Sugarloaf Mountain

I headed back to the Catskills yesterday to climb another 3500’ peak.  I hiked the Sugarloaf loop, taking me over 3810ft Sugarloaf Mountain.  This is my eighth Catskill 35er.  I left home with cloudy skies and wet roads but could see blue sky in the distance and soon the sun was out.  It became a beautiful day with low humidity and temps ranging from the low 50’s in the morning to low 70’s in the afternoon.  I arrived at the Roaring Kill DEC parking area around 9am, and after signing in on the trail register, I was off.  I soon came to the first trail junction and turned left heading to Pecoy Notch. 

The trail climbs slowly but steady and soon comes to a rock quarry where there are a number of “chairs” made out of rocks among other rock creations.  There is a lot of flat rocks to build with and it is a nice open area with a good view of Twin Mountain.  I stopped and had a snack, sitting on one of the chairs. 

Continuing on, the trail soon comes to a beaver swamp with some nice views of both Twin and Sugarloaf Mountains, and wild flowers all around. 

Once I reached Pecoy Notch and came to the trail sign I turned right to climb Sugarloaf.  This becomes part of the Devil’s Path and there are some stretches that are steep and difficult.  I was soon at the top where the trail levels out and is a nice hike over the mountain.

It crosses over the top through Spruce and Fir trees, it smells wonderful and reminds me of Christmas.  Once over the top there is a short spur trail to a lookout.  The view is somewhat obscured by the evergreens growing up around the rock outcropping but still an enjoyable view.

I lingered briefly then continued on making my way down.  There are some steep sections and a lot of rock on the way down. I am glad I chose to go down this side of the mountain as it would be a tough climb up.

Soon I was at the notch in Mink Hollow and heading back toward the car.  The trail levels out from here, with just a few ups and downs.  I was back at the car just before 2pm having hiked about 7 miles.  While the views were good they do not compare to Twin Mountain but I enjoyed the forest and interesting rock formations all along this loop.

Looking at Plateau Mtn.

Boy Scout Adventure in the Adirondacks - Part 2

After about an hour ride to Long Lake and a quick stop at a convenience store for snacks and bathroom breaks we arrived at Long Lake.  We gathered our gear and exchanged out some hiking gear for water gear and restocked our food supplies and were ready to hit the water.  We had to wait about ½ hour for a thunderstorm to move through the area, but eventually the sky’s cleared enough for us to set out.  We paddled less than a mile when another thunderstorm hit and we had to beach our canoes on someone’s private beach and wait out the storm again.  Finally it looked like we would be able to get going and we set out again, paddling toward the north end of the lake. 

The lake is long and fairly narrow and we tried to stay on the east side as we went.  Sea planes would periodically fly past and land, which was pretty cool to see.  Then the plane would take off and fly above us.  We made pretty good time, even though we were dealing with a slight head wind and slowly made our way up the lake.  We would pause and drink or snack when we could but we had a long way to go, about 10 miles, before we would get to camp and needed to keep moving.  At one point another thunderstorm came up and we had to beach our canoes on shore and get out of the water.  We lost another ½ hour or 45 minutes waiting out that storm as well.

Waiting out the thunderstorm

It was fun watching the lightning up in the mountains around the lake and the rain and wind blow across the water.  Again the sun came out and we pushed on.  We had started from the boat launch around 1pm and eventually made camp around 6pm.  We found a nice campsite with a lean-to right on the water’s edge.  We were all pretty tired and hungry and went right to work setting up camp.  Once the hammocks were hung and the tents set up we got to work cooking dinner.   The bugs were a little annoying but not horrible here and we could sit in the shelter and cook.  Dinner was dehydrated chili and dehydrated mashed potatoes with bacon and cheddar cheese.  I passed on the chili but enjoyed the potatoes.  Once dinner was done and cleaned up we all went in our hammocks or tents to get away from the bugs.  They were getting more aggressive as the sun went down. 

