I have climbed Cliff and Redfield several times from the Loj as well as loops of Marcy, Skylight, and Gray, but I have never done them all together in a day hike. Why, you may ask, would anyone want to do this? Because they are there, I guess, and it makes a nice long loop hike of 24 miles. An out-and-back hike of just Cliff and Redfield can be boring. After all, seven miles each way is a long approach hike to Uphill Brook just to climb the mile to little Cliff. Redfield is a nicer route along the brook and has great summit views to the south, but is not exactly a must-see destination. Another reason for this combination was to take a look at the new reroute of the Gray herdpath. Skylight was added because it was there and only a mile side trip. And Marcy--Marcy was the easiest way to get home, over and down the Van Ho trail, only 8.2 miles from 4 Corners.
The weather forecast was for 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms—what’s new? Actually, the whole day was that other 50%--lots of clouds and moisture, but not a drop of rain. The trails and paths to Feldspar, Cliff, and Redfield were muddy, but not as bad as I expected, given all the recent rain. The real challenge of the day was the high humidity. Even though the temperature was in the 60s-70s, I was dripping wet all day with perspiration—and I generally don’t sweat a lot. By the time I was crossing the larger tributary of Feldspar Brook, I refilled my two water bottles for the trip up to Lake Tear. On the plus side, there were plenty of sources of water available, since I usually prefer to filter rather than gamble.
The low point of the day, so to speak, was when I reached the newly cut reroute of the Gray herdpath at the cliff. I was not pleased with what I saw. I agree with Snickers that it was poorly done and will only lead to additional environmental damage. Hikers will quickly wear down the fragile peat and moss surface and the new path will be back to bare rock again. More trees will be pulled out from the roots, just in a new location. The need to reroute this path was no more serious than many others with similar steep rock pitches on herdpaths, or even some marked trails (e.g., Colvin to Blake). Then why do it?
The clouds were obscuring most of the peaks and I was still hoping to beat the rain, so I didn’t stay long on Gray or Skylight. I was surprised to reach the summit of Marcy and have it all to myself, at 4:30 on a Saturday no less! I passed the Summit Steward on the way down and mentioned my surprise, and said I guessed the rainy weather forecast kept people away. “Oh no”, she said, “I had 120 hikers today; people who climb Marcy don’t check the weather forecast”!
The weather forecast was for 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms—what’s new? Actually, the whole day was that other 50%--lots of clouds and moisture, but not a drop of rain. The trails and paths to Feldspar, Cliff, and Redfield were muddy, but not as bad as I expected, given all the recent rain. The real challenge of the day was the high humidity. Even though the temperature was in the 60s-70s, I was dripping wet all day with perspiration—and I generally don’t sweat a lot. By the time I was crossing the larger tributary of Feldspar Brook, I refilled my two water bottles for the trip up to Lake Tear. On the plus side, there were plenty of sources of water available, since I usually prefer to filter rather than gamble.
The low point of the day, so to speak, was when I reached the newly cut reroute of the Gray herdpath at the cliff. I was not pleased with what I saw. I agree with Snickers that it was poorly done and will only lead to additional environmental damage. Hikers will quickly wear down the fragile peat and moss surface and the new path will be back to bare rock again. More trees will be pulled out from the roots, just in a new location. The need to reroute this path was no more serious than many others with similar steep rock pitches on herdpaths, or even some marked trails (e.g., Colvin to Blake). Then why do it?
The clouds were obscuring most of the peaks and I was still hoping to beat the rain, so I didn’t stay long on Gray or Skylight. I was surprised to reach the summit of Marcy and have it all to myself, at 4:30 on a Saturday no less! I passed the Summit Steward on the way down and mentioned my surprise, and said I guessed the rainy weather forecast kept people away. “Oh no”, she said, “I had 120 hikers today; people who climb Marcy don’t check the weather forecast”!
