Day 5 - Whiteface

We actually set an alarm this morning because we wanted to get into Lake Placid at a reasonable time and after yesterday's rough climbing and descending, we knew it was going to be a slow day. Heading out at the break of dawn we started the first part of a 3000 foot climb by following and old abandoned rocky ski lift up Marble Mountain. It was cloudy at the top as the sun started to peak through when we then continued climbing up the ridge around Esther Mountain. 

Around 2500' elevation is when patches of snow and ice started to appear on trail slowing us down for short bursts. The climbing got steeper and the trail grew wet, rocky, and muddy with more frequent ice and snow nestled between and over every rock. Large sections of trail were flooded with icy snowmelt water up to your calves.

Since we hit the trail early both of us only portholes every so often but usually up to the knee. When we got closer to the wall of the Whiteface Highway, the snow was at least three or four feet deep at a sharp angle but holding the stone wall as we hiked our way up along side of it made it easy. Popping out at the highway there is a big rock scramble you have to climb to back onto the trail and we immediately hit steep snow. Trees came in handy big time to keep leverage as we went towards the top. When the trees cleared so did the snow and we got a quick relief from the snow and shot of the top of Whiteface and hiked up to the summit.

the summit was hazy and cloudy and it began to drizzle as we were up there. Very sketchy clouds were headed this way and we didn't waste time heading down. The first part of the decent was rock scramble as the rain got harder but let up after a short time. When we got into the woods the trail was REALLY steep with lots of wet/icy exposed rock and snow and all the nice things you want to take it extra carefully on. The first good bit of going down was fun and exciting but after having to focus so hard on not falling and really hurting yourself for hours, it got old fast. Grabbing trees and limbs and trusting them to keep you from falling strait down on very slippery ice was only enjoyable the first few times before it got frustrating but a bit of dehydration and hunger will do that to you. When the trail finally evened out it was a easy hike out along a old truck path which lead to Rt. 86. A local drove by us and came back to give us a ride into town. He drove us to the grocery store first so we didn't have to run errands once we hit the hotel, he understood us at a level we greatly appreciated. Stocked up on ice cream and crappy microwaved food we were ready to binge watch crappy tevelvison for the night and will hit the trail tomorrow. My phone died this morning so I have no pictures for the day but Spins does over on Spins Blog.

Day 4 - Bushwacking, Mountain Climbing and Rock Scrambling

Waking up to the sound of loons on the lake in the comfort of the shelter this morning was a serene experience that embodies the reason I come out to nature; to relax and enjoy the tranquility of the moment. The rest of the day beat my ass. 

After a quick jaunt on the trail we started a just under two mile bushwack up Catamount Mountain through thick forest, blow downs, even thicker evergreen forest, and rock scrambles. It was painstakingly slow and difficult but was absolutely awesome. 

The really challenging experiences on trail always make for the best reward. When we got to the summit of Catamount Mt. It was hazy with storm clouds rolling in.

The second half of Catamount, going down was just as intense. Defending 1500 feet for 1.8 miles scrambling down exposed granite using hands and feet gave me flashbacks to the Whites and Maine on the AT. It was one of the steepest sustained grades on the route. It was a a jungle gym, tiring, but a blast. 

We reached the bottom and came out to the trailhead for lunch and took our time because we had another 2.1 mile uphill bushwhack right away and after draining nature of the first one this morning we weren't looking forward to it. We came about a quarter mile uphill and then crossed a snowmobile track and decided that if it headed the right direction up it would be 100 times less strenuous than fighting saplings and fallen trees uphill. Out guidebook mentioned an old map with a trail on it and I believe the snowmobile track to most likely be it. We followed it the whole way up and it meandered here and there but took us directly up the direction on the map. It was our first trail magic of the trail! The track went less directly at the top to reunite with another snowmobile track to take us down the mountain but it got us there in way better time. After cruising down the mountain we came out to the trailhead, headed down the road and ate a bit at a nice lake alongside the Whiteface Memorial Highway. We jumped off onto more snowmobile track until it intersected with our road to the base of Marble Mountain. We found a nice campsite off to the right by the water and called it a short but super strenuous day. Tomorrow we have around 3000ft of elevation within the first three miles and then it's a downhill cruise into Lake Placid for the night.