One of the scouts did a little fishing and caught a nice size Northern Pike.  He threw it back in and was soon in bed as well.  We had seen some Loons on the water during the day and that night could hear them calling in the dark.  It was the first time I had ever heard a Loon.  Also, I heard the little buzz of mosquitoes all around my hammock, trying to get me.  The bugs ate well on all of us for the next day or so.

Thursday was foggy when we awoke and broke camp.  Once all our gear was packed we ate breakfast and boarded our canoes for the trip down the Raquette River. 

Our campsite was only about a mile from the mouth of the river and it didn’t take us long to get to the river and the anticipated current.  The sun quickly burned off the fog and became a nice summer morning.  The river is slow and winding as we paddled along, with forest and swampland on both sides.  It felt very remote as we went and I really enjoyed the scenery.

There are campsites scattered along portions of the river and we would see other campers periodically.  This would be the day we had to portage our canoes around the falls, about 1.25 miles.  We made the pull out spot just before lunch and began the arduous portage. 

It was probably the hardest part of the trek carrying 35-40lbs backpacks plus a canoe over your head.  The trail went uphill for the first ¼ mile or so then levelled out.  It was very taxing.  We took many breaks as we went along and finally found the best way to hold the canoe on our packs, making it a little easier and we could hike for longer stretches.  Tired and sweaty we arrived at the put in spot and relaxed for a while and ate lunch.  Lunch was cut somewhat short by some dark clouds moving in and we tried to get in front of the storm by paddling.  We made it a few miles but the storm was faster than us and we had to pull over and beach our canoes again.  We sat on a sandy shore with tall banks above us and trees growing out over us, giving us a little shelter.  This time the storm was intense, powerful lightning and thunder clapping just above our heads and pouring rain and wind.  We huddled up together under the overhanging bank and tried to stay warm.  We were all soon soaked through as the rain came down in buckets.  It was something none of us will soon forget.  Then it was over and the sun came out and we continued to paddle.  It was a long afternoon of paddling and I was soon out of energy and struggled to keep in good spirits.  I was hurting and sore but continued on and we all pushed hard to find a campsite.  We paddled until about 5:30pm at a campsite not far from out extraction point. 

My view from the hammock

It was a long afternoon and I wish we had been able to stop and enjoy the scenery and river a little more, but we wanted to make a short morning for Friday and pushed on.  Once we found our campsite, which was right along the river and offered nice views, we were swarmed with mosquitoes.  It was horrible!  They were everywhere and HUNGRY!  We ran around as fast as we could to set up camp and get into our tents or hammocks to get away from them.  We started a campfire to smoke them away but that only worked if you stood in the smoke.  So, we ate a quick dinner and went back to our beds.  The scouts talked for a while and enjoyed the evening.  I had set up my hammock with a great view of the river and enjoyed listening to their conversation and looking out over the water. 

Friday was sunny when we got up and packed up camp for the last time.  We ate a quick breakfast because the bugs were still ferocious.  We left the campsite around 9am and had just a small stretch of river to go before our point of extraction.  We were there by 9:30am and our journey was over.  We had to wait awhile for pick up and the scouts worked on helping complete the canoeing meritbadge for one of the boys still needing it. 

They had fun in the water swamping a canoe and being wet.  The pickup van was soon there and we loaded up and were on our way back to base camp.  It was a memorable trip that I think all of us will remember for a lifetime.  We worked hard and were tired, but the trip was fantastic.  We hiked around 17-19 miles and paddled about 30 miles in total.  I think all the scouts learned something about themselves and about each other.  The adults probably did too. 

Boy Scout Adventure in the Adirondacks - Part 1

I just returned from a week long trek in the Adirondacks with four Eagle Scout candidates and two of the Assistant Scoutmasters with our troop.  It was a memorable week with many highs and few lows. 

