This was one of those very long daytrips, not so much due to the hike but because we had to drive 4 hours each way to get to and from the trailhead. It was also the first daytrip we were exclusively using crampons.
- Location: Adirondack State Park, New York, USA
- Trip Type: Hiking, Winter, Day Trip
- Participants: Sunshine, Burger, MAS
- Distance: 13.7km total of hiking with crampons,
- Features: Rocky Peak, Giant Peak, ADK 46er
We coordinated to meet with MAS at the trailhead who was coming from Montréal, Burger and I carpooled from Ottawa. To get there on time, we left rather early, as I remember it, Burger was working a night shift so we had a time constraint.
We met at the trailhead and set off, even though it was in February, the bottom portion of the hill was free of snow and ice. However ice? oh man there was ice, we’d never been on a trail where we couldn’t snowshoe up (our snowshoes do have decent crampons). It was a perfect run to test out the crampons and see how they worked.
The name of the game really was, get up those cascades of ice and be so happy you have crampons. However, I had also made a rookie mistake and not worn gaitors figuring there was no snow so why bother? Well the gaitors don’t just prevent snow from getting into your boots, they also keep your clothes tight and offer a bit of protection. My pants got caught a couple times in the crampons during this trip and I had to throw away the bottom part (they were zip-off short/pants so at least I still have a pair of shorts!).
We reached Giant peak, not a great view but at least we could see something!
A few pictures at the top and then down Giant and to back up to get to Rocky. Still a lot of ice but a bit more snow in this section.
The trip between the two peaks wasn’t all that long (less than an hour) and we summited Rocky shortly after.
To get back was basically repeat our hike in reverse going back down Rocky, up Giant and all the way back down to the parking. At least we had a nice view on the way down!
Once we got to the car it was a quick escape back home. Burger sletp while I drove so he could be ready for his night shift. If memory serves, we stopped at a gas station just before the US-Canada border to pick up some chips that Burger loves but aren’t available in Canada. He must have looked like a crazy person clearing out their shelf of that one type of chips.
Total trip stats and GPS trail:
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