TopOfGothics
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On May 29th 05, Terri And I Started Out To Attempt The Entire Great Range In A Day Hike. For Those Who Saw This Listed In Backpacker, Note That They Forgot To Add Basin In The List Of Mountains You Must Climb. They Also Put Marcy As Part Of The Great Range, While Haystack Seems To Be The Terminus Of This Massive Crossing, With Marcy As A Massif After The Beautiful Desolation That Is The Panther Gorge. I Did Not Make This Attempt Solely Because Of Insanity Or The Advertisement In Backpacker, But Because These Are My Mountains, And I Have Climbed All The Major Peaks On The Range Sans Haystack Before This.
We Departed The Trailhead At 4:11 A.m. The Trail Was Easy Enough To Follow With Headlamps For The Better Part Of An Hour Before The Sunrise. With The Side Trail To Rooster Comb, A Half-mile Zigzag Up Some Ledges, We Were Treated To A Partial Sunrise Just Before 5:30. From Here And A Good Place To See A Clear Sunrise On A Different Day. Today Was Going To Be Another Day In The Raindacks And Trying To Judge Which Valley The Worst Will Funnel Down Is Futile. By 6:44 We Had Topped Hedgehog Without Any Views To Be Found And Had Already Ascended Over 2000 Ft. Almost Two Miles Later, We Topped Out On Lower Wolfjaw And Stopped For A Bite To Eat. It Was Just After Eight, And At This Point We Were Almost On Track For My Timetable. There Are Some Views From This High Peak, But Not Quite Like Anything That Was Yet To Come. I Had Climbed Lwj From The Other Direction, But It Was Only Now That I Comprehended How Steep The Climb Was. No Sheerness, But Lots Of Going Over Ledges And Four Wheeling. This Is Where You Come To Learn How To Do The Adirondack Butt-slide. It Was Almost Ten Before We Made It To Upper Wolfjaw, And The Day Was Getting On. This Was About Seven And A Half Miles Into Our 23.1-mile Trek. Nice Views Can Be Had From Uwj, But Since This Was Not A Day For Hours Of Peak Time, Which I Thoroughly Take Part In, We Were Soon Off Again.
The Next Top Out Was Armstrong, Which Is Really More The Ass End Of The Elephant That Is My Favorite Mountain Anywhere, Gothics. There We Were At 10:45, Nine Miles In And A Little Less Then 5000 Feet In Climbing Already Put Through Our Legs. If Measured Today, This Would Not Be It’s Own Mountain, Since It Falls Only About 120 Feet Before You Start Up The Big White, Green And Grey Pachyderm. It Was Here We First Started To Come Into The Snow That Is Still Found On The North And Eastern Sides Of The Range This Time Of Year. The Long White Patches Were Kind Of Fun In The Beginning, Even If They Did Freeze Your Feet For A Bit. We Were Starting To See Others By Now, And A Few Were Even Trying To Do The Range In One Or Another Of Its Different Incarnations. It Was 11:35 And My Friend Terri Was Getting Worried She Might Not Make It. She Is As Strong And Determined As Almost Anyone I Know, But She Was A Tad Under The Weather And A Bit Dehydrated From The Get Go. After Spending As Much Time As We Could In My Little Temple In The Wilderness. She Decided To Go Down To The Col With Me, A Wonderfully Gripping Descent That Is Made Easier With The New Cables In Place. All You Need To Do Is Turn Around And Repel For A Few Hundred Yards Of Not Quite Vertical. Here You Are On A Very Open Area With Wonderful Views. Timing Was Good; Since There Was At Least Three Groups Totaling Thirty Or More Coming Up From This Side. Terri And I Had Stowed A Second Car, Mine, At The Adk Hpic Parking Lot The Day Before. This Is Over Twenty Miles Of Road From Her Vehicle. The Big Boo Boo I Made Was Forgetting To Take My Key With Me. This Is A Bane Of Having Keyless Entry. I Was Now Able To Get Into My Car And Access All My Possessions, But I Would Have Had To Ask For The Generosity Of Another Loj Guest To Get Me And Terri To Her Car In The Morning. Thankfully This Is Usually Not A Difficult Thing. At The Gothics Saddleback Col, Terri Decided To Hit One Last Peak, Saddleback, Then Turn Around (very Begrudgingly), And Go Back The Ore Bed Trail To The Jbl Lodge And Return To Her Car.
