ever completed all 46 without rain? Even when you think you have a rain-free day it sometimes rains. I think we have a record in the making.

I reached all 46 summits on my first round of the 46 without ever receiving even one drop of rain. I live a 3-4 hour drive away from the Adirondack High Peaks, so I only made the journey when I was certain the weather would be good. And for the most part the plan worked and I had many sunny days. I had several socked in days on summits with wind, and I occasionally got soaked by the condensation coated conifers along herd paths, but never a drop of rain nor flake of snow.

But on my 46th peak the High Peaks were plotting their revenge. I was anxious to get'er done the last weekend prior to Labor Day, 1992. The forecast was marginal. The remnants of the infamous Hurricane Andrew were predicted to pass through the High Peaks on Thursday. A forecasted fast moving high pressure zone was expected to flush the remnants of Andrew out of the Adirondacks and clear the skies on Friday. So I decided to backpack into the wake of the storm in the early afternoon of Friday. Rather than a long day hike I planned to bivouac overnight wherever it was legal to ensure that I would bag Allen. As I started the hike the skies were clearing as forecast. But the front stalled. As I started the climb up Allen from Allen Brook the clouds began to thicken. The summit was socked in without views. I got up and down the from Allen Brook without any rain. But it was certain that on the long trek out I was going to get wet as the temperature dropped to the dew point. Shortly before sunset a light but steady rain started.

I believe in ultralight bivouacs so I carried no tent. And as I was so over confident in the forecast I even neglected to bring a tarp. This was also before the age of headlamps, so hiking past dusk was not viable. The rain had stopped as I set up the bivouac. But the rain restarted during the night. My rain gear could not keep the sleeping bag dry so I got drenched as I waited out a sleepless night. The only good thing was that the clouds and humid air mass kept the temperatures from dropping, so I was just miserable as I bivouacked.

So I reached all 46 peaks without any rain. But as I didn't fully complete the final trek out without being rained upon -- perhaps the real record remains for you to establish.

 

[J.Dub]

44 peaks in the ADKs and no rain???!!!

That's just wrong.

If they haven't had their boots sucked off their feet by ADKs mud or spent a couple hours on the Van Hoevenbergen Expwy in a cold drizzle, well...then they haven't experienced all that the High Peak has to offer!

 

[WinterWarlock]

I think my wife is working on the opposite record - she's only done five, but with clouded in views and rain on every one. If you want a nice day, do NOT hike with her.

 

[Viewseeker]

Guess there should be a new List...46r list, winter 46r list , and rain/no views list!!!!!

I've up to 38 and other than this years marshall hike which I made myself hike in the rain, i've been lucky only to have been wet a couple times....Its much more enjoyable staying dry!!!

 

[ADKdremn]

Oh c'mon Rob.....you know you loved every minute of that Marshall hike. It didn't rain that bad did it? I think Tabletop was wetter for me!

 

[Viewseeker]

It was a Warm rain I guess....

 

[Chriswo]

That's 44 with no rain

HI Just saw this thread. I guess we aren't alone. We don't count the mist on summits, Its not really rain but it is wet. Also we don't count rain the previous nite. We get wet but not "primary wetness" ( our new term) Falling into streams, postholing, mudpits etc. all wet, but "secondary wetness". Having a job, as my brother does, means our trips are planned around days off and not the weatherman. This brings us to another loophole. " first degree hiking", with knowledge and forthought. We have never engaged in this terrible practice, prefering to watch baseball in the motel room the nite before. Another no no is canceling or changing plans when doom is immanent. " second degree" ? We just blunder ahead and hope for the best. So far it's worked. Of course all this is subject to change on 45 and 46. Maybe I could get my lawyer to check the Weather Chanel. Happy hiking you guys Chris

 

[Adk_dib]

I only had rain on one weekend, the weekend I did dix and hough. I got rain that weekend because it was a planned trip with others so rain or no rain I had to do it. Others I do solo, so if there is a chance of rain I wait for another weekend. That doesn't mean I dont get clouded in!

 

[DSettahr]

I've had many 46r experiences that have involved rain, but given how much I've climbed some of the peaks, I think that I've had at least 1 dry experience on almost all of them.

The only ones that come to mind that I haven't had a dry experience on is Tabletop: I've only climbed it once, and there were some dizzles that day, but no major rainstorms.

I've had some pretty wet experiences on the MacIntyre Range, Seymour, Allen, Gray, Skylight, but I've also climbed those mountains on dry days as well.

So while I've not done all the 46 high peaks straight through without wet weather, I have had the opportunity to climb almost all of them at least once on a dry day.