So, there are a lot of hiking challenges in New York. the biggest ones are of course the 46ers and 3500 in the Adirondacks and Catskills respectively. Those 2 hit all the highest mountains in those regions. One that is often overlooked is the Fire Tower challenge though. Back before modern technology, it was common practice to build towers on top of mountains so that a ranger could look over the area and spot wild fires before they got out of control. Many of these towers have fallen to ruins and have disappeared to just memories and a few random bits of steel
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 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
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.
This weekend will be Colvin(4057', #39), Blake (3960', #43), and back over Colivn. I've heard that the trail between Colvin and Blake is a slog, and not fun...
My next trip will have a lot of hiking and hit 13 peaks over a week. The first 3 nights I'm saying at ADK Loj, so I'll have a soft bed and shower available each night. The next 3 nights, I'll be in the backcountry, hopefully at Lake Arnold, camping.
So, the last 2 weekends I have left undone peaks. Specifically 2 weeks ago I left Colvin (4057', #39), and Blake (3960', #43) when I did Dial and Nippletop, and this last weekend I left Gothics (4736', #10) and Sawteeth (4100'. #35) when I did the Great Range. My goal is to get these 4 peaks done before I go in via ADK Loj for a week of hikes. That means that I will do them this weekend, or maybe, depending on weather, a pair next weekend.
So, I planned to do the Great Range this weekend. As of this moment the Gardens parking lot is marked as full, so I may not be able to. If that is the case, I'll come home tonight and go right to bed when I get home to get up early and try again Friday morning. I suspect there are just a bunch of day hikers out today and when I get there I'll find a parking spot.
The great range of the High Peaks is one of the most rewarding things to hike in the park. The range itself is 7, mostly close peaks with a side peak of Sawteeth that also hits the 4000 mark. This is not one of the easier hikes to do. I know from experience as I've done 4 of the peaks back in College, and we had an Alaskan with us that was used to backpacking and hiking in Alaska, and she had trouble with our trails.