I Went Ahead Of Her And Reached The Summit At 1:16. This Is A View That Is Wonderful, With Little Spots Along The Way With Great Scenes Also. From The Top Of Saddleback, I Put On My Biking Gloves And Went Over The Steep Pitch The You Must Maneuver For The Next Two Hundred Feet Or So Of Drop. The Guide Book Calls This A Precipitous Drop. It Pretty Much Is. Arm Strength Comes In Handy At This Point. It Was On The Ascent Of Basin That The Toll Started To Be Paid. The Snow Areas Were More Numerous And Encumbering. It Became Very Trying To Wonder If The Next Footfall Would Fall At An Even Gait Or If Your Foot Would Fall Right Through, Or Even More Annoying; Your Foot Would Slide Back A Bit, Leaving You A Bit Unbalanced. Atop Basin, It Was 2:12 And I Had A Long Way To Go. After A Few Bites And A Couple Of Minutes To Let The Views Sink In, I Was Off Again. It Seemed To Me That Everywhere I Was, The Rain Was Not. You Could See It Over Giant At One Point, Then At Nearby Dix And Family. Thankfully I Was Being Spared During The Greatest Part Of Maneuvering And Exertion.
It Was The Area Between Basin And Haystack That Seemed To Drag On. Getting Down Basin Was Steep And Magical, Stepping Into A Truly Desolate Place, But The Snow Was Now More Abundant Then Anywhere, And Every Footfall Was An Adventure. Just After Three Thirty I Arrived At The Spur Trail To Haystack. This Is Where I Had To Make A Critical Decision. Tracy Is My Dack 46er Hiking Partner, We Are A Team. Until This Day The Only Mountain I Had Under My Belt That She Did Not Was Redfield, And This Was Because We Did Attempt It, But Ran Out Of Time On A Yucky Day In Which We Traveled Through A Lot Of Blowdown. I Dropped Pack Again, And In Just A Poly Long Sleeve, I Started Up Little Haystack, Then Over To Haystack. Six Tenths Of A Mile From The Trail, I Had Come Over Seven Thousand Feet And Was Truly Starting To Feel The Exertion. Looking Over At Marcy Still Looming Overhead, I Noticed A Rain Cloud Covered Its Peak. It Was Windy And I Was Starting To Feel Some Residual Misting. I Turned Around Quick To Get Out Of Danger From All The Exposure. Fro Haystack Is Where You Can Truly See That Gothics Looks Like An Elephant With No Tail Or Legs.
Now It Was Five Thirty And I Was At The Van Hoevenberg Trail, Just Under A Mile And Six Hundred Feet To Marcy. Getting Here Was A Little Hellish With All The Crappy Snow And Frozen Feet, Not Too Mention They Were Soaked To The Core, Since Walking In The Spring Streams, Even When They Were Four Inches Deep, Was Preferable To Going Over The Snow. I Rested As Long As I Thought I Should. I Could Have Really Used Something Hot To Eat Here. Bringing A Light Stove And Pot To Make Some Soup Or Something Is Very Much Advised, The Extras Weight Will Be Easier To Carry With A Happy Stomach. I Was Also Getting A Bit Dehydrated By This Time. I Had Water, Just Not The Energy Or Will To Drink Too Much. If You Feel Thirsty, It Is Already Too Late. After A Hundred Yards Of So, I Dropped My Pack And Took Queen Mama About A Hundred Virtual Feet At A Time. My Suuntu Vector Coming In Handy Here. I Was Only A Few Tenths From The Summit, When During A Stop I Talked To A Few Descenders About My Journey. They Too Had Seen It In Backpacker, And Gave Me Kudos For My Effort. When I Was A Few Hundred Yards From The Apex Of My Effort, I Heard Some Hooting And Hollering. I Was Bent Over And Catching My Breath And When I Looked Up (down) I Saw Two Figures Below With Their Arms In The Air And Waving While Seeming To Encourage Me On. This May All Have Been A Hallucination, But I Saw It For Reality. Renewed And Inspired I Jogged For About Half A Minute Until A Strode Dutifully To The Plaque Just Below The Summit. When I Finally Reached The Top, I Let Out A Loud And Sharp Cry, And Realized That It Was All Down From Here. 7.4 Miles Of Down.
