Phelps and Table Top Mountain
The 32'nd, and 19'th highest peaks in New York State with elevations of 4,161, and 4,427 ft.
10-20-12 Again this fall we decided to book a lean-to at the ADK Loj. I made this reservation months in advance based upon my son's fall break from college. As the time got closer we had been watching the weather forecast, and it didn't look good. The forecast for Saturday was for overcast skies with a 30% chance of rain. This report seemed to be accurate as we drove up to the Adirondacks on Friday night in the rain.
That night and into Saturday morning it poured cats and dogs, just ask my son who tried to sleep that night in his hammock. We got up around 7:00 on Saturday morning pleasantly surprised to find partly cloudy skies. It turned out to be a terrific day. The area had snow earlier in the week but the rain of the past couple days had melted all of it. After a quick breakfast of bacon and eggs we signed in at the register and were on the trail by 8:30.
The trail to Marcy Dam in spots was as muddy as I have ever seen it. Little did we know it then but we had not seen anything yet.
Hurricane Irene had wiped out Marcy Dam. I've been there several times since then and the lake has become mostly drained and filled with silt. Not today however. The lake was full and the rapids over the broken dam were raging!
We signed in at the register at Marcy Dam and then hiked towards our goals. We had originally thought to climb Table Top, the furthest mountain, and then climb Phelps, on the way back. We changed our minds because the skies were so clear and we still thought it would rain later in the day. So we headed for Phelps first.
The trail was very wet and muddy because of the rain from the previous day and the snow melt off. Other than being wet and muddy the trail to the summit of Phelps was in relatively good shape and well maintained.
After a short rest on the Phelps summit and the taking of some pictures on a perfect weather day we descended Phelps. At the bottom we got back on the trail towards Table Top. Before that we decided to lighten our packs once again by consuming some trail mix, clif bars, beef jerky and pop tarts.
There are some unique sections on the trail toward Table Top that ultimately go on to Mount Marcy.
The climb to Table Top is not maintained and technically a "trail less peak". There is a sign indicating the trail split behind a pile of rocks called a cairn.
This trail is typically referred to as a "herd path" This day the trail was more like a river than a trail. Because of the rain and the snow melt off it seemed like we were hiking up a sloppy muddy river bed.
After climbing to the top there is a short distance of flat walking to get the the marker that is at the summit. Thus the name Table Top. There is not much of a view from the summit except to one side where rumor has it someone cleared a section several years ago.
After a short rest in the natural tree chair we started the long hike back to the Loj.
Although I find descending much easier than climbing it still takes a toll on my knees and toes. The hike back was long and slow because of the wet, muddy, and ultimately dark conditions. We actually hiked the last two miles from Marcy Dam in complete darkness. Thankfully we were prepared for nightfall and all had our flashlights and headlamps. I hope the guy who invented the headlamp is a millionaire because it is a simple but great invention. One other interesting thing happened to us on the way back to the Loj. We stumbled, quite literally, upon another hiker about a mile out from the Loj. He had been hiking alone, which I think is one of the stupidest things you can do, but I digress, and had run out of batteries for his flashlight. He had been feeling his way along the trail in the dark hoping that someone would come along so he could join them. His prayers were answered by us and so he joined in our single file march for the last half an hour or so back to the trail head. We finally signed out at the register at about 7:30.
After a quick change out of our wet and muddy clothes and shoes we drove into Lake Placid for dinner. My heart sank when the Maitre D told us there was a 45 minute wait but luckily it didn't take nearly that long. It has been a long time since I have been that hungry. The appetizer of nachos and main course of a BBQ pulled pork sandwich all washed down with fresh brewed iced tea really hit the spot.
We all slept well that night and Sunday morning came bright and early. We had to get up and get going because Number 2 had to catch a flight back to Pittsburgh from LaGuardia that afternoon. After packing up we had no time to dilly dally because we had to get to the ADK Cafe for muffins, scones, coffee, and a Lemon Shaker pie for the road!
