The Adirondack Park is the largest protected area in the lower 48 states at almost 6 million acres -roughly the size of Massachusetts. It is an unconventional State/National Park in that it’s a patchwork of pu
blic and private land. It’s not managed by a single organization, rather by some not-for-profits and local governments. This area contains the best hiking I’ve experienced within a day’s drive. We decided on 2-day, 17 mile “Five Mountain Loop”. It encompasses Mac
omb Mountain, Hough Peak, and The Dixes. Macomb Mountain was an optional out-and-back that we chose not to do. Our route was in the region of the Adirondacks referred to as “The High Peaks”, which contains the highest concentration of its namesake. It’s just about a half hour south of Lake Placid, NY. We spent a night at a Hampton Inn in Schenectady before starting the following day. It’s an awesome college town about ¾ the way to the trailhead. It was great to get some rest beforehand. We got an early start, and got on the trail with no trouble. The first day of the hike would be on completely unmarked paths. The first several miles followed the Bouquet River, spotted with killer swimming holes. We may have to go back when it’s warm;
they were incredible. We crossed the stream several times, and finally turned away towards the peak of East Dix. We passed lots more water, this time lakes. Almost every lake had a beaver dam. We were told to listen for the slap of their tails on the water-a danger warning for other beavers, but we didn’t hear much. Several hours later, we arrived at the foot of the East Dix slide. We weren’t quite prepared for what we had in front of us. The slide (bare rock with loose footing) ran straight to the Peak, and was way steeper than I had anticipated. Our topo map gave us an idea, but I never climbed anything like this. What made it more unnerving was that there was no marked trail that we could see, and it had rained the previous day leaving streams running down the face of the rock. We were pumped for the challenge. We figured we’d get to the top before worrying about getting our bearings an
d finding the trail. The first ¼ mile wasn’t too bad; we enjoyed the exposure on the mountainside. Then it got much, much steeper. It was hand over hand climbing for about 500 yards, and the winds were howling. Looking down made our stomachs churn. To say the least, we were thankful when we made it to the summit. We were exhausted (it took a few hours to climb) and found a s
weet site to make camp. Brittany has quickly become quite the backcountry chef, and this time it was chicken tacos on the menu. We ourselves set up, and I got a fire going. That night was unbelievably windy. We woke up to the tent stakes having ripped out, and the tent almost being blown away with us in it. I improvised some boulder anchors and we struggled to sleep with the noise of the straining tent. At about 5am, the wind stopped suddenly, and we enjoyed a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. In the morning, we took in the views of the fog lifting from the valley, all while warming up with
coffee. I could have sat there for a week. The trails for the next few hours were very tight, and our equipment took a beating with the briars constantly brushing past. We followed the horseshoe-shaped ridge, and eventually stopped for lunch directly across the range on Hough (pronounced “Huff”) peak. We met people there for the first time during the hike. One lady was from Estonia. We kept hiking, stopping for a few minutes at West Dix peak before pushing on to the highest part of our hike-Mt. Dix itself. Some of the terrain in the saddle of these two mountains was wild. The way was spotted with shoulder-high boulders, and occasionally one that required improvisation to get over. At one point, several huge rocks created an impasse. They only way up was a rope climb. Just like gym class. When we finally reached the peak it was dinner time. We were stunned to see the summit. Earlier, and from a distance, it seemed like a knife-edge with barely room to sit down. Up close, it looks more lik
e a ston
e tennis court. The sun had heated up the rocks, while the wind picked up and cooled the air. It was like a spa. We ate dinner and took our time packing up. In hindsight it was too much time. We set out to complete the loop, there were only a few more hours of daylight. We picked up the pace and intersected with another slide, this time on the other side of the range. Thankfully this one was shorter, and less steep. Once at the bottom, we followed another stream and eventually passed a shelter at the base of the Mountain. There are only a handful of them in the Adirondacks. We anxiously reached our second to last waypoint-a lake about 3 miles from our car. It was completely dark, and we finished the last stretch with our headlamps on.
