The summer of '09 was another watershed summer for me, as we began our foray into backpacking. We went on three trips, a "shake-out" trip to Fingerlakes Forest ( fun if you like horse manure and country roads), and two trips to the Adirondack High Peaks. The first backpacking trip in the High Peaks was part of a more extensive 4 day trip in July. It included a stay at the Northwoods Inn in Lake Placid, a night car-camping at the Adirondack Loj, and then a backpacking trip to an unknown destination for the night, with a climb up Mt. Colden the next day. On our first night, we did a short 2 mile hike around Mirror Lake to get our legs warmed up for the next couple days. We thought nothing of it, though Heather made a big mistake, she wore flip-flops. Flip-flops are fine for casual, relaxed walking for a short distance, but their lack of proper support can wreak havoc on the knees during any serious walking. The next day we camped at the lodge and finally bagged Wright Peak. If you read the entries from '08 you can see that Wright Peak eluded us due to destroying our knees on the Mt. Algonquin climb. The Mirror Lake walk, and the strenuous climb up Wright Peak, weakened Heathers legs and knees to the point where she needed a recovery day or 2, but we had no time for it. The backpack led us through Avalanche pass, passing Lake Colden, and continuing around to Feldspar Brook. It was 8 miles of very strenuous hiking, coupled with the fact that we both had heavy backpacking packs. On top of the stress we put on ourselves, it rained and drizzled the entire night, and was very cold. We spent the night with 2 other couples in a lean-to, not able to find a dry, available spot for our tent. Inevitably the knees were shot and our spirits were broken. We hiked out, passing only 1.5 miles to the summit of Colden. There was simply no way we could have made it up, and especially down, with Heathers knees being in such pain.
Fast forward to two weeks ago and our return from The West Trip. Heather told me she wanted to hit the high peaks, and really wanted to conquer Mt. Colden. We picked this weekend, since it was the only weekend free for both of us, she went about organizing and planning the trip. Since it was only 2 weeks out, she luckily was able to secure two nights, though they were at different sites, requiring a move. I took one of my few remaining vacation days on Friday and we left around 9:30 am. The drive up north was a lesson in familiarity. It was hard not to help comparing this drive to our trip out west. It just felt comforting and relaxing knowing what was around the next bend, and how much farther there was to go based off of landmarks or small towns. We hit the ADK Loj around 2:00 pm, and got into our camp setup routine. The cool mountain air was a stark reminder of where we were, and we had to change accordingly. The winter hats and sweatshirts replacing shorts and t-shirts. After setup, we decided to drive into Lake Placid for a meal, rather than eat a freeze dried bag of spaghetti and meat sauce.
Driving back through Lake Placid, we went into a few shops to get ourselves a t-shirt, settling at a place called "There and Back Again....". Anyone who has seen or read the Lord of the Rings should get the reference. We made our way up into the village area and went to Bazzi's, a small pizza shop adjacent to the Northwoods Inn. I told Heather we were loading up on calories and carbs, so we ate voraciously. After eating, we did some more shopping at EMS down the street, and went back to the t-shirt store to actually buy what we picked out previously. Arriving back at camp we settled in for the night, and as the light faded, we made a great fire. The night-sky was incredibly clear and cool, and the stars were shining brightly. The site had quite a bit of open sky viewable, so we grabbed our newbie stargazers book, and tried to identify any constellations we could find. The alarm was set for 6:15am, so we hit the sleeping bags early, sleeping with winter hats on for the night.
I awoke before the alarm, and made breakfast and hot cocoa for us. We spent the next hour getting our gear ready and temporarily packing up our site, so we could later move to site number 29. We thought we could get lucky and quickly setup at site 29 if it was unoccupied, but it was not, so we had to park in the main parking lot for the day. We parked, and quickly gathered our hiking gear and set out on the trail, after signing the trail register. Heather noted that none of the trails out west had a register. We chatted about this as we continued briskly along the well trodden trail between the Loj and Marcy dam.Arriving at Marcy dam, it was just as spectacular as I had remembered. The mountain view surrounding the small lake is wonderful, and we could see the goal for the day, Mt. Colden in the distance. The temperature was rising, and the sunny sky allowed us to shed a top layer of clothing. We continued on the trail in the direction of Lake Arnold which was about a mile away.We were making incredible time, both very focused, but relaxed and into a great hiking rhythm. Very quickly we realized that hiking in the Adirondacks is a completely different animal than hiking out West. Here in the Adirondacks, the trails are much more rugged. They usually consist of large and small boulders and many tree roots to watch out for. The mud, or "Adirondack Soup" as its called, is also an element that you just need to accept. A mechanical injury just seems prevalent with every step, requiring your utmost attention.
We arrived at Lake Arnold, and remembered it well from last years backpack. It is the highest mountain lake in the Adirondack region, nestled between Mt. Colden and Mt. Marcy. We took a well deserved break at this point, since we had already traveled 4 1/2 miles. Setting our packs down, Heather unknowingly set her's on her bite-valve. The contents of her hydration bladder on her pack spilled over the ground. When we picked up the pack as we were leaving, I noted the puddle and gave her all sorts of crap about setting her pack in a puddle. Later we found out where the puddle came from. She probably lost 1 1/2 liters of water, which was not a huge problem, since we could filter water if we needed to. However, had we been out west, in the Grand Canyon for example, it could have been disastrous.
From Lake Arnold, there was 1.4 miles to the summit of Mt. Colden. This is where the physical nature of the climb took hold. At one point, there was a downed tree blocking the entire path. There was no way around it, except to climb right over it. Its the price we had to pay for ascending Colden, which pales in popularity compared to Algonquin or Marcy. Hopefully a trail maintenance crew can remove it before someone injures themselves. We made it to the false summit of Colden, and the views were phenomenal. To the South we could see the actual summit. Descending the col we went back up a small hill between the two and made our way up the steep section of trail to the top. At one point we had to traverse through and under some large boulders, which was quite different. We made it to the top around 12:30 and removed packs and rested for a while. The top of Colden was actually quite small and the views were not quite open as the false-summit, but alas we made it, and were very proud of ourselves. This was our 8th high peak, only 38 left.
We started descending around 1pm or so and were ready for the mental aspect of the climb. It is said that 80% of falls and injuries occur on the way down a mountain. Climbing up a granite slope is much easier than going down the same slope, where footing and momentum can cause a significant slip. I had such a slip occur. At a section with an 8 foot or so ledge, I decided to remove some of the loose stones, possibly helping another hiker. I slid them with my foot, but my foot kept going, off the ledge, and my body turned to save itself, falling backwards into a stand of trees. Heather kept saying "CAREFUL, CAREFUL, CAREFUL!!" which was encouraging, but I was already falling. Luckily I wasn't injured, but it most likely effected me mentally. For the rest of the descent, we made good time and Im happy to say that our knees held up fine. The last couple of miles, really tested our endurance. We finished hiking around 4:30, very tired and relieved to be done. The entire length of the hike was 12 miles, which is the most we have ever done in one day.
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