Sawteeth 8/20/2018

SAWTEETH

Kailee and I awoke after spending a chilly night at Sharp Bridge Campground. We broke camp, got our things together and freshened up before setting sail for St. Huberts.

As we drove down Route 73, we noticed a bunch of Forest Ranger trucks parked in the lots to our left. Then, we saw a helicopter. Not thinking too much of it, Kailee made a joke about the chopper...

We later found out that the Rangers were in the process of attempting (a successful) rescue mission in the Dix Range. We're glad that our amazing Rangers were able to help out the lost hiker.

Sawteeth from the Ausable Club.

We arrived at the Ausable Club/AMR parking lot a little later than planned and set off at 9:40 AM to learn the roads...

That's right. The roads...  The Club/AMR is private property and the general public isn't allowed to drive on their roads. We walked a half mile on the pavement alongside the golf course, took a left at the tennis courts and signed in at the AMR gate.

After the gate, it was a three mile dirt road walk to Lower Ausable Lake before linking up with the trailhead proper for Sawteeth.

AMR Gate.

Kailee fell a bit behind on the road while trying to fish her hat out of her backpack.

"Ah, waiting for your hiking partner?" came a somewhat familiar voice from behind me.

I turned around and recognized the face that went with the voice.

"Hey, you're Tony, right?" I asked.

"Yes," he replied.

It was Tony Goodwin! He's the author of numerous Adirondack guidebooks, a trailblazer and one of the stars of The 46ers Film!

"Hi, I'm Justin," I said as we shook hands.

I told him that we were planning on taking the Weld Trail up Sawteeth. Tony suggested that we consider taking the Scenic Trail. That route was a major reason he declared Sawteeth as his favorite peak when he filled out his 46er application.

"I later found out that Sawteeth was one of the most unpopular with the other applicants!" He laughed.

As we talked, I kinda got the vibe that Tony had some doubts in Kailee being able to pull off the climb. I told him that she's pretty experienced and she has my confidence.

When Kailee caught up to us, I introduced her to Tony and told him that she was a big fan of The 46ers Film. He joked with her about his parts in the film.

I told Tony that we'd contemplate his suggestion of the Scenic Trail.

"I assume that we have a bit of time to think about it," I said pointing at the road.

"Yeah, you have around two miles to think it over," he replied.

We said our goodbyes and continued our road walk.

Kailee thought it was very cool to meet a "movie star" on our hike.
Numerous times throughout the day, Kailee stated that she "liked Tony's character in the film."

I found this to be quite humorous since The 46ers Film is a documentary...

Sawteeth from
Lower Ausable Lake Dam.

We arrived at the dam at Lower Ausable Lake. What a beautiful destination! Lower Ausable Lake sits nestled between Mount Colvin and Sawteeth.

Kailee and I crossed the footbridge in front of the dam.

"Do you wanna take Tony's suggestion and head up the Scenic Route -Or- do you wanna stick with our plan and hit Rainbow Falls?" I asked.

"I wanna go to Rainbow Falls, " Kailee replied.

That was fine with me. Rainbow Falls & the Weld Trail was the path that I had researched & plugged waypoints into my GPS in preparation for this trek.

Rainbow Falls is just a short side jaunt from the beginning of the Weld Trail. It took only a few steps to arrive there. It's one of the tallest waterfalls in the Adirondack Park and is a dramatic sight. A perfect place to take a nice break, have a snack and relax in the cool mist!

"I can see the rainbow!" Kailee shouted as she pointed at the waterfall.

Knowing that we'd be passing multiple bodies of water throughout the day, I packed light with our water to make things a little easier for the road walk. At the falls, I filtered a few more liters and added them to our stash. 

Rainbow Falls.

After a 40 minute break it was time to climb. In my opinion, the first short pitch up to the overlook above the falls was the toughest. No crazy obstacles... Just some really quick elevation gain.

Don't Be a Dropout!

After checking out the overlook, the trail eased up immensely with a bunch of short switchbacks. While there aren't many views, the Weld Trail hasn't eroded down to bedrock which makes it quite easy on the feet!

The trail crossed the Cascade Brook which gave me the opportunity to filter some more fresh cool water.

Trail Split in the Col between Sawteeth and Gothics/Pyramid.

We arrived at the col between Sawteeth and Gothics at 1:50 PM. Taking a left at the trail split, we made our final push towards the summit.

We maneuvered our way up a number of scrambles and started to receive some nice views outwards.

Starting to get some views just below the summit.

Atop the final scramble, I needed a few minutes to rummage through my pack and switch out my camera's SD card.

