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Gorgeous day to hike. Calamity Brook trail is one of my faves, and it did not disappoint. The only downside was encountering a man who's badly turned his ankle while attempting his 45th peak. He was about 4 miles from the trailhead when I came upon him and his party, who were helping him along. Hope he made it OK, and wish him better luck on his next attempt.
My new 2nd favorite trail is the one from Colden dam along the Opalescent. These have to be among the most spectacular falls in the ADKs. Wow!
I almost missed the junction to the common path that heads toward Cliff and Redfield. It's marked with a cairn which was topped with a handmade birchbark sign onto which someone had scratched "CLIFF + REDFIELD." I doubt it'll be there long....
There's another cairn about 5 minutes up the path that marks the junction of the paths to Cliff (right) and Redfiled (left). I headed for Cliff first. There's a short section of old, wet cordouroy, but after that, the path climbs the cliffs of Cliff which are wonderful. Some exertion is required, but it's a very cool hike. I was quite pleasantly surprised by the views from Cliff summit. McMartin's book says there are zero views, comparable to Nye summit, but I found there are in fact a couple nice views to the north and east. It took about an hour to reach the summit from the 2nd path junction.
Path to Redfield was really great. It follows the brook, which again has marvelous waterfalls. The path is much dryer than Allen's (which also follows a brook), and less slippery. The elevation gain is comparable, but Redfield path was a steady climb, and so seemed less steep. Views from Redfield summit were very nice to the north, east, and south. Couldn't see much to the west.
On the summit, I met a fellow hiker who'd just finished his 46th. It was an honor to be there to help acknowledge his achievement. That's the first time in my life I've been on top when someone was finishing. Redfield was #42 for me, so I hope to finish next year. Come join the celebration, which is planned for Colden.
All in all, a perfect hiking day, and two peaks which I think are unfairly maligned by many in the ADK hiking community. I would not hesitate to do them again.
My new 2nd favorite trail is the one from Colden dam along the Opalescent. These have to be among the most spectacular falls in the ADKs. Wow!
I almost missed the junction to the common path that heads toward Cliff and Redfield. It's marked with a cairn which was topped with a handmade birchbark sign onto which someone had scratched "CLIFF + REDFIELD." I doubt it'll be there long....
There's another cairn about 5 minutes up the path that marks the junction of the paths to Cliff (right) and Redfiled (left). I headed for Cliff first. There's a short section of old, wet cordouroy, but after that, the path climbs the cliffs of Cliff which are wonderful. Some exertion is required, but it's a very cool hike. I was quite pleasantly surprised by the views from Cliff summit. McMartin's book says there are zero views, comparable to Nye summit, but I found there are in fact a couple nice views to the north and east. It took about an hour to reach the summit from the 2nd path junction.
Path to Redfield was really great. It follows the brook, which again has marvelous waterfalls. The path is much dryer than Allen's (which also follows a brook), and less slippery. The elevation gain is comparable, but Redfield path was a steady climb, and so seemed less steep. Views from Redfield summit were very nice to the north, east, and south. Couldn't see much to the west.
On the summit, I met a fellow hiker who'd just finished his 46th. It was an honor to be there to help acknowledge his achievement. That's the first time in my life I've been on top when someone was finishing. Redfield was #42 for me, so I hope to finish next year. Come join the celebration, which is planned for Colden.
All in all, a perfect hiking day, and two peaks which I think are unfairly maligned by many in the ADK hiking community. I would not hesitate to do them again.
