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By Jdubs
After 6 years, 27 days of hiking, hundreds of rugged ADK miles and tens of thousands of feet of elevation gain, I finally reached my last summit on Haystack to become an ADK 46'R! I had been patiently waiting for a break in the continuous thunderstorm forecasts and made the decision to go on Saturday afternoon. To make this finish even sweeter, my close friend Jenny (#8022) surprised me with a call only hours before leaving Saturday night saying that she and her friend would love to join me. What an incredible surprise! We hiked all night (starting at 11:30 pm) and after breaking treeline I could have sprinted over Little Haystack and up to Haystack's summit! However, I wanted to share that moment and together we enjoyed a spectacular sunrise and jaw-dropping summit views. In fact, I'd rate Haystack's views and grueling 18 miles RT as the best I've experienced of all the 46ers.
Normally I would share a more detailed story about the hike itself, but this day was all about my 46'R journey and the motivations behind it. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do this. I wanted to say "Thank You" to those in our military (since I could not serve) who provide the very blanket of Freedom that allows us to enjoy our Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. I wanted to stare down and conquer fear and self-doubt by hiking nearly all of the 46 peaks solo, including several throughout the night with no sleep. I wanted to enjoy each mountain a certain way and patiently planned each hike to ensure success. And I wanted to share these amazing experiences with those who couldn't be there or those who might also be inspired in the same way that others inspired me.
Ultimately, I completed the 46'R because of a very difficult reminder that Life is too short. Tomorrow isn't promised to me or any of us. What we do today and who we share our time with is what truly matters most! I appreciate all of the time everyone gave me in support of reaching this day. I may have completed my 46'R journey, but this isn't the end, it is only the beginning.
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By Jdubs
Tuesday night I drove up to Keene Valley for another (planned) sunrise hike to Basin and then Saddleback. Starting out under the full moon from the Garden lot at 10 pm, I made good time to JBL and up to Bushnell Falls. Then I entered a section of the Phelps trail that looked like it had been hit by an artillery barrage. I lost count of all the downed trees that I limboed under, climbed over or hiked around. This part of the Phelps trail and the Shorey Short Cut were a full blown obstacle course of downfall, mud, rocks, roots, slick bedrock and scrambles. With less than a mile to go to make summit, I pushed the pace hard, but missed the actual sunrise by 10 minutes. Still, this was just as rewarding for me as it was physically and mentally demanding. It was the sports equivalent of "leaving it all on the field".
I'll post some pics, but they won't do this trip justice. The infamous Saddleback cliffs are no joke! They aren't quite vertical, but man, one wrong move and you're done. I don't know why any sane person would actually choose to descend the cliffs rather than ascend and not look down. Either way, you better bring your A game.
These peaks make it 35/46 for me. The loop hike was about 16.5 miles, but it took me over 17 hours to get back to the Jeep. The push up to Basin absolutely smoked me only halfway into the hike so I needed to take generous breaks from there on. Once home I slept for 12 hours straight. Everything is sore, but I can't wait to do it all over again on the next hike.
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By Jdubs
A couple years ago, I backpacked with my gf to a spot behind Marcy with the goal of getting up early and making the summit for sunrise. Even though we were treated to breathtaking views all alone on the summit, we missed the actual sunrise by a bit. I've been wanting to do another sunrise hike ever since then, but let too many excuses get in the way.
Well, Saturday afternoon I saw a gorgeous sunny forecast for Sunday and made the decision to go for it on Algonquin then summit Iroquois and maybe Wright on the way home. Leaving the house at 10:45 pm got me to the Loj by 12:50 am. After getting squared away, I signed in at 1:20 am with the goal of enjoying a hot coffee on Algonquin's summit at sunrise.
The trail up is easy to follow and was a hard packed mix of snow and ice. Boots were fine the first couple miles in then I put the spikes on. There is a junction where the paths to Wright and Algonquin split at 3 miles. It was now 4:15 am and I was feeling pretty good about making the summit in plenty of time.
