Adirondacks '12: Day 3

"Return to Mt. Marcy"

Trip report in diary format. Brother Eric's account of the day is here and here.

5:13am
Rise and shine. We were all awakened a while ago by the loudest squawking birds I’ve ever heard. There were a few of them, and they were close. I don’t know if they were vultures of some kind?

I slept very well. It never got cold - I spent the night inside my bag liner on top of the actual sleeping bag, and never felt the need to get inside the bag itself.

6:58am
We’re packed and ready, leaving the campsite and starting our hike. We had breakfast bars and yogurt for breakfast, then made sandwiches for lunch and packed our day-packs. I have all the fluids I can carry, two sandwiches, a baggie of GORP, a bunch of PowerBars, a rain jacket, and a fleece vest. That makes for a full and heavy day-pack. I'm bringing my iPhone for pics and maybe to capture the GPS track (though Eric has his GPS.) I have it off to conserve battery, and will turn it on if/when I need it.

The plan is simple - we'll take the Van Hoevenberg Trail to the summit of Mt. Marcy. It's a 14.8 mile round trip with 3,223 feet of vertical elevation gain - very strenuous by any measure. There's a mood of eager anticipation.

7:29am
Junction for the trail to Algonquin Peak, which means we've come about one mile. It's a very pleasant morning, and I feel great - ready for anything Marcy can throw at us (and yes, I fully realize the "famous last words" potential for that thought.)

7:55am
Marcy Dam. Except that it doesn't exist any more. Apparently last summer's hurricane (I forget the name, but the one that sent Darling Wife scurrying for her home and native land) washed it away. There's a detour around it, which hopefully won't add too much mileage to our hike.

8:30am
The detour around Marcy Dam was short, and a temporary bridge has been constructed. We're now starting to climb - the trail is a muddy and rocky trail ascending alongside Phelps Brook.

We're at a decision point. I've been in the lead, with Phil and Ted close behind. John and Eric have been lagging some, and I've been making stops to let them catch up. They're telling us to go ahead and not wait for them, that they feel bad slowing us down. Part of me agrees that this is logical...but I also don't feel good about leaving them behind. There's some discussion, and they tell us to go. We agree, and start off again. Hiking order is me, Phil, Ted.

10:06am

Water break. It's been a hard, steep, rocky, relentless climb - just as I remembered. But I feel good, and I think we're all doing well. It's overcast now, though there are patches of blue in the sky. The day could go either way - it could clear and be sunny, or clouds could come in and make it just as miserable as our first time. It's 1.2 miles to the top, and there's still a *lot* of climbing to do.

Ugh, I just looked toward the summit, and it's completely wrapped in clouds. A very discouraging sight.

10:51am
Summit of Marcy! The high point of New York State. It's now sunny and clear, thank goodness! That last 1.2 is just punishing and relentless - much of it scrambling over bare rock (as we're above the treeline.) The views are breathtaking in all directions.

I'm as wet as if I'd just jumped in a lake, and will now strip off shoes, socks, and shirt - to let them dry some for the return hike. I'll also chug some Gatorade, and eat a sandwich. Happy happy feeling.

11:16am
The cool breeze whipping us feels delightful. If I had any brains, I would have brought a change of shirt and socks with me. Sadly, I don't - but my socks have been inside-out, drying on a rock, and they'll do for the hike down. Phil, a prince among men, *did* bring a second shirt, but doesn't want to change, and has offered it to me. I'm not too proud to take it.

We chatted with some other hikers lounging at the summit as we ate, drank, and dried off. We're drinking in the views - and also thinking of Eric and John and wishing they were here with us.

We're ready to start back down. I've turned on my iPhone to take some pics, and will turn on the GPS track - hopefully I have enough battery to get the whole track from the summit back to camp.

My legs are a little sore, but overall I feel really good.

12:18pm

Water break. I'm still taking the lead, and I'm not making many stops. I need to take breaks when climbing, but not when descending. Phil and Ted aren't calling for stops either, so we keep moving. At one point, Ted started singing "Cripple Creek", which starts with the line "When I get off of this mountain...." Very appropriate, and now I have the song in my head.

The clouds have cleared, and it's now a beautiful sunny day. Discussion of whether we're going to meet John and Eric ascending...but so far we haven't. Also discussion of what the first beer will taste like when we get back to camp.

There's unanimous agreement that now that we've seen the view from the summit of Marcy in good weather, there's no need to ever climb it again. I offer that I can only think of one scenario that will get me on the Van Hoevenberg Trail again - and that's if a ninja hits me with a poisoned dart and tells me that the antidote is on the summit of Marcy.

2:21pm
Trailhead! We did it. Satisfaction and relief. I'm a little footsore, and just generally weary - but a hot shower and clean dry clothes will remedy that. Phil just told us that he's wearing a heart monitor, which tells him he's burned 5,555 calories on the hike. We tell him he can go to Wendy's and eat five Baconators and still be good for the day.

I'm happy to see that my iPhone battery has held out, so I should have a GPS track for the hike back.

7:21pm
Beautiful day and evening in camp. The weather is perfect. It turns out that Eric and John hiked a ways further after we separated, and then turned back. They also had a little misadventure, which can be read about in Eric's trip report.

The campground is filling up (actually, it's probably completely full now), and mostly with Quebec license plates. There's probably more French than English being spoken in the campground.

I feel really good - surprisingly good. Yes, I can feel the miles I did today, but my legs aren't aching, and I'm not wiped out.

Burgers and dogs are on the grill, and I'm pretty sure they're going to be the best ever.

10:15pm-ish
It got cooler when the sun went down, and I put on long pants and a flannel shirt (prompting Ted's comment that I've "gone full Neil Young.") It was another lovely evening around the campfire - delicious dinner, much discussion of the day's hikes, some well-earned beers, and more guitar playing.

Overall, a very satisfying day. I won't call it "revenge on Marcy" - we got lucky with good weather at the summit, but she could just as easily have slapped us in the face again.

Nite nite.