We arrived at Summit Base Boy Scout camp on Sunday and had our gear shakedown and then set up for a one night stay at camp.  They served us a nice dinner of sausage, onions and pepper grinders and a variety of salads.  It was very tasty.  After dinner we were all in bed early. 

Monday dawned bright and sunny with temps in the high 50’s.  We ate breakfast and then it was time to load up the vans and make the hour journey to our drop off point at the Garden in Keene Valley, NY.  We made the drive in good time and we were all in good spirits, eager to start our adventure.  We planned to hike about 3.5 miles in and find an open camp site, which is what we did. 

Deer laying down at our campsite

Our packs were heavy, upwards of 30lbs each.  We were carrying food for about 3 days all in bear canisters, which are required in the High Peaks region.  None of us were used to carrying that amount of weight and it was tiring, but we made it to the ADK’s Johns Brook Lodge and found an open camp site just beyond.  We went to work setting up tents and hammocks and settling in before heading back to the lodge to make lunch.

There is a nice lawn area with picnic tables next to the lodge that we used for our meals.  It was midafternoon by this point and a few of our faster hikers decided to hike up Big Slide Mtn. It is about a 5 mile round trip from the lodge.  I decided to stay behind and relax for the afternoon.  We explored John’s Brook and the camp site.  We cooked dinner at 6pm and the guys hiking Big Slide made it back in time for dinner.  We were all in our sleeping bags by dark.  It rained briefly during the night but it never bothered us.

Tuesday was going to be the day we went BIG.  We had originally planned to hike to the summit of Mt. Marcy but as we discussed it and looked over the map at dinner the night before we agreed on a loop hike that would take us over three of the high peaks and offer short spur hikes to at least two more.  When we compared that to just the one peak of Mt. Marcy we decided to hike for more peaks.  We would hike up and over Gothics, Armstrong, and Upper Wolf Jaw, with the possibility of adding Saddleback and Lower Wolf Jaw as well.  It looked like it would end up being about 10-12 miles depending on if you added the extra peaks.  A good full days hiking.  We headed out from the lodge after breakfast.  We started on the Orebed Brook trail heading for the col between Gothics and Saddleback.  It started fairly flat and easy, giving our legs a chance to warm up, but soon enough we were climbing and the going got steeper. 

We stopped and snacked periodically and made sure we were drinking regularly.  It was a beautiful sunny morning with temps in the low 60’s.  We soon came to a great slide, land slide area, where the trail climbs a long stair case and the going got pretty steep.  Once at the col with Saddleback, three of our group broke off to climb it while the rest of us headed up Gothics.  Gothics is steep with cables attached along the trail to assist in the climb.  It was an adventure climbing up this side of the mountain.  Soon we were treated to stunning 360* views.  The other part of our group caught up with us on top. 

Climbing the cables

We ate lunch on top of Gothics and enjoyed the view for a while.  It was almost the perfect hiking day.  After lunch we were back on the trail and down and up to the summit of Armstrong Mt.  The views here were great as well.  Many pictures were taken.

My son and I on top of Armstrong

  The trail continues on with some steep area and butt slides on the way down and hands and feet climbing on the way up.  After Armstrong it was on to Upper Wolf Jaw Mt.  There was a small area with views at the summit here and we stopped again for the view.  It was getting later in the afternoon and we didn’t stay there long.  The trail down Upper Wolf Jaw was steep in spots as it was the whole way along.

At the junction to Lower Wolf Jaw, a few of the group went up that mountain as well, while the rest of us began heading back to toward the lodge.  We made it back to the lodge just about 5:30pm.  The cold water of the river felt good as we took a break and soaked our feet.  Some of the braver souls went all the way in.  We ate dinner and were in bed early.

Wednesday we packed up and broke camp.  We ate breakfast and hiked out to the Garden for pick up and on to the next part of our adventure, canoeing Long Lake and the Raquette River.  Stay tuned for part 2.