Seward & Donaldson Mountains - Clockwise Loop - 7/5/14

So nice to have another weekend with perfect weather.  Two weekends ago, it was the same way.  I could get used to this.

 

This trip was planned by my wife Leesa, who needed Seward for her ADK 46 High Peaks.  She wanted to approach Seward via the Ward Brook herd path, then descend via the Calkins Brook herd path.  That was fine with me.  Any hike in the high peaks is a good hike, and I had not been on the Ward Brook herd path before.  I had heard nasty things about it, but we both wanted to experience it for ourselves.

 

We overslept a little and didn't get on the trail until about 8:15 AM.  There were only 2 parking spots left in the parking lot before cars would have to spill out into the shoulder of the Corey Road.  We grabbed one of the spots and got our gear together.

 



 

Drainage near Blueberry Pond

 

 

I thought the trail to the Blueberry leanto was surprisingly dry.  It's kind of a mindless, straight, flat trail and we hummed along.  At the leanto, we 4 tents pitched in various locations near the leanto, and one pitched in the leanto!  I always hate seeing this; it just shows a lack of common courtesy, not to mention it is against the rules.

 

We continued past the Blueberry leanto to the first cairn on the right, marking the Ward Brook herd path.  We had been hiking for 2 hours at this point.  As we began our way up, we both commented that it was nice that the path followed so close to the brook.  There were some locations with a fair amount of mud on the trail, but we were braced for what we thought would be something much worse.  

 



A very pretty Ward Brook

 

In addition to the pleasant Ward Brook, we enjoyed the viewpoints that offered us great views of Ampersand Lake and Mountain and Whiteface Mountain.

 

A look at Ampersand Lake and Mountain 

 

We didn't hurry our way up the Ward Brook herd path.  Leesa likes to hike cautiously on these rugged trails, and we had pretty of time.  We didn't intend to include Mount Emmons, just Seward and Donaldson on this day.  We spent 2 hours on the Ward Brook trail and we both rather enjoyed it.  I'm sure it can be a different story in winter, but it was fine on this day.  I wouldn't like to be on this trail if I was pressed for time, but at a leisurely pace, it is quite enjoyable.    

 

Working our way up the Ward Brook herd path

 

 

Another Ampersand picture.  I snapped a lot of these! 

 

 

Another spot along the Ward Brook herd path.

 

High on the Ward Brook path

 

As we approached the summit of Seward, we reached the band of cliffs that guard the summit.  We skirted around this and soon found ourselves on top.  This marks # 42 for Leesa!

 

We went past the wooded summit and stopped for lunch on the  west facing ledge.  There was a fantastic breeze all day and it felt real nice.  We continued on with our planned itinerary and headed for Donaldson Mountain.  In the col between the two, we ran into "Hiking Chick" and her hiking companions.  Nice to meet you!  She was doing the 3 Sewards.  We told her to consider the Ward Brook herd path to make her trip a counter-clockwise loop instead of going back down the Calkins Brook herd path that she had used on the way up.  She did just that and we saw her again back at the parking lot.  She got back just after we did.    

 

We also met a lot of other great people during the day.  Many of them recognized us from this blog.  It was nice to meet and talk with all of you.

 

 

Mount Emmons and Donaldson Mountain

 

We reached Donaldson and stopped again to soak up the perfect weather.  We could have easily taken a nap up there.  It was a perfect day.  Alas, we had to head back.  Besides, Rev can't sit still for more than a couple minutes before she begins her whimper indicating that it is time to move on.

 

a closer look

 

 

 

 

Coming down off Seward, heading for Donaldson

 

 

 

 

You can see from these pictures that we had lots of blue sky; just enough clouds were out to add some interest to the pictures.

 

Seward Mountain from Donaldson Mountain

 

 

 

 

Mount Emmons from Donaldson Mountain

 

The top third of the Calkins Brook herd path is fairly rugged, but once below a water crossing, the path becomes quite smooth and easy to walk on.  We did stop at the water crossing though to take off our boots and cool our feet off in the cold water, always a treat.

 

A small cascade on Calkins Brook

 

 

The Calkins Brook herd path bucket cairn

 

Interesting sign on the Calkins Truck Road intersection with the southern most trail leading to the parking lot.  

 

 

We found the distance from the trailhead to the Blueberry leanto to be 5 miles... not 3.8! 

 

We found the loop to be more enjoyable than an out-and-back and we give the Ward Brook herd path a thumbs up (in good weather and dry conditions).  The Sewards (and Seymour) are now done for Leesa.  She has 4 left (Cliff, Redfield, Sawteeth and Couchsachraga).  She wants to finish on Couch because nobody else does!

 

Hike Stats:

Hike Distance:  14.1 miles

Hike Time:  9 hours

Total Vertical Gain:  ~ 3000'      

 

The route was done clockwise.  (Click image to enlarge)

The Seward Range (minus Seymour) - 2/7/13

With a pending big snowstorm headed our way for tomorrow, I took the day off today and headed for the Seward Range to climb Emmons, Donaldson and Seward.  The road from Coreys was still drivable all the way to the summer trailhead.

