Dial and Nippletop from Round Pond via Gravestone Brook - 5/25/14

This was a repeat of a trip I did in July of 2013 with my dog Rev.  This time my wife Leesa wanted to go this route so she could hike Dial and Nippletop; two peaks she had not climbed.  These would be #'s 38 and 39 for her.  Since Rev was going with us we used Gravestone Brook to get from the Dix Trail to Dial.

It was a nice morning; sunny and about 50 degrees.  An afternoon thunder storm was possible, but we never saw any rain.  We arrived at the Round Pond trailhead just after 7:30 and claimed the last parking spot in the lot.  In minutes we arrived at Round Pond.  There was a tent at the first campsite on the right.  Three canoes were out on the pond with men fishing.

  

Round Pond in the morning sunlight

It was a peaceful morning at the pond.  I'm sure the men were enjoying the fishing.  We continued on and reached the height of land at 1.6 miles after 45 minutes from the car.  Next we dropped down along the Boquet River and followed it towards the Boquet lean-to.  

Round Pond

This was the first time on the Dix Trail for Leesa in spring.  Her only previous trip on this trail was in winter so everything looked different from when she last was here.  

A beautiful oxbow along the Boquet 

At the 3.5 mile mark we reached Gravestone Brook and it was time to do a little bushwhacking.  From my previous trip, I recalled that the right side of the brook was easier terrain to navigate and we chose that way again.  There is a slight herd path (animal path) that we followed along the way.  The biggest impediment was a lot of Witch-Hobble which would trip us up occasionally.

Witch-Hobble 

We enjoyed the cascades of Gravestone Brook.  There are numerous 4' drops and lots of areas where water slides down sheets of rock.  We weren't always at the waters edge.  At times, the walking was a little easier a short distance away from the brook.

Near the top of the brook, it splits in a Y.  We took the right hand fork to avoid bushwhacking up the steeper left fork.  Shortly the brook ended and soon we popped out on the trail near the Dial/Bear Den col, just slightly on the Dial side.  The elevation at this point was 3200'.

  

Gravestone Brook

The trail felt easy after the bushwhack, and we quickly climbed the 800' to the summit of Dial.  Number 38 for Leesa.  There was one lone gentleman enjoying the view of the Great Range from the summit rock.  We still had blue skies and some nice puffy cumulus clouds.  Rain was nowhere in sight.   

We stopped and had some left over pizza here.  I had brought a few drinks (some frozen) and the frozen ones weren't thawing as fast as I thought they might.  I fact, they were still half frozen when we got back to the car.

The Great Range!

Great Range, take two.

Leesa and Rev

As we made our way up the pointless ups-and-downs (PUDs), we soon began to see a few hikers and had a couple nice chats along the way.   We reached the summit and shared it with four other folks before they all left and we had a little time to ourselves at the top.  I didn't expect that on Memorial Day weekend.  High peak number 39 for Leesa! 

On the way down we saw one man with a dog near the sign for Elk Pass.  I didn't think to ask him which way he came up with his dog. 

I love this view of Dix from Nippletop

We had an uneventful descent.  The bushwhack seemed longer on the return, even though it was downhill. 

Elk Lake in the distance (from Nippletop)

A couple more clouds, but still nice

Dix

A PUD on the way back to Dial

This was the only patch of snow we saw.  They were also a couple small ice patches.

We stopped twice to soak our feet in the cold water on the return; once at the bottom of Gravestone Brook, and once at the Noonmark Trail junction.  It always feels good to stick hot feet in cold water!

We saw one tent pitched a mere 20 feet off the trail just a little east of the Noonmark Trail junction.  The holiday weekend crowd don't always know the rules (150' from water or trail, and no camping above 3500' unless at a designated location).

We got back to the car around 6:30 after another nice day in the woods.  Rev slept on the way back to Schroon Lake.

Hike Stats:

Hike Distance:  15 miles

Hike Time:  10 hours + stoppage time

Total Vertical Gain:  ~ 4000'

    

The route (click image to enlarge)

Dial and Nippletop from Round Pond (via Gravestone Brook) - 7/12/13

The Dial and Nippletop  Adirondack high peaks are generally reached from the Ausable Club.  People often make a loop by going over Bear Den Mountain then up the ridge over Dial to Nippletop, then down to Elk Pass and out via the Lake Road.  The loop can also be done counterclockwise, by going over Elk Pass first.

 

If your hiking partner is a dog, you are out of luck on the above loop hike.  The Ausable Club does not allow dogs anywhere on their property.  The most well known alternative, is to begin at the Round Pond trailhead and take the Dix trail as if you are climbing Dix, then bushwhack up Gravestone Brook to the Henry Goddard Leach trail.  This will put you on the trail near the Bear Den/Dial col, well off Ausable Club property.  You can then turn left and climb Dial and Nippletop.