It Took Me About Forty-five Minutes, Including Some Rest Near Tree Line To Get To The Hopkins Trail. 16.9 Miles Out Of 23.1 Over. This Is What I Remember Of The Rest Of The Hike. I Was Resting Again When I Heard Some Hikers Coming From Behind. It Had Started To Rain In My Area, Marcy Was Clear When I Reached The Top, And I Was Semi Reclining On A Rock With My Tsunami Rain Jacket Keeping Me Comfy. I Did Not Wean To Present This Picture To Whoever Was Behind Me, So Off I Was Again. In Just A Bit, An Adk Trail Crew Was Coming By. It Turned Out That The Head Of The Trail Crew, Zach, Who I Met At A Trail Steward Workshop Two Weeks Earlier At Blue Mountain Was Not Only There, But Recognized Me. He Gave Me A Good-going And They Went Past. It Was Here I Realized I Just Wanted To Be Out, Warm And Have My Tummy Warm. I Started What Might Be The Most Amazing Part Of My Hike. It Was 54-40 Of Bust. I Was About Five Miles From Home. I Hit Indian Falls, 18.7 Miles, At 7:30. I Did Not Stop All The Way Back. For A Brief Moment, When I Re-passed The Trail Crew, Who Had Stopped To Do Some Touch Up Work, I Told Zach To Haul My Body To The Trail End Before Midnight And Stop The Altimeter Log Book If They Found Me Passed Out Along The Way. I Felt If I Stopped Anywhere, I Was Going To Take A Nap. It Was Just An Hour From The Falls To Marcy Dam And I Was On A Mission. I Did Not Want To Stop To Get Water Out Of My Pack, Which Went For My Light As Well. Since The Path To Marcy Dam Is Very Familiar To Me, I Strained To See Without Much Light For The Last 2.3 Miles. Just Before Nine Twenty, In The Absolute Last Light Of A Late Spring Day, I Saw The Shimmer Of A Parking Lot Light. All Tolled It Was 8490 Feet In Gain, 7330 Inn Descent, With Eight Laps (up And Downs Of 150 Feet Or More, Armstrong Did Not Register As A Lap), In 17:10. I Retrieved My Bag With Clean Clothes, Ambled Into The Loj, Threw A Cup Of Soup Packet At Terri And Begged Her To Make It For Me While I Stripped Off My Boos And Socks And Legs, All Covered With Mud And Soaked. The Soup Was Phenomenal.
We Departed The Trailhead At 4:11 A.m. The Trail Was Easy Enough To Follow With Headlamps For The Better Part Of An Hour Before The Sunrise. With The Side Trail To Rooster Comb, A Half-mile Zigzag Up Some Ledges, We Were Treated To A Partial Sunrise Just Before 5:30. From Here And A Good Place To See A Clear Sunrise On A Different Day. Today Was Going To Be Another Day In The Raindacks And Trying To Judge Which Valley The Worst Will Funnel Down Is Futile. By 6:44 We Had Topped Hedgehog Without Any Views To Be Found And Had Already Ascended Over 2000 Ft. Almost Two Miles Later, We Topped Out On Lower Wolfjaw And Stopped For A Bite To Eat. It Was Just After Eight, And At This Point We Were Almost On Track For My Timetable. There Are Some Views From This High Peak, But Not Quite Like Anything That Was Yet To Come. I Had Climbed Lwj From The Other Direction, But It Was Only Now That I Comprehended How Steep The Climb Was. No Sheerness, But Lots Of Going Over Ledges And Four Wheeling. This Is Where You Come To Learn How To Do The Adirondack Butt-slide. It Was Almost Ten Before We Made It To Upper Wolfjaw, And The Day Was Getting On. This Was About Seven And A Half Miles Into Our 23.1-mile Trek. Nice Views Can Be Had From Uwj, But Since This Was Not A Day For Hours Of Peak Time, Which I Thoroughly Take Part In, We Were Soon Off Again.
