crazymama
New member
This was the perfect weekend to take my first ever backpacking trip into the Adirondacks. Of course you never know until you are there whether its going to be perfect or not, and the month of June in the Adirondacks does not conjure up visions of perfection. By perfect I mean, perfect weather (clear skies, cool, breezy), no bugs (except for a few mosquitos and swarming non-biters while standing around campsite), minimal mud (a few isolated spots, gaiters not needed), and minimal people (saw 7-10 people while hiking each day.)
Saturday at 8:30 am started out with some light showers as I walked down the Lake Rd., but the trees sheltered me, and I was very happy even under the weight of my brand new backpack (Gregory Forester–love it). I was happy because I was going backpacking all by myself, had an ambitious plan (by my standards) to hike and felt exhilarated. Within an hour, the sun was shining and the skies cleared (and remained clear the rest of the weekend.) I found my planned campsite along Gill Brook, and pitched my tent and dumped most of my gear. I then set out for my Day #1 goal: Nippletop and Dial.
I had never been on the trail through Elk Pass up to Nippletop. Elk Pass is gorgeous, with the alpine pond–-what a gem! The trail up from there was quite steep. However I found that I wasn’t getting nearly as winded as I have in the past. I think it must be my running training (I ran my first marathon 3 weeks ago!) That was very encouraging to feel more capable of tackling the upward steep sections. I kept looking to see if I could see a mountain that looked like a breast with a nipple, but never saw anything like that from the direction I was going. I made it to the summit, and had it to myself for about 5 minutes. It was a spectacular view, almost panoramic. Then within 15 minutes, 5 other people joined me at the summit. I was informed by others that I had hiked Nippletop “the hard way,” by coming up the steep trail. It seems that most folks go up the Leech trail over Bear Den and Dial to Nippletop, then down through Elk Pass, and back to the Lake Rd in a loop. I ate my peanut butter bagel and took a few photos, and tried to identify lakes, mountains, etc. It was sunny, clear, and you could see for miles. There was no summit sign, but I did find a bolt in the rock.
I then headed over to Dial. I was starting to tire by this time, but was excited to experience another summit. I arrived at Dial and had it to myself the entire time. It had a 180 degree view to the west, also spectacular. It had no summit sign. There was a trail sign though at the summit. I lingered there for a few minutes before heading back to my campsite. I found that I actually liked going UP the steep trail from Elk Pass more than going DOWN the same trail. It was tough going with my tired legs. Then to make matters worse, I sucked my Camelbak dry. I kept thinking I would filter some water at the pond at Elk Pass. But when I arrived there I remembered that I had left the filter at the campsite. Bummer! (I made a mental note to always carry some reserve water in a bottle too, so I don’t have to live in fear as I suck on my Camelbak). I don’t think I was truly physically dehydrated as I hiked the last bit to the camp, but psychologically it really bothered me. I arrived at camp at 6:30 pm, pumped water from the Gill Brook, and happily slurped that cold water down. I retrieved my new bear cannister, it didn’t look like human or bear had touched it, and made my freeze-dried dinner, which was delicious after all that hiking. It was still light out, about 9 pm, but the thought of climbing into my sleeping bag seemed heavenly, and it was. I tried out my new Mountain Hardware Phantom 32 degree, and it was so soft and fluffy and comfy, that it didn’t even bother me that I had no pillow. I slept great.
Day 2 promised to be nice as Day 1. My legs and feet were pretty sore, and I was trying to keep them happy with a dose of ibuprofen every time I remembered. I wasn’t really sure if I could tackle two more high peaks, but I decided I would try. After breakfast of oatmeal and poptarts and coffee, I headed up the trail to Colvin and Blake at 8:30 am. Once I got going, my legs cooperated and I felt pretty good. As I was ascending one steep boulder face, a man came up from behind me, I didn’t even hear him approaching. We exchanged greetings, he spoke with a French accent. He reminded me of Spiderman, the way he just quickly glided past me effortlessly up the mountain, while I continued to labor and struggle. Afterwards I thought, did I just see Pin Pin?
When I reached the summit, I had it all to myself. It was an incredible view of the Great Range, Ausable Lakes, Elk Lake. Just gorgeous. There was no summit sign, but there was a marker in the rock. I had done Colvin a few years ago with a group, and most of the day it poured down rain, and the summit was socked in with fog. You couldn’t see any further than the little fir trees that ring the rock ledge summit. What a difference. I’m glad I did it again! It was too early for lunch (about 10:30 am) so I headed for Blake after enjoying the view for awhile. Near the junction with the Carry Trail, I saw the fast hiker I had seen earlier, coming down from Blake. If this was Pin Pin, I wanted to know, and I had to act fast. So I just blurted it out, “Are you Pin Pin?” His look of total confusion answered my question. After I explained myself, we actually stopped and chatted for about 30 minutes as we exchanged information about hikes, peaks, etc. He mentioned that he has about 6 peaks left of the 46. He was looking for someone to do Cliff with (which I plan to do this summer) as he heard it was best not to do it alone. I reminded him that he hikes a lot faster than me. He thought if I had a smaller pack I would hike faster. Yeah, right!
Blake’s summit was ho-hum, a wooded area along the path. No view, no summit sign, just a trail sign pointing to Pinnacle and Carry trail marked the summit. From that point on I was like a horse headed to the barn, stopping only briefly along the trail to wolf down my lunch. Of course I had to re-summit Colvin, and I stopped again for the gorgeous view and to take a way point on my GPS just for fun. Had it all to myself again.
From there on, I was moving fast downhill, as fast as my tired old lady legs would take me. I packed up my camp and headed to the car. I made it to the car by 5:30 pm. My legs were wicked sore, but no blisters, and happy as could be that I accomplished what I set out to do. And now I'm a 28er!
