The 5 Dixes from Route 73 - Dix Wilderness - 6/20/16

The Dix Range is probably my favorite range in the Adirondacks.  I've climbed it numerous times from different routes.  On this summer soltice, I chose to do the five from Route 73 at the Boquet River; finishing at the Round Pond trailhead on Route 73. 

I knew it would be extremely hot, so I did my best to get an early start and I was on the Boquet herd path at 6:30.  I used the crossing at the 1/2 mile point today to put the river on my left.  The herd path was dry and in great condition.

The first 3.4 miles to the designated campsite went by in just over an hour.  There is a wonderful swimming hole just upstream from the campsite.

Large campsite at approximately 3.4 miles on the herd path.

Great waterhole.

I chose not to climb Grace via the slide today, although it was very dry.  I had my dog Rev with me and I wasn't sure how well she would do at the top of the slide.

  

The Great Slide on Grace.

I took the herd path all the way up to the col just west of Grace.  Temps were still reasonable and I was able to move quickly up to the summit.  I was on the summit of Grace in 2 hours and 20 minutes from Route 73.

  

Looking and South Dix and Macomb from Grace.

Macomb from Grace

While I love Grace Peak, and I had it to myself, I didn't linger.  I was hoping to get over to Dix before all the heat of the day arrived.  I passed over South Dix and on to Macomb where I took a short break for a drink for myself and Rev.  I was now 10 AM and I was pleased with my progress.

While I was on the summit, another hiker appeared from the Elk Lake herd path.  It was BogHollow from the ADK High Peaks forum.  It turned out he was also doing all 5 Dix peaks, but his start and finish was at Elk Lake.  We hiked together over to South Dix and parted ways; I was heading to Hough and he had to go to Grace Peak first. 

     

The rock outcrop west of South Dix

There are so many great viewpoints of Elk Lake from the Dix Range.

The toughest part of the hike was now ahead of me:  Pough, Hough, the Beckhorn and Dix.  I was now getting hot.  The summits were breezy and refreshing, but it was now getting hot in the woods.

I had brought quite a bit of water, but between Rev and I we were now consuming it rather quickly.

Classic view of the Beckhorn from Hough.

We summited Hough at 11 AM.  Hough was the peak where I finished the winter 46, and it holds a special place for me.  I was now down to 32 ounces of water and I knew the dog would need some of that.

Getting closer to the Beckhorn.

I had to slow down the pace since I now had to ration my water and I didn't want the dog or I to overheat.  We stopped 4 or 5 times on the way up the Beckhorn for a cool down break.

 

Looking back to the south.

I had to boost Rev just before the Beckhorn at the large split rock with the crack inbetween.  When we popped out on top of the Beckhorn, I kept us moving on over to Dix.  I was now 1:05PM.  I wanted to get us down to the slide as soon as possible to refill our water bottles.  We moved as best we could down the steep Dix Trail.

  

Dix from the Beckhorn.

The Great Range from Dix.

Now down the steep Dix Trail to the Round Pond Trailhead.

I finished off the last of our water just before we reached the slide and was glad that I could refill my water bottles at this point.  Rev heaed straight for a pool of water.  With the water worry behind us it was easy to power back up to full speed to finish the route.

Water at the slide!

Rev was grateful!

My wife Leesa was kind enough to pick up Rev and I at the Round Pond trrailhead so we wouldn't have a road walk on Route 73.

Another summer soltice hike complete.

Hike Stats:

Hike Distance:  16 miles

Hike Time:  9 hours, 30 minutes

Total Vertical Gain:  ~5300'  

The route

The route on NG topo

Dix Mountain from Round Pond - 2/23/14



The Dix Trail from Round Pond in the Dix Mountain Wilderness is one of my favorite trails.  I've never had good visibility when I've hiked it in winter though, and while my wife Leesa has climbed Dix, she had never been up this trail before.  That was all the motivation I needed to decide it should be our plan for today.

 

We were on the trail at 8:30.  After reaching Round Pond in .5 miles, the trail climbs about 500' before following a roughly level course all the way to the Boquet lean-to.   

