#11 Dix -November 27th, 2010

Hilary, Wendy, Debbie, Krista

Dix Summit shot

Frozen hair!

The goal of this trip was to bag Hough, one of Hilary's remaining six 46'ers. I needed both Dix and Hough so I jumped at the chance to accompany this group of women (all members of the Ottawa ACC) and try to bag 2. We drove down from Ottawa on a Friday and stayed at the hostel in Keene Valley. We had to go in from Round Pond as the Elk Lake entrance is still closed for hunting season. I was eager to try out my new hiking boots,icers, and GPS. I got a pair of ASOLO boots to replace my defective Zamberlans (thanks GORETEX!) and I also bought a Garmin GPS Map 60 CSX after our Big Slide hike. I like to know what elevation you are at and this GPS seems to do the trick.

The girls at the bottom of the slide after retreating

We started from the parking lot at 7:40am and got to the lean-to in 2 hours. The trail up to the slide was partially snow covered and the ground beneath the snow was frozen mud, making the footing very uneven. There were many open brooks to cross. The slide trail was very icey, snow covered, and STEEP! The snow continued to fall and was so heavy there was zero visibility of anything around us. On the ridge up to the top of Dix the wind picked up so we took a break to add on another layer. On the summit the wind was so horrible that at times we had to be down on all fours. Headed over the summit of Dix to the Beckhorn (a peculiar outcropping of rock) and were unable to find the herdpath over to Hough even though we had Debbie with us whose done it before! We decided to retreat down as the conditions and visibility made it almost impossible to continue. Upon our return across the summit we were lucky to experience a few glimpses of sunlight enabling us to see the valley below. I learned a lot on this hike, like not using a bladder past Halloween, and bringing more gloves for my frozen digits. Bagging one peak was the safe thing to do on this day.


Total time 10.5hours, 22km, 5300ft of elevation gain.

Debbie and Wendy with the Beckhorn in the background

Bizzare conditons on the summit

Debbie on the way up past the lean-to

The one view of the valley we got all day!

#10 Big Slide- October 16th, 2010

Glenn, Krista

Me climbing the brothers

Set out from the Garden Parking lot at 8:30am expecting a cold, rainy, 6hr fall hike. Rain fell on us the entire day. After the first hour of hiking we noticed some snow cover on the ground, but nothing to really slow things down. After 2 hours, the snow depth increased to ankle depth, and we passed two women who were lost trying to find the DEC marker. Glenn and I passed them and they followed our trail up. After 3 hours of hiking, the snow depth was mid-shin depth. Soon after the snow depth was knee deep and soon thigh deep. We contemplated turning around as we hadn't brought snowshoes-not expecting this kind of snow in October. Just as we pondered turning around another lone male hiker had followed our trail up and stopped to talk to us when the two girls came up with a GPS indicating that we were only 500ft from the summit. We all decided as a group that we should continue. Glenn broke the trail up to the summit sometimes being in hip deep in snow on his 6'2" frame.

Glenn and I enjoying the snow!

Glenn thigh deep in snow!

We stumbled upon by accident the summit ladder under about 40cm of snow and finally summitted around 1:15pm. A glacially slow hiking pace! We were actually crawling in places! At the summit our new friends Izzy, Heidi and John met up with us and we all celebrated together. They of course thanked us for breaking trail for them ALL the way up! We couldn't find the summit marker but saw a sign to Yard Mtn so we knew we were there. Of course the summit views were absent due to the cloud cover. We were soaked to the bone after being rained on, and wading through snow-we used up all our spare clothes. I wish I had put my baskets on my poles and had brought my snowshoes! We made a quick descent down to JBL which was pretty uneventful other than the fact that the numerous brook crossings were tricky due to the swollen river banks and the crossing rocks being submerged. At the JBL lean-to a doe deer approached me and touched my glove! I'm saddened to think that these wild creatures are so human habituated-people should be ashamed feeding wildlife. A slushy walk out to the Garden parking lot ended the anticipated 6hour hike to an 8 hour epic! Summit #10 will be a memorable one for sure!

Glenn and I on the summit!

My summit shot!

Finished!

#9 Porter-July 16th, 2010

Glenn, Debbie, Krista

After a last minute change of plan not to do a 85km road bike due to the weather, we decided to summit Porter Mtn. We set off at noon in a rainstorm. As we ascended the thunder and lightening continued over our heads making us ponder our plans to summit. We continued ascending and reached the summit absolutely soaking wet. The summit was very cloudy, but the thunderstorm had moved off so we felt safe atop exposed rock. Took a few quick summit shots and then descended to find that my new Zamberlan Vioz hiking boots were not waterproof! I was wear gaiters and avoided major puddles. My husband Glenn wore the same boots that were 4 years old and had no problem. Grrr! Total time: 3 hours 5 minutes.

