S
Scotzman
Guest
Today I had the pleasure and experience of finishing my ADK 46 on top of Whiteface with a group of hiking friends and family!! We had an absolutely perfect day for a hike, not a cloud in the sky, temps in the 60's and a soft breeze. We ended up starting off from the scientific observation center, up over Marble, over to Esther and back then up to finish on Whiteface and of course back down to the car.
The trail up from the scientific station was a long, steep climb over small loose rocks. It kinda reminded me of the Macomb slide. Once we junctioned up with the marked trail, the trail looked a little more traditional 'dack style: mud, roots, rocks. There was alot of mud on the trail, i'm guessing from the days of rain before, both on the main trail and over to Esther, but not in the boot sucking style of some of the more infamous trailess peaks. I just think that the mountains wanted to make sure I finished my trek in proper style, with legs painted up in mud.
The views from Esther were nice towards Whiteface and to the E/SE. We didn't encounter any blowdown on the trails and the Esther trail is as plain as the maintained trail to follow, just keep going till you see the plaque. We crossed what I'm pretty sure is a new sky trail about 3/4 the way up to Whiteface, and could see the top of the sky lift that is being put in to service it. A half mile before the summit, you hit the road wall, and the Whiteface climb really becomes unique from the rest of the mountains in the ADK simply for the integration of road and buildings on top. The last stretch of climb was beautiful; I love open ridge climbs that a few of the high peaks offer as you near the summit.
Thanks to the rest of my hiking group for sharing the experience with me! Early congrats to Mike, Lisa, and Tracy as you finish up your 46 over the next two weeks!
Scotzman (ADK-????)
The trail up from the scientific station was a long, steep climb over small loose rocks. It kinda reminded me of the Macomb slide. Once we junctioned up with the marked trail, the trail looked a little more traditional 'dack style: mud, roots, rocks. There was alot of mud on the trail, i'm guessing from the days of rain before, both on the main trail and over to Esther, but not in the boot sucking style of some of the more infamous trailess peaks. I just think that the mountains wanted to make sure I finished my trek in proper style, with legs painted up in mud.
The views from Esther were nice towards Whiteface and to the E/SE. We didn't encounter any blowdown on the trails and the Esther trail is as plain as the maintained trail to follow, just keep going till you see the plaque. We crossed what I'm pretty sure is a new sky trail about 3/4 the way up to Whiteface, and could see the top of the sky lift that is being put in to service it. A half mile before the summit, you hit the road wall, and the Whiteface climb really becomes unique from the rest of the mountains in the ADK simply for the integration of road and buildings on top. The last stretch of climb was beautiful; I love open ridge climbs that a few of the high peaks offer as you near the summit. Thanks to the rest of my hiking group for sharing the experience with me! Early congrats to Mike, Lisa, and Tracy as you finish up your 46 over the next two weeks!
Scotzman (ADK-????)