Kailee walked on and tagged the summit without me and returned just as I was strapping my pack back on.

Kailee tagged the summit & took selfies without me!

"How was it?" I asked.

"You'll just have to wait and see," she replied as we ambled on towards the summit.

We arrived at the crest &  I was quite impressed!

Sawteeth has splendid view of Mount Marcy and the Upper Great Range. The open rock cliffs on Pyramid-Gothics are both breathtaking and imposing. Personally, I was mesmerized by the looming Basin and it's many majestic slides.

Basin and it's mesmerizing slides.

All-in-all, it took us two hours and ten minutes to reach Sawteeth's summit from it's base. Not too shabby!

We chatted with a couple eating lunch on a downed tree that acted as a perfect bench. We ate some snacks and I mixed some Hawaiian Punch powder into my water bottle for Kailee and I to share.

 Pyramid & Gothics.

Just as the couple took off on their descent, a huge noisy family arrived via the Scenic Trail... Kids, a toddler, parents, aunts, and uncles... The whole crew.

Kailee and I quickly commandeered the "log bench" and I began to make sandwiches. The parents were very friendly and the kids were rather loud...

Luckily for us, they didn't spend to much time at the top. I switched out of my sweaty shirt into a dry one and threw the former onto a branch to dry it out.

Basin.
Photo by Kailee.

After lunch, we took some more pictures and appreciated a faint breeze. We spent an hour an twenty minutes taking it all in!

A shot of Saddleback, Gothics & Pyramid taken by Kailee.

We discussed our options for the descent. We both acknowledged that it would be cool to take the scenic route down. However, I informed Kailee that would add to our total mileage. I expressed that if we took the Weld Trail, we could probably breeze down the mountain once we got past the scrambles.

It was agreed. We'd take the Weld Trail.

Sawteeth!

My inkling that we could "breeze down" the Weld Trail proved to be true. It was an incredibly easy and quick descent. We were passing other hikers with ease... That never happens when I hike with Kailee.

We stopped for a few minutes and chatted with a guy nicknamed "Rooster" and his buddy. They had just climbed their first High Peak: Gothics.

"How many have you climbed?" asked Rooster.

"19," Kailee replied.

"WOAH!" both guys shouted.

We wished them happy trails and continued our descent and Rooster sent us off with a rooster call.

We passed the extended family just above the Rainbow Falls overlook and were at the bottom of the mountain an hour and fifteen minutes after leaving the summit.

I don't think we've ever descended a 4000' mountain in such a short amount of time.

Colvin from the dam.

Back at the dam, it was time to begin our three mile road walk back to the Ausable Club.
We moved at a nice pace.

About a mile from the dam, the Ausable Club bus pulled up to us.

"Are you guys all set?" asked the driver.

Is he offering us a ride? I thought the bus was for members only? If we take a ride does that negate our hike?

"Yeah, we're set," I replied.

"OK, just checking!" said the driver as he put the bus in gear and drove off towards the lake.

It kinda didn't make sense to get on a bus and ride all the way back to the lake and wait for it to load up with passengers when we could keep walking.

Edit: the bus is in fact for members only. I've since learned the driver mistook us for members. Do not expect to get a ride or attempt to flag down the bus if you are not a member or guest of the Ausable club.

"This is only a road walk," said Kailee "It's not really a hike. It's a road. It should still count if we took the bus."

The bus passed us again when we were less than a half mile to the gate. From inside, Rooster banged the window and let off another rooster call and yelled "YEAH!" and we waved to him.

Those lucky bums were guests & got a ride!

In a matter of minutes, we were back at the gate. Ten minutes later we were at the car exchanging high fives.

Ausable Club.

Even with all of the road walking, Kailee and I agreed that this was a spectacular hike. We were glad that we covered a considerable amount of mileage, took some nice long breaks at Rainbow Falls & the summit, and made it back to the car in a fairly quick amount of time.

We happily disagree with Mr. Goodwin's peers that weren't fond of Sawteeth... It's an excellent peak!

Kailee and I look forward to revisiting Sawteeth in the future and taking the Scenic Trail when that adventure comes!


Hike Stats:

Miles: Map says 12... GPS says 13.5.
Total Elevation Gain: 3147'.
Total Time: 8 hours & 50 minutes.

Giant Mountain from Ausable Club.

Sharp Bridge - East Mill Flow - Round Pond Trail 8/19/2018

East Mill Flow.

Kailee and I camped at Sharp Bridge this past Sunday. It's one of our favorite places in the world. Sharp Bridge is a sleepy little place located right next to the Schroon River.

