Climbing Wookie
New member
On Saturday, March 26, Miss Wookie, Wookie dog, and I departed our home on the planet Endoor in hopes of tackling the five peaks of the Dix Range. We arrived at the Elk Lake winter trail head around 6:15 AM. We barebooted our way down Elk Lake road for 1.7 miles to the actual Dix Range red trail head, arriving there around 7:30 AM after a 6:45 AM start. There is little snow on the road but there is considerable ice. Miss Wookie decided a slip on the ice would be good fun and she tested out the cushion provided by her right butt cheek.
We Snowshoed up the Dix trail to the start of the Macomb Herdpath which was well packed and well traveled. Signs of spring surround the trail with spots of grass showing up underneath the trees and the sounds of woodpeckers hard at work. We got to the Macomb Slide Brook turn off around 9 AM and started up the obvious path. Again, conditions were packed snow, but by now the snow was starting to soften up a bit. The bottom of Slide brook is clear of snow and is now running, but only a few feet up the brook is still covered in snow. The bushwack to the Macomb Western Slide was not bad, only minor blowdown in places, and we made good time through the woods. The western slide was another story. The warm early spring conditions made the snow on the slide very soft. Crampons were not adequate to avoid postholling and snowshoes did not provide great traction up the soft snow. Each step up the slide was a process of gainning a few feet up only to lose a couple of feet sliding back down. The only consolation was the amazing views down the slide and across the Colvin and Great Ranges. By noon we had made it up to the top of Macomb.
After a quick bite we were off to South Dix. Again the herdpath was obvious. However the snow conditions became a bit more variable on the way to South Dix. At times the path was packed and at others the snow was sugar soft like it had fallen only recently. By 1 PM arrived at the top of South Dix. The joy of reaching our second summit for the day and the feeling that our hiking engines were now kicking on all cylinders kept us from asking some key questions like given the time should we proceed to Hough or to East Dix.
So happy-go-lucky off to East Dix we went. For the most part the packed path was obvious although a bit covered over with windblown snow in some places. At 2 PM we reached East Dix. The day was b-e-a-utiful with views all the way to Mt Mansfield in VT. Now came the relization that it was going to be a LONG day with quite a bit of work left to go. By 3:15 PM we returned to South Dix. Again we were faced with a critical decision. Should we: a) return to Macomb and go back down the slide or b) continue to Hough and the Beckhorn to reach an actual trail. We decided on b given our feeling that decending the slide might be really sketchy given the warm snow conditions and the slope of the slide (we were not carrying ice axes and didn't feel that we could adequately control a glissade).
With the decision made we started the joys of the up and down and up again to Hough. Several times on the way to Hough we lost the packed snow path only to find it again through a small amount of searching. The travel to Hough was slowed by the steepness of the trail in places (and the associated sluffing of the warmed snow), the thickness of the blowdown (and the size of my backpack carrying all of the gear), and the occasional rocky patches near the summit of Hough where it was necessary to remove our snowshoes. At 5:30 we arrived at Hough and Beckhorn and Dix seemed so close that we felt confident we would arrive at the Yellow Beckhorn trail before sunset...little did we know.
After a round pictures on Hough (our 12th Adirondack 46er peak) we began the slug to Dix. For the most part the path remained straight forward but at times we did lose it only to find it a few minutes later higher up the slope. Again, the steeper snow sections present little good snow for getting up the mountain. The soft snow while usually adequate for Miss Wookie, was not strong enough to support my 230 lbs (thats my weight plus pack weight if you are curious). At more than one spot I gained about 10 ft up a slope only to slide down as my kickstep gave way underneath me. Despite our struggles we were moving forward and at 6:30 PM with the sun setting we were past the Hough/Dix col and well on our way up the ridge of Dix. It seemed that we would arrive at the Beckhorn shortly. Instead, it was 30 more minutes of less than ideal hiking up steep spots and thick brush.
