"You picked the only trail in the Adirondacks that's still closed..."

Thursday, September 22, 2011

I do two kinds of camping in the Adirondacks and they both have their advantages. My favorite kind is to park at a trailhead and hike with a full pack to a remote place from which I do all my climbing and hiking. It forces me to pack conservatively since once I leave the car, I won’t be returning for days. It’s in your pack or you go without. It usually means more time alone or that the only people you’ll be seeing are also looking for that kind of serenity that only comes from being alone.

This trip was not one of those. We hiked the .6 miles back to the car in the morning and had breakfast at the car before driving to the Noonmark Diner where we had coffee, used the bathroom went over our hiking plan for the day. We’d be returning here often for breakfast and dinner, which really simplified life at the campsite, but detracted somewhat from the overall experience. We were planning on hiking some difficult peaks in the area hit hard by flash flooding only three weeks earlier and where the girls and I could not go 11 days ago when we’d been in the same place. As luck would have it, an off-duty fire fighter who’d been working on the roads leading to the trails and who was an avid climber, walked in and sat at the table next to ours. Noticing our map, he asked where we would be climbing and then proceeded to check to make sure the trail was open. After a call or two he turned to us and said, “you picked the only trail that is still closed.” Plan ‘B’ hatched quickly.

It was overcast and rain was in the forecast. I like to climb peaks with views and don’t want to be climbing them for the first time when visibility is zero, so our alternative plan was for two 4,000 footers that weren’t supposed to be as spectacular. If we got to the peak and the skies cleared…all the better. We packed our food for the day, raingear, and water in our daypack…which I carried for the additional workout…and headed for the trailhead.

The early going was steep and John recorded a heart rate…he was wearing his monitor…of around 160 bpm. We moved up quickly and reached the peak of Cascade Mt. in about 90 minutes. The peak was completely open and would have offered amazing views, but we couldn’t see twenty feet and the rain was falling. We descended quickly and headed into a col between the two peaks and in another 30 minutes found ourselves on Porter Mt. with about the same view…fog.

On our descent, we met four different school groups made up of kids in the 8th grade who, for various reasons, were climbing that day. “Wish I’d gone to school where they’re going,” I commented to John as they passed. Most were in decent shape, but some were complaining and wondering how far to the top. Still…they were there and better for it. We reached our car after four hours on the trail around 2 p.m. and I was still feeling pretty fresh. I looked to the sky and noticed it was beginning to clear. “We could go up something smaller…like Van Hoevenberg…and maybe get some good views,” I suggested. John and Paul were both up for it, but as we were getting into the car, I pulled out my trail map and noticed another peak even closer…and higher. I pointed it out and they agreed to give it a go.

We hit the trailhead and read the legend, which stated that the peak of Pitchoff Mt. could be reached by hiking 2.5 miles and climbing 2,000 feet. I was holding the map and based on the contour lines, this climb would be straight up for two miles. I kept that information to myself as we began to climb what turned out to be the toughest 40 minutes I’ve ever spent on any peak. The trail was seldom used and full of loose and slippery rocks. As the map suggested, it was a continuously steep grade for a long time. John got his hear up around 170…and it stayed there. I was sweating profusely…and loving it. We reached open rock after 40 minutes of a thigh and lung burning ascent to some rather fabulous views. Though only 3,500 feet and not one of the 46 ‘high peaks’, it offered great views of those peaks. We stayed on top for about 30 minutes before noticing thunderheads rolling off the high peaks to the south…and straight at us. The rains hit us half way down, but were warm and cleansing, so none of minded too much.

We made it back to the car much more tired, but thrilled to have gotten in another great peak where we could actually see something. When it was suggested that we eat dinner at the Noonmark instead of at the trailhead where I’d be cooking, I voted ‘yes’. I had a dinner of Spinach Lasagna and a tossed salad, but passed on dessert. By the time we returned to the trailhead for our hike back to our tents, it was raining again and getting close to dark. There would be no fire that night, but the exhaustion of climbing and hiking over six hours and 5,000 vertical feet had me feeling like retiring to my tent to get the rest I’d need for tomorrow’s ascents.

Hike/climb duration: 6 hours
Training Heart Rate: 70 to 170 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 4,000.