The Next Top Out Was Armstrong, Which Is Really More The Ass End Of The Elephant That Is My Favorite Mountain Anywhere, Gothics. There We Were At 10:45, Nine Miles In And A Little Less Then 5000 Feet In Climbing Already Put Through Our Legs. If Measured Today, This Would Not Be It’s Own Mountain, Since It Falls Only About 120 Feet Before You Start Up The Big White, Green And Grey Pachyderm. It Was Here We First Started To Come Into The Snow That Is Still Found On The North And Eastern Sides Of The Range This Time Of Year. The Long White Patches Were Kind Of Fun In The Beginning, Even If They Did Freeze Your Feet For A Bit. We Were Starting To See Others By Now, And A Few Were Even Trying To Do The Range In One Or Another Of Its Different Incarnations. It Was 11:35 And My Friend Terri Was Getting Worried She Might Not Make It. She Is As Strong And Determined As Almost Anyone I Know, But She Was A Tad Under The Weather And A Bit Dehydrated From The Get Go. After Spending As Much Time As We Could In My Little Temple In The Wilderness. She Decided To Go Down To The Col With Me, A Wonderfully Gripping Descent That Is Made Easier With The New Cables In Place. All You Need To Do Is Turn Around And Repel For A Few Hundred Yards Of Not Quite Vertical. Here You Are On A Very Open Area With Wonderful Views. Timing Was Good; Since There Was At Least Three Groups Totaling Thirty Or More Coming Up From This Side. Terri And I Had Stowed A Second Car, Mine, At The Adk Hpic Parking Lot The Day Before. This Is Over Twenty Miles Of Road From Her Vehicle. The Big Boo Boo I Made Was Forgetting To Take My Key With Me. This Is A Bane Of Having Keyless Entry. I Was Now Able To Get Into My Car And Access All My Possessions, But I Would Have Had To Ask For The Generosity Of Another Loj Guest To Get Me And Terri To Her Car In The Morning. Thankfully This Is Usually Not A Difficult Thing. At The Gothics Saddleback Col, Terri Decided To Hit One Last Peak, Saddleback, Then Turn Around (very Begrudgingly), And Go Back The Ore Bed Trail To The Jbl Lodge And Return To Her Car.
I Went Ahead Of Her And Reached The Summit At 1:16. This Is A View That Is Wonderful, With Little Spots Along The Way With Great Scenes Also. From The Top Of Saddleback, I Put On My Biking Gloves And Went Over The Steep Pitch The You Must Maneuver For The Next Two Hundred Feet Or So Of Drop. The Guide Book Calls This A Precipitous Drop. It Pretty Much Is. Arm Strength Comes In Handy At This Point. It Was On The Ascent Of Basin That The Toll Started To Be Paid. The Snow Areas Were More Numerous And Encumbering. It Became Very Trying To Wonder If The Next Footfall Would Fall At An Even Gait Or If Your Foot Would Fall Right Through, Or Even More Annoying; Your Foot Would Slide Back A Bit, Leaving You A Bit Unbalanced. Atop Basin, It Was 2:12 And I Had A Long Way To Go. After A Few Bites And A Couple Of Minutes To Let The Views Sink In, I Was Off Again. It Seemed To Me That Everywhere I Was, The Rain Was Not. You Could See It Over Giant At One Point, Then At Nearby Dix And Family. Thankfully I Was Being Spared During The Greatest Part Of Maneuvering And Exertion.
It Was The Area Between Basin And Haystack That Seemed To Drag On. Getting Down Basin Was Steep And Magical, Stepping Into A Truly Desolate Place, But The Snow Was Now More Abundant Then Anywhere, And Every Footfall Was An Adventure. Just After Three Thirty I Arrived At The Spur Trail To Haystack. This Is Where I Had To Make A Critical Decision. Tracy Is My Dack 46er Hiking Partner, We Are A Team. Until This Day The Only Mountain I Had Under My Belt That She Did Not Was Redfield, And This Was Because We Did Attempt It, But Ran Out Of Time On A Yucky Day In Which We Traveled Through A Lot Of Blowdown. I Dropped Pack Again, And In Just A Poly Long Sleeve, I Started Up Little Haystack, Then Over To Haystack. Six Tenths Of A Mile From The Trail, I Had Come Over Seven Thousand Feet And Was Truly Starting To Feel The Exertion. Looking Over At Marcy Still Looming Overhead, I Noticed A Rain Cloud Covered Its Peak. It Was Windy And I Was Starting To Feel Some Residual Misting. I Turned Around Quick To Get Out Of Danger From All The Exposure. Fro Haystack Is Where You Can Truly See That Gothics Looks Like An Elephant With No Tail Or Legs.
