So, this weekend, Michael and I spent the weekend at ADK Loj and did some hikes.... Well, the weekend weather turned back to winter, or so it seemed. Saturday it rained all day as a drizzle and was in the 40's with wind chills on the highest of the peaks being well below freezing. So, with that in mind we did a couple of the Lake Placid 9.
Today, I took a floating holiday and went up to get my winter Porter (Cascade was done a couple weeks ago, so it was a secondary goal if weather was clear). I got up to the trail head about 845 and was on the trail just before 9. When I was getting boots and all on, I looked down at the trail register and the couple of bridges over small streams and all I saw was ice on the trail. Now anyone that has hiked a popular winter trail will know that the snowshoes compact everything down and what is known as a "monorail" is created. Towards the end of the season that tends
So, last time I ended up going up Cascade and skipping Porter. The biggest reason was I got to the top right about my turnaround time. This was based off of not knowing how fast I would be heading out. It took 4 hour up but only 1.5 down. If it was 4 down I would have been off the trail at 5 and in the mountains where the sunset is around 6, it can get dark quickly and I don't really want to be hiking in the dark. Now I know better about my abilities. My turn around time won't be 130 like it was last time. It will be more like 3. Looking back
Saturday, I went and did my first winter 46er. I decided on Cascade and Porter because of the distance (shortest for all the peaks) and because I knew the trail somewhat well. I got at the trailhead about 9, got my boots, jacket, etc on and started to walk from the second parking area to the trailhead, getting about 3/4 of the way there, to realize I didn't have my gloves. D'oh! I get my gloves and go back. Now this trail in the summer is a good mix of steep and flat with a lot of rocks to navigate over, and one really good scramble before you get to the bald p
Saturday will be the first of my winter 46. I have all the gear and this will be my shakedown hike. I didn't go up last weekend because of a major rain storm on Friday and unsure of the trails. Trail reports after said some of the water crossings were bad, but overall the trails were fine throughout the high peaks. This week, we've again got rain up there, but on Wednesday, and not as much or bad as we had last week. That gives it a couple days to freeze back up and there's supposed to be another 9 or so inches of snow falling Friday. So, with that all in
What's that? I'm considering doing the 46ers again? Why yes, I am. I'm not going to do them all in 3 months like I did over the summer of 2020, but I am going to do them between Dec 21 and Mar 21 for this quest... yes, you read that right, I'm going for a winter 46, aka the winter rocker.
The winter 46 is climbing all of the 46ers between December 21 and March 21. For me this is a multi-year challenge that I hope to finish in 2026. At this point in time I have 5 peaks over 3 hikes left to do.
This is it, I'm down to the final 5 peaks of the 46'ers. I started May 15, and I will be finishing up, if all goes to plan, September 5.... so just over 3.5 months, 255 miles, and 84.8K feet of elevation gain and loss.... if all goes to plan.
Saturday, I went and did Colvin (4057', #39) and Blake (3960', # 43). These are by far not the tallest peaks in the park, but they are relatively remote in that the shortest in and out hike is 14.5 miles with nearly 4000' of elevation gain/loss. So, they aren't easy by any means. I arrived about 615 to find the Ausable Club parking lot full. I had to go park again about 1/4 mile up hill from the lot....