High Peaks Trip
My second backpack trip of 2016, although less ambitious in terms of mileage or days out than my previous one, was still an adventure. For this trip I chose a hike I had been mulling over for a few years and that is summiting part of the Great Range in the high peaks region of the Adirondacks.
I had originally thought of hiking over the lesser peak of Rooster Comb, camping near that summit, and then hiking over four of the summits in the Great Range. After reading the trail description from Rooster Comb to the first of those summits (Lower Wolf Jaw) I decided that was a less than ideal choice. Instead, I went with hiking in from the Garden trail-head towards Johns Brook Lodge and then heading up to the Wolf Jaws (Upper and Lower).
I took an afternoon off from work to drive to the trail-head. Of course, the busy Garden trail-head parking lot was full, so I parked at the Rooster Comb parking lot (see photo below) in Keene Valley and road walked the 1+ miles to the trail-head.
 |
| Parking lot (Rooster Comb trail-head) |
 |
| Junction with now abandoned Southside Trail |
 |
| Trail junction |
 |
| Trail register |
From the trail register, above, I followed the trail past the DEC interior outpost. I assume this is where DEC personnel work out of during the summer (maybe other seasons, I don't know for sure). Once past the outpost the trail crosses a suspension bridge.
 |
| DEC outpost |
After crossing the suspension bridge, the trail starts uphill (slightly) to the Range trail. At the junction with the Orebed Trail I stopped for dinner (it was later afternoon after all). I was eating now to avoid food smells at my camping spot because the High Peaks are notorious for black bear activity. Why, even the chipmunks are almost tame here. I had one that stayed near me while I was eating (maybe hoping I would feed it, but as I did not want to encourage that behavior, I did not). Twice it darted between my legs while I sat on a rock eating.
 |
| Trail junction |
 |
| Chipmunk (lower third of pic, at left of center) |
I resumed the hike now, looking for the Wolf Jaw lean-to as my preferred camping spot. Soon I crossed this slide area. It is a pretty amazing sight (and a little unnerving to see the damage).
 |
| Slide |
After crossing this slide area I started looking out for the Wolf Jaw lean-to. And then I met two fellows (without packs as far as I remember, don;t know why) hiking downhill that said they were looking for it too and had not seen it, just 'Camping Prohibited' areas. At this point I noted a trail junction sign pointing to the left indicating the lean-to was in that direction. I followed them on this trail (downhill) for a few minutes, but as it became apparent that we could not see the lean-to and that it might have been relocated further away from the summit than I wanted, I turned around and resumed the uphill hike. I never saw those two fellows again. As I resumed the uphill hike I saw the 'Camping Prohibited' signs where the lean-to was formerly and wondered what I would do. I started looking for a good spot for my hammock (one of the advantages of the hammock over the tent is the greater possible camping locations). Wolf Jaw Brook was on my left, close to the trail and I could see a slide off to my right, not far from the trail in that direction. That meant I would need to be a bit more imaginative on camping location. After no more than five minutes hiking, I decided that there was a decent spot to the left, if I was willing to (a) cross the stream and (b) bushwhack a bit through the trees. Knowing it was not going to get any better, I went with that idea. I crossed the stream and pushed my way into a small clearing (if I can call a spot between trees 15 feet wide such a thing). I was out of sight from the trail there (a prime consideration), but not so far to have a problem finding my way back to it. So, I set up camp here, sat for a bit looking at the map and trail description and decided to lay in my hammock until nightfall. Without being able to have a campfire (prohibited in the High Peaks) there wasn't much else to do.
 |
| Hammock and tarp set up |
It was difficult to get to sleep (I was anxious about the next days hike and not exhausted like I would normally be after a day of hiking). Eventually I did fall asleep, but the sleep was not without nightmares (sometimes they happen when camping out, I speculate that the forest noises (e.g., stream burbling) and exposure of the hammock lead to them). One nightmare involved a bear sniffing my hammock and another was someone jumping in my hammock and attacking me. Of course, when I awoke from these nightmares there was only silence. Now, you may think I should not use a hammock if I get nightmares and, yes, when I was in a tent I did not get them, but that was because I couldn't sleep, period.
