Dix Mtn & Hough Peak

Date:08/15/2011

Hikers:Frank, Matt, Me

Peaks:Dix Mtn (4857') (#6), Hough Peak (4400') (#23)

Trailhead:Elk Lake Trailhead

Trip Time:9 Hours (20 minutes on each summit)

I retired early for the night because I wasn't feeling so well. I set the alarm for a 4:30 wakeup, our agreed upon time with the hopes that we would be back at the campsite by five to make dinner, relax down by the lake, do some fishing and just enjoy the evening. The forecast was calling for rain all day but we were hopeful that it would hold off or just be spotty at times. We woke up at 4:30 to the sound of rain on our tents and tarps. We downed some oatmeal with a banana along with coffee and juice; we didn't eat that well in our leanto last year. By 5:15 we were leaving the site and heading to the Elk Lake Trailhead.

Elk Lake is a small parking area because it's located on private land. We arrived shortly before 6:00 with the rain still coming down pretty steady. We were thinking the weather was deterring people from hiking because there was not one other car in the parking lot. Matt signed us into the register and we began the trek down the Hunter Pass Trail in our attempt of conquering the Dix range. We were going to do the Dix Range Traverse going from Macomb – East Dix – South Dix – Hough – Dix.

Me, Frank, Matt

Mt. Marshall

Date:08/14/2011

Hikers:Frank, Matt, Me

Peaks:Mt. Marshall (4360') (#25)

Trailhead:Upper Works Trailhead, Tahawus

Trip Time:8.5 Hours (30 minutes on summit)

We left Albany around 5:00 AM setting out for our second 3 day hike.  We planned on hiking Mt. Marshall today and then tomorrow morning getting up early and attempting to hike all five peaks in the Dix Range.  We were going to hike Macomb Mtn., South Dix, East Dix, Hough Peak to Dix Mtn.  Instead of backpacking into the Adirondacks we reserved a campsite at Paradox Lake, we wanted to relax by a fire and have a nice meal before the adventurous 5 peak hike.  We arrived at the Upper Works Trailhead shortly after 7:00.

Matt, Frank, Me

Cascade Mtn & Porter Mtn

Date:08/01/2011

Hikers:Frank, Matt, Danny, Me

Peaks:Cascade Mountain (4098') (#36), Porter Mountain (4059') (#38)

Trailhead:Route 73, Cascade Trailhead

Trip Time:4 Hours (20 minutes on each summit)

Our friend, Danny, was coming into town from San Diego and wanted to join us on a hike in the Adirondacks. He's been accomplishing a lot of hiking out west, along with rock climbing, and had never done anything in the Adirondacks before. So we planned a hike to ascend Cascade and Porter. Ok, so it's the easiest hike of the 46 peaks, but we wanted something that would only take a few hours so we could grab a drink and relax afterwards. We departed from Albany at 5:30AM with a goal of getting these two peaks done before lunch time. We arrived at the Trailhead on Route 73 just after 7:30 and popped the hood to Frank's car. Frank had noticed his RPM's started to jump during the drive up and with a minor inspection under the hood and under the car, we found that he was leaking Transmission fluid. There wasn't anything we could do at that point in time so we decided to go on the hike and fix the issue when we got back. We strapped on our packs and Matt signed us into the registry.

Danny, Frank, Matt, and Me