This is pretty much the point where I had wished that I had had some sleep and done a whole lot more cardio. The final half mile up is steep! As the tree line thinned out, I could actually see this huge massive gray dome against the clear black sky. It wasn't a cloud. Nope, this was the summit and I was nowhere near it. Legs cramping, lungs burning and winds blowing hard, I kept moving at a hobbit's pace to make my goal. No way was I going to miss this.
I finally stepped onto the summit with 15 minutes to spare. I normally like to take a lot of pics, but the frigid winds were so brutal that the camera battery went nearly dead, my cell wouldn't start up and my hand with just a glove liner on was frozen numb in less than 5 minutes. No way to brew coffee either. And then in a moment none of those things mattered as I was treated to the most beautiful sunrise I've ever seen.
Hope you enjoy the few pics that I was able to take. Iroquois was much more forgiving and Algonquin's summit was "warmer" the second time passing over to return home. For me, this was an epic hike all around. Only 13 more 46ers to go. Anyone else here complete the 46 or working on it?
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By Padre86
Anyone else here heard of this huge debate going on about how to classify the new Boreas Ponds acquisition up in the Adirondacks?
It's a tract of land that was formerly owned by a paper company and was recently turned over to the state (via The Nature Conservancy). I think the APA put out several proposals, all of which included allowing some measure of motorized access, but many of this state's environmental groups got angry that there was no option for excluding all motorized traffic (which would require a full-on wilderness classification).
More on the land and surrounding discussion here: http://nysnowmobiler.com/2016/08/boreas-ponds-wild-forest-or-wilderness/ and
http://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2016/11/boreas-ponds-paddlers-perspective.html#comments
So what do hunters here think of this?
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By Padre86
All right, so I'm new to hunting Turkey. I've spent the last 2 weekends up in the Adirondacks looking for them. I see these things all along Rte 28 during my numerous drives up to the Adirondacks, but I've never seen them on hikes and certainly never during any of my hunts up there. So what I am missing here?
As I understand it (someone please correct me if I'm wrong), the general idea behind fall turkey hunting is to find a big group of them, break them and then hide out and ambush them as they regroup. I've heard bringing a dog along to help with the break up is sometimes helpful. I've heard calls are sometimes used as well, but they seem to be more relied upon in the spring season, when they aren't as grouped up.
1) So where do I look for Turkeys, especially in an area as big as the ADK's? I've spent some time going down old (no longer active) logging/hunting roads and trails. Sometimes I head off the trail to move through some brush in an attempt to flush anything out of hiding.
2) Is the weather and foliage optimal for fall turkey hunting? I've noticed that the weather this time of year is a bit warmer than usual. As well the foliage has only just now started to turn. In fact, when I was moving through the woods today, a lot of the foliage was not only still on the trees but still very green, making it very hard to see very far in any direction. With all the racket I make stepping on dead leaves, I feel like I'm bumping and scaring away any potential game well before I see them.
3) Should I be using a Turkey call, even for the fall season?
4) Do Turkey like moving in the rain? It's been fairly wet this weekend so far, almost a constant drizzle. Is hunting for Turkey in the rain worth it? I know some game species prefer to say put in rainy weather.
5) Is ambush or calling pretty much the only way to hunt Turkey? I've heard that Turkey have amazing eyesight as well as hearing. So head-to-toe camo and stealth seem to be essential. I just have a hard time sitting still in some place like the ADK's. It's a big area, and wildlife isn't nearly as abundant here as some people think it is. If I don't pick the right spot, I could be doing a whole lot of sitting without seeing a single animal (I know from experience).
Anyways, those are just a few questions/issues I was trying to work through. I figure if some more experience Turkey hunters on this site offered some feedback, we might be able to get a helpful dialogue going for myself and other hunters new to Turkey.
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