Day 3 - Hiking not Roadwalking

Yesterday evening was a accurate foreshadowing for a rough morning today. That being said, we hit the road by 7:30 and slowly moved our sore, burnt bodies along Silver Lake Road. When the ibrupeofen kicked in I hit a stride as we turned off onto Casey Road which was something of a miracle. Ample shade and dirt compressed asphalt was like walking on a cushion.

After a couple miles it went back to asphalt then grit and back and forth but made for more comfortable walking than Silver Lake Road. We took a short break once we crossed Union Falls Dam and made our way back on a more solid road over to Silver Lake. Before reaching the lake, we passed Silver Lake Road again and then mosey on over to Silver Lake for lunch at a great picnic table spot!

Under a mile left of road walking was left until we hit the wood and I was more than excited. When we got to the dirt bushwalk it seemed a bit pointless but it got to an ATV track under power lines which was scorching. I didn't care a bit though because my feet weren't pounding on pavement. After a bit we turned right strait into a half mile bushwack.

It was dense and thick forest where I had to head to a stream then interest another stream to follow it out to a snowmobile trail. The bushwack was really fun in my option (not so much in Spins' opinion) and the hiking afterward on the snowmobile trail was a much more glorious feeling on the feet. We meandered around and reached a campground and followed it out to Taylor Pond Dam which we crossed over.

The rest of the day was on occasionally muddy snowmobile track. It dragged on a bit because of my mileage miscalculations from the previous night. Arriving at the shelter, we were greeted by a decent showing of mosquitos. I took the inner part of my tent out and rigged us a big net for the shelter and watched the sunset over the mountains in front of a beautiful pond while not being eaten alive by mosquitos, I couldn't ask for a better ending to the day. It feels great to be off the road and into the woods.

Day 2 - Burnt Out

Today was not a fun day. Setting out around 7am we took off back on the road. It didn't take long for the sun to appear and it warmed up fast, especially on the reflective asphalt. The morning roadwalk passed by uneventfully and by the time our first break of the day arrived, it was got and my sunburn was angry. We made sure to stay super hydrated because of the heat. I'm sure the temperature was I. The 80's and on blacktop I'm sure it was even hotter. We could see the heat coming of the road in the distance and after a while I put on the bottom half of my pants to keep the sun off. Without my umbrella this whole experience would have been 100x more miserable. The road turned into lighter pavement but by that time the assaulting rays of the sun had already done their damage.

While on this section of road there were  really cool private homes as well as neat abandoned homes. The trees gave way and a nice view of mountains flooded me with excitement.

The second half of the day was coming up to and following Chazy Lake, pounding some more pavement. The sun from 12-5 was when it was at its strongest and my legs were on fire even with pants on. The reflectiveness of the road was burning my arms even with the umbrella out so I put on a long sleeve for the rest of the day. That left me overheated and when we made camp for the night both Spins and I were crispy. I had to take a good half hour to hour to cool down after we stopped for the day and the heat rash on top of the sunburn felt oh so nice. We did around 19milea of roadwalking and my feet sure as hell felt every step. Tomorrow is a new day. Hopefully a cloudy one!

Day 1 - Roads and Dogs

After a comfortable night in the hotel in Ellenburg, we got coffee at the general store and headed out on the 2.7 mile roadwalk to the beginning of the trail. (For our 2am call from the police, check out spins' blog at: http://spinscdt.blogspot.com ) As the windmills got closer we reached the start of the Trans Adirondack Route, the junction of Star Road and Brandy Brooke road. 

In the distance is the start of the trail. The best aspect about the roadwalk in the morning was that the shoulder of the road was wide and dirt which made for way better travel than the asphalt. 

The first section of road was farmland and rural houses. Every house had a dog and it seemed they were all out. All of them were friendly thankfully! 

The farmland transitioned into woods and the scent of pine overtook the air which is so refreshing coming from Buffalo. Lunch break was on the side of the road by one of the MANY water sources along the roadwalk. (Water everywhere so far) 

We quickly approached Hwy 374 and mad our way past Lyons. There's a gas station there where you can grab a drink and snack (or beer) for reference and we then walked up the 'pass' that lead to a view of Chazy Lake. Descending down we reached Chazy Lake Road and then stopped for a snack and water. We continued along Chazy Lake and found a great camp spot off the road about a mile or so past the end of the lake. 