#7 Whiteface and #8 Esther- July 14th, 2010

Whiteface summit shot

Glenn, Debbie, Krista

Looking down on the toll road below Whiteface`s summit

Started out on a hot, humid July day at 9am. Sweat rolled off us especially as we ascended Marble Mountain. We summited Whiteface first, after confronting the engineering feat of the summit road, and finally a summit castle! Took us 3 hours and 15 mins to summit. Unfortunetly the summit was clouded in so we were robbed of the famous Whiteface summit views. We ate lunch in the castle and then descended the trail to the cairn. We scooted over to Esther on a easy trail to find a summit plaque commemorating her journey. Was satisfied with my new Zamberlan Vioz hiking boots-no blisters! Total time: Exactly 8 hours.

The queen of the castle!

Glenn and I on Esther with the summit plaque

Hot day! Time for ice cream in Wilmington!

#6 Panther-February 13th, 2010

Panther Summit Shot!

Debbie, Krista

Atop Panther with Couchie in the background!

Stayed at the Adirondack Hotel in Long Lake with sights set on a Panther-Couchie summit attempt. Set off at the Bradley Pond parking lot at 7:30am, temperature at -20 degrees Celcius. Took us 4 hours to get to Times Square after skiing in on the road and part of the trail and snowshoeing up past the Bradley Pond lean-to and up Panther brook. Met up with two other groups and found the trail well packed down. My camera had been sent away to be fixed for a problem, leaving me to rely on Debbie to take all the photos this day. We summited Panther in the sun, with views of Couchie below. Clouds rolled in and we descended the trail to Couchie when about half way down the packed down trail diverged into about 5 different trails. Without the aid of a GPS waypoint, we were unable to find the unmarked snow covered path. Using my compass, we oriented ourselves and found our way back up to Times Square. Retraced our steps to the road and donned our skis for an easy ride out to the parking lot just as darkness set in. Although we were unable to bag the second summit, the experience was exhilarating. This trip has fueled a passion for summiting ADK peaks!  Total time 9.5hours.

Skiing in 

View up Panther Brook

Near Times Square

#5 Wright-August 13th, 2009

The fab 4 on the summit of Wright

Murray, Debbie, Glenn, and Krista

A beautiful summer day, 81 degrees Farenheit. Summited Wright in 2 hours and 15 mins. Took a 30 minute lunch and soaked in the amazing 360 degree views surrounding us. Watched many other hikers head up to the top of Algonquin. A glorious day to be up on a rocky summit. Took a very leisurely pace on the descent for a total time of 5 hours. Headed back to the Loj campground for another night of fun!

Almost at the top of Wright

Summit shot on Wright!

Steep ascending to Wright

#3 Phelps and #4 Tabletop-August 12th, 2009

Murray, Debbie, Glenn and Krista

Running up Phelps

Looking out from the summit of Phelps

Our good friend Debbie Clouthier organized this trip to the ADK Loj campground as she is well on her way to becoming a 46'er. Debbie's friend Murray (that she knows through from the Ottawa ACC) accompanied us on this adventure. We found out quickly that Murray loves to set speed records up mountains. He lead the way up Phelps and the pace was very anaerobic at times. We were all able to keep up but got to the top of Phelps dripping of sweat. Phelps summit offered descent views but we only spent enough time to have a quick snack and then descended down and then over to Tabletop. The unmaintained trail up to Tabletop wasn't the best and what made the trip worse is that the summit was treed and offered no views. How disappointing! Upon our descent of Tabletop, lightening and thunder struck right over top of us so we scampered down quickly back to Heart Lake. 7 hours roundtrip. 

Tabletop summit shot

Cooling off on Phelps

Glenn and I on the summit of Phelps

Finally getting to eat after fleeing the thunderstorm!

#2 Cascade-Saturday May 19th 2007

Glenn, Ryan, Trish, Marian, Dave, Krista

A chilly day for a hike in May

Very windy atop Cascade!

On a cold day in May, the six of us headed up Cascade in freezing cold conditions. Took us a short 1.5 hours to ascend. This was the first aerobic endurance activity that I have completed since my two-year hiatus from exercise due to my back injury. It felt great to be perspiring again in the outdoors! Up top we summited in a cloud with extreme winds and rain so after a short visit we retreated quickly down. Returned to the Wilmington State Campground for a hot shower and then into Lake Placid for a warm meal! 

My feet at the Cascade summit

#1 Algonquin-July 26th, 2003

Krista, Jon, Judd

Signing in at the register

Beautiful August day, lots of traffic up Algonquin. Took 3 hours to ascend, then lunch and then descent. Summit steward was up at the top reminding us not to trample on the alpine environment. Great views from the top. After a leisurely lunch break and photo shoot, we descended back down to Heart Lake parking area for a total time of 7 hours. Noticed that my normal fitness level was lacking during this hike as I had been spending most of my summer whitewater kayaking which certainly didn`t prepare me for this hike. Will have to do more cardiovascular training!

My feet on Alqonquin's summit

Doing our part to fight erosion

Jon's interesting choices for trail lunches!