DreamFarmer
Active member
This was going to be done on Saturday the 18th but due to the weather projections, we moved it up a day. After about a 6.5 hour drive from Boston, NY, we “hit the sack” at the EconoLodge in Lake Placid about 1AM on Thursday. We had to rent snowshoes at the Loj Information Center which didn’t open until 8AM so there was time for a decent nights sleep. Two pairs of snowshoes and a pair of trekking poles cost me about $30 to rent for the day and I was getting a discount for being a member.
There were only a handful of cars in the lot which surprised me since the forecast was so good. We were on the frozen muddy trail by 8:30. We were moving faster than I wanted to but I was the victim of youthful enthusiasm. Not mine, my 3 oldest “kids” ! Zack, 24, who would be doing Marcy for his 2nd time, Tyler ,22, and Hilly ,17. Tyler and Zack already have around 10 peaks under their belt , this was Hilly’s (short for Hilary) first high peak. It was Tyler’s first time on Marcy.
I would find out if I was crazy to bring a “rookie” up Marcy for her first hike.
In about 45 minutes we were at Marcy Dam. The trail had very little “serious mud” and what was there, was frozen. It seemed weird lugging snowshoes on a sunny morning with no snow around. We took a nice break, got our layers adjusted, and started up the Van Hoevenberg trail along Phelps Brook. We started to encounter snow and ice in ever increasing amounts so that by the time we took the hard right turn and crossed the bridge over Phelps Brook we stopped to put our snow-shoes on. We kept them on until we returned to the same spot on the way down. From Phelps Brook to Marcy Brook is some good hard work and is the toughest part of the hike, in my opinion. In this stretch is where we lost sight of Hilly until she was on her way down from Marcy the first time she summited (she runs track and cross-country). I could see her tracks in the snow and she kept in touch by cell phone so I was a little relieved but I didn’t like the situation. After a lunch break along the Van Hoevenberg trail between Hopkins Trail and the Phelps Trail, I went ahead of Zack and Tyler to see if I could see Hilly. She was coming down as I waited for Zack and Tyler at the Phelps Trail intersection. From that intersection we all proceeded to the summit together after adding some wind-proofing and dropping our packs. It was windy but clear and sunny and the views were great. It was such a change from the first time Zack and I did Marcy for our very first peak almost 4 years ago to the day.
We had the summit to ourselves but didn’t hang around too long and saw only 5 other hikers coming and going from the summit. We descended at a comfortable pace and took a long break near Indian Falls and again at Marcy Dam. It was nice as it got warmer and warmer as we descended.
I think we finished around 6 and got cleaned up and went to LPPB for dinner. Sleep came early that night.
There were only a handful of cars in the lot which surprised me since the forecast was so good. We were on the frozen muddy trail by 8:30. We were moving faster than I wanted to but I was the victim of youthful enthusiasm. Not mine, my 3 oldest “kids” ! Zack, 24, who would be doing Marcy for his 2nd time, Tyler ,22, and Hilly ,17. Tyler and Zack already have around 10 peaks under their belt , this was Hilly’s (short for Hilary) first high peak. It was Tyler’s first time on Marcy.
I would find out if I was crazy to bring a “rookie” up Marcy for her first hike.
In about 45 minutes we were at Marcy Dam. The trail had very little “serious mud” and what was there, was frozen. It seemed weird lugging snowshoes on a sunny morning with no snow around. We took a nice break, got our layers adjusted, and started up the Van Hoevenberg trail along Phelps Brook. We started to encounter snow and ice in ever increasing amounts so that by the time we took the hard right turn and crossed the bridge over Phelps Brook we stopped to put our snow-shoes on. We kept them on until we returned to the same spot on the way down. From Phelps Brook to Marcy Brook is some good hard work and is the toughest part of the hike, in my opinion. In this stretch is where we lost sight of Hilly until she was on her way down from Marcy the first time she summited (she runs track and cross-country). I could see her tracks in the snow and she kept in touch by cell phone so I was a little relieved but I didn’t like the situation. After a lunch break along the Van Hoevenberg trail between Hopkins Trail and the Phelps Trail, I went ahead of Zack and Tyler to see if I could see Hilly. She was coming down as I waited for Zack and Tyler at the Phelps Trail intersection. From that intersection we all proceeded to the summit together after adding some wind-proofing and dropping our packs. It was windy but clear and sunny and the views were great. It was such a change from the first time Zack and I did Marcy for our very first peak almost 4 years ago to the day.
We had the summit to ourselves but didn’t hang around too long and saw only 5 other hikers coming and going from the summit. We descended at a comfortable pace and took a long break near Indian Falls and again at Marcy Dam. It was nice as it got warmer and warmer as we descended.
I think we finished around 6 and got cleaned up and went to LPPB for dinner. Sleep came early that night.
