Mimi
New member
The last time I hiked in the Daks to Basin & Saddleback on May 5th, winter was slowly thawing away, the wind was shy of warmth and the trees were still naked of greens. This past Sunday though, the forest was singning a clear summer tune. With a group of 7 fellowhikers; Michel, Selma, Suzanne, Dave, Gail, Freddy & Phil, we set to hike Colden. Most of us camped the previous night in the ADKs area. We signed in at the ADKloj trailhead around 9:15 & each of us picked up a rock to drop at the top.
The trail to Marcy Dam was busy with all-season hikers & the new wave of warm weather travelers. The path was surprisingly dry considering the amount of rainfall during the week. After the previous nights' invasion of no-seams bugs, which prevented Prino from playing the guitar, most of us were expecting a buggy hiking day. As the day progressed, we were more then happy the micro bugs spared us of their zip-&-stinging presence.
Somewhere between the Dam & Avalanche Lake we cross path with Jean & Nathalie who we had met on several occasions at beer nights in Montreal. After brief introductions & chitchats we decided to officialese right here & there in the middle of the woods, the fact that we were indeed Daks hikers & not just beer night lovers. On the way to Avalanche Lake, I noticed the forest floor was landscaped with many patches of tiny wild flowers ranging from white colored petals, to yellows & light purple delicate fingers. A refreshing sight compared to the dirty sand snow of a few weeks ago. Suzanne pointed out several huge coverings of peatmoss around Avalance Lake. The same I buy in plastic bags for my lawn? Yes, & they steal it from nature, she says. All of a sudden, I felt guilty about peatmoss in plastic bags. Never again, I'll buy the fluffy brown covering, I thought to myself. All these years, I thought it was manufacture-mixed stuff, geeh....
Suzanne's idea to loop up on Colden by Avalanche Pass might have been more of a cardio workout, but coming back down by the L. Morgan Porter Trail of Arnold Lake was much kinder on our knees. Most of the hikers we met on Colden that day were looping the more popular way from Arnold Lake. Hiking through Avalanche Pass was a first for me since I started hiking in the high peaks last fall. Like many hikers who have traveled on this magnificient & uniquely landscaped trail before, I looked forward to my comeback as soon as we veered of the trail towards the ascent to Colden. Avalanche Lake was clear & inviting. On the bolted-bridges of "Hitch-up-Matilda," I saw a couple of salamanders floating head down sunbathing their backs. Envious of their state of complete letting go, b'cause I'm sure this was a beautiful nature moment & they were still alive, I imagine myself floating motionless in the water with them.
All along the trail, Prino shared with us several stories that inhabit the Avalanche Pass trail all complete with dates, events & people. From Maltida on the back of a ranger deep in waters to the big avalanche that crashed down trees & submerged the scenic trail, which later was cut through to re-introduce the trail. It looked like they hired the Green Giant to do the chain-saw job through the huge pile of trees.
At some point beyond Colden Lake, our group became two groups: one who took breaks for pictures & breathers, & one who hiked through to the summit for an extended lunch & snooze break. Once I reached the peak of Colden, I was more interested in finding a mountain seal for my traditional summit picture of standing in the middle with my boots on each side of the mountain marker. I didn't find it & joined my friends to eat a Tim Horton egg wrap I picked up on my way to the Daks. We stayed at the summit almost an hour, chatting, eating, snoozing, listening to Freddy's raunchy jokes, & taking videos of Prinos acrobatic swimming show on top of the slanted boulder (Watch for a release of the video at your nearest hikers web forum soon!).
The descent was slow & chatty. We weren't in a hurry to leave the ADKs trails & were happy to enjoy a comfortable weather day. Between Marcy Dam and the loj trailhead, we stopped to admire a few Pink Lady's Slippers nestled near the base of mature trees where they enjoy some shade & wind protection. I read in the Wikipedia web encyclopedia that this beautiful orchid wild flower has "become rare & close to extinction, due to an ever shrinking natural habitat & overcollection." This mocassin flower only grows in very selective habitat, rich in calcium soils, as described in another website. A few of us took the time to admire these pink beauties and captured their short moment of glory in the seasons of nature with a few digital pics. Sadly, the Lady's Slippers are fewer around, but their disappearing presence reminds us of how responsible we truly are for the good health of our woods. Let us always be kind & caring to the forest.