blic and private land. It’s not managed by a single organization, rather by some not-for-profits and local governments. This area contains the best hiking I’ve experienced within a day’s drive. We decided on 2-day, 17 mile “Five Mountain Loop”. It encompasses Mac
omb Mountain, Hough Peak, and The Dixes. Macomb Mountain was an optional out-and-back that we chose not to do. Our route was in the region of the Adirondacks referred to as “The High Peaks”, which contains the highest concentration of its namesake. It’s just about a half hour south of Lake Placid, NY. We spent a night at a Hampton Inn in Schenectady before starting the following day. It’s an awesome college town about ¾ the way to the trailhead. It was great to get some rest beforehand. We got an early start, and got on the trail with no trouble. The first day of the hike would be on completely unmarked paths. The first several miles followed the Bouquet River, spotted with killer swimming holes. We may have to go back when it’s warm;
they were incredible. We crossed the stream several times, and finally turned away towards the peak of East Dix. We passed lots more water, this time lakes. Almost every lake had a beaver dam. We were told to listen for the slap of their tails on the water-a danger warning for other beavers, but we didn’t hear much. Several hours later, we arrived at the foot of the East Dix slide. We weren’t quite prepared for what we had in front of us. The slide (bare rock with loose footing) ran straight to the Peak, and was way steeper than I had anticipated. Our topo map gave us an idea, but I never climbed anything like this. What made it more unnerving was that there was no marked trail that we could see, and it had rained the previous day leaving streams running down the face of the rock. We were pumped for the challenge. We figured we’d get to the top before worrying about getting our bearings an
d finding the trail. The first ¼ mile wasn’t too bad; we enjoyed the exposure on the mountainside. Then it got much, much steeper. It was hand over hand climbing for about 500 yards, and the winds were howling. Looking down made our stomachs churn. To say the least, we were thankful when we made it to the summit. We were exhausted (it took a few hours to climb) and found a sweet site to make camp. Brittany has quickly become quite the backcountry chef, and this time it was chicken tacos on the menu. We ourselves set up, and I got a fire going. That night was unbelievably windy. We woke up to the tent stakes having ripped out, and the tent almost being blown away with us in it. I improvised some boulder anchors and we struggled to sleep with the noise of the straining tent. At about 5am, the wind stopped suddenly, and we enjoyed a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. In the morning, we took in the views of the fog lifting from the valley, all while warming up with
coffee. I could have sat there for a week. The trails for the next few hours were very tight, and our equipment took a beating with the briars constantly brushing past. We followed the horseshoe-shaped ridge, and eventually stopped for lunch directly across the range on Hough (pronounced “Huff”) peak. We met people there for the first time during the hike. One lady was from Estonia. We kept hiking, stopping for a few minutes at West Dix peak before pushing on to the highest part of our hike-Mt. Dix itself. Some of the terrain in the saddle of these two mountains was wild. The way was spotted with shoulder-high boulders, and occasionally one that required improvisation to get over. At one point, several huge rocks created an impasse. They only way up was a rope climb. Just like gym class. When we finally reached the peak it was dinner time. We were stunned to see the summit. Earlier, and from a distance, it seemed like a knife-edge with barely room to sit down. Up close, it looks more like a ston
e tennis court. The sun had heated up the rocks, while the wind picked up and cooled the air. It was like a spa. We ate dinner and took our time packing up. In hindsight it was too much time. We set out to complete the loop, there were only a few more hours of daylight. We picked up the pace and intersected with another slide, this time on the other side of the range. Thankfully this one was shorter, and less steep. Once at the bottom, we followed another stream and eventually passed a shelter at the base of the Mountain. There are only a handful of them in the Adirondacks. We anxiously reached our second to last waypoint-a lake about 3 miles from our car. It was completely dark, and we finished the last stretch with our headlamps on.