Finally, just a few minutes before 7 PM we arrived at the Yellow trail junction with the herdpath on the Beckhorn. We descend slightly to get out of the wind, put on more of our winter clothing, and have a snack before begining the true descent. With all of twilight gone and dark night now on us, temps had dropped to 25 F with winds around 15-20 mph at 4700 ft. The start of the descent required us to remove our snowshoes for the first bit as the rock was exposed with no snow (and fortunately no ice either). Initially the yellow trail was hard to follow as we could not see the yellow stripes of paint on the rock below our feet. At one point, Miss Wookie, while trying to scout the trail found herself off trail and chest deep in snow. She was not a happy camper. Fortunately, I found a yellow stripe and we began the descent in earnest once we put our snowshoes back on. Other than some cramping in my quads we were in good shape. The yellow Beckhorn trail, despite being shown on the map as only 2.3 miles, seemed to go on forever. It was 9 PM when we reached the intersection with the red Dix trail.
Upon reaching the Dix trail, Miss Wookie discovered a small fire lit below her behind and proceeded to march us out to the Elk Lake trailhead at double quick time. By 11:30 PM we reached the trailhead and 12:15 AM the car at the winter parking area. Tired but much releived and thankful we changed clothes and drove out to MacDonalds and a hotel in Glenn Falls.
In conclusion, I see four errors/judgements we made that created this situation:
Personal Errors
1) Not accounting for the "time tax" of having to hike the extra 3.5 miles from car to actual trailhead.
2) Not accounting for the additional time needed to overcome the Macomb Slide
3) Making the decision to proceed to East Dix despite the obvious time crunch.
4) Snow conditions and perceived risk made it undesirable to descend the Macomb slide. Thus preventing a quicker descent and forcing the long trip over Hough to Beckhorn.
However, our strength and team work kept our heads cool and calm, which was adequate to overcome the above difficulties ... at least this time. In hindsight, the biggest problem with this trip was trying to fit too much into to short of time. Doing so made for a long hike and allowed us less time to enjoy the summits when we got there.
Focusing less on my "number of peaks climbed per outting" and focusing more enjoying the summits and the climb itself was the biggest lesson I learned from this trip. I post this report here in hopes to share that lesson with anyone else who may have gotten a little too "peak list" happy and to learn from other experiences.
Safely back on planet Endoor (aka New Jersey),
Climbing Wookie
We Snowshoed up the Dix trail to the start of the Macomb Herdpath which was well packed and well traveled. Signs of spring surround the trail with spots of grass showing up underneath the trees and the sounds of woodpeckers hard at work. We got to the Macomb Slide Brook turn off around 9 AM and started up the obvious path. Again, conditions were packed snow, but by now the snow was starting to soften up a bit. The bottom of Slide brook is clear of snow and is now running, but only a few feet up the brook is still covered in snow. The bushwack to the Macomb Western Slide was not bad, only minor blowdown in places, and we made good time through the woods. The western slide was another story. The warm early spring conditions made the snow on the slide very soft. Crampons were not adequate to avoid postholling and snowshoes did not provide great traction up the soft snow. Each step up the slide was a process of gainning a few feet up only to lose a couple of feet sliding back down. The only consolation was the amazing views down the slide and across the Colvin and Great Ranges. By noon we had made it up to the top of Macomb.
After a quick bite we were off to South Dix. Again the herdpath was obvious. However the snow conditions became a bit more variable on the way to South Dix. At times the path was packed and at others the snow was sugar soft like it had fallen only recently. By 1 PM arrived at the top of South Dix. The joy of reaching our second summit for the day and the feeling that our hiking engines were now kicking on all cylinders kept us from asking some key questions like given the time should we proceed to Hough or to East Dix.
So happy-go-lucky off to East Dix we went. For the most part the packed path was obvious although a bit covered over with windblown snow in some places. At 2 PM we reached East Dix. The day was b-e-a-utiful with views all the way to Mt Mansfield in VT. Now came the relization that it was going to be a LONG day with quite a bit of work left to go. By 3:15 PM we returned to South Dix. Again we were faced with a critical decision. Should we: a) return to Macomb and go back down the slide or b) continue to Hough and the Beckhorn to reach an actual trail. We decided on b given our feeling that decending the slide might be really sketchy given the warm snow conditions and the slope of the slide (we were not carrying ice axes and didn't feel that we could adequately control a glissade).
