imarchant
Active member
December 28th, 2009 Phelps
I had high hopes of completing Phelps and Tabletop. On the drive up my car was over heating slightly and snow on the Northway slowed my travels, these culminated in a later than planned start. The forecast was for 1-3 inches of snow in the middle of the day. I started hiking from the Loj just before 9:00 AM. Within an hour I was at Marcy Dam. The clouds were low and no views were to be had. The trail was hard packed icy snow. Shortly after leaving the area a light snow began to fall, enhancing the solitude of the quite woods. Before long I found myself at the trail junction for the summit, from here the grade increased. I would gain 1400 feet of elevation in the next 1.2 miles. The trail was well broken and I made slow but steady progress. One group of two passed me on their way down. Two more groups passed me on the way up. I enjoyed a quick bite and a hot drink at the summit, but soon started to get cold. I had worn stabilicers the entire trip so far, but switched to snowshoes for the trip back. The fresh snow was starting to accumulate. The rate of snowfall increased significantly on my descent. The trip down took me half the time it did to ascend. My overall pace at this point was slightly slower than I had hoped. At least three inches of snow had fallen at this time. It was decision time. I knew if I continued to Tabletop it would be well after dark when I returned to the car. The prospect of driving home on snowy roads in the dark with potential car problems was the deciding factor to head back. I was back at the car by 3:00 pm. A hot shower at the Loj, and I was on my way. The snow had stopped by this time, but 4-6 inches had fallen. The drive to Keene took over an hour, but after that the roads were in much better shape. Although the day had not gone completely as planned It was a great way to end the hiking year.
January 9, 2010 Tabletop
My inability to complete Tabletop on my last trip set in motion plans for a return trip. I made plans with two co-workers, Rob and Vin. As I watched the weather forecast during the week, the day promised to be cold, with no snow forecast. We met at exit 12 of the Northway and commuted to the trailhead. We all bundled up in our warm gear and headed out at 8:40. The temperature was about 0 degrees F. The trip to Marcy Dam took almost the same time as my last trip. It was obvious that Vin and Rob were faster that I was. Vin already had climbed Tabletop. At the turn-off to Phelps Vin and Rob decided to scale Phelps and then try to catch up with me on Tabletop. We parted ways. I continued on the weather was quite cold, but the sun was out and there was no wind. By adjusting layers constantly I was comfortable all day. As long as I was moving I was warm without a hat and only liner gloves. I hiked to Indian falls for lunch. The view of the McIntyre Range was incredible! A hot drink and energy bar prepared me for the climb of Tabletop. I backtracked to the start of the herd path to Tabletop. The trail was well broken. As I climbed, the thick snow on the trees made for a narrow path. In some spots it was as if the trail passed through a snow canyon or tunnel. I enjoyed another hot drink at the summit and some limited views to the south of Colden, Marcy and Haystack. By mini thermometer read -2 F, but there was no wind and bluebird skies. After about 20 minutes of waiting for Vin and Rob I headed down. I made fast progress down. It took me less than 1-1/2 hours to reach Marcy Dam. I was a bit concerned, since I had not seen Vin of Rob, but I knew the were as prepared as I was for the cold and the people I met whom had been up Phelps had no reports of anyone in trouble. There was no note in the logbook at Marcy dam as we did not sign that register on our way in. By this time I was getting a hotspot on my foot from my insulated boots that I rarely wear. This slowed my on the rest of the trip from Marcy Dam to the Loj, but I pushed on. I reached the Loj at 3:30 and saw the rest of my party had signed out. The hot showers were once again a great relief and soon we were ready for our trip home. We stopped in Glens Falls for soup, burgers and beer as we watched some of the Jet game. It was a tremendous day as I completed my 44th summit of the Adirondack 46 and start another year of hiking.
my pictures
Vin's pictures
I had high hopes of completing Phelps and Tabletop. On the drive up my car was over heating slightly and snow on the Northway slowed my travels, these culminated in a later than planned start. The forecast was for 1-3 inches of snow in the middle of the day. I started hiking from the Loj just before 9:00 AM. Within an hour I was at Marcy Dam. The clouds were low and no views were to be had. The trail was hard packed icy snow. Shortly after leaving the area a light snow began to fall, enhancing the solitude of the quite woods. Before long I found myself at the trail junction for the summit, from here the grade increased. I would gain 1400 feet of elevation in the next 1.2 miles. The trail was well broken and I made slow but steady progress. One group of two passed me on their way down. Two more groups passed me on the way up. I enjoyed a quick bite and a hot drink at the summit, but soon started to get cold. I had worn stabilicers the entire trip so far, but switched to snowshoes for the trip back. The fresh snow was starting to accumulate. The rate of snowfall increased significantly on my descent. The trip down took me half the time it did to ascend. My overall pace at this point was slightly slower than I had hoped. At least three inches of snow had fallen at this time. It was decision time. I knew if I continued to Tabletop it would be well after dark when I returned to the car. The prospect of driving home on snowy roads in the dark with potential car problems was the deciding factor to head back. I was back at the car by 3:00 pm. A hot shower at the Loj, and I was on my way. The snow had stopped by this time, but 4-6 inches had fallen. The drive to Keene took over an hour, but after that the roads were in much better shape. Although the day had not gone completely as planned It was a great way to end the hiking year.
January 9, 2010 Tabletop
My inability to complete Tabletop on my last trip set in motion plans for a return trip. I made plans with two co-workers, Rob and Vin. As I watched the weather forecast during the week, the day promised to be cold, with no snow forecast. We met at exit 12 of the Northway and commuted to the trailhead. We all bundled up in our warm gear and headed out at 8:40. The temperature was about 0 degrees F. The trip to Marcy Dam took almost the same time as my last trip. It was obvious that Vin and Rob were faster that I was. Vin already had climbed Tabletop. At the turn-off to Phelps Vin and Rob decided to scale Phelps and then try to catch up with me on Tabletop. We parted ways. I continued on the weather was quite cold, but the sun was out and there was no wind. By adjusting layers constantly I was comfortable all day. As long as I was moving I was warm without a hat and only liner gloves. I hiked to Indian falls for lunch. The view of the McIntyre Range was incredible! A hot drink and energy bar prepared me for the climb of Tabletop. I backtracked to the start of the herd path to Tabletop. The trail was well broken. As I climbed, the thick snow on the trees made for a narrow path. In some spots it was as if the trail passed through a snow canyon or tunnel. I enjoyed another hot drink at the summit and some limited views to the south of Colden, Marcy and Haystack. By mini thermometer read -2 F, but there was no wind and bluebird skies. After about 20 minutes of waiting for Vin and Rob I headed down. I made fast progress down. It took me less than 1-1/2 hours to reach Marcy Dam. I was a bit concerned, since I had not seen Vin of Rob, but I knew the were as prepared as I was for the cold and the people I met whom had been up Phelps had no reports of anyone in trouble. There was no note in the logbook at Marcy dam as we did not sign that register on our way in. By this time I was getting a hotspot on my foot from my insulated boots that I rarely wear. This slowed my on the rest of the trip from Marcy Dam to the Loj, but I pushed on. I reached the Loj at 3:30 and saw the rest of my party had signed out. The hot showers were once again a great relief and soon we were ready for our trip home. We stopped in Glens Falls for soup, burgers and beer as we watched some of the Jet game. It was a tremendous day as I completed my 44th summit of the Adirondack 46 and start another year of hiking.
my pictures
Vin's pictures
