Trap Dike

[dangergirl]

So Don and I decided to take a last minute trip up to the Adirondaks to climb Mt Colden via the trapdike. We parked at the Upper Works area and headed in from there. It was a very pretty hike in. We started at around 7am. The weather was perfect and we were very excited! We were not quite sure what to expect but we knew we would have fun!
We finally made our way to avalanche lake where we stopped for a quick break. We did the schwack up to the debris field where the trap dike starts. It looked fun!
We hiked up the trapdike, wondering the whole time where we were supposed to exit onto the slabs. It was a super fun and very beautiful climb!
We saw a path off to the right and checked the description in the book. It was the right path, the one with the vertical wall across from it and the huge chockstone covered in moss. We headed in and did the schwack to the slabs.
I was a bit nervous about doing the slabs at first, but it turned out to be really fun! It was way longer than we anticipated too! We saw the boulder at the top of Colden and headed toward it. Before we knew it we topped out and took a break on the summit before heading down. We came down the side of Colden on a pretty steep trail and then had a nice hike back to the car. We finished at around 3:45pm. It was a great day and we celebrated with dinner at the Adirondak Pub near Lake George!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kfolcik/sets/72157622152615801/

 

[dom15931]

We hiked up the trapdike, wondering the whole time where we were supposed to exit onto the slabs. It was a super fun and very beautiful climb!
We saw a path off to the right and checked the description in the book. It was the right path, the one with the vertical wall across from it and the huge chockstone covered in moss. ]

Congrats. A classic Adirondack climb for sure. Nice report.

Yah I remember that scenario from when a friend and I climbed the Trap in 2005. We weren't super sure when to exit and it was wet from recent rains so we exited probably a few hundred feet later. We had to bushwack through some mossy thick spruce a few dozen yards to get onto the slabs. Exit to early and it's dangerously steep, too late and there is an increasingly thick wedge of trees to get through.

Ironically the biggest decision for us was at the waterfall pitch. It was wet and we actually went up on the far right then slid sideways on a ledge about 10' at the top. Pic: http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2079874040058707914jVOlnu It was steeper but seemed better than getting soaked. We had a failed attempt at the waterfall weeks earier because heavy rain moved in here and we had to quickly down climb the trapdike. We had decided then that the waterfall pitch was a point of no return for down climbing and that the slides wouldn't be fun wet. Pic: http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2231524180058707914vVOovG I can remember what I figure were rangers watching us the whole way from the lake. I think all the water that day just made us determined to scramble that pitch to the right on our second attempt. It really is a gem of a climb in the Dacks. I love the increasingly good views of the Mac's the who way up.

I hear a lot of folks scramble up near the "waterfall" not far to the right.

 

[Chugach001]

Great photos. Now I know what it should look like. There was a creek coming down that thing when I went up there in July. Did you wear only those trail shoes on the slabs?

*** Forget it, I just clicked ahead and saw the photos with your shoes.

 

[dangergirl]

There was only a small stream when we did it. I wore my trail running shoes (which I would probably not wear again) for the climbing below the slabs. The trail runners have lots of nobbies on them that fold in funny ways under your feet. hiking boots or a sneaker without all the wiggly rubber would be better. I wore rock climbing shoes on the slabs because I am a bit of a wimp on slabs and feel more secure in them! My boyfriend wore approach shoes the whole day which is probably what I should have done. It was super fun and I can't wait to do it again in the winter!