A Different Kind of Mountain Country
The Adirondack Mountains in New York are absolutely incredible and unlike anything anywhere. I had been hiking for many years throughout New England, especially in the White Mountains, the Green Mountains, and throughout Maine. The Adirondacks were about four hours away, so we got there less often, but every time we went it was an incredible time. Especially around the High Peaks region, around Mount Marcy and Algonquin and all those other peaks, it is just a whole different scene. The crowds always seemed way fewer than what you would find in the White Mountains or Green Mountains, but the mountains themselves were every bit as impressive. Many are granite peaks with excellent views.
Dan, Bob, and the High Peaks
I first started going there with Dan and went many times with him and my friend Bob. Dan and I would go hike the summits, and several times we went in winter and hiked for days on end. Mount Marcy and Mount Algonquin were some of the favorites, as were the shorter peaks around Adirondak Loj and Heart Lake. Probably some of my most fun adventures were the times I would go there by myself for a week and just camp and hike a different peak every day. I eventually hiked about 20 of the Adirondack 4,000-footers out of the 46 or so.
A Night on Mount Haystack
One of my favorite memories is a high mountain bivouac on Mount Haystack, very close to Mount Marcy. I was into summit bivouacs back then, so I had just my bivy sack, a small backpack, and enough gear to spend a night up high. I went up early in the morning and spent the entire day just lazing around, watching the sky, the clouds, and the mountains, and seeing a few hikers come through. I found a little bivy spot under some krummholz just a few feet from the summit. The stunted fir was probably only three or four feet high, but it was enough to hide me, and after the sun went down that was going to be my home.
Lightning in the Middle of the Night
It was a warm summer night and the weather had been clear, with no bad weather forecast. But somewhere around two or three in the morning I could hear distant thunderstorms, gradually getting louder and moving toward me. At first I hoped they would miss the summit, as storms so often do, but eventually one was right on top of me with strong winds, heavy rain, and lightning all around. I honestly thought I might be a goner from a lightning strike. I remember getting up on all fours, kneeling on my sleeping bag, pack, and gear, with my hands tucked under my knees, almost like a dog, and just waiting through the storm. That was what I had learned about trying to survive lightning exposure. After several minutes the storm finally drifted away, and I was incredibly relieved. I crawled back into my sleeping bag and tried to sleep.
The Second Storm and a Sunrise on Marcy
Probably an hour later I woke to another thunderstorm in the distance. This time I waited too long. Soon there was rain, hail, and lightning everywhere, and at the last minute I stuffed my sleeping bag and gear into my backpack and went running down the trail to get below treeline. I eventually got into a saddle where the rain and lightning stopped. It was going to be light in probably an hour, so instead of trying to sleep again I decided I might as well hike Mount Marcy. I reached the summit for sunrise and had the entire place to myself.
The Ranger Probably Knew
Within about half an hour a ranger came up. She was very friendly and we started chatting. She saw my backpack and asked where I had camped that night. I mentioned one of the nearby shelters and said I had gotten up early to catch sunrise. She did not seem overly concerned, but I always had the feeling she knew I had spent the night somewhere up high. The good thing is that I never leave any trace. Someone could probably have walked right by my little bivy spot and never known I had been there.
Looking for Gray Peak
After an hour or two on Marcy, as the crowd grew, I continued hiking. Instead of going back down, I decided to try for Gray Peak, one of the 4,000-footers that at least in the 1990s had no maintained trail to the summit. I went in as far as I could and kept climbing through the krummholz. I got pretty beat up from bushwhacking, but eventually found what seemed to be the high spot. I never found a summit register, so I never really knew for certain, but it seemed like I was as high as I could get. Lake Tear of the Clouds, a headwater of the Hudson River, was right there. It was a beautiful day, but by then I was pretty beat up from all the climbing.
Camping Near Heart Lake
Most of the time we camped either in backcountry shelters or in primitive roadside camping near the approach to the High Peaks, before Adirondak Loj. I camped there many times, especially when I would go up for a week in summer and hike every day. One time Bob and I were there for several days doing exactly that: camping in the woods and hiking summits every day. We went over to Porter Mountain one evening right at sunset, and I got some great photos of Bob and me up there.