 

 

Boquet lean-to

 

The lean-to was occupied as we passed by.  It often is, even in the winter, especially on weekends.  Once passed the lean-to, the trail climbs at a moderate grade until you cross a slide.  After this point, the stretch of trail that follows is the steepest trail in the high peaks.

 

Fortunately, the hard packed snow was perfect for climbing and we had no difficulties, other than the steepness. 

 

View of Noonmark and Giant from the slide

 

The temperature was in the low 30's and we were blessed to have some blue skies for the majority of the day.  Leesa was dragging as we ascended the steep pitch, but she just plugged along at a slow steady pace.

 

The pitch eases up as the ridge trail is reached.  The remainder of the hike up the ridge is quite easy compared to most final approaches.

  

 

 

Pretty ice in the trees

 

I couldn't believe it, but the wind died down shortly before we reached the summit and we were lucky to have a relatively calm summit visit.

 

Approaching treeline

 

 

 

 

 

The views in all directions from Dix are stunning... the Great Range, Giant & Rocky Peak, Elk Lake, East Dix, Lake Champlain, and on and on...

The Great Range 

 

Rev on the summit ridge

 

Rev looking down at us

 

Elk Lake

 

 

 

Panorama

 Of course I could have gone on snapping pictures all day, but you get the idea.  Summits on days like today are awesome.

 



The summit

 

Spotted Mountain and East Dix (Grace)

 

The Great Range again

 

Trees fighting the ice

 

 

 

 

Giant and Rocky Peak

 

a closer look and Giant and Rocky Peak

We went down the same way we went up.  Leesa practiced her butt sliding on the way down and I ran ahead of her in case I had to stop her.  Even Rev was a little unsure of the steep pitch on the way down.  Fortunately there was almost no ice to deal with and everything went smoothly on the descent.  This is still one of my favorite trails!

 

 

Trailhead sign

Hike Stats:

Hike Distance:  13.4 miles

Hike Time:  7.5 hours, including stops

Total Vertical Gain:  ~3500'    

 

Our Route (click image to enlarge)

Dix Mountain from Route 73 - 2/23/13

This hike was a repeat of a hike I tried back on 4/20/12 when I attempted to climb Dix Mountain from the  Route 73 trailhead at Round Pond.  On that hike, there was absolutely no snow at the Trailhead, but there was 18" of fresh snow on the steep section above where the trail crosses the slide.  That new snow made it impossible for Rev to climb.  We ended up turning back.

On this day, my son Zack and girlfriend Hannah were visiting and they came along with me for the hike.  It was a nice day for a hike (at least below treeline).  It was just below freezing and there was light snow coming down.  Hannah uses an inhaler for asthma, but had forgotten it at home.  We were hoping she would be able to do the hike OK.

Zack, Hannah and Rev

Rev treat!

We started on the trail at 8:15.  There is an uphill section after passing Round Pond that is a moderate grade for awhile before leveling off until you pass the Boquet Leanto.  We covered the first 5 miles in 2 hours and then reached the beginning of the next grade which takes you past the slide on the east face of Dix.

Hannah noticed that she was not going to be able to climb the steeper section without difficulty and we stopped to discuss what to do.  It was decided that she and Zack would go back to the car and go get some lunch at the Noonmark Diner while I climbed the remaining 1.8 miles of steep terrain to the summit.  I figured I would be about 3 hours behind them.

I gave them the car keys and a walkie-talkie radio so we could still communicate.  They then headed back and I began the steep climb.  I was following a fresh snowshoe track so the trail was easier to climb than I thought it might be.  I reached the summit about 11:45 and was still able to reach them on the radio.

The summit weather conditions were quite different (as is often the case).  Visibility was poor and it was quite windy.  I stayed long enough to take a couple pictures and then I headed back down.  It was a fast butt slide down the steep section, then an easy downhill walk out.

On the summit ridge

The summit

A nice walk in the woods down below

I made it back to the car at about 2:30 and was only 1.75 hours behind Zack and Hannah.  They had just pulled back into the parking lot 10 minutes before I came out of the woods.  Great timing!  It was nice to get to hike with Zack and Hannah for a while.  Hope they can get back again soon for another hike.

