Tom Rankin
Well-known member
Prolog - Aunt Polly's
We drove up Friday afternoon, having spotted 41 hawks, and several Vultures on I-87, and enjoying excellent brews at Davidson Brothers in Glens Falls. We joined 6 other people staying at Aunt Polly's for the long weekend (3/13-16/9). The group included Jean et Nat, Timmus et Motabobo, Prino, Snickers, Laurie and myself. We immediately started sharing food, beer, and wine. This excellent trend continued all weekend. Snickers made a stew for Saturday night's dinner that we all devoured like hungry bears after a long hibernation!
Everyone else brought other parts of the feast. A few other friends from the hiking world were staying at the B&B and popped in from time to time.
Part 1 - The WICKED PART - MacNaughton
We started out at about 7:00 AM from Upper Works. We chatted with Ranger Dell Jeffrey (whom we know from the Catskills) for a few minutes before departing. The parking lot was full of hikers, with HOL, JimC, Mirabela, Adirobdak46, etc. gearing up or having just left. We walked the old road for about 2 miles till we came to the Northern end of Henderson Lake. We crossed the bridge walked about 100 yards, and found the snowshoe track that left the trail. Thus began the grueling ascent of the South Buttress.
I had only heard about this route recently, and since I had read that it was broken out last week, we decided to give it a try. My conclusion is that this is a TOUGH route! We spent 8 hours off trail, just to go 4 miles round trip. Even though the route was broken out, this did not matter much, as it was bullet hard on or off the path. I must say that the route was well chosen, as it avoided cliffs, and snaked its way thru passages that I would not have known about. But it did seem to go up and down almost every little bump between the lake and the summit. This made for a lot of steep ascending and descending. We lost the track a few times but we always found it again, and we were standing at the top a little after noon. On the way up we passed Mirabela and Adirobdak46. Their tracks joined the old route shortly after we started, and we were maybe 20-30 minutes ahead of them when we saw them again on our way back down. I will give this route credit for great views!
They just kept getting better and better. And there was very little side hilling. The way back down was very icy and treacherous. We both fell a few times, but there no injuries to speak of besides the usual cuts, scrapes, and bruises from a typical whack. We got back to the car around 5:00, the descent taking as long as the ascent. The total time was 10 hours, as long as it took us to do Allen! A group of 3 did MacN from the SE approach, faster than we did, so overall, I would say this is NOT the best way to go. We did MacN from Wallface ponds last summer and it was a much more enjoyable route. But anyway...
WE ARE NOW WINTER 47'ERS!! YIPPEE!!
Pics:
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/m1.jpg - Ledges
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/m2.jpg - Ledges
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/m3.jpg - Ledges
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/m4.jpg - Tom at the top
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/m5.jpg - Laurie at the top
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/m6.jpg - Wallface ponds
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/m7.jpg - Distant Whiteface
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/m8.jpg - Winter 47R's!
Part 2 - The Awesome part - Henderson
We had planned to do Henderson on Saturday with Timmus and Motabobo, but we both decided on other objectives for Saturday, due to the predicted weather. Saturday was the 'coldest' day of the weekend, so we opted for the South face of MacN. Now with the predictions being for temps in the 50's on Sunday, we decided the West face of Henderson would be a good choice. We made it to the Bradley Pond lean-to in just over 2 hours, taking the Santanoni Approach Highway. Amazingly, not a single person went to the Santa's this day, in spite of 33 going Saturday! We stopped at the lean-to for a break and got into whack mode. Motabobo did an excellent job of navigating the .5 miles or so up to the top. The snow was still extremely well consolidated. This was a VERY easy whack, compared to MacNasty! We stumbled across a great view point of Santanoni and Panther on the way up. But when we got to the summit, there was a clearing less than 50' away, that was about an acre in size. It revealed the most astonishing views of the MacIntyre's and a ton of other high peaks!!!!! We were all just stunned by the views! Even if you are not a bushwhacker, you should do this peak, just for the views! We ate lunch in the clearing all the while snapping pictures of the lake and the high peaks.
