DSettahr
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Route Taken: VanHoevenburg Trail from the Adirondack Loj to Marcy Dam and beyond, then up the 1 mile spur trail to the summit of Phelps Mountain, return the same way
Snow Depth: About 6-8 inches at the Loj, about a foot at Marcy Dam, and at least 1.5 feet on the summit of Phelps
Trail Condition: Broken out the entire way and easy to follow, some rocks and roots that were sticking out of the snow and were difficult to negotiate with snowshoes beyond Marcy Dam and on the lower section of the Phelps trail, some icy sections on the Phelps Trail, some blowdown but nothing major in the Phelps trail
Traction Devices Used: I wore snowshoes (MSR Denali Evo Ascents) the entire time, a couple of the icy patches on the Phelps Trail would be tricky without mountaineering snowshoes or crampons
I hadn't really been planning on hiking anywhere on Christmas day, at least until I realized that I had about 5 hours of free time to fill between dropping a friend off at work in the Lake Placid area and picking her up. Not wanting to waste the gas to drive back home in between, I decided I might as well spend the time outdoors in the area. The easiest high peak I'd yet to do in winter was Phelps, and as it was located conveniently nearby to Lake Placid, I determined that this mountain would be my destination for the afternoon.
Phelps was my second high peak, climbed as part of a course called “Adirondack Peak Climbing” that I took while an engineering student at Rochester Institute of Technology to fulfill my physical education requirement. Back in the early fall of 2004, a group of us from RIT climbed the peak on a dreary weekend day, finding ourselves on a summit that was completely socked in with clouds. One of our guides, Sean, helpfully pointed in vague directions where he knew certain peaks to lie, and assured us that the view was quite spectacular on clear days! In the fall of 2007, I re-climbed the mountain on a Friday afternoon after my morning classes, and finally got to take in the view, and agreed with Sean's assessment of the view. It was certainly one worth climbing for, and I was eagerly anticipating being able to see it again on this holiday afternoon.
After dropping my friend off shortly before noon, I drove to the Loj. As I was paying for my parking pass, the gentleman working in the High Peaks Information Center told me that, according to the DEC, the snow was now deep enough that skis or snowshoes must be worn while hiking. I thanked him, stepped back outside, donned my gear, and started off.
Since discovering the old Marcy Dam trail (on that same trip to climb Phelps back in 2004!) I'd more or less avoided the first mile of the VanHoevenburg Trail on trips into this area of the High Peaks, preferring instead to traverse the gentler grades and softer duff of the lesser used, unmarked trail. Today, however, I decided to take the VanHoevenburg trail, reasoning that with all the snow cover it would probably be a much nicer walk without all the mud and roots. In this assumption I was correct, and while the trail looked like it had been traveled by a heard of elephants on skis and snowshoes, the walk down the wide packed lane of snow was quite pleasant.
I made it into Marcy Dam at a pretty good clip, arriving just over half an hour after I started out. Here, I paused to snap some pictures of the dam and the associated view. I got some nice pictures of Mount Colden, Avalanche Pass, and Avalanche Mountain from the dam itself, as well as a nice shot of Wright Peak and the slides from the east shore of the pond. While at Marcy Dam, I was approach by several Chickadees... presumably looking for handouts, but I had no food that I was willing to part with.
When I was done snapping photos, I continued up the VanHoevenburg Trail. The trail beyond Marcy Dam gained elevation at a slow but steady rate, but it was apparently enough to cause significantly more erosion than I'd encountered on the trail between the Loj and the Dam. While the going was mostly easy, here and there, an exposed rock or root forced me to step carefully with my snowshoes. I soon reached Phelps Brook, which was easily crossed on a thick layer of ice. Here, the brook was entirely covered in ice and snow, but further downstream I'd seen some open water, and some thick shelfs of ice several feet above the water provided evidence that the ice had started to form while the water was much higher!
