Better late than never, right? In this case, this post is only two weeks late...
It’s official: clouds always loom over the Adirondacks. Even on a day forecasted for sun and 70oF,
the mountain tops are doomed with high winds and cloudy conditions. At least that’s all I know of the
mountains of New York. While
the minimal visibility on some hikes makes you appreciate the view of others,
it would be nice to have views from the tallest peak in the state.
A good friend from college, Colin, suggested we hike in New
York after he read about my hike up Cascade and Porter. The next possible opportunity, I made
my way back to New York for a hike up Mt. Marcy, the highest peak in New York.
The hike starts with a casual 2.5-mile walk through the
forest until you reach Marcy Dam.
This is a beautiful lake nestled between some mountains. From there, the trail gets steeper as
you hike alongside a river. A few
times throughout the hike, there were trails forking off to smaller peaks
neighboring Marcy. While these
trails were only a mile or two, the trip up and down Marcy was a 15-mile trek. To play it safe and conserve our energy,
Colin and I decided to stick to our plan to just hike Mt. Marcy.
It was surreal at the summit. Winds were gusting at 80 mph, and the clouds were so thick,
visibility was barely twenty-five feet.
While there were no views from the summit, Colin showed me some of Lake
Placid’s Olympic parks, specifically the ski jumping facilities.
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| Lake Placid |
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| Stunning view from the summit... |
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| Colin barely visible through the fog |
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| Trying not to get blown over by the gusts |
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| The Mount Marcy sandwich |
Since I visited Lake Placid, I found it only fitting to
enjoy Lake Placid brewery’s Ubu Ale.
It was a delicious English strong ale (7.0% abv… oops!) that was one of the tastier red
ales I have had. Sweet, fruity,
slightly hoppy, but the flavors play very well together. I just hope I can have another sometime
soon!
Views – ? (Clouds...)
Time – 4 (For a 15-mile hike, we made great time, being back for a late lunch)
Difficulty – 4 (Long and pretty steep at some points. Grueling)
Beer – 4.5 (Lake Placid Ubu Ale)
Overall – 4.5 (Nothing like the accomplishment of hiking the highest NY mountain!)
Now that summer has long since passed and winter is right
around the corner, I do not know when I will next be able to hike. Hopefully this winter, I’ll be able to
do a few more hikes, but they will probably be few and far between. Hopefully I will get some new gear I
can write a post about or hike in a warmer climate. Until then, thanks everybody for following along, and don’t
be shy to ask questions or comment!
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