From here, Timmus and Motabobo left to do North Henderson, heading over the firm snow. We bid them adieu, and headed back down to the lean to and out to the car. What a great day!
Pics:
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/h1.jpg - Santanoni from Henderson
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/h3.jpg - Marcy, Gray, Haystack, Skylight
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/h4.jpg - Algonquin and Iroquois
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/h5.jpg - Wallface
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/h6.jpg - Allen
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/h7.jpg - Sweeping Vista
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/h8.jpg - Us blocking the view!
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/h9.jpg - MacNasty
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/h10.jpg - Santanoni Panorama
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/h11.jpg - Looking down Panther Brook
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/h12.jpg - Useless bridge!
Part 3 - The Awesome-ness continues!
After 20 miles of hiking and whacking the high peaks, we decided to do something a little more tame. We walked out to the Santanoni Great Camp. This hike starts only about a mile away from Aunt Polly's, and follows an old road for 5 miles each way, with just a few gentle hills. The weather was still gorgeous, starting out below freezing and ending up in the low 50's. The walk in was very pleasant and the old camp was a treat to see. Most of it is still intact and is being slowly renovated by the State. There were a few 'keep out' signs, but other buildings were unlocked with no signs, so we walked around inside these. They are still in very good condition. Where did they get birch bark that size? We had lunch on the side of the lake, right next to the boat house. Then we walked across the lake back to the road and headed back. The whole trip took about 4 hours. If you have half a day to kill up in the Newcomb area, but not a ton of energy, I highly recommend this walk.
Pics:
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/g1.jpg - Sign
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/g2.jpg - First view
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/g3.jpg - Looking around
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/g5.jpg - Santanoni
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/g6.jpg - Newcomb Lake
Epilog
The weather cooperated all weekend, and it was a blast sharing the house with a great bunch of people! We even saw an Eagle on the way home!
We drove up Friday afternoon, having spotted 41 hawks, and several Vultures on I-87, and enjoying excellent brews at Davidson Brothers in Glens Falls. We joined 6 other people staying at Aunt Polly's for the long weekend (3/13-16/9). The group included Jean et Nat, Timmus et Motabobo, Prino, Snickers, Laurie and myself. We immediately started sharing food, beer, and wine. This excellent trend continued all weekend. Snickers made a stew for Saturday night's dinner that we all devoured like hungry bears after a long hibernation!
Everyone else brought other parts of the feast. A few other friends from the hiking world were staying at the B&B and popped in from time to time. Part 1 - The WICKED PART - MacNaughton
We started out at about 7:00 AM from Upper Works. We chatted with Ranger Dell Jeffrey (whom we know from the Catskills) for a few minutes before departing. The parking lot was full of hikers, with HOL, JimC, Mirabela, Adirobdak46, etc. gearing up or having just left. We walked the old road for about 2 miles till we came to the Northern end of Henderson Lake. We crossed the bridge walked about 100 yards, and found the snowshoe track that left the trail. Thus began the grueling ascent of the South Buttress.
I had only heard about this route recently, and since I had read that it was broken out last week, we decided to give it a try. My conclusion is that this is a TOUGH route! We spent 8 hours off trail, just to go 4 miles round trip. Even though the route was broken out, this did not matter much, as it was bullet hard on or off the path. I must say that the route was well chosen, as it avoided cliffs, and snaked its way thru passages that I would not have known about. But it did seem to go up and down almost every little bump between the lake and the summit. This made for a lot of steep ascending and descending. We lost the track a few times but we always found it again, and we were standing at the top a little after noon. On the way up we passed Mirabela and Adirobdak46. Their tracks joined the old route shortly after we started, and we were maybe 20-30 minutes ahead of them when we saw them again on our way back down. I will give this route credit for great views!
