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

The hike out of Upper Works was really nice following the Calamity Brook.  The terrain wasn’t difficult which allowed us to maintain a nice pace the first few miles.  We passed a few small groups on our way but for the most part the trail was quiet.

Crossing Calamity Brook
When we arrived at the Henderson Monument there was a group of people sitting on it having a snack. The Henderson Monument is dedicated to the Memory of David Henderson who lost his life at that spot.  The monument was erected by his children around 1850.  This is how Calamity Pond got its name.  The following article has more about the story http://www.adirondack-park.net/history/mcintyre.mine.html .

Henderson Monument

Just over 4 miles into the hike, we reached the Flowed Lands at around 9:00.  The Flowed Lands were created in the mid 1800’s by the McIntyre Iron Works.  The reason being they wanted to channel more water passed their blast furnaces.  We stopped here for a small snack; we knew we didn’t have too much farther to go.

Me at the Flowed Lands

Less than a mile later, we reached the Herbert Brook Trail, which meant we were only 1.5 miles from the summit.  The trailhead is close to Lake Colden but we passed up the opportunity to view the lake again.  The trail follows up a long side stream that flows down from Marshall.  Since the weather had been relatively dry the past week we had a nice hike up the dry stream bed.  The trail on the side of the stream bed was very muddy and wet.  Climbing up Marshall didn’t offer too many views but it was peaceful because the whole way up we didn’t run into one person.  We reached the summit around 11:45.

Frank, Matt, Me on Mt. Marshall Summit

We had lunch and marked our 14th peak, realizing we just completed the McIntyre Range. After about 1/2 hour on the summit we descended the summit and went back to our car.  We wanted to make good time out so we could get to Paradox to set up our camp and grill up some steaks & potatoes for dinner.  We knew  had a busy day tomorrow and wanted to relax for a few hours before our big Monday hike. With rain in the forecast we knew we were going to have a challenge.

No comments:

Post a Comment