I arrived at 7 AM and there was one other car there.  A man (Brian) was just preparing to head out for Donaldson and Emmons.  We talked for a minute and then we both headed out.

I made the mistake of trying to ski the first part of the trail. It was an obvious mistake since there was only maybe 2 inches of snow on the ground.  I didn't get far before ditching the skis.  I so wanted to ski for awhile, but it wasn't to be.

Brian told me to go on ahead since my pace was faster than his.  I made good progress in microspikes and switched to snowshoes at about 3500'.  I was up on the ridge shortly after 10 AM.  I stopped at Donaldson and enjoyed a nice view there.  Visibility was good, and blue skies were beginning to show.

The summit disc on Donaldson

I spent the next 40 minutes going over to Emmons.  The route felt much better to me in the winter than in the summer.   I noticed that in addition to the summit disc, there is now a summit plaque (and on Seward as well).  Don't know why  Donaldson didn't get one.

On the way to Emmons with the summit in the background 

Long Lake from the trail to Emmons

Once I reached Emmons, I had my first sandwich.  Well I should clarify, I attempted to eat my sandwich, but my dog Rev got about 2/3 of it.

The summit disc and plaque on Emmons

Here's Rev getting ready to eat my sandwich'

On the way back to Donaldson, I had to lift Rev over a couple exposed ice flows.  She had no problem jumping off them on the downhill, but on the uphill, she needed a boost.

Heading back to Donaldson

Once back at Donaldson, I saw the other hiker (Brian) on the summit.  We talked for a couple minutes, then he headed for Emmons and I headed for Seward.  I didn't see him again.  I got back to the Calkins Brook trail before he did.

Seward from Donaldson

As I made my way over to Seward, I noticed that nobody had been that way lately and I had to break trail.  Donaldson and Emmons had already been broken out.  The breaking trail wasn't that difficult.   There was only perhaps 6 inches of snow on the trail.

Seward and Seymour on the right

The blue skies really came out as I headed for Seward.  I also warmed up a bit.  It was -5 degrees Fahrenheit when I started out.  When I got back to the car it was +20.

Heading up Seward. and the blue skis were out

I ran into a longer ice flow on the trail to Seward and gave Rev some more help.

More ice flows

Rev had no difficulty when the ice was covered with snow.

Donaldson and Emmons from the shoulder of Seward

We reached the summit of Seward about 12:45 and it was really a beautiful day by this point.

The summit of Seward, and another new summit plaque

At the summit I carefully guarded my sandwich and was able to eat the whole thing.  We retraced our track back to the Calkins Brook Herd path and retreated back to the car by 3:45. My winter Sewards have been successfully completed.

I really did make it

Blue sky and ice

This trip took me about 8.5 hours as opposed to 9.5 hours when I did them in the summer with Leesa.  The descents are faster in the winter, and I tend to stop for shorter amounts of time due to the colder temperatures.

The Seward Range - 6/30/12 & 7/1/12

This past weekend Leesa and I made our first trip to the Seward Range, the western most range of the Adirondack high peaks.  It was also our first trip camping with our dog Rev.  The biggest challenge was the fact that we were using a tiny 2 person backpacking tent.  We weren't sure if we'd be backpacking or car camping, but we only brought the little tent.

Leesa wanted to do some hiking, but not all four peaks so we decided I would climb Seymour on Saturday while she did some kayaking; then we'd both climb Seward, Donaldson and Emmons together.

We drove past Saranac Lake heading west on Route 3 to a left on  Corey's Road (a couple miles west of the Ampersand Mountain trailhead.  As soon as we turned onto Corey's Road we saw Stony Creek Ponds on the left, which is where Leesa decided to paddle.  She said later that is was a good choice.  There are a series of interconnected ponds and some great camping sites.  On our way out she showed me her favorite camping site; a peninsula with water north and south and a little sandy beach.  We'll have to camp there next time.  There is a pull off next to the lake and a short trail leads right to the peninsula. 

I unloaded the kayak and carried it a hundred yards down the path to the place where she could later launch.  Then we continued driving Corey's Road towards the summer parking lot.  We passed several car camping sites and chose one for Saturday night.  We set up the tent and put some of our gear inside.

Leesa then dropped me off at the Seward Mountain trailhead.  In winter, the last couple miles of Corey's road are closed and you have to park at the winter parking area, making your hike a bit longer.

Ward Brook leanto is in great shape and has a fireplace and picnic table

I got started towards Seymour Mountain at 11:30 AM.  I had noticed two trails on the map both headed towards Ward Brook (the place where the Seymour herd path starts).  I chose the southern trail of the two.  That trail turned out to be a horse trail that doesn't see much use.  I had to pay close attention to make sure I stayed on the trail.  After 5 miles, the trail rejoined the northern trail which was a red marked foot trail.  At that point, I realized I had already passed the Blueberry leanto.  I turned right, and shortly crossed a bridge and passed the cairn marking the herd path for Seward Mountain.   I less than a mile, I passed the Ward Brook leanto, which was a nice looking leanto with nobody using it.  Quickly after passing the Ward Brook leanto I came to the cairn for Ward Brook on the right and the start of the Ward Brook herd path to Seymour.

