Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Big Slide 6-10-2018



Big Slide! 4240'.


It's always nice hiking with friends.

My old college buddy Jim is one of my go to guys for discussing hikes and getting insight. I also pester him with trip highlights and reports. He's an experienced hiker from the Catskills and we've been wanting to meet up for an Adirondack High Peak for a while now.

Our schedules finally lined up and we decided to go for the 27th Highest Peak in the ADK: Big Slide.

We met up at the Garden parking lot in Keene and I introduced him to Kailee. After some catching up, we strapped on our packs, signed the register and hit the trails.


Great Range from First Brother.



We approached Big Slide via the Three Brothers trail. The Brothers are three smaller sub peaks on the mountain. The first two Brothers offer amazing views on their own and require some simple rock climbing to get over them. The trail goes around the shoulder of the Third Brother en route to the Summit of Big Slide.



Big Slide from the Brothers.


There aren't many water sources on this path. So, if you're hiking the Three Brothers trail out-and-back on a hot day - come prepared.





The Brothers trail is quite remarkable. As I mentioned, the views are outstanding and it's not an overly rigorous route... Whoever cut this trail definitely knew what they were doing!







Just below the Summit, there's a trail junction. Following the trail towards the Summit we hit an incredibly steep pitch with a series of ladders. Then, we reached an overlook next to Big Slide's Big Slide.

At the slide, I noticed a parhelion rainbow.
"They call those sun dogs," noted Jim, " Ya know, that might be a good trail name for you. "

The trail name was a reference to an old college nickname... I like it. I might keep "Sun Dog."

Once we passed the slide, it was an easy climb to the Summit.



Ladders.
Part of the "Big Slide."


On the way, a Quebecois woman complimented Kailee. People are usually surprised when they see her up around 4000' in the sky.

"She is very good!" The woman exclaimed in a thick French accent, "She is very strong!"

Moments after this, we were atop Big Slide admiring it's absolutely gorgeous view. Giant Mountain commands everything to the North-east, the Great Range puts on a show smack dab in front of you and the State's highest point Mount Marcy watches over everything from the South.


Great Range & Marcy from Big Slide's Summit.



We all agreed that this was one heck of a climb and Summit. I had heard there wasn't a summit marker on Big Slide. But, I found one hidden behind a pine tree. A classic Verplanck Colvin survey bolt. Still beautiful & shiny after 140 years.






We enjoyed lunch while Jim and I discussed how a very prominent slide on the side of Lower Wolf Jaw looked like a highway... More on this note in a future entry.

Kailee played with a hiker's dog, performed the floss dance & did some back-bends.

While dancing, she noticed a critter.

"Hey, a baby raccoon!" Kailee shouted, "Wait... That isn't a raccoon."

I stepped near her and saw it.

"Hey, Kailee, that's a marten," I said as the cutest creature ever created happily scurried away from the ledge.

The marten's red & brown coat was marvelous. Kailee became extra excited upon my confirmation of the adorable critter. She had wanted to see one since seeing an episode of Wild Kratts and learning that they are common around Noonmark Mountain when we hiked it.

This was an exceptional way to finish up our time on top of Big Slide.

Jim & I had pretty much agreed in advance (with room for changes in plans of descent) to take the Slide Brook Trail down the mountain and hike out of Johns Brook Valley on the Phelps Trail.

The three of us were in agreement afterwards that we took a good path down. We got to see more of the mountain by doing this and obtain a better perspective of Big Slide.

The Slide Brook Trail is pretty much a straight shot down the mountain. The parking attendant at the Garden parking lot had previously informed us that the trail crosses the brook a few times around 2/3rds of the way down.



This ended up being both fun and helpful... Kailee loved seeing that the next trail marker was a rock hop across the brook and I needed water.

I finished up the contents of my water pack about a half mile before we hit the stream. This was actually the first time that's happened to me on a hike. I usually have at least a little bit -if not more- leftover when I'm done...

Based off the map, the parking attendant's words, and the sound of rushing water... I was glad that I was in a position that I could filter water... And, that's what I did at a beautiful pool!

At the final stream crossing we hit a merger of a brook crossing and a very old slide.

"This is SICK!" Kailee shouted beyond enthusiasm "I LOVE Big Slide!"

"I would take a selfie right here," Jim commented as we walked down the old slide, "But, all of my friends would just think that I'm in a parking lot."

A very funny observation.

Soon enough, we reached the end of the Slide Brook Trail. At this junction, it was 3 miles back to the Garden... But we decided to tack on a half mile side trek to Johns Brook Lodge - a historic campsite run by the ADK Club.

This was another decision that we were glad to make. It was everyone's first trip to JBL and it was worth the jaunt.




The property is lovely. The top of Gothics steals your attention at the Lodge. But, there is plenty to explore and appreciate right there!

During our hike, we were told that JBL offers free lemonade... At this point in the day... Lemonade held a lot of appeal to me.

I sent Kailee into the Lodge to fetch three cups of lemonade. This was two-fold. Yes, I wanted the lemonade. I also thought it would be neat if she was the first out of our little crew to scope out the interior of the Lodge.

Kailee came out of JBL empty handed.

"The lemonade isn't free," She said, "It's 50 cents."

I gave her the money for three drinks. A few minutes later, Jim and I joined Kailee inside to get our drinks and check things out. The Lodge is very pretty & has that rustic North Country feel. We chatted with the caretaker for a bit as we finished up our drinks. Then, it was time to make the 3.5 mile walk back to the Garden.

About a 1.5 miles from the car, Kailee spotted something... It was moving really fast through the trees and kicking up leaves!

"Bear!?!?!"

This was no bear. It was a runaway boulder that came spiraling down the mountain and crashed into a large rock in the middle of the trail 40 feet in front of us!

We were fortunate to not be in it's way! However, we all agreed that it was pretty cool that we witnessed it.

The rock that crashed into the trail in front of us.


"It's too bad you weren't taping with your camera," Jim said, "You could've edited in some bowling alley noises."

Luckily, the rest of our walk out was uneventful. We were all glad to get back to the Garden. This ended up being our 6th High Peak and Jim's 11th! We said "Goodbye" to Jim and headed for home.

Later that night Kailee came up to me and said "My muscles in my arms are really strong from carrying my backpack all day!"

She must've been thinking about the compliment the Canadian had given her.

I squeezed her little pencil arms and laughed... And, continued to laugh about this scene for the next  two days.



 "Sun Dog" with the Sun Dog.




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