October 10, 2008 – Keene, NY

Paula and I awake at 6:00 a.m. to get an early start on today’s hike. There are no alarm clocks here at the Bark Eater Inn, so when Paula asks for the time, I look through the darkness at my pocket watch and see 5 o’clock and declare that we have yet another hour of sleep. Fortunately I turn on the light and see my error; alas, our day starts too early. The inn keeper knows that we are rolling out early this morning for the summit of Mt. Marcy, so she has set out granola and muffins for us to take on the road. After a quick stop in Keene for some coffee and orange juice we are on our way.

The colors in the Adirondacks of upstate New York are breathtaking. I think the drive between Keene and Lake Placid may be among the most charming I’ve ever made. There is a series of narrow lakes that fill the crevice between two dramatic slopes covered in amazing oranges, yellows, and reds. The highway hugs the northern shore as it slices through this majestic land. We find the turn off to the Adirondack Loj, a quaint historic lodge that doubles as the trailhead to many of the high peaks of New York state. For a 7:30 a.m. on a Friday morning in October, the hiker’s parking lot is surprisingly crowded. We gather our gear, sign in, and begin our journey up towards Mt. Marcy, the highest point in the state.

Though the sun hasn’t made it into the valley yet, the birch forest nonetheless is stunning. We walk with the fresh leaves crunching under each step. This is very different hiking than in Colorado. After a couple of miles we finally get a good view from the Marcy Dam. We cross over this very simple wood structure and pass a large group of Canadians. At first I was puzzled by all their French, but then I realized how close we are to Quebec.





And then we continue to hike. And hike. And hike. I knew this would be a long day; the summit is about 7.4 miles from the trailhead. We hike up wet rocky trail. We pass a sign ‘Mt. Marcy 6.5 miles’. We hike up wet rocky trail. 8:30 a.m. We hike up wet rocky trail. ‘Mt. Marcy 5.2 miles’. We hike up wet rocky trail. 9:30 a.m. We hike up wet rocky trail. ‘Mt. Marcy 3.2 miles’.



Finally, we reach something different. I help Paula cross a stream when we see a sign for Indian Falls. We take a path to where the stream has spread out all over an exposed sheet of rock. From here we get our first view of some of the high peaks of the Adirondacks. As we get back to the trail our Canadian group has caught up, but we convince them check out the falls so that we can continue to hike in quiet.



And then we hike up wet rocky trail. 10:30 a.m. We hike up wet rocky trail. ‘Mt. Marcy 1.4 miles’.

And finally we see it. At 5,344 ft. above sea level and imposing itself above all else is the summit. We know we’ve still got 1,000 vertical feet to go, but at least we can see our destination.





It takes another hour to get up the last mile. Most of it is spent scrambling on the exposed rock. Up till now the weather has been spectacular, but at this altitude things get a bit chilly. We stop to put on our coats, hats, and gloves. The temperature is probably in the 30s with winds gusting 20-30 mph. As we rise above timberline the wind gets very annoying. But alas, we summit at noon. A mere four-and-a-half hours after we started.





The panorama from the summit is nothing short of spectacular. The fall colored Adirondacks rise and fall in every direction. To the east is Vermont and its high point, Mt. Mansfield (which three years ago we summited despite the relentless rain and sleet). North is the village of Lake Placid and its twin Olympic ski-jump towers. My favorite view is to the south. The colors are simply wonderful. So we choose to nestle beneath a ridge for some shelter and eat our lunch gazing south toward the sun.













When a large crowd begins to gather on top we know it’s time to head down. After a half-hour on the summit we start the long, tedious hike back to the car. I would like to say that Paula and I have lots of fun from miles 7.4 to 14.8, but that would be stretching the truth. Honestly, it is incredibly hard. Paula’s feet hurt most of the time. And nothing makes you feel good when your feet feel like giving out and then you see the sign ‘Trailhead 4.4 miles’. This four-and-a-half hours is never-ending.







But as 5 p.m. approaches our anticipation grows. Then we finally see it, the parking lot. We triumphantly sign out and peel our boots off. Nine-and-a-half hours are a lot of hiking for one day and we are spent.

And hour later our evening ends appropriately: sitting on the patio of our room at the Bark Eater, eating pizza, drinking a hard earned soda, and watching the day’s final hurrah of fall colors before bedtime.



Highpoint number 18 in the bag!