This has been the fourth year in a row that we've gone there. Back in 2015, as we were driving there for the first time Kailee shouted, "We're gonna see monkeys!"

"No," I replied.

"But, it's a jungle," she countered.

"No, it's a forest," I said, "But we might see bears."

Sudden quiet & nervousness from the back seat.

"You have nothing to worry about," I assured her, "You have a Dad with you!"

Traditional "Late Night" Camping selfie.

It was during that initial stay that we discovered the campsite has a 5.2 mile long trail that leads to a number of ponds. That trail is where Kailee honed her skills as a hiker. Each year, we've progressed a little farther down it.

The furthest we've ever gotten was the East Mill Flow.

On Sunday, we wanted to walk four miles to Round Pond.

The weather was great & we were happy to be back at our stomping grounds.

Sharp Bridge - East Mill Flow - Round Pond Trail.

This hike was a nice change of pace from all of the mountain climbing that we've done lately. I was able to wear my small day pack & Kailee didn't need a backpack for this one... A welcomed reprieve for our lumbar muscles!

The first leg of the trail parallels the Schroon Brook for a mile before cutting to the left on an old forest road near some old bridge casings.

We startled some birds that were in the river and they swam quickly away from us leaving some decent sized wake behind them. Neither of us got a good look at them... Loons perhaps?

This wouldn't be the first time we startled some avian creatures that took off before we could get a good look at them...

An old man made rock wall along the trail.

There was quite a bit of blowdown across the trail this year. It didn't cause to much of an issue (although I whacked my knee pretty hard on a branch on the way back).

It's clearly mushroom season! Pretty fungus of different colors and varieties lined the trail.

Orange Ice Cream cone shaped Fungus.

We aroused some fat birds that flew away too quickly -and- again I was unable to identify them... I assume they may have been grouses.

At two points on the shoulder of Clap Mountain, I found bear scat. The first load was recent... And it looked like the critter had diarrhea -or- something going on with it's gastrointestinal system. The second turd was a little further up the trail and appeared to be left by a cub with a berry diet.

We arrived at the East Mill Flow after an hour and half of walking. The flow is a pretty swamp and brook surrounded by walls of glacial carved rock.

East Mill Flow.

We took some pictures at the bridge and continued on towards Round Pond. At the Northeast end of the Flow, we turned to the Southeast, crossed some puncheons, navigated over and around some more blowdown and soon arrived at Round Pond!

Round Pond.

The pond was beautiful! We sat on a footbridge and enjoyed the view of the sparkling water. Under us there were a number of large sunfish and bass swimming around... Note to self: Next time bring a fishing pole.

Round Pond's outlet.

We found a small paddle boat on the shore near the bridge. There was also a large wok that someone had used to contain campfires. Resting aside a tree was a pan attached to a stick. Clearly some fisherman uses this "secret" spot to cook up some fresh fish fry!

After a pleasant break and checking out some of the shoreline, we made our return to Sharp Bridge.
We saw six newts (red efts) on the trail over the course of the trek back!

Kailee with a newt!

It took us an hour and half to get back to the campground. Once there, I prepared a campfire steak for dinner! Delicious!

Kailee did some fishing in the river and we watched the sun set over the Dix Range.

We hit the hay with plans for a bigger hike the following day!

Sunset over the Dix Range from Sharp Bridge.

Algonquin, Boundary, Iroquois & Wright 8-13-2018

Iroquois Peak!

"Yup. That's the McIntyre's right there. We're gonna go there next week," Kailee said while pointing at the imposing mountain range from Indian Falls last week.

She told other hikers during our trek of Tabletop that "We're gonna climb Algonquin next week."

I'm not exactly sure how she decided that the McIntyre Range would be our next hiking destination... But, it seemed like a plan to me!

McIntyre Range from Indian Falls
on 8-6-18.

Monday's forecast called for a chance of showers around 11 AM and possible storms in the evening.

The Macs are notorious for being one of the windiest places in the 'Dacks. The big goal was to tag Algonquin, Iroquois & Wright... There was also the realization that we could walk away with only one -or- none: if the elements decided to act up.

It was slightly overcast as we drove down Adirondack Loj Road. From the car, it was apparent that Algonquin's head was in the clouds. Otherwise, the skies didn't look too threatening.

We pulled into the Loj at 7:30AM and popped in the High Peaks Information Center to use the bathrooms and poke around for a few minutes before returning to the car to gear up.

 Indian Pipe.

