Mt. Marshall (a walk in the rain) 5/13/06

[TMax]

Hikethe115, Guinness and I spent a stereotypical Spring weekend in the Adirondacks. Hikethe115 and I carpooled up to Upper works Friday after work. Quick packing the night before led to some "oops" manuevers, including forgetting the rain cover for my backpack. I would very much regret that move! At the trailhead we met a small group who had just come down from the flowed lands, were soaking wet and looked at us like we were a little nuts for heading in at that time! The trail was as one would expect, wet and muddy. Lots of rock hopping and careful foot placement served us well for most of the walk in. It rained pretty consistently to varying degrees the entire time. There was some ice in between the big boulders, but nothing that got in the way. The plan had been to grab one of the Calamity leantos, and Guinness would meet us there sometime during the night. Well when we got to the first leanto it was being slammed by the wind, so we went to the second one. This one was floorless so we went around the pond to the Flowed Lands leanto. Nice spot and more sheltered so we quickly emptied packs and changed out of soaking wet gear.

It rained most of the night and when we woke up and no Guinness, we figured he slept at the trailhead waiting to walk up in the morning. So we putzed around making breakfast waiting. As the morning got later we decided Guinness was a "no-show" and decided to head out for Marshall. We packed up everything, planning to head over to Feldspar leanto after Marshall (to do Gray on Sunday). Started out the morning without rain on a trail that was quite muddy with lots of water everywhere. We ran into a ranger and her dog trying to clean up a mud hole. She said the Uphill crossing was probably impassable, especially if it continued to rain. This might put a damper on the plans to go to Feldspar! We figured we'd "wait and see." Hikethe115 was out in front of me and all of a sudden started laughing! When I asked "what's up?" She replied, you'll see. I came around the corner and who was heading down the trail but Guinness. Turns out I don't read e-mails very well and "assumed" the leanto past Calamity Brook was Flowed Lands. Actually, Guinness meant the MacMarten leanto. He had gone in to that one and then started up Marshall looking for us. With no new footprints in the mud (knowing we had not yet passed this way), and increasingly difficult conditions, he decided to come back to find us to help us up. Back to the MacMarten leanto so Hikethe115 and I could drop some gear and off we went as it started to rain. The lowest section of the trail was in pretty nice shape with some trail work done to clear blowdown. We took rain gear off and even had a moment or two of sun. This didn't last long! Once we got to the open slabs of Herbert Brook, we knew it was going to be an interesting climb! The water was flowing wide and fast! The first crossing had me a little nervous with the need to make one step into the flow and a long leap to the other side. With Guinness' help, it was no problem (while maybe a little wet!) Hikethe155 made it look easy! Progress was slow up the brook with all the crossings and water. At the times we would go further into the woods, snow and ice would appear. At one point Hikethe115 and I failed to cross the brook when Guinness did and we did some real whacking up the side! Rain gear went back on as it started to come down pretty good! Once we completed the slab portion, we followed a running stream down the herd path. At this point I pretty much gave up trying to keep my feet even remotely dry! Up around 3900' the snow spine and some ice appeared, but nothing too bad. We thought we had about 400' left to ascend when I looked up and said "hey, this looks like a top!" Sure enough, we were there .

Only a short stop at the top as we cooled off quickly and back down we went. Much easier going and we even avoided the most difficult of the brook crossings . Found a snowshoe on the slab (pm Guinness if you think it's yours!) and trekked back to the leanto. Into warm and sort-of dry clothing and another pleasant evening was spent. We did make the decision to leave Gray to another day, given the "warning" by the ranger and the continued rainfall. Walked out this morning in, you guessed it, RAIN! Great weekend, great company!

 

[hikethe115]

It was indeed a wet weekend! However, I'm glad I went. It was a pleasure to be out there in good company in spite of the rain and mud.

 

[Pete_Hickey]

.....It rained most of the night.....

..... The water was flowing wide and fast! The first crossing had me a little nervous

Wise to be nervous. That little stream can be rough at times. It knocked me down once, and swept me about 100 feet downstream. The others with me were so surprised that they just stood there with their mouths open as I was swept by. Fortunately, I hit a rock.

Most people don't realise the how strong that stream can be. When I saw this report, I had to read it. Nice report.

 

[Guinness]

I also found the “little stream” faster and with more volume than I have ever seen making every crossing a challenge.

Saturday started out very interesting. I left the trailhead in the rain at 5:15 am and was at the Calamity lean-tos at 7:09. When I saw both lean-tos empty I continued on to the MacMarten lean-to arriving there at 7:30 only to find it also empty. What I failed to do was check out the two lean-tos on the Hanging Spear Fall Trail just 0.2 miles from the two Calamity Lean-tos. Not knowing where TMax and Hikethe115 were, I tied my Guinness towel to the bridge over Herbert Brook to let them know I was there and started up the herd path. I would at least meet them on the trail up or down.

The herd path, other than some blow down, is in pretty good shape. The first crossing you come to was a bit troubling if you could not jump or have a large gate. After some negotiating and with the help of good gaiters, I stepped into the flow and jumped across. Continuing up, I made it to the 3,300-foot level where I missed a crossing to the right. Instead I went up the brook and found serious water flow through a series of small waterfalls. The rocks and debris in the water was very slippery. In fact, later that morning on my second visit I would slip and almost entered the full flow of the stream only to catch myself on a fallen tree.

At this point, I thought that TMax and Hikethe115 may have some trouble with the crossings and it would be better as a group. I headed back down and returned to the main trail. I went back over to the lean-to and there still was no sign. It was now around 9:30! I felt like I had a long day already. I started back toward the Calamity Lean-tos and we found each other on the trail as noted in the TR TMax wrote above.

It was a great day to climb, although very wet.

 

[percious]

Sounds like you had a great time. Marshall is one of my favourite rainy day hikes with all the cascades. The leantos in the adirondacks are a godsend on a rainy weekend.

-percious

 

[Jay H]

Nice report Terri, I would of joined you folks except it was Mother's Day weekend... Funny enough, it was completely dry down here since Friday morning...

Jay

 

[hikethe115]

Sounds like you had a great time. Marshall is one of my favourite rainy day hikes with all the cascades. The leantos in the adirondacks are a godsend on a rainy weekend.

-percious

Yes, the cascades were beautiful! The last time I did Marshall it was just a small brook. I thought that was beautiful with the moss on the rocks. It was nice to have a different experience. And you are also right about the leantos!