They just kept getting better and better. And there was very little side hilling. The way back down was very icy and treacherous. We both fell a few times, but there no injuries to speak of besides the usual cuts, scrapes, and bruises from a typical whack. We got back to the car around 5:00, the descent taking as long as the ascent. The total time was 10 hours, as long as it took us to do Allen!
A group of 3 did MacN from the SE approach, faster than we did, so overall, I would say this is NOT the best way to go. We did MacN from Wallface ponds last summer and it was a much more enjoyable route. But anyway...WE ARE NOW WINTER 47'ERS!! YIPPEE!!
Pics:
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/m1.jpg - Ledges
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/m2.jpg - Ledges
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/m3.jpg - Ledges
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/m4.jpg - Tom at the top
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/m5.jpg - Laurie at the top
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/m6.jpg - Wallface ponds
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/m7.jpg - Distant Whiteface
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/m8.jpg - Winter 47R's!
Part 2 - The Awesome part - Henderson
We had planned to do Henderson on Saturday with Timmus and Motabobo, but we both decided on other objectives for Saturday, due to the predicted weather. Saturday was the 'coldest' day of the weekend, so we opted for the South face of MacN. Now with the predictions being for temps in the 50's on Sunday, we decided the West face of Henderson would be a good choice. We made it to the Bradley Pond lean-to in just over 2 hours, taking the Santanoni Approach Highway. Amazingly, not a single person went to the Santa's this day, in spite of 33 going Saturday! We stopped at the lean-to for a break and got into whack mode. Motabobo did an excellent job of navigating the .5 miles or so up to the top. The snow was still extremely well consolidated. This was a VERY easy whack, compared to MacNasty! We stumbled across a great view point of Santanoni and Panther on the way up. But when we got to the summit, there was a clearing less than 50' away, that was about an acre in size. It revealed the most astonishing views of the MacIntyre's and a ton of other high peaks!!!!! We were all just stunned by the views! Even if you are not a bushwhacker, you should do this peak, just for the views! We ate lunch in the clearing all the while snapping pictures of the lake and the high peaks.
From here, Timmus and Motabobo left to do North Henderson, heading over the firm snow. We bid them adieu, and headed back down to the lean to and out to the car. What a great day!
Pics:
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/h1.jpg - Santanoni from Henderson
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/h3.jpg - Marcy, Gray, Haystack, Skylight
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/h4.jpg - Algonquin and Iroquois
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/h5.jpg - Wallface
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/h6.jpg - Allen
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/h7.jpg - Sweeping Vista
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/h8.jpg - Us blocking the view!
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/h9.jpg - MacNasty
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/h10.jpg - Santanoni Panorama
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/h11.jpg - Looking down Panther Brook
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/h12.jpg - Useless bridge!
Part 3 - The Awesome-ness continues!
After 20 miles of hiking and whacking the high peaks, we decided to do something a little more tame. We walked out to the Santanoni Great Camp. This hike starts only about a mile away from Aunt Polly's, and follows an old road for 5 miles each way, with just a few gentle hills. The weather was still gorgeous, starting out below freezing and ending up in the low 50's. The walk in was very pleasant and the old camp was a treat to see. Most of it is still intact and is being slowly renovated by the State. There were a few 'keep out' signs, but other buildings were unlocked with no signs, so we walked around inside these. They are still in very good condition. Where did they get birch bark that size? We had lunch on the side of the lake, right next to the boat house. Then we walked across the lake back to the road and headed back. The whole trip took about 4 hours. If you have half a day to kill up in the Newcomb area, but not a ton of energy, I highly recommend this walk.
Pics:
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/g1.jpg - Sign
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/g2.jpg - First view
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/g3.jpg - Looking around
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/g5.jpg - Santanoni
http://viewsandbrews.com/temp/g6.jpg - Newcomb Lake
Epilog
The weather cooperated all weekend, and it was a blast sharing the house with a great bunch of people! We even saw an Eagle on the way home!
