Mount Haystack from the South

I'm starting to plan some trips for this summer. One of the pure, unadulterated peak bagging excursions on the list will be a three day Great Range jaunt in the Dak's. One of the potential routes would include a climb up the south side of Haystack after spending the night in Panther Gorge. This would allow me to bag Skylight as a side trip off the GR.

The ADK guide to trails recommends that backpackers avoid this trail due to steep climbing over numerous ledges. This type of wording usually increases my desire to go that way. I will be carrying a pack weighing less than 20 pounds. However, this trip may be a solo so safety is a major concern. I imagine this is one of the least used trails in the region.

Anyone have any experience with this trail?

Tony

It is steep but I didn't find it too scary. With 20lbs you should be fine.

Tony,

When I climbed HAystack I started at Marcy Dam and hiked over to the shoulder of Marcy and down in the col between Marcy and Haystack and then descended into Panther Gorge. I remember climbing out of Panther to the 4 corners and this was very steep! Not to mention I did it Memorial Weekend with still about 3 feet of hard packed snow on the trail. I told myself I would never go into Panther Gorge again.....but I am sure its a lot easier without the snow on the ground where you post holed every 10 feet or so

I would join you but I already have all the range done except for Sawteeth. Hopefully you and I can hook up together this year and hike some peaks neither one of us have climbed before. Keep me posted on your progress and when you want to tackle some more.

Adam

Tony,

I have done the south side 2x. The first time was solo, with a full pack, at the end of a long day of hiking. Before Haystack, I had summited Marcy, and Skylight, and I was returning to the Klondike Valley via Haystack, and the Shorey Short Cut. My pack was 35lbs and it was pretty hairy going up Haystack solo with it, but I made it. I would recommend staying off this route if it is raining. The rocks will be quite slippery in parts.

The second time I hiked this was with a daypack, and it was much more enjoyable. We threw Basin in for good measure, and the trip down Shorey was killer.

Panther Gorge is beautiful, and well worth the visit (Even twice!) Consider throwing Gray in with Skylight, that would probably be do-able.

You might also inquire about the trail from Basin up Saddleback, that section is supposed to be crazy, as is the first part heading up Gothics.

-percious

How far/long is the hike from Elk Lake to the Panther Gorge LT? It looks long...I'd like to do Skylight/Gray and Basin/Saddleback and was wondering if the Panther Gorge LT would be a decent base camp area....

IIRC I think it is about 9 miles from Elk Lake to Panther Gorge.

Rik said:

IIRC I think it is about 9 miles from Elk Lake to Panther Gorge.

Click to expand...

Yeah, but it is totally worth the hike. You get to go through Marcy Swamp, which is really neat. Last time I was there I saw bear footprints. The first 5 miles is a breeze, on logging roads, and smooth grades.

Make sure you bring a head net!

-percious

I did the Elk Lake /Haystack trip as a solo dayhike last year. It's a nice remote area with lots of boardwalk. The climb up Haystack is steep but what mt isn't? If you plan on doing trips from Panther Gorge you will do a lot of climbing.

20 pounds going up Saddleback from Basin should be okay, I'd hate to do it with a full pack.

Went down that towards Basin back in 1995 with a 2500 day pack. (overnighted at JBL) A couple of spots found two 6' footers sitting on a rock & stretching the legs as far as we could to reach the next foothold.

Haystack from the south

The trail up Haystack is the longest section of continuousy steep trail that I know of in the Adirondacks. Sure, there are probably steeper stretches elsewhere, but this one just stays steep. It's not particularly scary, though. Looking from Saddleback down the trail over to Basin is intimidating and requires good judgement to negotiate it. I've only done it in that direction, though, and it may be easier going from Basin to Saddleback.

The Shorey Shi* Cut, Shi**y Short Cut, or Shi**y Shi* Cut as you may call it, is shorter than the other way. The 1950 ADK guidebook calls it "A sporty trail with views". Damned with faint praise. A. T. Shorey was Chairman of the guidebook committee then.

teejay

Panther Gorge Camping

This is more of a new question than a reply, but my search of "panther gorge" returned this thread and I seem to have the audience of those who've experienced it.

Anyway, I am planning a 3 day excursion to kick off my fall hiking season and was wondering if there is other camping near the Panther Gorge LT in case it is occupied when we get there.

Also, does this loop sound do-able from the LT - (with day packs only) Haystack from the South, over Little Haystack, over to Marcy, possibly Gray, and then Skylight. Gray and Skylight are optional and interchangeable. Will be going with a youngster (14 years old) who generally out hikes me.

Charlie said:

Anyway, I am planning a 3 day excursion to kick off my fall hiking season and was wondering if there is other camping near the Panther Gorge LT in case it is occupied when we get there.

Also, does this loop sound do-able from the LT - (with day packs only) Haystack from the South, over Little Haystack, over to Marcy, possibly Gray, and then Skylight. Gray and Skylight are optional and interchangeable. Will be going with a youngster (14 years old) who generally out hikes me.