 

This was my plan for the day, and I planned to return via the same route.  I started off from the trailhead at about 7:45 AM.  I was surprised to see someone had signed in the day before saying they were headed up Gravestone Brook.  At Round Pond I stopped to look at the 2 designated campsites near the pond.  Both were empty on this morning.  I thought both sites were average.  Both had decent spots to pitch a tent, and both had fire rings.

 

I continued on along the Dix trail.  After an hour, I passed the intersection with the Noonmark and Round Mountain trails.  The weather was pleasant and the bugs weren't bothering me. 

 



A nice oxbow along the Boquet River

After about 1.5 hours I reached a tributary that feeds into Gravestone Brook and a minute or two later I reached the brook itself.  If you cross Gravestone Brook, you will see nice stone steps on the far side and a trail arrow pointing left.  To the right, is a faint herd path heading up Gravestone Brook.

 

I wanted to hike to the Boquet lean-to before going up Gravestone Brook so I continued on the Dix trail another half mile to the lean-to.  It was there that I found the 2 guys who had signed the register indicating they were headed the same way I was.  They had arrived at the lean-to late the night before.  They slept late and were just having breakfast at about 9:30.  I told them I would probably see them later on the Dial/Nippletop ridge.

 

I returned to Gravestone Brook and began on the left side of the brook following a herd path.  It quickly faded away after about 2 minutes.  I starting rock hopping up the stream, but I was slipping on the wet rocks.  I found the right side of the stream to be easier walking than the left side.  At times there was a faint herd path, but certainly nothing that could be followed.  I just kept the brook on my left and worked my way up.  

 

Looking across Gravestone Brook to the stone steps

 

A faint herd path on Gravestone Brook that quickly ends

 

Nice water holes early on Gravestone Brook

High up the brook forks.  I stayed with the right fork to head for the col.  It took me about an hour to bushwhack up the brook to the Leach trail.  The last five minutes of the bushwhack was the hardest, but it still wasn't bad.  As I approached the trail, I saw a hiker headed for Dial.  He looked down at me like I was crazy.  Why was I coming out of the woods?  He didn't stop to ask.  He just kept going.

 

I stepped out of the woods and stopped to have a snack with my dog Rev.  We were at about 3300' and pretty much in the middle of the Bear Den/Dial col. 

 

The trail up to Dial felt nice and easy compared to the woods.  Then I reached the summit, two young guys were resting on the summit rock talking to the lone hiker who saw me coming out of the woods.  I didn't stop to chat; I just continued on.   I was feeling good and enjoying a day with low humidity.

 

After about an hour I came to the junction with the Elk Pass trail.  I had come up that trail when I climbed Nippletop and Dial in the winter.  Today I wouldn't be descending that way.   Someone had dropped a pack at the junction so I knew I'd be seeing someone on the summit.  I went up and over the false summit before reaching to top.

 

The Elk Pass trail junction

At the top there were two guys relaxing and enjoying the views.  It wasn't a bluebird day, but visibility was good and the entire Great Range was on full display.  On the other side, Dix and Hough provided great focal points.

 

Blake Peak and Pinnacle Ridge

 

The Great Range!

 

A little of Elk Lake...

 

I didn't see any summit disc on Nippletop or Dial.  I don't believe I saw any in winter either.

 

Dix Mountain

 

The picture below, for contrast, is from my 2/5/12 winter ascent.

   

Here is roughly the same shot in winter... I like winter better!

 





A zoomed in look at Dix and Hough

 

 

I talked with the guys on the summit for a little while.  They were planning to go to Elk Pass and camp.  As I headed back down, I was surprised to see 3 different groups with young children.  The first was a guy had a daughter who looked to be around 9.  Then I saw a guy with 2 boys who looked even younger.  Lastly I saw a dad with boys that looked like perhaps 12 and 14.    

 

 

Giant and Rocky Peak to the North

 

The summit of Dial Mountain

 

Nippletop from Dial

I saw several lone hikers and several couples.  One guy was doing Dial and Nippletop for high peak numbers 43 and 44.  He planned to finish in August on Esther and Whiteface.

   

 

The Great Range from Dial

 

Once I got back to the Bear Den/Dial col, I bushwhacked down Gravestone Brook following the same approximate course I had taken on the way up.  I stopped near the bottom to play in a nice water hole with the dog.

 

This water hole on the Gravestone was home to my feet for a few minutes

 

 

 

Once back on the Dix trail, it was an easy 1.5 hours back out.  As I got to the Noonmark trail junction I saw a large group of teenagers heading for Noonmark.  After that, all was quiet.  I got back to the car at 5 PM.

 

Gravestone Brook proved to be nice means of getting to Dial and Nippletop.  Route finding is necessary, but having the brook there makes it pretty easy.  It also provided good water for the dog (and me)!  A nice day with a combination of trail and bushwhack.