Many thank's to my friends for a memorable hiking day.
Enjoy the pics: http://outdoors.webshots.com/slideshow/559424154DcJfeE
The trail to Marcy Dam was busy with all-season hikers & the new wave of warm weather travelers. The path was surprisingly dry considering the amount of rainfall during the week. After the previous nights' invasion of no-seams bugs, which prevented Prino from playing the guitar, most of us were expecting a buggy hiking day. As the day progressed, we were more then happy the micro bugs spared us of their zip-&-stinging presence.
Somewhere between the Dam & Avalanche Lake we cross path with Jean & Nathalie who we had met on several occasions at beer nights in Montreal. After brief introductions & chitchats we decided to officialese right here & there in the middle of the woods, the fact that we were indeed Daks hikers & not just beer night lovers. On the way to Avalanche Lake, I noticed the forest floor was landscaped with many patches of tiny wild flowers ranging from white colored petals, to yellows & light purple delicate fingers. A refreshing sight compared to the dirty sand snow of a few weeks ago. Suzanne pointed out several huge coverings of peatmoss around Avalance Lake. The same I buy in plastic bags for my lawn? Yes, & they steal it from nature, she says. All of a sudden, I felt guilty about peatmoss in plastic bags. Never again, I'll buy the fluffy brown covering, I thought to myself. All these years, I thought it was manufacture-mixed stuff, geeh....
Suzanne's idea to loop up on Colden by Avalanche Pass might have been more of a cardio workout, but coming back down by the L. Morgan Porter Trail of Arnold Lake was much kinder on our knees. Most of the hikers we met on Colden that day were looping the more popular way from Arnold Lake. Hiking through Avalanche Pass was a first for me since I started hiking in the high peaks last fall. Like many hikers who have traveled on this magnificient & uniquely landscaped trail before, I looked forward to my comeback as soon as we veered of the trail towards the ascent to Colden. Avalanche Lake was clear & inviting. On the bolted-bridges of "Hitch-up-Matilda," I saw a couple of salamanders floating head down sunbathing their backs. Envious of their state of complete letting go, b'cause I'm sure this was a beautiful nature moment & they were still alive, I imagine myself floating motionless in the water with them.
All along the trail, Prino shared with us several stories that inhabit the Avalanche Pass trail all complete with dates, events & people. From Maltida on the back of a ranger deep in waters to the big avalanche that crashed down trees & submerged the scenic trail, which later was cut through to re-introduce the trail. It looked like they hired the Green Giant to do the chain-saw job through the huge pile of trees.
At some point beyond Colden Lake, our group became two groups: one who took breaks for pictures & breathers, & one who hiked through to the summit for an extended lunch & snooze break. Once I reached the peak of Colden, I was more interested in finding a mountain seal for my traditional summit picture of standing in the middle with my boots on each side of the mountain marker. I didn't find it & joined my friends to eat a Tim Horton egg wrap I picked up on my way to the Daks. We stayed at the summit almost an hour, chatting, eating, snoozing, listening to Freddy's raunchy jokes, & taking videos of Prinos acrobatic swimming show on top of the slanted boulder (Watch for a release of the video at your nearest hikers web forum soon!).
The descent was slow & chatty. We weren't in a hurry to leave the ADKs trails & were happy to enjoy a comfortable weather day. Between Marcy Dam and the loj trailhead, we stopped to admire a few Pink Lady's Slippers nestled near the base of mature trees where they enjoy some shade & wind protection. I read in the Wikipedia web encyclopedia that this beautiful orchid wild flower has "become rare & close to extinction, due to an ever shrinking natural habitat & overcollection." This mocassin flower only grows in very selective habitat, rich in calcium soils, as described in another website. A few of us took the time to admire these pink beauties and captured their short moment of glory in the seasons of nature with a few digital pics. Sadly, the Lady's Slippers are fewer around, but their disappearing presence reminds us of how responsible we truly are for the good health of our woods. Let us always be kind & caring to the forest.
Many thank's to my friends for a memorable hiking day.
Enjoy the pics: http://outdoors.webshots.com/slideshow/559424154DcJfeE
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