Kat and a Sheet of Plastic
Bob and I would sleep on the ground in bivy sacks, and one time we were both just sleeping on lawn chairs that Bob had in his car. It started raining a little, but it was summer and we really did not care. Sometime in the middle of the night, we realized a woman had come over and was covering us with sheets of plastic. In the morning we met her. Her name was Kat, and she and her partner were among the early people to have completed the Appalachian Trail twice. We became friends for the rest of that trip. I have always remembered her kindness. Those are the kinds of friends you make in the mountains — random people simply trying to help each other out.
The Family Reunion at Heart Lake
A few years later, after my mom passed away in 1996, I decided to organize a family reunion while my dad was still alive. We needed somewhere in the middle. Many of my relatives on my mom's side lived around Niagara Falls, Canada, while most of my sisters, my dad, and much of the rest of the family were in New England. We chose Adirondak Loj at Heart Lake, and it turned out to be perfect.
Julie and the Lean-tos on the Water
After looking at the map with all of the lean-tos on the water, I realized that I have actually been to the Adirondacks many more times than I had remembered, and stayed in almost all of those lean-tos over the years. One of the best times was with my friend Julie, who I had met at a hostel in New Hampshire in 2001.
Julie was from London and had come to the United States for as long as her money would hold out. She had just been made redundant from her job, so she had no work to go back to and a couple thousand dollars to spend for as long as it lasted. We became close friends for the next few months, and I took every weekend off from work so we could go all over New England and beyond.
We camped in Vermont, New Hampshire, Acadia National Park, and the Adirondacks. On that Adirondack trip, we were there for about five days, stayed in several lean-tos on the water, and did tons of really fun hikes. There was no romance between us, which made it easy to be friends and not worry about any of the issues that come up when people are romantically involved. We just had so many fun adventures together, hiking and exploring. That trip with Julie is definitely one of my favorite memories of the Adirondacks.
One Last Time Together
Almost everybody came, including many of my relatives from Canada, my dad, most of my sisters, and Marty and me. Some stayed in the old-fashioned lodge, most camped, and Marty and I stayed in a rustic cabin right in the middle of the campground because we were organizing everything. There were lean-tos too, and Liz and her kids had one, as did my cousin Laurie. We gathered around Heart Lake for big fires, barbecues, and lots of fun with the Canadians. A few relatives stayed in Lake Placid, only about ten miles away, and joined us for the activities. I am so glad I organized that reunion. It was the last time we were all together. My dad passed away the following year, and my mom had died the year before the reunion. Those pictures and memories will last forever.
Three Days with My Ankle in a Sling
My toughest Adirondack trip was with Dan. We had gone in for four days of winter camping and climbing, and on Thursday night while hiking in I slipped on a steep section of ice and badly tore up my ankle. I spent the next three days in the lean-to with my ankle wrapped and elevated in a sling hanging from the ceiling while Dan went out doing peaks every day. I was glad he could keep hiking. On the way home I finally got an X-ray and learned that it was a major sprain. It took forever to heal and had me on crutches for a long time.
Bob, the Mountain Bike, and Hurricane Mountain
When I was camping with Bob one week, one of the funniest things we did was drive his truck up the auto road toward Hurricane Mountain and go as far as we could to the parking area near the top. We hiked to the summit, and when we came back down Bob pulled his mountain bike out of the truck. He wanted to race: Bob on the bike and me driving his truck. We started together and he took off fast, flying around some of those corners. Luckily he had his helmet on and never wiped out. I stayed right on his tail in the truck, looking for a straightaway where I could pass him, but luckily I never did. It was one of those completely ridiculous and incredibly fun things we did.
A Place I Need to See Again
There were great little restaurants around there too. I still remember stopping for breakfast before heading out to hike the trails on the south side. I think one of the places might have been called High Noon, although after all these years I am not completely sure. What I do know is that the Adirondacks are one place I need to get back to sometime. The hiking is incredible, the High Peaks are beautiful, and the trails maintained by New York's Department of Environmental Conservation took us into some unforgettable country. Hopefully I can get back there before I finally cash in, kick the bucket, or whatever happens at the end of life.
