Cobble Ledge - Wilmington Wild Forest - 1/18/15

Last Sunday it was 70 degrees in most of the Adirondacks.  This Sunday it was 25 degrees.  Go figure.  This Sunday was still gorgeous though.  A light snowfall, combined with fall leaves and alternating snow squalls and blue skies made for fascinating scenery.

Leesa and I didn't have a whole day for adventure, but we opted to hike the new trail in Wilmington to Cobble Ledge.  We wanted to see some snow and this high elevation trail would do the trick. There was some snow around Chapel Pond and Keene Valley, so we knew we would find snow in Wilmington.

A favorite photographic viewpoint in Wilmington

Whiteface Mountain and fall colors from Springfield Road, Wilmington

Ausable River in Wilmington

We got to Wilmington and drove past the North Pole to the Wilmington Memorial Highway.  There at the entrance to the toll road were a dozen cars parked, most likely skiers earning some early season turns.  The summit of Whiteface had received 4-5 inches of snow.

At the road split for the Whiteface Highway and County Route 74, we went right on CR 74 for perhaps a quarter mile to a trailhead sign on the right.  We pulled off the shoulder and started out.

Snow even at the start of the trail.

Even though it was cold, the snow was melting in areas exposed to the sun.  We hiked through areas of snow and wintry conditions, followed by areas of leaves and fall conditions, back and forth, all the way to the ledge.

    

Fresh leaves on the ground competing with snow. 

A small stone staircase.

Back to the snow.

The elevation at the trailhead is approximately 2400'.  The trail rises a couple hundred feet before falling back to 2400' at the ledge.  The 1.2 mile long trail is perfect for familes with young children or for folks who don't want to hike a trail with a lot of elevation gain. 

We reached the ledge in 35 minutes and were greeted with changing conditions.  At first, we had visibility, but a snow squall was blowing in.  We watched our visibility disappear in a hurry. 

We arriving at the ledge and were greeted with some visibility and blowing clouds.

Mike & Rev surveying the scenery.

Before the blue skies arrived.

We roamed around a took quite a few photos.  As we were getting ready to leave, we noticed that blue skies were coming.  We decided to stay and see if  visibility was going to return.

Blue skies coming...

We're glad we waited.  This was fantastic to watch.

Within 10 minutes, we were treated to a blue sky changeover.  The snow squall stopped and skies cleared.  The blue lasted about 10 mintues before another snow squall arrived.  Still, it was long enough for us to capture the moment.  

Esther from Copper Ledge

This hike may not always be this exciting, but it's a nice short hike to a nice viewpoint.

Hike Stats:

Hike Distance:  2.4 miles

Hike Time:  1 hour, 15 minutes (plus stopping time)

Total Vertical Gain:   ~300'

The Cobble Ledge Trail (click image to enlarge)

      

Whiteface Mountain - Connery Pond to Wilmington Reservoir - 7/4/14

As I continue to revisit peaks that I've climbed previously, I look to climb them via alternate 

routes.  In the case of Whiteface Mountain, I had not climbed it from Connery Pond or from the Wilmington Reservoir, so when I heard ADKJack (from the ADK High Peaks Forum) was headed that way on Friday I volunteered to tag along.  I had XC skied from Connery Pond to the Whiteface Leanto, but had never climbed to the summit from that route.

We met at the Connery Pond parking lot at 9:30 and were on the trail at 9:45.  My dog Rev joined us.  My wife Leesa was kind enough to volunteer to park our car at the Wilmington Reservoir to pick us up at the end of our traverse.  She actually met us on top of Marble Mountain.

The jeep trail to Whiteface Landing was drier than I had expected it to be.  It was a fast 45 minute walk.  

  

Lake Placid from Whiteface Landing

We saw these ski poles laying at Whiteface Landing

From Whiteface Landing we began the climb of Whiteface and 30 minutes later we arrived at the Whiteface leanto.  The leanto is about 3.5 miles from Connery Pond, but we had only climbed 400' thus far and still had 2700' to climb.  I had some trail mix and we continued on. 

Jack's knee didn't appreciate these large boulders that were in the trail 

As we climbed, it was obvious that we climbing into the clouds.  Our visibility was deteriorating.  As we got high on the shoulder we were in the fog of a cloud and had no visibility.  No views of Lake Placid were to be had today.

The view near the top...

As we started to climb out of the trees, the terrain felt very similar to the White Mountains.  The fog felt similar too!

Rev knew which way to go (she probably smelled the scent of previous hikers)

This part of the trail (high shoulder) was really interesting.

The final push

Sign just below the summit

Jack approaching the final push

I'm now batting 50 percent on visits to Whiteface.  I've had 2 visits with fantastic visibility and 2 visits socked in the clouds.  It had taken us 3.5 hours to hike the 6 miles to the summit from Connery Pond.

One thing about the clouds and fog, it kept visitors away.  There were only a dozen or so people milling about on the summit.  If it had been a bluebird day, I'm sure lots of people would have driven up.

Mike & Rev on top for 4th time together

Rev didn't care to rest...