Now It Was Five Thirty And I Was At The Van Hoevenberg Trail, Just Under A Mile And Six Hundred Feet To Marcy. Getting Here Was A Little Hellish With All The Crappy Snow And Frozen Feet, Not Too Mention They Were Soaked To The Core, Since Walking In The Spring Streams, Even When They Were Four Inches Deep, Was Preferable To Going Over The Snow. I Rested As Long As I Thought I Should. I Could Have Really Used Something Hot To Eat Here. Bringing A Light Stove And Pot To Make Some Soup Or Something Is Very Much Advised, The Extras Weight Will Be Easier To Carry With A Happy Stomach. I Was Also Getting A Bit Dehydrated By This Time. I Had Water, Just Not The Energy Or Will To Drink Too Much. If You Feel Thirsty, It Is Already Too Late. After A Hundred Yards Of So, I Dropped My Pack And Took Queen Mama About A Hundred Virtual Feet At A Time. My Suuntu Vector Coming In Handy Here. I Was Only A Few Tenths From The Summit, When During A Stop I Talked To A Few Descenders About My Journey. They Too Had Seen It In Backpacker, And Gave Me Kudos For My Effort. When I Was A Few Hundred Yards From The Apex Of My Effort, I Heard Some Hooting And Hollering. I Was Bent Over And Catching My Breath And When I Looked Up (down) I Saw Two Figures Below With Their Arms In The Air And Waving While Seeming To Encourage Me On. This May All Have Been A Hallucination, But I Saw It For Reality. Renewed And Inspired I Jogged For About Half A Minute Until A Strode Dutifully To The Plaque Just Below The Summit. When I Finally Reached The Top, I Let Out A Loud And Sharp Cry, And Realized That It Was All Down From Here. 7.4 Miles Of Down.
It Took Me About Forty-five Minutes, Including Some Rest Near Tree Line To Get To The Hopkins Trail. 16.9 Miles Out Of 23.1 Over. This Is What I Remember Of The Rest Of The Hike. I Was Resting Again When I Heard Some Hikers Coming From Behind. It Had Started To Rain In My Area, Marcy Was Clear When I Reached The Top, And I Was Semi Reclining On A Rock With My Tsunami Rain Jacket Keeping Me Comfy. I Did Not Wean To Present This Picture To Whoever Was Behind Me, So Off I Was Again. In Just A Bit, An Adk Trail Crew Was Coming By. It Turned Out That The Head Of The Trail Crew, Zach, Who I Met At A Trail Steward Workshop Two Weeks Earlier At Blue Mountain Was Not Only There, But Recognized Me. He Gave Me A Good-going And They Went Past. It Was Here I Realized I Just Wanted To Be Out, Warm And Have My Tummy Warm. I Started What Might Be The Most Amazing Part Of My Hike. It Was 54-40 Of Bust. I Was About Five Miles From Home. I Hit Indian Falls, 18.7 Miles, At 7:30. I Did Not Stop All The Way Back. For A Brief Moment, When I Re-passed The Trail Crew, Who Had Stopped To Do Some Touch Up Work, I Told Zach To Haul My Body To The Trail End Before Midnight And Stop The Altimeter Log Book If They Found Me Passed Out Along The Way. I Felt If I Stopped Anywhere, I Was Going To Take A Nap. It Was Just An Hour From The Falls To Marcy Dam And I Was On A Mission. I Did Not Want To Stop To Get Water Out Of My Pack, Which Went For My Light As Well. Since The Path To Marcy Dam Is Very Familiar To Me, I Strained To See Without Much Light For The Last 2.3 Miles. Just Before Nine Twenty, In The Absolute Last Light Of A Late Spring Day, I Saw The Shimmer Of A Parking Lot Light. All Tolled It Was 8490 Feet In Gain, 7330 Inn Descent, With Eight Laps (up And Downs Of 150 Feet Or More, Armstrong Did Not Register As A Lap), In 17:10. I Retrieved My Bag With Clean Clothes, Ambled Into The Loj, Threw A Cup Of Soup Packet At Terri And Begged Her To Make It For Me While I Stripped Off My Boos And Socks And Legs, All Covered With Mud And Soaked. The Soup Was Phenomenal.