Until next time.
10-20-12 Again this fall we decided to book a lean-to at the ADK Loj. I made this reservation months in advance based upon my son's fall break from college. As the time got closer we had been watching the weather forecast, and it didn't look good. The forecast for Saturday was for overcast skies with a 30% chance of rain. This report seemed to be accurate as we drove up to the Adirondacks on Friday night in the rain.
That night and into Saturday morning it poured cats and dogs, just ask my son who tried to sleep that night in his hammock. We got up around 7:00 on Saturday morning pleasantly surprised to find partly cloudy skies. It turned out to be a terrific day. The area had snow earlier in the week but the rain of the past couple days had melted all of it. After a quick breakfast of bacon and eggs we signed in at the register and were on the trail by 8:30.
The trail to Marcy Dam in spots was as muddy as I have ever seen it. Little did we know it then but we had not seen anything yet.
Hurricane Irene had wiped out Marcy Dam. I've been there several times since then and the lake has become mostly drained and filled with silt. Not today however. The lake was full and the rapids over the broken dam were raging!
We signed in at the register at Marcy Dam and then hiked towards our goals. We had originally thought to climb Table Top, the furthest mountain, and then climb Phelps, on the way back. We changed our minds because the skies were so clear and we still thought it would rain later in the day. So we headed for Phelps first.
The trail was very wet and muddy because of the rain from the previous day and the snow melt off. Other than being wet and muddy the trail to the summit of Phelps was in relatively good shape and well maintained.
After a short rest on the Phelps summit and the taking of some pictures on a perfect weather day we descended Phelps. At the bottom we got back on the trail towards Table Top. Before that we decided to lighten our packs once again by consuming some trail mix, clif bars, beef jerky and pop tarts.
There are some unique sections on the trail toward Table Top that ultimately go on to Mount Marcy.
The climb to Table Top is not maintained and technically a "trail less peak". There is a sign indicating the trail split behind a pile of rocks called a cairn.
This trail is typically referred to as a "herd path" This day the trail was more like a river than a trail. Because of the rain and the snow melt off it seemed like we were hiking up a sloppy muddy river bed.
After climbing to the top there is a short distance of flat walking to get the the marker that is at the summit. Thus the name Table Top. There is not much of a view from the summit except to one side where rumor has it someone cleared a section several years ago.
After a short rest in the natural tree chair we started the long hike back to the Loj.
Although I find descending much easier than climbing it still takes a toll on my knees and toes. The hike back was long and slow because of the wet, muddy, and ultimately dark conditions. We actually hiked the last two miles from Marcy Dam in complete darkness. Thankfully we were prepared for nightfall and all had our flashlights and headlamps. I hope the guy who invented the headlamp is a millionaire because it is a simple but great invention. One other interesting thing happened to us on the way back to the Loj. We stumbled, quite literally, upon another hiker about a mile out from the Loj. He had been hiking alone, which I think is one of the stupidest things you can do, but I digress, and had run out of batteries for his flashlight. He had been feeling his way along the trail in the dark hoping that someone would come along so he could join them. His prayers were answered by us and so he joined in our single file march for the last half an hour or so back to the trail head. We finally signed out at the register at about 7:30.
After a quick change out of our wet and muddy clothes and shoes we drove into Lake Placid for dinner. My heart sank when the Maitre D told us there was a 45 minute wait but luckily it didn't take nearly that long. It has been a long time since I have been that hungry. The appetizer of nachos and main course of a BBQ pulled pork sandwich all washed down with fresh brewed iced tea really hit the spot.
We all slept well that night and Sunday morning came bright and early. We had to get up and get going because Number 2 had to catch a flight back to Pittsburgh from LaGuardia that afternoon. After packing up we had no time to dilly dally because we had to get to the ADK Cafe for muffins, scones, coffee, and a Lemon Shaker pie for the road!
Until next time.