Soon I reached the junction for the trail to the summit of Phelps, and here I turned north to follow it. The trail continued to throw the occasional exposed rock and root at me for some time after I left the VanHoevenburg Trail, as well as some blowdowns that I was forced to scramble over or under, but as I gained elevation, the snow deepened and the going got easier. Higher up, I encountered some exposed icy slopes, but nothing I couldn't handle with my snowshoes.
I must've over-prepared myself mentally for the ascent of Phelps itself. I have memories of climbing it back in 2004, and the endurance that was necessary to pull oneself up the steep slopes. What I encountered today was nothing as extreme as what I remembered, and I kept waiting for an extremely steep section to appear that never did. Nonetheless, it still took me nearly an hour to ascend the last mile. After moving at a good pace all the way to the base of the mountain, I'd decided to take the actual ascent itself pretty easy in comparison.
As I climbed, I was soon able to catch glimpses of both Mount Colden and Mount Marcy behind me. After one such view, I entered a natural tunnel, where thick vegetation had captured so much falling snow that it formed a roof over my head with few opening to admit daylight. I emerged from this tunnel to find myself standing on a decently sized ledge, which I at first thought was the summit, until I saw the snowshoe tracks that continued on into the dwarf vegetation. In following this tracks, I soon found myself standing on the true summit.
The view that greeted me was nothing short of spectacular. The day, which had started out cloudy, had cleared up nicely, and the cold clear air allowed me to see things perhaps farther than I think I have ever been able to spot from an Adirondack peak before. All the usual suspects were in view... Big Slide presented it's narrow profile to the north. Green Mountain, Giant Mountain, and Rocky Peak Ridge were all clearly visible to the northeast. To the east, over Tabletop, I could see the summits of the Great Range... the Wolfjaws, Armstrong, Gothics, Saddleback, and Basin. Marcy dominated the southeastern view, and the summit of Haystack just barely poked up over it's shoulder. TR Mountain dominated the south, while Mount Colden, Avalanche Pass, and Avalanche Mountain were clearly visible nearby. To the southwest, the MacIntyre Range presented itself in all it's glory, and far to the west, I could see the Sewards: Seymour, Seward, and Emmons in particular were recognizable.
But that was just what was nearby. Far to the east, I could see clouds covering Lake Champlain, and beyond that, the mountains of Vermont. Most familiar was the profile of Camel's Hump, and I was able to pick out Mansfield to the north of it. Both were bright white and easy to spot against the blue horizon. To the south, I could see gathering low-level clouds beyond Avalanche Pass. Between Colden and Marcy, I could see the southern Adirondacks. Indian Lake was clearly visible, and I think this is the farthest away I've ever been able to spot it. To the west, a large bank of clouds was slowly making it's way easy, swallowing up peaks and flowing over ridges. By standing still and watching for a few minutes, I was able to see the mist slowly, almost imperceptibly, march close and closer.
Every once in a while, I felt a puff of air on my face, but for the most part, the weather was still and the woods were silent. I spent some time on the summit taking pictures, but soon determined that as the sun was well on it's way towards the horizon, and since my fingers were starting to get chilled, it was time to start heading back down. The descent went quickly and easy, and I was able to make good time jumping, hopping, sliding, and generally using the soft snow to my advantage. I had to step carefully on the icy spots, but again easily traversed these without any problems.
I returned to Marcy Dam right as the sun set, and managed to get a few more pictures of dusk at the dam (and got harassed by Chickadees again!) before continuing on my way. South of the dam, I think I inadvertently startled a few people as I came up behind them and they didn't hear me... although I'm pretty sure at least a couple of them were listening to their iPods! I returned to the Loj parking lat about 1 hour and 40 minutes after leaving the summit of Phelps... not bad for 4+ miles!
Definitely an enjoyable afternoon hike, and significantly less tiring than my climb of Nippletop and Dial a few days ago. Few people were out, although I passed more people on the trail than I would've expected on Christmas. This puts me at 18 out of 46 for my Winter High Peaks... almost halfway there!
