Robert
New member
I missed Nippletop and Dial on my last outing to Blake and Colvin. My older daughter, Annika, is here for a few days layover between California and Turkey. The weather cooperated, though it was hot and muggy, so we decided to tackle Dial and Nippletop together on Sunday.
This is a same day round trip, so just day packs, poles and plenty of water are needed.
Leaving home at 4:00 am, we have breakfast at the Noonmark Café at 8:15 am. We then park at the Ausable Road lot, and head for the Lake Road and the Leach Trail. Gill Brook is roaring after all the rain. We off!
The Leach Trail is a very pleasant trail, and easier on the legs than most. On the way up to Noonmark’s shoulder, we both spy a highly unusual set of tracks in the soft mud of the trail. It’s shaped like a butterfly. The two lobes of the cloved hooves are splayed outward rather than inward and pear shaped like a deer. There are also two round-ish nodes at the back. We muse about llama’s and moose, make a mental note, and move on. See the Epilogue below for the conclusion.
The Noonmark shoulder is unique, given the fire that cleared it, and the views towards the Great Range are unobstructed. We stop only for a short rest on the open rocks facing SW towards Bear Den and Nippletop, and Dix to the SE. I get a full and leisurely view of my bushwhack up to Hough a few weeks ago. How did I miss the slides, and how did I ever make it all the way up to the herd path just below Hough’s summit?? Wow!!
The col off Noonmark is both spectacular and discouraging. We know we must tackle this on the way back. We put it out of our mind and push on. We make Bear Mtn. for an early lunch, and then cover Dial. The large rock atop Dial offers a quick view. However, we don’t linger.
Dial, like your sisters there is much to see from you, but you hide it so well!
My daughter is concerned about her knees and a potentially slow return, so we push on to Nippletop. On the way, we abandon the notion of returning via Elk Pass, as it is too steep for her knees. Arriving at the summit “rock” we scramble past the bolt to the ledge. There we sun and take in the hazy views of Elk Lake, Blake and Colvin below us, and the Great Range beyond. It is so hazy, in fact, that there is no definition to the distant high peaks other than outlines in shades of blue and grey. We reward ourselves with a juicy navel orange.
At 3:00 pm, just 15 minutes after arriving, we launch ourselves for the return trek the way we came. We wave to Dix on our right.
Nippletop, I’m glad I came, but I don’t believe I will return. Stay well!
As we continue to go down and down and down, we moan and groan about the ascent from the col between Bear Mtn. and Noonmark’s shoulder. However, as we start the way up, we discover the wild raspberries that our concentration on footing blocked from view on the way down. The sun has warmed and plumped the berries, the sugar is up, and they are very tasty. Before we know it, we have nibbled our way to the top without even noticing. It’s around 6:00 pm during our ascent, and I’m ever aware that raspberries are bear food. Nonetheless, as hard won as these are, I decide I will wrestle any bear for my fair share!
I tell my daughter that this is a “trick of the trail” I will use again. Whenever I face a steep return climb, I will simply pretend I’m feasting on wild raspberries all the way up, and I’ll be there without any effort. My mental transporter!
I am now a 31er.
Epilogue: The tracks we saw on the trail leading to Noonmark’s shoulder haunt us. So, we first sketch and agree on the general pattern, then conduct a web search. What we find startles me. It is EXACTLY the track we saw.
According to the source, this is the track of a “running elk”. I then check for any elk habitat in/around the Adirondacks. I find both a raging controversy about the possible reintroduction of elk and wolves to the Adirondacks, and a NYDEC ban on elk importation because of Cronic Wasting Disease (CWD). CWD is assumed to be some form of virus that attacks the brain and literally causes the animal to waste away and die. There is no known cause or cure. I also see that NYDEC recently fined three men for illegal elk carcasses they had in Suffolk County.