The next morning, when I coaxed myself to get out of my warm and comfy sleeping bag, I quickly got ready. I packed up my gear started back to the stream. As I was crossing I noticed a small plastic grocery bag tied to a small branch hanging over the stream. This was curious as I had not seen it the previous day and I had heard no one nearby or setting up camp. I glanced around to see if anyone was near, but they were not (or at least not obviously). Anyway, it was a mystery that I did not want to take time to solve so I headed up the trail. It was a bit nippy, so I was wearing a long sleeve shirt over my normal short sleeve hiking shirt. When I reached the junction at the col where the trails to Lower and Upper Wolf Jaw split I was warm enough that I pushed up the sleeves during my short break. From here I headed towards Lower Wolf Jaw, the summit is about 1/2 mile from the junction, but felt longer. It was pretty steady climbing with a mild scramble or two, but eventually I reached the summit with its limited views, i.e., the summit was not tree-less (see below). I was taking a few pictures when two fellows reached the summit soon after I had reached it. We chatted for a few minutes and they talked amongst themselves a bit.
 |
| View from Lower Wolf Jaw summit |
I was eating my breakfast (a protein bar and a couple of granola bars) and thinking about the remaining summits I wanted to reach as I was looking at the map. The two fellows left and I quickly brushed and flossed my teeth (I skipped shaving as I wasn't sure who else might show up next). I then set off downhill towards Upper Wolf Jaw summit. It took less time to reach the col from the summit than it did going up. Going towards Upper Wolf Jaw now, the uphill climb wasn't too bad at first, but I got to a point that would require a scramble (scrambles are a more 'technical' hiking maneuver defined as "a walk up steep terrain involving the use of one's hands" with mostly use of hands and almost no walking). Anyway, I am no fan of scrambles (I know there are people that are because it can contain elements of mountain climbing or rock climbing). Any way, I was looking at this one scramble, deciding how to handle it when a DEC ranger came up. We chatted very briefly (she said she was on blowdown patrol which she must be very diligent about because I had only seen one on the whole hike). She just took about 10 seconds tops to decide how to proceed and then made her way along, giving me advice on how to follow and I used the same technique as her. By the way, I told her to go first as she was younger than me (I also wanted to see what her technique was as she was obviously more experienced with this trail and because I was self-conscious about looking undignified during the scramble. She told me she was older than she looked (she looked mid-30s at most, but she announced she was mid-40s), I told her my age so she would know I was right about the age difference (it occurred to me later that that might have been a bit of a compliment if she thought I was in my 40s). She did not go far as she needed to cut a blowdown across the trail (the second of only two blowdowns on the entire hike). I offered to help move the log away from the trail, but she declined (I was sure she could handle it, but I rarely get an opportunity to help actual trail work so I offered anyway).
Maybe ten minutes later, I came to another scramble that was even more difficult than the previous one. While I was trying to figure out what to do the DEC ranger came along again and commented (as she was propelling herself upward) that she was 'bouldering' the first part and jumping across the gap to the next part. I was thinking to myself that sounded easy, but bouldering. is not something I do. I slowly pulled myself up onto the first part (maybe 5-6 feet high) and then stepped across the gap, which was not bad, the first part was the hard bit. Anyway, she left and I never saw her again on the entire hike. But, about five minutes later I was passed by a woman (that also looked much younger than I) with a small pack, moving quickly. We said hi (as is the custom when hiking) and my only thought was that I must be slow (due to having a backpack with overnight stuff and not a daypack). I did not know it then, but it was Bethany Garretson finishing her 14 day hike of all 46 Adirondack high peaks as part of a climate awareness effort (denoted by the social media label #ClimbIt4Climate). After another scramble or two (I lost count) I reached the summit of Upper Wolf Jaw. Of course, there were other people already there, but this was the view.
