Tom Rankin
Well-known member
Everything came together for this one. The weather was perfect all weekend, and Laurie and I drove up Friday morning, as sort of joint Birthday present to each other.
We actually had a funny feeling driving past the signs that warn hikers that they are entering private property.
Very soon after that, we got over it, when we saw Elk Lake from the shore!
(I did not touch up any of these first several pics!)
We stopped by the office, and took a few pics before heading up to Sunrise. The trail starts out as a truck trail, but eventually is just a soft, well-maintained trail. It ascends about 1600 feet in 3 miles, so it's pretty gradual. We only saw one couple all day. There are 2 nice lookouts before the summit, and while they were amazing,
the best was yet to come at the summit!
.
.
The wind was howling but it was not so cold as to be annoying. I just leaned into it and whooped!
Dinner was fabulous, I had a huge piece of steak. The next morning we watched the sun rise on the mountains and snapped some pictures.
.
The wind was still blowing pretty hard. Breakfast was a feast! The food just kept coming and it was delicious. They sent us out the door with lunch as well. We were so full, we were glad the trail was flat the first 2.5 miles heading to Boreas. The next 1.2 miles were more up hill on an old road that ended at the former observer's cabin site. The last mile is very steep and reminded us of ascending Seymour!
At the top (3770') there used to be a fire tower, but all that is left now are a few cement blocks, a couple of iron rings and the view! And what a view it is! We stayed stayed for almost an hour basking in the Sun and soaking in the lake, the high peaks, and even Vermont. We considered heading over to Wolf Pond Peak, but it was just too nice a day for whacking! And besides, we were on vacation, and dinner was not going to wait for us!
As far as humans, we saw no one else the whole 9.2 miles we were out this day. This trail has 10 unbridged stream crossings, but none of them were difficult. Speaking of water, the streams were running everywhere, but there were no flooding issues to note. The 'Branch', the stream/river that runs out of the Lake, was pouring out quite vigorously, but under control. There was one path that was labeled as closed, but we were able to rock hop here as well. Another couple reported that the East Inlet to the lake was impassable, making a loop around the lake impossible.
With this advice, we decide to head for Lightning Hill the third day. The wind had finally died down, allowing the temperature to plummet to 27F. After another amazing breakfast and photo shoot,
we headed off around the West side of the lake. On the way, we took a short side trip to a beautiful fen.
Lightning Hill is only 600' of climbing from the water's edge, but the last few hundred are steeper and steeper until you arrive abruptly at a ledge just a few feet from the summit. Being peakbaggers, we had to find the true summit, and our 'reward' was several piles of moose droppings! Back at the ledge, it was another spectacular view of the Lake and the surrounding mountains.
We lingered here for a while and took a different series of trails back to the Lodge. We ate our 2nd yummy bag lunch at the dock, and finally tore ourselves away from the awesome views.
But we still had to see Clear Pond. It was worth the short detour!
Random notes:
We were struck by how large MacComb and Nippletop were when viewed from the lake.
Yes, the rooms are tiny, but they were big enough, clean, comfortable, and with views right out on the lake. And I am pleased to report that our beds were NOT bolted down! The ambiance is 'old' but there are some modern touches, such as WiFi.
We read some old ADK magazines, featuring Grace Hudawolski as Editor!
Many of the guests had been several times before, and we started thinking about a return trip ourselves. The $200 per night sounds expensive, but considering the 3 excellent meals you get (x2 for a couple), the hiking and the views, that figure is very reasonable.
Stats for the weekend:
20 miles of hiking
4300' of elevation
Hundreds of pictures
Thousands of smiles!
We actually had a funny feeling driving past the signs that warn hikers that they are entering private property.
Very soon after that, we got over it, when we saw Elk Lake from the shore!
(I did not touch up any of these first several pics!)
We stopped by the office, and took a few pics before heading up to Sunrise. The trail starts out as a truck trail, but eventually is just a soft, well-maintained trail. It ascends about 1600 feet in 3 miles, so it's pretty gradual. We only saw one couple all day. There are 2 nice lookouts before the summit, and while they were amazing,
the best was yet to come at the summit!
.
.
The wind was howling but it was not so cold as to be annoying. I just leaned into it and whooped!
Dinner was fabulous, I had a huge piece of steak. The next morning we watched the sun rise on the mountains and snapped some pictures.
.
The wind was still blowing pretty hard. Breakfast was a feast! The food just kept coming and it was delicious. They sent us out the door with lunch as well. We were so full, we were glad the trail was flat the first 2.5 miles heading to Boreas. The next 1.2 miles were more up hill on an old road that ended at the former observer's cabin site. The last mile is very steep and reminded us of ascending Seymour!
At the top (3770') there used to be a fire tower, but all that is left now are a few cement blocks, a couple of iron rings and the view! And what a view it is! We stayed stayed for almost an hour basking in the Sun and soaking in the lake, the high peaks, and even Vermont. We considered heading over to Wolf Pond Peak, but it was just too nice a day for whacking! And besides, we were on vacation, and dinner was not going to wait for us!
As far as humans, we saw no one else the whole 9.2 miles we were out this day. This trail has 10 unbridged stream crossings, but none of them were difficult. Speaking of water, the streams were running everywhere, but there were no flooding issues to note. The 'Branch', the stream/river that runs out of the Lake, was pouring out quite vigorously, but under control. There was one path that was labeled as closed, but we were able to rock hop here as well. Another couple reported that the East Inlet to the lake was impassable, making a loop around the lake impossible.
With this advice, we decide to head for Lightning Hill the third day. The wind had finally died down, allowing the temperature to plummet to 27F. After another amazing breakfast and photo shoot,
we headed off around the West side of the lake. On the way, we took a short side trip to a beautiful fen.
Lightning Hill is only 600' of climbing from the water's edge, but the last few hundred are steeper and steeper until you arrive abruptly at a ledge just a few feet from the summit. Being peakbaggers, we had to find the true summit, and our 'reward' was several piles of moose droppings! Back at the ledge, it was another spectacular view of the Lake and the surrounding mountains.
We lingered here for a while and took a different series of trails back to the Lodge. We ate our 2nd yummy bag lunch at the dock, and finally tore ourselves away from the awesome views.
But we still had to see Clear Pond. It was worth the short detour!
Random notes:
We were struck by how large MacComb and Nippletop were when viewed from the lake.
Yes, the rooms are tiny, but they were big enough, clean, comfortable, and with views right out on the lake. And I am pleased to report that our beds were NOT bolted down! The ambiance is 'old' but there are some modern touches, such as WiFi.
We read some old ADK magazines, featuring Grace Hudawolski as Editor!
Many of the guests had been several times before, and we started thinking about a return trip ourselves. The $200 per night sounds expensive, but considering the 3 excellent meals you get (x2 for a couple), the hiking and the views, that figure is very reasonable.
Stats for the weekend:
20 miles of hiking
4300' of elevation
Hundreds of pictures
Thousands of smiles!
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