Trip Report: A Slow Hike Up Marcy
SUMMARY:
We made our second trip to the Adirondacks this summer with the intent to hike Marcy. After hiking Cascade, Algonquin, and Whiteface during prior summers, and hikes up Bald, Rocky, and Black Bear Mountains in July, Liz and Nick dropped many [not so subtle] hints of what to hike next...They wanted to hike Marcy!
Maybe the cold, damp weather sapped our energy? Perhaps the anticipated lack of views was de-motivating? Maybe a busy summer of sports, sleepovers, and late night camp fires was finally catching up? Could it be the poor footing due to the rain? Or maybe growth spurts were making the kids clumsy, causing them to fall often? Perhaps the sudden 5:30 am wake up call after a summer of late nights and sleeping in?
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| GPS Chart via Google My Tracks |
Who knows the reasons...but our pace was unusually slow. The annotated GPS image shows the progress in terms of speed and elevation gain over time.
After 5 hours of hiking, we hiked just under 5 miles, and reached about 3,700' in elevation. At that pace, we wouldn't summit until some time after 2:00pm, and then we'd have a 7.4 mile hike back. With darkness hitting around 8:00 pm in the woods, we were at risk of hiking a significant distance in the dark.
Even though we hiked past Indian Falls, and were nearly at the ridge, we decided to turn back at 4.8 miles into the hike. We had headlamps for hiking in the dark, and plenty of water. The decision to turn around before getting into trouble is as important as achieving the summit.
It's a bummer that we didn't summit, but it was the right call. The kids still got to see Marcy Dam and Indian Falls. They also completed the longest hike of their lives, and the four of us got to spend the entire day together. We'll be back! ...And Mt. Marcy isn't going anywhere.
STATS SUMMARY:
Date of Summit: 08/27/2015
Team: Mike, Teena, Liz, Nick
Location: Adirondack High Peaks (44.1125449,-73.9234764)
Summit Elevation: 5,344'
Vertical Ascent: 3,600'
Approach: Van Hoevenberg Trail
Trailhead to Summit: 7.4 miles
Time to summit: NA -- Reached ~3,700'
Weather: Cold, damp, misty-drizzle, windy, ~50°F
TOPO MAP:
The following interactive map was
created by the “My Tracks” app on my phone as we hiked. The red track follows the Van Hoevenberg trail from the High Peaks Information Center to Mt. Marcy.
PICTURES:
And finally, here are some of the pictures
we took along the way!
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| Arriving at Lake Placid! Mt. Marcy is the left-most mountain in the background. |
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| Here's a closer look! Marcy is on the left. Algonquin is on the right. Colden is the one with rock slides in the middle. |
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| Pre-hike dinner at Delta Blue with BBQ, Blues, and Beer! |
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| Waking up the next morning... Uh oh... That's not good... It's about 50°F with wind, drizzle, and no views. It's only 6:00am, and it might clear up... Let's go anyway! |
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| Nick signs us in at the trail register... |
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| ...while Liz checks out the signage. |
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| The crew is ready, at the trail head... Let's get started! |
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| The crew is ready, at the trail head... Let's get started! |
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| Now entering New York State Wilderness! |
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| Heading to Marcy Dam... |
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| Marcy Dam. Or... What's left of it after Hurricane Sandy kicked it down and washed it away in 2012. |
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| Here's what Marcy Dam looks like from the creek. |
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| The NE corner of Wright. Algonquin's summit is shrouded in clouds. |
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| Colden Mountain is on the left, Avalanche Mountain is in the middle, and the edge of Wright is on the right. |
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| Our first selfie at Marcy Dam! The last time Teena & I stood here, I don't think "selfie" was a word yet! |
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| Getting ready to move on. Is da boy is making fun of me??? Not a smart way to treat your guide! |
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| Nick gets his obligatory standing on a rock picture... |
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| At the Phelps junction... "Anyone want to do Phelps instead? We're not moving very fast..." Famous last words... Of course, their response was "NO WAY!!! WE'RE HIKING MARCY!" |
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| Liz at Indian Falls... This is one of my favorite places in the High Peaks. |
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| Thing One and Thing Two...Hanging out at Indian Falls... |
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| It's been a great hike... We've had a LOT of fun, but we've also taken a long time to get here. Soon after this picture, we decide to turn back. |
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| Liz checks us out at the Marcy Dam trail register. |
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| This is my favorite sign of the day! This will be my laptop background! |
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| Nick poses in front of Marcy Dam with Colden towering above him. |
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| We always get this picture when we go to the High Peaks. The mountains in the background are Colden (with the rock slides), Mt. Jo (the dark little mound in the foreground), Wright, Algonquin, Border, and Iroquois. Mt. Marcy is on the left side, out of the Camera's site. ...And of course, the summits are clear now... If I could build a house anywhere in the world, it would be right here! |
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| Angry clouds, seen from the deck of the Lake Placid Brewery. |
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| A couple Ubu Ales, wine, burgers...Life is good. |
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| Take Nothing But Memories, Kill Nothing But Time, Leave Nothing But Footprints! Wise words to live by. This wall is at Arrowhead Park in Inlet, NY. |
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| After a terrific trip, this present was waiting for us when we got home... A result of unsupervised use of high-powered bb gun by a local youth down the street. ;-) |