Hike Stats:

Hike Distance:  13.7 miles

Hike Time:  6 hours, 15 minutes

Total Vertical Gain:  ~ 3600'

Our route for the day (Click image to enlarge)

A topo of the route

Dix Mountain - 5/12/12

What a beautiful day in the woods today.  It was in the mid 30's in the morning and the mid 70's this afternoon with a beautiful blue sky all day.  The bugs were non-existent until late in the day.  To top off the day, Leesa and I successfully climbed Dix Mountain in the Adirondack Park of NY from the Elk Lake Trailhead.  Elk Lake Road is located off Exit 29 of I87, then west on Blue Ridge Road to a right on Elk Lake Road to parking at the end on the right.  In winter, Elk Lake Road is closed about 2 miles south of the trailhead (a gate is located near Clear Pond). 

Trailhead sign at Elk Lake

I had tried to climb Dix on 4/14/12, but there was a foot of fresh snow up high and my dog refused to climb the final stretch.  Today was a different story.

 

The trail skirts around the east side of Elk Lake and arrives at the Slide Brook Leanto at 2.3 miles.  For hikers wanting to climb the trail-less Macomb Mountain, there is a rock cairn located just after a foot bridge with single handrail (and just before the Slide Brook Leanto) that marks the beginning of a herd path to the right.

Lillian Brook Leanto

Just prior to the Lillian Brook Leanto, at 3.7 miles, there is another rock cairn marking another herd path.  Either one can be followed.  We continued on toward Dix.  There are numerous campsites near the Lillian Brook Leanto and we thought that where the trail crossed Lillian Brook, just north of the Leanto was just a beautiful spot.  It would be a great place to swim in July and August and there were probably 6 nice places to camp.

Bridge over Lillian Brook

When we passed the Lillian Brook Leanto, there was a man in a sleeping bag just waking up for the morning!

The Beck-horn from Dix Mountain

We continued on a short distance to the split between the ridge trail on the right, to Dix via the Beckhorn, and the valley trail on the left to Dix via Hunter Pass.  We chose the Beckhorn.  The trail was nice and had several viewpoints.  There is one challenging rock climb located just before the Beckhorn.  Leesa had difficulty getting up the rock and I helped her.  I also had to lift up our dog Rev.  She couldn't scale the rock.

Elk Lake on the right, the Beckhorn on the left.  Clear Pond also in the distance.

Once we got past that one rockface, the Beckhorn and Dix awaited us.  We sat in the grass on Dix in a nice spot out of the wind and had some lunch.   Rev then took it upon herself to take a nap.

Dix Mountain from the Beckhorn

From the summit Dix, we decided to continue north and loop around to Hunter Pass and back to Elk Lake rather than go back down the Beckhorn.  It turned out to be a good decision.  We got to see another trail (and I didn't have to lift the dog down any rock).

The summit of Dix Mountain

We did run into a little snow and ice and a small section of monorail snow just north of the summit of Dix.  It should be gone in another week.

Rev is getting ready for a nap

Our return via Hunter Pass was pleasant.  There was one section of extreme blowdown and a small detour was marked with red ribbon.

The view north from Dix

She's out!

Snow on Mount Marcy

Leesa and Rev on Dix

They're ready to hike again

Leaving the alpine north heading down Dix toward Hunter Pass

One area in Hunter Pass had extreme blowdown

I was glad to reach the summit on this attempt after being so close a month ago.  Dix is one of the better high peak summits with great views in all directions.  We will be back to do some of the nearby trail-less high peaks.

Hike Stats

Hike Distance:  13.3 miles

Hike Time:  9 hours, 45 minutes (including stops)

Trailhead Elevation:  2057'

Summit Elevation:  4857'

Total Vertical Gain:  3795'

My Dix Mountain GPS track

A view of our GPS track from Google Earth

Our route shown in blue (click to enlarge)

A blowup of the summit loop