With the decision made we started the joys of the up and down and up again to Hough. Several times on the way to Hough we lost the packed snow path only to find it again through a small amount of searching. The travel to Hough was slowed by the steepness of the trail in places (and the associated sluffing of the warmed snow), the thickness of the blowdown (and the size of my backpack carrying all of the gear), and the occasional rocky patches near the summit of Hough where it was necessary to remove our snowshoes. At 5:30 we arrived at Hough and Beckhorn and Dix seemed so close that we felt confident we would arrive at the Yellow Beckhorn trail before sunset...little did we know.
After a round pictures on Hough (our 12th Adirondack 46er peak) we began the slug to Dix. For the most part the path remained straight forward but at times we did lose it only to find it a few minutes later higher up the slope. Again, the steeper snow sections present little good snow for getting up the mountain. The soft snow while usually adequate for Miss Wookie, was not strong enough to support my 230 lbs (thats my weight plus pack weight if you are curious). At more than one spot I gained about 10 ft up a slope only to slide down as my kickstep gave way underneath me. Despite our struggles we were moving forward and at 6:30 PM with the sun setting we were past the Hough/Dix col and well on our way up the ridge of Dix. It seemed that we would arrive at the Beckhorn shortly. Instead, it was 30 more minutes of less than ideal hiking up steep spots and thick brush.
Finally, just a few minutes before 7 PM we arrived at the Yellow trail junction with the herdpath on the Beckhorn. We descend slightly to get out of the wind, put on more of our winter clothing, and have a snack before begining the true descent. With all of twilight gone and dark night now on us, temps had dropped to 25 F with winds around 15-20 mph at 4700 ft. The start of the descent required us to remove our snowshoes for the first bit as the rock was exposed with no snow (and fortunately no ice either). Initially the yellow trail was hard to follow as we could not see the yellow stripes of paint on the rock below our feet. At one point, Miss Wookie, while trying to scout the trail found herself off trail and chest deep in snow. She was not a happy camper. Fortunately, I found a yellow stripe and we began the descent in earnest once we put our snowshoes back on. Other than some cramping in my quads we were in good shape. The yellow Beckhorn trail, despite being shown on the map as only 2.3 miles, seemed to go on forever. It was 9 PM when we reached the intersection with the red Dix trail.
Upon reaching the Dix trail, Miss Wookie discovered a small fire lit below her behind and proceeded to march us out to the Elk Lake trailhead at double quick time. By 11:30 PM we reached the trailhead and 12:15 AM the car at the winter parking area. Tired but much releived and thankful we changed clothes and drove out to MacDonalds and a hotel in Glenn Falls.
In conclusion, I see four errors/judgements we made that created this situation:
Personal Errors
1) Not accounting for the "time tax" of having to hike the extra 3.5 miles from car to actual trailhead.
2) Not accounting for the additional time needed to overcome the Macomb Slide
3) Making the decision to proceed to East Dix despite the obvious time crunch.
4) Snow conditions and perceived risk made it undesirable to descend the Macomb slide. Thus preventing a quicker descent and forcing the long trip over Hough to Beckhorn.
However, our strength and team work kept our heads cool and calm, which was adequate to overcome the above difficulties ... at least this time. In hindsight, the biggest problem with this trip was trying to fit too much into to short of time. Doing so made for a long hike and allowed us less time to enjoy the summits when we got there.
Focusing less on my "number of peaks climbed per outting" and focusing more enjoying the summits and the climb itself was the biggest lesson I learned from this trip. I post this report here in hopes to share that lesson with anyone else who may have gotten a little too "peak list" happy and to learn from other experiences.
Safely back on planet Endoor (aka New Jersey),
Climbing Wookie