I send an email to the DEC’s Fish and Wildlife management group, and they respond immediately. Included in their email reply isa PDF (Adobe image file) of white tail deer tracks walking, running and leaping (attached). The leaping track was identical to what we saw. Mystery solved!
This is a same day round trip, so just day packs, poles and plenty of water are needed.
Leaving home at 4:00 am, we have breakfast at the Noonmark Café at 8:15 am. We then park at the Ausable Road lot, and head for the Lake Road and the Leach Trail. Gill Brook is roaring after all the rain. We off!
The Leach Trail is a very pleasant trail, and easier on the legs than most. On the way up to Noonmark’s shoulder, we both spy a highly unusual set of tracks in the soft mud of the trail. It’s shaped like a butterfly. The two lobes of the cloved hooves are splayed outward rather than inward and pear shaped like a deer. There are also two round-ish nodes at the back. We muse about llama’s and moose, make a mental note, and move on. See the Epilogue below for the conclusion.
The Noonmark shoulder is unique, given the fire that cleared it, and the views towards the Great Range are unobstructed. We stop only for a short rest on the open rocks facing SW towards Bear Den and Nippletop, and Dix to the SE. I get a full and leisurely view of my bushwhack up to Hough a few weeks ago. How did I miss the slides, and how did I ever make it all the way up to the herd path just below Hough’s summit?? Wow!!
The col off Noonmark is both spectacular and discouraging. We know we must tackle this on the way back. We put it out of our mind and push on. We make Bear Mtn. for an early lunch, and then cover Dial. The large rock atop Dial offers a quick view. However, we don’t linger.
Dial, like your sisters there is much to see from you, but you hide it so well!
My daughter is concerned about her knees and a potentially slow return, so we push on to Nippletop. On the way, we abandon the notion of returning via Elk Pass, as it is too steep for her knees. Arriving at the summit “rock” we scramble past the bolt to the ledge. There we sun and take in the hazy views of Elk Lake, Blake and Colvin below us, and the Great Range beyond. It is so hazy, in fact, that there is no definition to the distant high peaks other than outlines in shades of blue and grey. We reward ourselves with a juicy navel orange.
At 3:00 pm, just 15 minutes after arriving, we launch ourselves for the return trek the way we came. We wave to Dix on our right.
Nippletop, I’m glad I came, but I don’t believe I will return. Stay well!
As we continue to go down and down and down, we moan and groan about the ascent from the col between Bear Mtn. and Noonmark’s shoulder. However, as we start the way up, we discover the wild raspberries that our concentration on footing blocked from view on the way down. The sun has warmed and plumped the berries, the sugar is up, and they are very tasty. Before we know it, we have nibbled our way to the top without even noticing. It’s around 6:00 pm during our ascent, and I’m ever aware that raspberries are bear food. Nonetheless, as hard won as these are, I decide I will wrestle any bear for my fair share!
I tell my daughter that this is a “trick of the trail” I will use again. Whenever I face a steep return climb, I will simply pretend I’m feasting on wild raspberries all the way up, and I’ll be there without any effort. My mental transporter!
I am now a 31er.
Epilogue: The tracks we saw on the trail leading to Noonmark’s shoulder haunt us. So, we first sketch and agree on the general pattern, then conduct a web search. What we find startles me. It is EXACTLY the track we saw.
According to the source, this is the track of a “running elk”. I then check for any elk habitat in/around the Adirondacks. I find both a raging controversy about the possible reintroduction of elk and wolves to the Adirondacks, and a NYDEC ban on elk importation because of Cronic Wasting Disease (CWD). CWD is assumed to be some form of virus that attacks the brain and literally causes the animal to waste away and die. There is no known cause or cure. I also see that NYDEC recently fined three men for illegal elk carcasses they had in Suffolk County.
I send an email to the DEC’s Fish and Wildlife management group, and they respond immediately. Included in their email reply isa PDF (Adobe image file) of white tail deer tracks walking, running and leaping (attached). The leaping track was identical to what we saw. Mystery solved!
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