At the register, we met a Mother and her son (he appeared to be a year or two year younger than Kailee). One quick look at her hat & pack and it was obvious that she was a Winter 46er. She told us that her son picked Algonquin as their destination for the day... I guess this was "Kids Choose the Hike" Day.

"She (Kailee) says you're going for all three today," the Mother said.

"That's the goal... But, we'll see," I replied.

The woman knew there was a chance of early rain and evening storms as well.

We walked with them for a short while before they fell behind.

The approach took us through the forest and over a bridge lined with raspberries along a beautifully maintained trail owned by the Adirondack Club before crossing over to State land. Almost immediately, the trail went from gentle to climb-time.

Getting steep!

Algonquin is the 2nd highest point in New York State. Big Al reminds you of that fact every step of the way. It's all about ele-ele-ele-vation gain!

Despite the nonstop rise, Algonquin's trail didn't have any difficult scrambles or big obstacles. (Later in the day, Kailee stated "Algonquin was easy,").

Taking quick breaks every few minutes due to the heavy gain kept our energy up!

A good portion of the trail is stone stairs. These stairs and many of other rocks that we stepped on were covered in a thin layer of slippery dirt. Fortunately, this never caused a problem. But, it was something to be aware of while moving along.

Near 3300', we arrived at McIntyre Falls. I'm sure it's an impressive sight in Spring and early Summer. But, on this day it was merely a trickle. Looking outward from the falls offered no view thanks to the clouds.

McIntyre Falls.

A few minutes later, I looked up and spotted signs of blue sky! Things were looking up -and- going up! I decided that we should go for Algonquin first.

A large group of college kids were hanging out at the Wright-Algonquin trail spilt . We said "Hello" as we passed. We took the righthand route and pushed onwards to Big Al.

The trail led us up some steep open rock pitches (which may be small slides). It was nothing complicated. We've faced much trickier situations this Summer.

A long stretch of open rock.

The trees were getting shorter. The sky was showing more signs of blue. We were about to bust out of the tree-line!

A sign warned us that we were entering the Alpine Zone: time to do the rock hop.

Entering the Alpine Zone.

Large cairns led us towards the summit. Turning around afforded impressive views of Wallface, Street and Lake Placid.

Beatiful small purple flowers and bunchberries lined the path. The sun was shining overhead. This was it!

Kailee led us on the final charge and as we reached the top -BAM- an absolutely incredible view of the High Peaks and most notable: the trap dike and many impressive slides on Mount Colden. The slides reflected different colors brightly.

Hands down one of the most gorgeous sights that I've witnessed in the Adirondacks.

Colden & it's gorgeous slides (foreground) from
Algonquin.

Walking towards the benchmark, we were greeted by the summit steward at 12:30 PM.

"Hi, I'm Mike" he said.

"We're Facebook friends," I replied.

"Justin?" he asked.

"Yup, that's me," I answered.

Mike is an active member of the 46ers and is my friend Jim's correspondent. A few months back,  Jim suggested that I send Mike a friend request in case I ever want to get some hiker info.

It was very cool to put a face to a name at 5114' above sea-level!

Myself and Mike!
With a photobomber!

I originally planned to only spend a few minutes at the summit before going to Iroquois, backtracking and enjoying Algonquin some more before setting off for Wright Peak.

So much for the plan!!! We spent an hour relaxing, enjoying the 360° vista, chatting with other hikers and Mike.

Algonquin!

Mike offered to watch our bags so we could slackpack to Iroquois. Awesome!

Just as we were preparing to go... The Mother and her young son that we met earlier arrived at the summit.

"This is his fourth High Peak," she said excitedly.

"Congratulations! Good Job!" we replied.

"Did you guys get all three?" she asked Kailee and I.

"No," I laughed, "On our way to number two now!"

We followed the exposed rock down the  western slope of Algonquin towards Iroquois. It was a quick and easy (albeit steep) drop down the rock. Kailee and I ducked into the trees on a narrow path.

Great Range.

Between the two High Peaks, we climbed Boundary. A 4800' peak that lacks the prominence & isolation to be considered a High Peak. Boundary itself is very cool. It's above tree-line and offers a similar view as Algonquin but has the distinction of offering the bonus view of Big Al and Iroquois!

Throughout the afternoon, large ravens hovered over the mountains and shrieked. A few flew right by us as we walked.

Algonquin from Boundary.

We had a recurring joke as we proceeded. Anytime that either of us would say "Right," the other would respond:

"No. Wright's over there," and point in the general direction of Wright Peak.

Passing the cairns, we dropped down back onto another path through stunted pines with puncheons over some boggy terrain. The climb of Iroquois was pretty easy and had one optional scramble near the summit.