Saturday at 8:30 am started out with some light showers as I walked down the Lake Rd., but the trees sheltered me, and I was very happy even under the weight of my brand new backpack (Gregory Forester–love it). I was happy because I was going backpacking all by myself, had an ambitious plan (by my standards) to hike and felt exhilarated. Within an hour, the sun was shining and the skies cleared (and remained clear the rest of the weekend.) I found my planned campsite along Gill Brook, and pitched my tent and dumped most of my gear. I then set out for my Day #1 goal: Nippletop and Dial.
I had never been on the trail through Elk Pass up to Nippletop. Elk Pass is gorgeous, with the alpine pond–-what a gem! The trail up from there was quite steep. However I found that I wasn’t getting nearly as winded as I have in the past. I think it must be my running training (I ran my first marathon 3 weeks ago!) That was very encouraging to feel more capable of tackling the upward steep sections. I kept looking to see if I could see a mountain that looked like a breast with a nipple, but never saw anything like that from the direction I was going. I made it to the summit, and had it to myself for about 5 minutes. It was a spectacular view, almost panoramic. Then within 15 minutes, 5 other people joined me at the summit. I was informed by others that I had hiked Nippletop “the hard way,” by coming up the steep trail. It seems that most folks go up the Leech trail over Bear Den and Dial to Nippletop, then down through Elk Pass, and back to the Lake Rd in a loop. I ate my peanut butter bagel and took a few photos, and tried to identify lakes, mountains, etc. It was sunny, clear, and you could see for miles. There was no summit sign, but I did find a bolt in the rock.
I then headed over to Dial. I was starting to tire by this time, but was excited to experience another summit. I arrived at Dial and had it to myself the entire time. It had a 180 degree view to the west, also spectacular. It had no summit sign. There was a trail sign though at the summit. I lingered there for a few minutes before heading back to my campsite. I found that I actually liked going UP the steep trail from Elk Pass more than going DOWN the same trail. It was tough going with my tired legs. Then to make matters worse, I sucked my Camelbak dry. I kept thinking I would filter some water at the pond at Elk Pass. But when I arrived there I remembered that I had left the filter at the campsite. Bummer! (I made a mental note to always carry some reserve water in a bottle too, so I don’t have to live in fear as I suck on my Camelbak). I don’t think I was truly physically dehydrated as I hiked the last bit to the camp, but psychologically it really bothered me. I arrived at camp at 6:30 pm, pumped water from the Gill Brook, and happily slurped that cold water down. I retrieved my new bear cannister, it didn’t look like human or bear had touched it, and made my freeze-dried dinner, which was delicious after all that hiking. It was still light out, about 9 pm, but the thought of climbing into my sleeping bag seemed heavenly, and it was. I tried out my new Mountain Hardware Phantom 32 degree, and it was so soft and fluffy and comfy, that it didn’t even bother me that I had no pillow. I slept great.
Day 2 promised to be nice as Day 1. My legs and feet were pretty sore, and I was trying to keep them happy with a dose of ibuprofen every time I remembered. I wasn’t really sure if I could tackle two more high peaks, but I decided I would try. After breakfast of oatmeal and poptarts and coffee, I headed up the trail to Colvin and Blake at 8:30 am. Once I got going, my legs cooperated and I felt pretty good. As I was ascending one steep boulder face, a man came up from behind me, I didn’t even hear him approaching. We exchanged greetings, he spoke with a French accent. He reminded me of Spiderman, the way he just quickly glided past me effortlessly up the mountain, while I continued to labor and struggle. Afterwards I thought, did I just see Pin Pin?
When I reached the summit, I had it all to myself. It was an incredible view of the Great Range, Ausable Lakes, Elk Lake. Just gorgeous. There was no summit sign, but there was a marker in the rock. I had done Colvin a few years ago with a group, and most of the day it poured down rain, and the summit was socked in with fog. You couldn’t see any further than the little fir trees that ring the rock ledge summit. What a difference. I’m glad I did it again! It was too early for lunch (about 10:30 am) so I headed for Blake after enjoying the view for awhile. Near the junction with the Carry Trail, I saw the fast hiker I had seen earlier, coming down from Blake. If this was Pin Pin, I wanted to know, and I had to act fast. So I just blurted it out, “Are you Pin Pin?” His look of total confusion answered my question. After I explained myself, we actually stopped and chatted for about 30 minutes as we exchanged information about hikes, peaks, etc. He mentioned that he has about 6 peaks left of the 46. He was looking for someone to do Cliff with (which I plan to do this summer) as he heard it was best not to do it alone. I reminded him that he hikes a lot faster than me. He thought if I had a smaller pack I would hike faster. Yeah, right!
Blake’s summit was ho-hum, a wooded area along the path. No view, no summit sign, just a trail sign pointing to Pinnacle and Carry trail marked the summit. From that point on I was like a horse headed to the barn, stopping only briefly along the trail to wolf down my lunch. Of course I had to re-summit Colvin, and I stopped again for the gorgeous view and to take a way point on my GPS just for fun. Had it all to myself again.
From there on, I was moving fast downhill, as fast as my tired old lady legs would take me. I packed up my camp and headed to the car. I made it to the car by 5:30 pm. My legs were wicked sore, but no blisters, and happy as could be that I accomplished what I set out to do. And now I'm a 28er!
BTW, how was it carrying the Bear canister, and which did you decide on?
![Yellowstone National Park [Map Pack Bundle] (National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51kGuJ72qjL._SL500_.jpg)
![Grand Canyon, North and South Rims [Grand Canyon National Park] (National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/419Y-ycyVUL._SL500_.jpg)
![Grand Teton Day Hikes and National Park Map [Map Pack Bundle] (National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41DB0jvRnbL._SL500_.jpg)