 

Hike Stats:

Hike Distance:  ~ 17 miles

Hike Time:  9 hrs, 20 minutes (including stops)

Total Vertical Gain:  ~ 4000'

Nippletop Mountain (Dix Mountain Wilderness) - 6/9/13

I continue to be impressed with the peaks of the Dix Mountain Wilderness Area of the Adirondack Park.  Not just those that are part of the 46er high peaks list, but also many of the peaks of lesser stature.

Nippletop Mountain is one of those.  It is a bushwhack hike to reach the summit, but not a difficult one.  My wife Leesa was willing to go with me.  She’ll usually be game as long as the distance is not extreme and the maneuverability through blowdown and vegetation is expected to be manageable.  She trusted my judgment!

This trip would start from Route 9, 3.4 miles north of Blue Ridge Road where private land owners have granted access to hikers via a jeep road that leads to a culvert under I87.

We parked alongside Route 9 since we have a low clearance vehicle.  After 5 minutes walk, the jeep road forks and  a sign directs hikers to the right where you have to ford the Schroon River.  Bring your water shoes, or garbage bags because the water is usually higher than boot level.  On this day, after having had lots of rain, the water was about knee deep.  We had brought our water shoes and they worked fine for the crossing.  Once across the river, we went to the right.  There is a myriad of jeep trails on the west side of the river, between the river and the highway.  The trick is to find the culvert passing under the highway.

It was about a mile from the car to the highway culvert crossing.  Once under the highway and on the west side of I87, there is a herd path that leads straight ahead.  We followed that for a few minutes until we reached the banks of Walker Brook where the herd path crossed the brook.  Again the water was above boot level so we used water shoes.  You could probably scout and find a way to rock hop, or a log for crossing.

Once across Walker Brook, there is a very well defined herd path that essentially follows the south side of Walker Brook.  We followed this path for 1.4 miles before it was time to turn SSW and begin the bushwhack portion of the hike.  At this point we had walked 2.4 miles and climbed 800 feet.

The climb to the northern summit of Nippletop Mountain was only a one mile bushwhack; generally through hardwoods.  There was nothing very complicated about it and no big obstacles to maneuver around, but we did climb 1100 feet in that mile.



One of the few places where you can get a good view of Schroon Lake

The northern summit is really cool. It is a large summit and has lots of open ledge interspersed with small clumps of trees and scrub. There is also one really large glacier erratic approximately in the center of the summit. There had been a few mosquitoes after us on the way up, but there was a good breeze on the top to keep them away. It was pretty comfortable and probably close to 70 degrees.



 

Looking south to the southern summit from the northern summit

 

A large glacial erratic in the center of the northern summit

 

Lots of open rock and views

 

 



A look at the true summit of Nippletop

 

Macomb, Carson & Grace (Giant and Rocky Peak in the background)  

 

View south from the southern summit

Leesa choose to stay at the north summit while I headed for the south summit (true summit) with our dog, Rev.I gave her one the radios so we could stay in contact.There is a small col between the two summits.Rev and I dropped about 100 feet before climbing towards the south summit.The terrain was a little more rugged and we had to scout around to find a way around some cliffs.We went to right and were able to manage.Leesa and I could see each other at various times.Once on the true summit, we were able to wave to each other and easily see from one peak to the other.It only took Rev and I about 20 minutes go travel from the north summit to the south summit.

 

The southern summit

 

North Nippletop from South Nippletop

 

The south (true summit) is about 50 feet higher.It has open rock with great views, but it has a smaller summit cone.There are 360 degree views.I thought the northern summit was more interesting, but they were both fantastic.

I spent a few minutes on top, then went back to Leesa then we stayed on the northern summit to have lunch. On our descent, Rev led the way; easily following the scent from our earlier climb.It took about an hour to get back to the Walker Brook herd path and then another hour to walk back to the car.Walker Brook had lots of water due to recent rain, so it was enjoyable walking alongside it on the way in and out.  

 

Leesa and Rev on North Nippletop

 

The south (true summit) is about 50 feet higher.It has open rock with great views, but it has a smaller summit cone.There are 360 degree views.I thought the northern summit was more interesting, but they were both fantastic.

I spent a few minutes on top, then went back to Leesa then we stayed on the northern summit to have lunch. On our descent, Rev led the way; easily following the scent from our earlier climb.It took about an hour to get back to the Walker Brook herd path and then another hour to walk back to the car.Walker Brook had lots of water due to recent rain, so it was enjoyable walking alongside it on the way in and out.   



Rev in camouflage

 

The southern summit on the left.  Another open rock section of the northern summit on the right

 

A butterfly back down at the Walker Brook water crossing



Our approximate route shown in blue (click to enlarge)

 



Topo of the route

 

 

Hike Stats:

Hike Distance:  7.5 miles

Hike Time:  6 hours (including stops)

Total Vertical Gain:  ~2500'