Iroquois Peak.

We had Iroquois (the 8th tallest High Peak in NY) to ourselves. It was really nice. Colden's slides continued to put on a stellar performance. In the opposite direction was a close-up view of Wallface's craggy mean-mug.

Wallface from Iroquois.

Just below the summit, I spotted Sheperd's Tooth. It's a cool rock outcrop that one may receive a badge for visiting. We mulled over going down to the Tooth. It was right there and I was quite sure that I spotted it's herd path. Ultimately, because of the time of day and not wanting to add extra elevation gain/loss to our trek... I decided to leave a visit to the Tooth for another day.

Sheperd's Tooth.

Kailee later said that Iroquois was her favorite peak of the day. I get it... It has a wonderful vista and it was nice to be the only people there!

Great Range, Marcy & Colden from Iroquois.

On our way back to Big Al, we decided to "race."

I reached Boundary first. But, my legs tired on the descent and Kailee took a strong lead on the re-climb of Algonquin and cleanly beat me to the finish.

Whiteface & Lake Placid from Algonquin.

We had lunch and continued chatting with Mike for quite a while.
Mike was impressed by the fact that Kailee and I have worked our way through a number of smaller & mid-size peaks and told us "You're doing it the right way."

We didn't make a "Wright is over there," joke.

"You're doing it the right way," he said, "I got so caught up with the 46 and am just learning that I overlooked so many great places!"

There are so many amazing peaks in the park! Go out and see them!

It was time to descend and give Wright Peak a try. So, we said our farewells with Mike.

Trail Split!

Arriving back at the trail junction, we had only 4/10th of a mile to go to the summit of Wright. I ditched my pack near the junction and carried Kailee's pack up. Again, it was another steep climb. There was one scramble near the top that neither of us had a problem with. Soon, we were at the top.

Kailee charging up Wright Peak.

Kailee found a pile of rocks in front of a "Rock Drop" sign.

"Yeah, I forgot to bring one up," I said.

"I didn't," Kailee replied.

"You brought a rock up?" I asked.

"Yup," she said as she pulled a stone from her pocket and tossed it onto the pile.

Maybe that's why we lucked out with the weather!

Algonquin and it's slides from
Wright.

Wright (16th tallest High Peak in NY) would make a nice hike on it's own. But, we both agreed that it was the lesser peak of the day. Although, it offered an excellent view of  Lake Placid, the Great Range and some slides on Algonquin.

Wright Peak.

A few other hikers arrived shortly after and took our pictures for us.

After our photo-op, we left the summit to find a short side trail that led us to some interesting pieces of history.

View towards Whiteface from Wright.
Sign indicating the summit to the right
and the plaque to the left.

In January 1962, a B-47 Bomber running a low altitude practice mission from Watertown to Plattsburgh was obliterated when it slammed into Wright Peak at high velocity.

The plane's four man crew were killed and it took months to find their remains. One of the airmen was never found...

 Landing Gear.

 Remains of the B-47 Bomber.

A large piece of landing gear and some other chunks of the plane lay on the ground with a nearby plaque honoring the troops. Small metal pieces of the aircraft are scattered among the rocks and gravel underfoot. We collected a few small pieces off the ground.

Memorial Plaque.

It was getting late in the afternoon and was time to head back to the Loj. We began our descent.

We stopped at McIntyre Falls to refill our water. There was a group of campers there & we chatted with them briefly before continuing our way down.

We arrived back at the trailhead before 8PM... Just  in time for sundown. A wonderful three peak day (four including Boundary).  This adventure put us at a total of 18 High Peaks!

Back at the car, we changed out of our sweaty clothes. Kailee put on her bathing suit and took a quick dip in Heart Lake.

Afterwards, we popped by the Loj and helped ourselves to some refreshments: a coffee for me and a water for Kailee.

This was a spectacular day of elevation change, views, history and fun!


One Final Observation Regarding Algonquin:

Algonquin reminds me of a much bigger version of Cascade.... Both mountains involve steep climbs, long stone stairways, & limited views until the final push. They have large open summits that offer wide open 360° vistas... They also have a sorta similar view from (obviously) different angles. To the one side is Lake Placid, the Olympic venues and the surrounding communities. On the other is a wonderful view of the High Peaks! 

Kailee on Iroquois.
Her "favorite" peak of the day.

Hike Stats:

12.4 Miles
11:50 total time including over 3 hours of Summit time (not including other breaks).
Total Ascent: 4764'.
Total Elevation Change: 9420'.