Part of  the summit building complex

The oft photographed summit sign

We left the summit and hiked the trail down to the Wilmington turn.  From this point to the cairn marking the intersection with the Esther herd path, the trail was very wet.  Lots of standing water and mud.  Jack had entertained the thought of going to Esther but he didn't want us to hold up Leesa who would be at the Wilmington Reservoir trailhead.  We skipped Esther and continued on towards Marble Mountain.

I called Leesa on our 2 way radios, and it turned out she was on the trail and nearing the summit of Marble Mountain.  We all met on the summit of Marble.  The trip down to Wilmington Reservoir was a new trail for me.  I found this trail to be very nice.  Much nicer than the trail from the ASRC (in my opinion).  It doesn't get a lot of use and therefore has minimal mud.  The trail from Whiteface leanto to the summit is also lightly used and is in great condition.

Thanks Jack for letting me tag along with you on this hike.  It was a pleasure to hike with you once again.  This traverse was a nice way to see Whiteface.

Hike Stats:

Hike Distance:  10.8 miles

Hike Time:  6.5 hours

Total Vertical Gain:  ~ 3200'     

   

The route (click image to enlarge)

Rev is Published! - 5/6/14

Over the past few years, I've been asked by different people if they could use certain pictures of mine for various purposes.  One such request came last fall when a publisher "Bring Fido" contacted me to ask if they could include one of my pictures of Rev in an upcoming book they were publishing.

The book was to be called "Ruff Guide to the United States - 365 of the Best Places to Stay and Play in All 50 States".  The picture they wanted to use was a picture of Rev and I sitting on the summit of Whiteface Mountain next to the summit sign.  I of course, had no problem with the request.  They told me they would let me know when the book was released.

Last month, Bring Fido contacted me again to say that the book was going to be released on May 6th, 2014.   They offered to send me a complimentary copy of the book in advance of the publish date.  I received the book several weeks ago.  I am quite pleased with it.

Rev and I can be found on Page 152.  There is no description of us, or our trip, but they wrote about Whiteface as a hiking destination.  The same is true for all the other pictures in the book; they didn't identify the dogs or their owners, but they used the pictures in the context of their descriptions of the activities they chose to write about.

Rev's "Ruff Guide" picture

Here is a link to the book on Amazon if you want to find out more about it.

Rev has been a great hiking companion for the last 2 years and I hope we get to have many more great hikes together!  She's climbed all 46 ADK high peaks and she continues to amaze me.




Whiteface & Esther Mountains - Wilmington, NY - 1/15/13

I was thinking of hiking Mount Marshall or Mount Colden today, but I had the chance to hike with fellow hiker Taras (Trail Boss) today on Whiteface and Esther.  We both needed these peaks for our winter 46, so we joined forces for the day (along with my dog Rev). 

It turned out be be quite a nice day.  It was 28 degrees Fahrenheit at the start and the finish.  Trail Boss said the temp on the summit of Whiteface was 15 degrees.  There was almost no wind.

The warm weather from the previous week was gone and the snow is now quite frozen and crunchy.  I wore my snowshoes and had no problem.  They were loud, but they worked fine.  

At the start, it was still partially overcast.  We started from the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center (ASRC) at a brisk pace and traveled the .9 miles to Marble Mountain in 30 minutes.  After an hour and 15 minutes we were at the trail junction for Esther.  We chose Esther first, hoping that the summit of Whiteface would clear by the time we got there.  30 minutes down the Esther herd path and we were on the summit. 

Mike and Rev on the summit of Esther

Whiteface was still in the clouds.  We stopped briefly on Esther for a snack before continuing on. 



 

We reached the Whiteface Memorial Highway and had a good vantage point to see snowmaking operations down below at Whiteface Mountain Ski Area.  The snow guns were blasting.  Once at the auto road, we chose to walk the road to the summit. 



Whiteface Mountain Ski Area down below

The snow guns were going in full force

Rev's getting a snow beard!

Taras enjoying the view of Lake Placid

Lake Placid

Once on the summit, we took our pictures at the summit sign and continued snapping pictures from every angle.  Blue sky could be seen to the north, while it was still somewhat cloudy to the south.  We enjoyed the fact that there was almost no wind on the summit! 

Taras on the summit of Whiteface

Mike & Rev on the summit

Looking north from Whiteface

We only saw 2 hikers during the day.  They reached the summit of Whiteface shortly after we did, and we all had a nice chat.

 

The summit structures amidst an interesting sky

We had reached the summit of Whiteface in 3 hours from the car, and we stayed on the summit for probably 20 minutes.  We had some more snacks and then descended along the ridge trail back to the auto road and then retraced the trail back to Marble Mountain and down. 

 

Taras set a fast pace down (perhaps trying to show Rev who was boss).  It didn't work.  Rev came out on top.  It was fun to trot down the trail, although I broke a snowshoe strap, and a second one is hanging by a thread.

 

 

  

 

 
 

At 5 hours and 15 minutes from our start we were back at the car.  The sunshine continued to increase as the day went on, and we both had an enjoyable day.  Thanks Taras for letting me join you on this hike.  I enjoyed your company.

Hike Stats:

Hike Distance:  ~ 10 miles

Hike Time:  5 hours, 15 minutes, including stopping time

Total Vertical Gain:  ~ 3590'

My 4/20/12 early spring trip report from this route can be seen here.
 

Our route shown in blue

A close up view of our route