ferrisjrf
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…or Mud, Sweat, and Bear (cans).
Day 1: Rob and I backpacked into Slide Brook lean-to from Elk Lake with a 12 pack. Drank. Slept.
Day 2: The Dix Range via Macomb Slide. Rained hard from East Dix to Dix. Packed up camp. Headed to Panther Gorge, where we slept under our tarp.
Day 3: Skylight, Grey, Cliff, Redfield. We were running from the rains all day. It started pouring right as we got to the Lake Colden lean-tos, where we spent the evening watching it rain.
Day 4: Colden via Trap Dyke. We walked through Flowed Lands to Livingston Point in the morning, and then circumnavigated the area before crossing over Colden Dam and heading towards Av Pass. We were hoping this would allow time for the Dyke to dry out. It worked. The route was wet, but not terrible. The slab was also a little wet…wet enough that we reconsidered our plan to descend via the SE Slide, and decided to take the trail down instead. Afterwards, went back and packed up camp, and headed to Kagel lean-to. It didn’t rain all day!
Day 5: Wright, Algonquin, Iroquois via Left Wing Slide. No rain again this morning! Up Wright via the Left Wing, then down of the ridge into Av Pass, before returning to Kagel. We took a nap, and then walked out to the Loj to meet Dave and Gillian. They arrived around 11PM with more food and liquor, and we headed back to Kagel. It was raining.
Day 6: Phelps & Tabletop. The four of us carried our full packs (dropping them at the trail junctions) to within 0.6 miles from Marcy. It rained pretty much the whole time. Decided to save Marcy for a better day, and headed down towards Slant Rock, figuring it was probably full. It was. Continued down to Bushnell Falls. Number 1 was free, and we staked our claim. Continued to rain.
Day 7: Rained all night. Rained all day. Never ventured more than 100 feet from the lean-to. Whiskey and vodka helped to ease the boredom.
Day 8: Haystack, Basin, Saddleback, Gothics, Armstrong, Upper Wolf Jaw. Nicest day of the trip. The four of us headed up Haystack. Pretty windy above the trees, but it settled down pretty nicely while we soaked in the views. As we descended, we ran into a scary looking Dunbear, who ended up joining us for the remainder of the day. My Dunbear spray was apparently not working. Eventually, he headed back towards the Garden (in search of M&M’s possibly?), while the rest of us returned to our home at Bushnell.
Day 9: Marcy. Carried our packs back up towards Marcy. Dropped them before heading up to the top of the state. The weather was decent, and views were excellent. Back to the Loj around 2PM, where we feasted on crackers and peanut butter and beer.
Synopsis: 8 nights in the woods, 22 peaks, a few tons of mud, a few inches of rain, a few black flies and skeeters thrown in for good measure…a nice little overview of the High Peaks. My trail runners are very happy to be drying, though. After 10 straight days of being wet, I’m not sure that they’ll ever be the same.
Pics are here.
Jason
Day 1: Rob and I backpacked into Slide Brook lean-to from Elk Lake with a 12 pack. Drank. Slept.
Day 2: The Dix Range via Macomb Slide. Rained hard from East Dix to Dix. Packed up camp. Headed to Panther Gorge, where we slept under our tarp.
Day 3: Skylight, Grey, Cliff, Redfield. We were running from the rains all day. It started pouring right as we got to the Lake Colden lean-tos, where we spent the evening watching it rain.
Day 4: Colden via Trap Dyke. We walked through Flowed Lands to Livingston Point in the morning, and then circumnavigated the area before crossing over Colden Dam and heading towards Av Pass. We were hoping this would allow time for the Dyke to dry out. It worked. The route was wet, but not terrible. The slab was also a little wet…wet enough that we reconsidered our plan to descend via the SE Slide, and decided to take the trail down instead. Afterwards, went back and packed up camp, and headed to Kagel lean-to. It didn’t rain all day!
Day 5: Wright, Algonquin, Iroquois via Left Wing Slide. No rain again this morning! Up Wright via the Left Wing, then down of the ridge into Av Pass, before returning to Kagel. We took a nap, and then walked out to the Loj to meet Dave and Gillian. They arrived around 11PM with more food and liquor, and we headed back to Kagel. It was raining.
Day 6: Phelps & Tabletop. The four of us carried our full packs (dropping them at the trail junctions) to within 0.6 miles from Marcy. It rained pretty much the whole time. Decided to save Marcy for a better day, and headed down towards Slant Rock, figuring it was probably full. It was. Continued down to Bushnell Falls. Number 1 was free, and we staked our claim. Continued to rain.
Day 7: Rained all night. Rained all day. Never ventured more than 100 feet from the lean-to. Whiskey and vodka helped to ease the boredom.
Day 8: Haystack, Basin, Saddleback, Gothics, Armstrong, Upper Wolf Jaw. Nicest day of the trip. The four of us headed up Haystack. Pretty windy above the trees, but it settled down pretty nicely while we soaked in the views. As we descended, we ran into a scary looking Dunbear, who ended up joining us for the remainder of the day. My Dunbear spray was apparently not working. Eventually, he headed back towards the Garden (in search of M&M’s possibly?), while the rest of us returned to our home at Bushnell.
Day 9: Marcy. Carried our packs back up towards Marcy. Dropped them before heading up to the top of the state. The weather was decent, and views were excellent. Back to the Loj around 2PM, where we feasted on crackers and peanut butter and beer.
Synopsis: 8 nights in the woods, 22 peaks, a few tons of mud, a few inches of rain, a few black flies and skeeters thrown in for good measure…a nice little overview of the High Peaks. My trail runners are very happy to be drying, though. After 10 straight days of being wet, I’m not sure that they’ll ever be the same.
Pics are here.
Jason
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