Looking Wast toward Ward Brook herd path cairn   

By this point it was 2:00 PM and I hadn't even stared climbing yet.  I climbed steadily and ascended 2000' to the top of Seymour by 3:10 PM.  Seymour has good views of  the remainder of the Seward range - Seward, Donaldson and Emmons), as well as distant views of the MacItyre Range, Colden and Marcy.

From L-R, Emmons, Donaldson & Seward from Seymour

I encountered more than my desired amount of black flies on the summit, so I didn't linger.  Surprisingly, it was the first time this year I've been bothered by black flies.  I retraced my trail until I passed the Ward Brook leanto and reached the junction of the horse path and the red marked foot trail.  This time I took the foot trail and was back to the car at 6:15 PM.  Leesa was there waiting to pick me up.  She had brought some work with her, so she was just doing paperwork.

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Ampersand Lake and Ampersand Mountain from Seymour

Her day kayaking at Stony Creek Ponds had gone well.  We went back to where she left the kayak and I loaded it back on the car.  We hadn't brought food for cooking so we went into Saranac Lake for dinner.  After dinner, we returned to our campsite and convinced Rev to come into the tent and lie down and go to sleep.  It wasn't too hard since she had hiked all day.  If she had given us any problems, we would have just put her in the back of the 4Runner for the night.  Fortunately, we all slept fine in the tent.

Rev... waiting for a snack

This ledge is reached just prior to the true summit

The Santanoni Range from Seymour

Summit disc

Somebody put a moose in a noose!

This is looking west towards the Blueberry leanto and the herd path to seward

Start of the herd path to Seward ( I didn't take this)

My Seymour Mountain GPS track at EveryTrail

My Seymour Mountain route highlighted in blue (click image to enlarge)

 

Day # 2

Sunday July 1, 2012 - Donaldson, Emmons & Seward Mountains

We awoke at daylight on Sunday and prepared to hike the 3 remaining mountains in the Seward Range (Seward, Donaldson & Seymour).  This time we got started pretty early.  We were on the trail at 6:30 AM.

Start of Calkins Brook herd path



We walked the 1.4 miles to the start of the Calkins Brook truck trail, then turned right (south) to go towards Calkins Brook.  Almost immediately we came to a cairn on the left which looked like a herd path.  This was confusing to me.  I knew it was not the Calkins Brook HP, so we continued on.  After 35 minutes more, we reached Calkins Brook and the herd path we wanted to take.

Cairn on the summit ridge at intersection of Calkins Brook herd path

Calkins Brook herd path is a nice trail.  Relatively dry and long moderate grade.  There are very few steep sections compared to other herd paths.  We reached the summit ridge at 9:30 and chose to turn right to do Donaldson and Emmons first.  We reached Donaldson about 9:45 and stopped on the open summit rock to enjoy the views.

Donaldson summit disc

After Donaldson, we headed off to Emmons.   We were a little surprised by how rough the terrain was.  We were expected a summit ridge walk of little difficulty, but there was some elevation change and some boulder hopping.  We reached Emmons about 10:15.  The views are limited, but we stopped to give Rev a snack.

Mike, Leesa and Rev on Donaldson

We returned to the Calkins Brook cairn on the ridge at about noon.  Seward looked far away, and a couple had told us that it was about a 1.5 hour walk to Seward 9 (one way).  Leesa decided she would pass on Seward and slowly make her way back the way we came.  I continued on and found that the herd path bypasses the false summits and drops down a ways before rising directly to the summit.  There is a fine ledge just prior to the summit, but the actual summit is treed. 

On the way to Emmons from Donaldson

I returned to the point where we had separated by 1:15 PM and then dropped down Calkins Brook HP and out.  I was back at the car at 4 PM.  That was nice.  It gave us time to stop for a nice dinner at Mr. P's Mountain Smokehouse in Schroon Lake before getting home at 8:30.  We love their Mac and Cheese and their baked beans.  The chili is great too, but it's not offered in the summer.  We usually just get a couple side dishes because everythings so filling.

Emmons disc

Emmons and Donaldson from Seward

Seward Summit Disc

I've got two high peaks left for my 46... Gray and Skylight.  We hope to do them this week sometime after the 4th.   Skylight will be a nice finish!

My Seward Range GPS track at EveryTrail

Our route highlighted in blue (click map to enlarge)

 

Day #1 - Hike Stats:

Seymour Mountain 

Hike Distance: 13.4 miles

Hike Time: 6 hours, 35 minutes

Total Vertical Gain: 3385'

Day #2 Hike Stats
Donaldson, Emmons, Seward
Hike Distance:  14.4 miles
Hike Time:  9 hours, 45 minutes
Total Vertical Gain:  4525'