We passed over twenty water sources today and the trees don 't have leaves yet so I got my first layer of sunburn before breaking out my umbrella for the rest of the day. My body and feet are quite sore from pounding on the asphalt and hustling to carry some weight on my back again. Tomorrow morning will be fun and way more sore. We covered roughly 22 miles today counting the walk from the hotel; not a bad start!

Trains, Cars, Luck and Getting to the Trans ADK

Waking up before sunrise, we got out of town before 5am for a long day of travel to the Southern and Northern Terminus of the Trans Adirondack Route. A mile and a half ON the Trans ADK is a long term parking area (more of a remote campsite) where I parked my truck and met our ride to the Albany amtrak station. That stretch goes from dirt road to what is pretty much an ATV track to a dead end campsite. Lando thanks again for the ride and company from the southern terminus to Albany! 

The amtrak was relaxing and quite scenic, following Lake Champlain up to Plattsburgh and the price of travel was comparable to bus fairs. When we boarded the train I got a message via Facebook from a woman named Gracanne who asked if we had a ride from Plattsburgh to Ellenburg (three miles from the start of the trail), which we did not. I messaged her back but did my hear back so when we arrived in Plattsburgh we went strait for food. 

After grabbing a milkshake and dinner for the night we found the road to start hitching Rt 22 which in town was a two lane one way with no shoulder.....optimal for hitching. After following the road for a good hitching spot, we walked up near an elementary school and low and behold a familiar face was sitting in her car! Gracanne had just pulled into the parking area to turn around because her young granddaughter spotted 'backpackers' and we walked right to her!! The trail always provides. 

Gracanne was kind enough to drive us to Ellenburg and also drove us to the start of the trail because she was curious and it is a road intersection with not much else. After checking out the beginning of the trail she drove us back to Ellenburg where we scored the last motel room at the Matthews Motel, roughly three miles from the start. If we don't get a ride to the trailhead in the morning it's three extra miles on a forty three mile roadwalk! We anticipatey getting up extra early to bang out as many miles as possible and get the roadwalk done and behind us. Excited to get hiking again!

Day 113 - Low elevation Day

October 8th

17 Miles

Base of Saddle

After sleeping off the horrible pain of my toes and chaffing, the morning went pretty smoothly. The tent had little condensation and we were out hiking by 8:30. The morning was spent along a small creek in a valley surrounded by peak fall colored aspens and evergreens above them on the hillsides. 

As we trudged along we picked up a dirt jeep trail and pretty much followed different jeep paths from that point on. Water was here and there like most days so we took lunch by a water source. As we got past lunch the environment became drier and sagebrush was dominant once again in this lower desert landscape at a 'low' elevation of 9400. We climbed back up a bit with the open countryside to our right and aspens to our left.

After our gradual climb back up to ten thousand feet, we descended back down to our second and final water of the night where we tanked up and moseyed our way to treeline to find a spot to set up for the night.

Day 112 - Average Fall Day

October 7th

19 Miles

Near Hwy 114

This morning wasn't as super cold as it has been recently. Trucking through the morning was easier when we reached the sun and everything defrosted a bit.

Lunch was quick and the afternoon started to drag on when the pain started to kick in. My toes recently, well more specifically the ingrown toenail parts on my big toes have really been hurting towards the end of the day. My guess is all the water weight has weighed down my pack putting more pressure on my feet paired with my super old shoes that I've had since Montana. When we reached Highway 114 I was done physically my feet were killing me but we pushed on a bit further and found an interesting spot up on a hill in the trees on a slight slope. Hopefully my feet heal up a bit because they can't get worse pain-wise then this evening.

Day 111 - Coldest Night Yet

October 6th

15 Miles

Below Sargent Peak

This morning and past night was by far hands down the coldest it has been on trail. I woke up to the tent covered in frost, the bug netting covered in frost, and the non wet portion of my sleeping bag frosted. Chunks of ice floated in my water bottles and my socks were stuck in the potion I left then in last night. It took a bunch of effort to get up this morning. When I had the motivation to, I went to put on my shoes and couldn't! They were frozen solid and tight so my feet wouldn't fit in them. I slammed them in and after about a half hour of hiking they defrosted.

