ADKdremn
New member
GOTCHA!! 
I've actually decided to dub this hike The Flyswatter, because people were dropping like flys!
We started out at the Loj parking lot with a temp of -16 at around 4:45 a.m. We were a group of six, but that dropped to 5 before we even left the lot. We set off with Marcy, Gray and Skylight as our itinerary for the day. By now everyone knows it was cold this weekend! Definitely the coldest I've ever experienced. I had to work quite diligently to keep my hands warm most of the day.
As for the fly part (no offense to anyone!) One member got sick on the trip from the hotel to the lot and just wasn't feeling it. We lost another one before Marcy Dam due to an injury. Lost another one somewhere on the approach to Lake Arnold. So we were down to 3...myself, BobN and Ed. First I had hiked with either of them and it was a pleasure. Good communication between the group. As far as trail conditions...no a whole lot of snow. I barebooted to Lake Arnold as it was a sidewalk and the others microspiked it. At Lake Arnold we switched to snowshoes because the snow was much softer and deeper right after the junction. I saw evidence of what looked to be only one hiker through there on Saturday. We were off having made good time to that point. FYI...it was still cold and winds were starting to pick up. This was my first time through this area so it was nice to see some new scenery. Shortly before the drop to Feldspar Ed let us know his feet weren't in very good shape. He was worried that they would only get worse and thought it would be best that if we were going to turn around now would be the time. Just so we would not lose all that elevation down to Feldspar then turn around and have to climb it. There was some discussion as to what Bob and I should do. I wanted to try for Gray and Skylight, but Bob didn't want to become a liability to me if something happened. Fair enough, good decision. Luckily, both Bob and I had not been up Colden...myself for winter and Bob for his regular round. So back wen went to Lake Arnold and headed up Colden. It was still cold, but man was it a beautiful day!! One of the nicest I've experienced. In no time we were on the false summit and immediately had to hit the trees and get our goggles and facemasks out. It was brutal!! Even the camera didn't function very well today. Had to keep it close and even then sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. I would have been pretty upset with no pictures of such a perfect day. You could tell Colden had been well traveled on Saturday. Over we went to the summit of Colden. Snapped a few pics and turned around. Not too much time to enjoy the summit today. On the way down I saw some of the most amazing cloud formations over Marcy. It made me glad I braved the elements and got a summit. It was a pleasure hiking with Bob as well! We wore snowshoes all that way out to the Loj because we were too lazy to take them off. Definitely very thin snow cover after Marcy Dam. Didn't see anyone until we were headed down from Lake Arnold. 1 peak instead of 3....I'm happy with that! I have a few single straggler peaks hanging out there so it was nice to get one of them. Puts me at 27/46 for winter.
FWIW, I was never all that cold on Saturday other than my hands at times. And that was mostly because I kept trying to take pictures. I typically just hike in a very lightweight baselayer and my Mountain Hardwear torch. With the forcast temps I added a wool midweight baselayer on this trip. It worked perfectly and I don't think I sweated at all on this trip. Everything seemed to be just right. I did add my MH Windstopper tech for Colden and was fine, didn't even need to break out my Primaloft jacket. So while it was cold, it was definitely enjoyable. I did get a huge blister on my big toe which I'm not sure why...cold or rubbing?? I have never had a blister on my feet.
I've actually decided to dub this hike The Flyswatter, because people were dropping like flys!
We started out at the Loj parking lot with a temp of -16 at around 4:45 a.m. We were a group of six, but that dropped to 5 before we even left the lot. We set off with Marcy, Gray and Skylight as our itinerary for the day. By now everyone knows it was cold this weekend! Definitely the coldest I've ever experienced. I had to work quite diligently to keep my hands warm most of the day.
As for the fly part (no offense to anyone!
) One member got sick on the trip from the hotel to the lot and just wasn't feeling it. We lost another one before Marcy Dam due to an injury. Lost another one somewhere on the approach to Lake Arnold. So we were down to 3...myself, BobN and Ed. First I had hiked with either of them and it was a pleasure. Good communication between the group. As far as trail conditions...no a whole lot of snow. I barebooted to Lake Arnold as it was a sidewalk and the others microspiked it. At Lake Arnold we switched to snowshoes because the snow was much softer and deeper right after the junction. I saw evidence of what looked to be only one hiker through there on Saturday. We were off having made good time to that point. FYI...it was still cold and winds were starting to pick up. This was my first time through this area so it was nice to see some new scenery. Shortly before the drop to Feldspar Ed let us know his feet weren't in very good shape. He was worried that they would only get worse and thought it would be best that if we were going to turn around now would be the time. Just so we would not lose all that elevation down to Feldspar then turn around and have to climb it. There was some discussion as to what Bob and I should do. I wanted to try for Gray and Skylight, but Bob didn't want to become a liability to me if something happened. Fair enough, good decision. Luckily, both Bob and I had not been up Colden...myself for winter and Bob for his regular round. So back wen went to Lake Arnold and headed up Colden. It was still cold, but man was it a beautiful day!! One of the nicest I've experienced. In no time we were on the false summit and immediately had to hit the trees and get our goggles and facemasks out. It was brutal!! Even the camera didn't function very well today. Had to keep it close and even then sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. I would have been pretty upset with no pictures of such a perfect day. You could tell Colden had been well traveled on Saturday. Over we went to the summit of Colden. Snapped a few pics and turned around. Not too much time to enjoy the summit today. On the way down I saw some of the most amazing cloud formations over Marcy. It made me glad I braved the elements and got a summit. It was a pleasure hiking with Bob as well! We wore snowshoes all that way out to the Loj because we were too lazy to take them off. Definitely very thin snow cover after Marcy Dam. Didn't see anyone until we were headed down from Lake Arnold. 1 peak instead of 3....I'm happy with that! I have a few single straggler peaks hanging out there so it was nice to get one of them. Puts me at 27/46 for winter. FWIW, I was never all that cold on Saturday other than my hands at times. And that was mostly because I kept trying to take pictures. I typically just hike in a very lightweight baselayer and my Mountain Hardwear torch. With the forcast temps I added a wool midweight baselayer on this trip. It worked perfectly and I don't think I sweated at all on this trip. Everything seemed to be just right. I did add my MH Windstopper tech for Colden and was fine, didn't even need to break out my Primaloft jacket. So while it was cold, it was definitely enjoyable. I did get a huge blister on my big toe which I'm not sure why...cold or rubbing?? I have never had a blister on my feet.