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There is tent space near the Panter Gorge LT, but I wouldn't worry too much about it being full. The hike from Elk Lake to the LT is wonderful and a pretty easy 9.5 miles. I just hiked Haystack from Elk Lake a couple weeks ago and found the southside disappointingly easy. Of course we then hiked down to Upper Ausable Lake, up Blake, along the Pinnacle Ridge and back to Elk Lake--all in one day--so what easy is, I'm not sure. FWIW, we were carry overnight gear, though our packs were pretty lightweight. Contrary to earlier posts, there are a few brief respites on Haystack's southside. (The trail from Ausable Lakes to the Colvin-Blake Col is truly unrelentingly steep.)

Your itinerary sounds great. Depending on how you feel, you might very easily be able to do both Skylight and Gray (both are relatively easy spurs). Remember, water will be scarce once you get above Panther Gorge until you reach Four Corners. I assume you'd hike out on the third day?

As someone else already said: BRING HEADNETS, just in case.

Gray Peak herd paths

TEO, thanks for the info, I'm looking forward to the trip. Hopefully by the end of August bugs won't be an issue.

Quick question for anyone, I know the common trail to Gray is from the Lake, but since I will be coming down Marcy on the South side, is there a herd path to shoot over to Gray anywhere on the way down?

Charlie,

I haven't personally done Gray yet, as we were too tired after summitting Marcy last time we were in that area. However, as I've been planning another trip actually kinda similar to yours, I found an older thread with good info and will credit Pete Hogan with the info he originally provided to someone else. I've copied and pasted his response on the earlier thread below.

PETE HOGAN wrote:

There is another option that has yet to be discussed. That is bushwhacking directly from Mount Marcy to Gray Peak. It may seem like a difficult challenge, but it is far from difficult and will save you time, distance, elevation, and backtracking ascent routes.

Because Marcy is first in the day, get a very early start. The 7.5 miles to Marcy is not difficult, just time consuming. The bushwhack to Gray is less daunting if you are patient enough to locate the herd path. A compass bearing from the final rock slabs of Marcy (just before the herd path) to the unmistakable rock headwall of Gray is advisable. You may want to write it down also in case your compass accidentally shifts.

Finding the herd path is key and it can be located by paying close attention to the small but discernable cairns on the southern face of Marcy as you descend from that summit and angle toward Gray. Here is an excerpt from a trip log (8/2000) regarding the Gray bushwhack on a circuit from Panther Gorge in which we climbed Haystack, Marcy, Gray and Skylight in the same day. According to my detailed logs, it took 1:20 from Marcy to Gray.


Quote:
Rather than descend to Four Corners and then ascend Gray via the Lake Tear outlet herd path, we opted to bushwhack across the ridge from Marcy to Gray. As we descended towards Gray, we began to discover small cairns headed in the same general direction. When we arrived at the edge of timberline, a cairn and an "arrow" constructed of hand-placed stones was placed on a flat section of rock. It pointed to the start of the herd path. A compass bearing towards a prominent rock wall on Gray was taken in case the herd path or our route "reading" skills faltered. Although there were several moments of uncertainty, we kept making progress toward Gray. At one point, as we were fighting through a very thick stand of balsam, we glanced up to discover two bushwhackers coming towards us headed for Marcy! It was so surprising (and reassuring) to see someone else in this mess headed on the same path. We exchanged hellos and encouraging messages that we had chosen the correct path. As quickly as we appeared to each other, we vanished from sight, engulfed by the dense, spruce sea. The trees seemed almost united as they prodded, poked and hindered forward progress.

We then descended the usual ascent route to the Lake Tear outlet where water can be replenished and proceeded to climb Skylight from Four Corners. From the time we left Gray to the summit of Skylight was 1:30 with a water pump at the outlet.

I would then suggest returning via the Feldspar Trail (#121)/Lake Arnold Trail (#73)/VanHoevenburg Trail (#61) to the HPIC. The return is very long, but it will be on familiar turf in case you run out of daylight (which you probably will).

END OF PETE HOGAN'S RESPONSE

Well, maybe more info than you needed, but I hope it helps. Have a great time!

Rob

Please be careful if you hike from Marcy to Gray.

A couple weeks when I cycled down to climb Marcy, it was spceifically to work with the ADK and the summit stewards to lay out a path. There is a lot of rare alpine vegetation, and there are spots where it is extrememly difficult to avoid it. There are at least four 'marked' paths, too.

We were supposed to mark out the best route, however, what we saw, sent us beck to the drawing board. The summit stewards will be going there with a wheel to measure out areas of vegetation. We will then meet with the DEC to decide on how to handle the situation.

We do not want to mark a route, because that will encourage more hiking, which will result in further destruction, however if we do not, hikers will wander all over the place.

It is recomended that you do NOT take this route, but many hikers do not listen because it saves half an hour or so, and a lot of vegetation is getting destroyed there.