I stayed in Lake Placid over the long New Years Eve weekend and climbed Stewart, Green, Slide, Morgan and Pitchoff.
Stewart - Rain down below, snowing a bit high up. Not very cold. I am always super mindful of safety so I brought enough gear to give FEMA emergency relief, opposed to the other way around.
I was carrying a huge amount of backup stuff, and my satellite phone. I also gave my wife my route.
The last 100 meters were apocalyptically thick and also very steep. Although one of the steep sections afforded a beautiful view of fog and snow. I could close my eyes and imagine what the view might have looked like. Hahaha. This part of Stewart made me feel like a lobster dragging the Transatlantic cable across the ocean.
Thick, tight and tangled. 7.7 miles and took 6 hrs and 35 mins RT. 2775' of vertical gain. I burned all my hiking gear after this climb in a giant sacrificial bonfire to the God of Open Woods hoping for better whacking next time.
Green - And Green it was - as in Green Conifer boughs attacking you at every turn. I felt like an Egyptian sarcophagus wrapped in balsam Mummy bandages trying to get out. I took a fairly direct line up Green from 9N between Knob Lock and Tripod. Generally followed the drainage. Bad footing, tons of blowdown and matchstick woods made for a world-class wilderness beatdown. The terrain was chaotic which made navigation a challenge - especially higher up. The respite came though in the form of open woods on the back westerly side of Green from about 3500' to the summit. This was a welcome relief for the final push to the top. Bad weather all day. Most of this weekend felt like being on the set of Stephen King's "The Mist."
6.2 miles RT. 6 hrs and 15 minutes. 2326' of vertical gain.
Slide - I made great time on this one. 4 hrs and 30 mins round trip. Much better woods than Green and Stewart. I took the traditional approach from the jackrabbit trail and then followed the drainage that is southwest of Black Mountain. High up on the east flanks of Slide were pockets where there was two feet of snow, which was odd since this was much greater than any other snow depth I experienced the whole long weekend. A couple obstacle course gymnastics sections, but by-and-large good woods when compared to the conifer shellacking I endured the previous two jaunts.
Pitchoff - I definitely saw the monsters from Stephen King's the Mist on this one, but otherwise a walk-in-the-park compared to everything else.
Morgan - Snowing steadily yesterday during Morgan. Nice hike and definitely parts of this climb are readily skiable on the trail section - especially at first when The Copper Kill trail is also a Snowmobile trail. The Morgan hike had the ease and tranquility of Morgan Freeman's narration voice, which must be how the mountain got its name.
Even though there is a short whack at the end, it was still like playing with kittens and eating pretzels at the Mall. (in comparison to the first 3 bushwhacks).
At summit of Stewart, December 31st. Abandon all hope of your clothes ever drying:
Look at this paved bike path. Great route to bring your unicycle while juggling:
Stewart - Rain down below, snowing a bit high up. Not very cold. I am always super mindful of safety so I brought enough gear to give FEMA emergency relief, opposed to the other way around.
I was carrying a huge amount of backup stuff, and my satellite phone. I also gave my wife my route.
The last 100 meters were apocalyptically thick and also very steep. Although one of the steep sections afforded a beautiful view of fog and snow. I could close my eyes and imagine what the view might have looked like. Hahaha. This part of Stewart made me feel like a lobster dragging the Transatlantic cable across the ocean.
Thick, tight and tangled. 7.7 miles and took 6 hrs and 35 mins RT. 2775' of vertical gain. I burned all my hiking gear after this climb in a giant sacrificial bonfire to the God of Open Woods hoping for better whacking next time.
Green - And Green it was - as in Green Conifer boughs attacking you at every turn. I felt like an Egyptian sarcophagus wrapped in balsam Mummy bandages trying to get out. I took a fairly direct line up Green from 9N between Knob Lock and Tripod. Generally followed the drainage. Bad footing, tons of blowdown and matchstick woods made for a world-class wilderness beatdown. The terrain was chaotic which made navigation a challenge - especially higher up. The respite came though in the form of open woods on the back westerly side of Green from about 3500' to the summit. This was a welcome relief for the final push to the top. Bad weather all day. Most of this weekend felt like being on the set of Stephen King's "The Mist."
6.2 miles RT. 6 hrs and 15 minutes. 2326' of vertical gain.
Slide - I made great time on this one. 4 hrs and 30 mins round trip. Much better woods than Green and Stewart. I took the traditional approach from the jackrabbit trail and then followed the drainage that is southwest of Black Mountain. High up on the east flanks of Slide were pockets where there was two feet of snow, which was odd since this was much greater than any other snow depth I experienced the whole long weekend. A couple obstacle course gymnastics sections, but by-and-large good woods when compared to the conifer shellacking I endured the previous two jaunts.
Pitchoff - I definitely saw the monsters from Stephen King's the Mist on this one, but otherwise a walk-in-the-park compared to everything else.
Morgan - Snowing steadily yesterday during Morgan. Nice hike and definitely parts of this climb are readily skiable on the trail section - especially at first when The Copper Kill trail is also a Snowmobile trail. The Morgan hike had the ease and tranquility of Morgan Freeman's narration voice, which must be how the mountain got its name.
Even though there is a short whack at the end, it was still like playing with kittens and eating pretzels at the Mall. (in comparison to the first 3 bushwhacks).
At summit of Stewart, December 31st. Abandon all hope of your clothes ever drying:
Look at this paved bike path. Great route to bring your unicycle while juggling:
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