 |
| View from summit of Upper Wolf Jaw |
I stayed here long enough to take the photos and to drink water (it was too soon for lunch; and I wanted to wait to eat when I was on the last summit). So from here, I pushed on to Armstrong. I was a bit nervous about the next peak as I knew from the trail guide there was a tall ladder for one part and who knows what else. There was another somewhat challenging scramble (not as bad as the previous ones though) and then I came to the ladder. I have been on hiking ladders before, a couple of short ones on the Loyalsock trail and a taller one in the Adirondacks associated with Pinnacle Mt. So I assumed my earlier experience would help and it would be no big deal (okay maybe a little deal). Here is the ladder:
 |
| Ladder on trail to Armstrong |
There are twenty rungs (not counting the missing one near the top, I counted them). Anyway, I climbed up the ladder not looking up or down, just at the rungs, counting as I went up, to know where I was. After reaching the top of the ladder I moved on with only another minor scramble. At the summit there were a number of other hikers. One was talking about Bethany Garretson just as I arrived and even had a news clipping (which she allowed me to read). This is how I knew Bethany had passed me earlier. I took a short break here (see photo below).
 |
| View from Armstrong |
I could see Gothics from here and it looked a little daunting (but most peaks do). Once I started off again I encountered a couple of hikers coming from Gothics. I asked them about the trail over and both expressed no concerns (I was worried there were more challenging scrambles). It did not take too long before I reached the summit of Gothics (it was probably the easiest summit to reach of the day). Here, too, were a number of other hikers and I stopped here for my lunch (finally) as it was about 1pm. I took the following pictures while on the summit.
 |
| Another view from Gothics towards Ausable Lake |
 |
| View from Gothics |
 |
| Summit marker on Gothics |
After my stop, I headed away from the summit, but towards Basin Mt (the next summit in the Great Range). After a short length of gentle trail it started down the bare,exposed rock with the cables I had read about in the guide book. I was a bit nervous about this part as one of the fellows I had encountered on Lower Wolf Jaw had said he would not go down the cables. In fact the cables were a bit hard to use standing up comfortably and trying to walk down the exposed rock face. Instead, I chose to use a less dignified approach and that was to slide down on my butt. Unknown at the time, my pants paid a price and got ripped in the seat (I did not discover until much later). I did notice someone following me down using a similar strategy which made feel better. Also, a person coming up the cables warned me about a section that did not have cables and which he thought I should avoid. That was worrisome, so the next hiker I saw coming up (with his young son) I asked about that. He said it was nothing to worry about and he did turn out to be right. Because, after a few more minutes with the cables I reached an easier stretch and then a downhill section without cables, but it was no big deal. And soon I reached the junction with the Orebed trail and the trail to Basin (I had not planned on going to Basin and had no time to do so).
 |
| Junction with Orebed Trail |
From here it was steady downhill for a bit and then I reached he section with the stairs alongside the slide area. These were welcome after the cables and were nicely built.After reaching the bottom of the stairs, the trail bent right into the woods. The grade was much more gentle and easier walking. After passing the Orebed lean-to and then some more distance (what seemed forever) I reached the junction with the trail to the DEC interior outpost. I crossed the suspension bridge and walked by the outpost. And after a short walk I reached the junction with the trail to JBL.
At the trail register (btw-I forgot to sign myself out) there was a group of people apparently hiking from JBL back to the Garden trail-head. I walked with them for about five minutes, but then I went ahead as I was anxious to get back to the trail-head. After about an hour of walking I finally reached the trail-head.
 |
| Garden trail-head sign |
After I took this photo (intending to put it at the beginning of the blog, a young woman working there offered to take my picture by the sign. I allowed her to, but I am not including it here because as you might guess I was sweaty, dirty, unshaven and tired, i.e., hardly photogenic at all. Anyway, because I had parked by Keene Valley I still had to walk down the road to Keene Valley (over a mile and half away). Fortunately, this road walking was all downhill so it was pleasant. Another woman drove by and asked if I was okay (as opposed to offering me a ride). I told her I was fine and she drove off. Eventually, I reached my vehicle and loaded up my gear for the drive home.