The majority of the morning was spent in the trees and snow as we hustled along up and down little hills. The view of afar was smaller mountains for once instead of larger mountains in the near future:

As we climbed again the trail got rockier but it wasn't anything to bad and we came along ridge cliff and followed that for a while giving way to views on the other side of the divide:

Lunch was low and in the sun which meant we were able to dry off our sleeping bags and I rolled out the tent, scooped out chunks of frosty snow and let that dry as well. This creek, which we followed for the next two miles, is the last water for twelve miles so we tanked up slightly up the hill and drudged our way up to the top of Sargent's Peak which was a gradual climb but tiresome with all the water weight nonetheless. Another quick two miles down put us at a saddle and 11,100ft which is the lowest spot we can find to camp for the night. We're nestled in trees so hopefully it will be a tad warmer then last night.

Day 105 - OCTOBER

October 1st

13.8 Miles

Mirror Lake Campground

This morning was freezing...literally. The tent was frozen with condensation and it took a while to get going. The beginning of the morning was a river crossing (which both of our feet stayed dry!) and then bushwhacking through willow to the trail. Unfortunately our feet got wet and really cold during that. The trail itself was nice and graded and wide today and sporadically covered in snow and ice in the shaded spots. It was a uphill kind of day and slow going. The morning and early afternoon were spent in the trees and when we broke out into exposed area of was actually kind of warm! The trail turned into ATV track and we followed up the hill where we startled  this guy:

Luckily he was busy munching and not charging us. The hills continued to exposed beautiful views:

This afternoon was another great day and we spent the rest following ATV track down to the lake you see above you to camp for the night. We ended a bit early to camp a little lower and have a pass in the morning and more jeep road walking to do in the afternoon. We'll be able to pick more miles up tomorrow, assuming we get up early enough.

Day 104 - Holy Pass

September 30

16.8 Miles

Along Texas Creek

Oh the feeling of the cold cold night how I didn't miss you at all. The comfort of slack packing and sleeping indoors is over and we awoke a little later than usual but got out of camp around 8:20. It was brisk and after a mile sections of snow/ice appeared on trail. It continued on as we headed towards the pass without a name. We could see it from a distance and it was completely covered in snow. The anticipation of suckiness dwelled upon us as we kept going higher and snowier. When we broke from treeline, it was all white an we followed footprints on trail up around Alice Lake (which was shaped like the letter A). The snow got way deeper and the postholing began. 

When we finally arrived at the base of the pass and switchbacks fatigue had already set in. The switchbacks were more difficult to see up close so we started climbing and making our own footholes, switchbacking every so often. Getting towards the top of the pass is where it got dangerous...the switchbacks were along shallow wet snow and loose rock which seemed not an option so we decided that small switchbacks up would be the best bet. Wrong. The snow was shallow and wet and the slope was steep as well and there was nothing to grab or keep great footing. We decided to hand and foot up to where it evened out which was a bit sketchy but we made it. The view from the top was spectacular but even more wonderful was the lack of snow on the other side of the pass. The other side is steeper and had there been snow like the northern side, I would have turned around.

Going down there were patches of wet slush on steep ass slopes which made it a bit cautious. Spins' feet were numb and hurting so we stopped a mile or so down to warm them up and get feeling back to them. Trudging generally downward with occasional ups through mud, snow, ice, slush, and dirt was the next ten or so miles before we hit the valley floor exhausted from the morning climb. We followed a dirt track along Texas Creek and there was a perfect campsite which we plopped down at thankful for not dying on the pass. Ice axes wouldn't have really helped in the light slushy snow either but all in all its another day on the CDT. October is tomorrow and we're trying to get to sunny NM as quick as possible.

Day 103 - Hope Pass

September 29th

14.5 Miles

Near Granite Mountain

Today Spins and I slack packed around seven or eight miles up over and down Hope Pass from Twin Lakes with Molasses, DC, Emily, Natalie, and her dog Beau. We got up and organized a bit past eight and drove the drop off car over at the Sheep Gulch trailhead and then headed over back to Twin Lakes. We parked by 82 where I left off yesterday and mosey over to the Willis Gulch trailhead area instead of following the ridiculously illogical CDT which went around the other side of the lake adding countless unnecessary miles.

It was brisk and a little cold this morning but nowhere near as freezing as yesterday morning. A few miles in we started going up towards the pass and after a mile or so took a break. There was small patches of snow but nothing terrible and we continued further along until reaching treeline where there was beautiful views of Leadville and the range behind it:

We continued up and hit patches of snow that weren't terribly deep and got closer and closer to the pass. 

