First day on the trail...

Friday, July 30, 2010

The only bad part about going to the Adirondacks is the first two-thirds of the drive on I90 east to Utica, N.Y. Once off the freeway, the route quickly becomes enjoyable as you wind your way north and into the Adirondack State Park. The Park is the largest in the lower 48 states encompassing an area of over 6 million acres…an area about the size of Vermont. There is very little industry outside of tourism in the north country…good for visitors like me and bad for residents…so the scenery is beautiful. The ride is dotted with beautiful lakes and rivers, quaint towns, and, of course, wonderful mountains and wilderness trails.

I made the drive alone, having Jimmy and Reza drive separately so that I could continue on to visit relatives in upstate New York before returning home. I actually don’t mind the drive since it gives me a good chance to listen to ‘books on tape’. I finished two during the trip.

We drove to the trailhead just east of Newcomb, called the Upper Works. It is the former site of a mining town, abandoned since the 1940’s with a few buildings still remaining, but slowly tumbling down. This is the southern and least known entrance to the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks and an excellent kick-off point for backpackers looking to access most of the 46 peaks above 4,000 feet located here. Because the Park is so far north, the tree line ends at just over 4,800 feet, making for spectacular views that one would have to climb much higher to achieve in mountains further south.

We were looking at a hike of about 5.5 miles to our camp site in the Flowed Lands, a distance that would take about 90 minutes in the Cleveland Metroparks. Here though, the trail is rutted, full of rocks and mud, and gains over a 1,000 during the hike. It can be quite slippery, which begs caution for someone walking with 60 pounds on their back. Stumbling with a full pack can quickly turn into a fall as the shifting momentum of the pack dictates that the body should follow…to the ground. I managed it twice on the trip.

The hike in is completely canopied, but opens into a magnificent vista upon reaching the Flowed Lands. This area was once the center of a logging operation which stripped the area of its old growth forest over 100 years ago. Streams making up the headwaters of the Hudson River were dammed at Flowed Lands to allow for the necessary levels of water for the floating of felled timber. The dam must have created a large lake at that time, but what remains is an area of over 100 acres of grassy marshland with a river winding through. It is now an area for wilderness camping with a few scattered lean-to’s and tent sites. The area is partially surrounded by towering peaks, rising more than 4,000 feet above our elevation. The sunrises and sunsets resulting from their strategic placement alone make the trip worthwhile.

We hiked beyond this point, across the breeched dam which created the Flowed Lands, to a remote site seldom used by campers. To our delight, it was unoccupied and would remain so for the three days we were there. Reza and Jimmy occupied the lean-to and I set up my one-person tent in the tent site nearby. I’ve found that, even with my sleeping mattress, I am more comfortable on sleeping on a bed of pine needles than on the hard, wooden floors of lean-to’s.

The hike in had taken around 3 hours and, as would be expected, I was a sweaty mess. I bathed in the stream, stripping my clothes as I cleaned them (no soap…Leave No Trace campers just use the water), down water of where the guys were purifying water for dinner. We hadn’t planned on cooking since we were getting in so late, so dinner consisted of gorp (trail mix of raisins, M&M’s and peanuts), sardines on bread, beef stick and cheese and hot chocolate. It’s dark by 8:30 p.m. and since fires are prohibited in this area, it’s pretty much hit the sack early. I read and wrote in my journal until 10 p.m. – long enough for the area to be in total darkness, which accentuates the starry-filled night sky.

Hike duration: 3 hours.
Training Heart Rate: 90.
Calories burned during workout: 1800.