Mount Marcy
Highest peak in NY State with an elevation of 5,344 ft.
10-22-11 Hiking Mt Marcy in October seemed like such a great idea. his was our first experience at the ADK Loj and we really liked the atmosphere. We arrived on Friday evening and were glad we decided to spring for the lean to rather than pitching a tent in the rain.
After a good night sleep and breakfast at the Loj
we signed in at the trail head and set out to climb the tallest of the 46 high peaks in NY state.
Because Hurricane Irene had taken out Marcy Dam we had several places that we had to cross the brook by rock hopping.
Even though the dam got washed away this is still one of the most picturesque spots in the Adirondacks, in my opinion.
At the ADK information center they told us that it would be cold at the summit and snowing. Even though we didn't think so we decided to take their advice and pack our winter gear. Good thing we did because we didn't know it then but we were going to need it as it started to snow and turned cold as we gained elevation.
Even cold enough for long johns!
As we got closer to the peak it really started to snow and the wind kicked up. There was already quite a bit of snow near the summit so as usual the Ranger was right. I'm glad we weren't too proud to follow the advice of someone who knows better!
Brrrr! It was cold. We couldn't see much at the summit because of the near blizzard conditions but we did stay long enough to get a picture with the plaque and then started the 7.2 mile descent back to the Loj.
We stopped at Indian Falls for a look and then continued on.
It was getting late and we actually walked the last bit in the dark. We finally got back to the Loj for dinner around 7:30. Dinner was espcially good that night. Funny how everything tastes even better when you are really hungry, and after popping a couple Advil!