When we reached the pass the wind was ripping at us so violently. It made the nice fall weather turn cold and uncomfortable quite fast. We snapped some shots and Spins and I took off down to a wind break.

We made it down a mile or so before finding some small trees to hide behind and have a snack at. Continuing down was an array of beautiful snow capped mountains and multicolored aspen leaves:

Then we made it far enough downtown walk the light the golden aspen groves:

When we reached the trailhead, we both collected the rest of our gear and said our goodbyes and a huge thank you to Molasses and everyone else for helping slack pack us and hike with us for the day. We continued along a dirt road for the next six or so miles passing an old abandoned mining town and found camping at the end of the dirt road with this as our view for the night:

Day 102 - The Beautiful Aspens

September 28th

20.1 Miles

Twin Lakes

Today was day two of slack packing from Leadville and over the night the mountains received a blanket of snow as well as and inch and a half at Molasses place in town. Molasses' car was caked in ice and snow this morning and Arriving at the trailhead it was around twenty degrees. I put on my gloves and headphones and started truckin to get some warmth. The beginning of the day was uphill with a fresh inch and a half of snow covering everything which made it beautiful out. The uphill took my breath away rather quickly with the cold temperatures but ended after a couple miles. I was the only tracks on the trail until then but then followed small cat prints most likely lynx or mountain lion. They merged with black bear track right before Mt. Massive's peak trail and then plenty of hiking footprints were in the snow.

Around past Mt. Massive the snow became more scarce and patchy and gave way to no snow as day hikers past by and I approached the parking trailhead. In between the Mt. Massive trailhead and Twin Lakes was a beautiful assortment of aspen trees. Golden groves as well as hills with transitioning colors as you gained elevation. It was beautiful and stunning.

Making my way down to Twin Lakes gave way to the view of the mountains ahead and I cruised my way to highway 82 where Molasses picked me up and took me back to Leadville. We hung out with DC who also hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2011, his girlfriend Emily, and their friend Natalie for the night. I'm liking this slack packing thing, its a shame I can't get used to it.

Day 101 - Slackin' in the Snow

September 27th

13.2 Miles

Turquoise Lake

Spins and I woke up to Molasses making a fantastic huge portion of food for breakfast which was quite a treat. Outside it was grey and cloudy, not necessarily the ideal conditions for hiking. Over breakfast, we worked out a slack pack for the day from the pass to Turquoise Lake. We emptied our packs minus warm things and some food and hit the trail around noon in a cloud with flurries raining down. We busted out the rain pants, rain jacket, gloves, and umbrella and took off. The trail was graded and quite pretty in the snow falling down but quite cold. It was uphill all morning for pretty much the first eight miles and as we came up to 11,700' there was snow on the ground as well as the mountains in the distance.

We hustled downward to lower elevations and warmerish conditions. About two miles from the trailhead we ran into Molasses heading up to check out the lakes. Continuing down we hit the trailhead to strong winds and snow but got to enjoy the fantastic comfort of a heated car heading towards a heated house and bed. Ahhh slack packing is wonderful. We made big Greek salads and tomato, basil, mozzarella sandwiches for dinner and went to bed hoping the snow would stop soon.

Day 100 - Pushing to Leadville

September 26th

18.5 Miles

Leadville

It was brisk this morning but we got to it knowing that we could make it to Leadville where another friend of ours from the AT, Molasses lives. We spent the morning heading up crunching on frost and ice. The crunching turned to snow quickly as we headed up to the first pass of the morning. In between this pass and Kokomo Pass lie plenty of snow to wade through which made conditions tiring.

Moving towards Kokomo, I had a certain song stuck in my head keeping the freezing cold conditions from getting to me. We were heading where we want to go...up to Kokomo. Except there was no Bermuda, Bahamas, no pretty mamas. It was just more snow and a big downhill to Tennessee Pass and Leadville.

As we got lower, the snow faded and the aspens were out in all their fall colored glory:

We made it past where the 10th Mountain division trained for WWII in the valley and past their bunkers. It was a neat slice of history of the area. We got a ride into town quickly from a Hispanic man who spoke little English in a bright yellow VW bug listening to today's pop hits. It was entertaining. We later met up with Molasses and caught up and hung around his place for the night.