Hannah the hiker

Two more winter High Peaks are in the books for me. As I work toward becoming a winter 46er I have gained some new perspective on what hiking and the Adirondacks mean to me. When I first started the 46er journey I would leave Watertown at 3 am Wednesday mornings to start a hike by 6:30 am. After the hike I would set up camp either in my car or in my tent at a free campsite nearby. Then wake up early the next day to bag another high peak or just explore the area around my campsite. And I would be home by Thursday night for work in the morning. That was every week from the end of June to the end of August 2021. I had one goal in mind:to get as many high peaks as possible done that summer. And I did pretty well, I bagged about 25 High Peaks! At that time, hiking was just a way for me to prove to myself that I was capable of doing tough things on my own. That is still true today, but I don’t have that same insatiable hunger where I tore up the trails just to say I got to the top of a mountain. It’s much more about the entire journey than meeting one goal for me now. 

I embraced that entire journey on my last trip to the Adirondacks. I got my car packed and ready to roll Friday night. My dad helped me make a wooden platform that fits in the back of my car and extends over my back seats so I can sleep a little more comfortably while I’m car camping. I had several warm blankets and sleeping bags to keep Cash and I warm throughout the night. We had all the necessities and luxuries to car camp that night. I took my time on the 2 hour 40 minute drive to South Meadows and listened to some new music. The music part is a big change because in the summer of 21 I would just blast music from college parties. I guess you can say I’ve matured. 

I was happy to see that the Adirondack Loj road was somewhat plowed and sanded. I was worried before that my car wouldn’t make it down the road based on previous reports of it being horrendous in the winter. Honestly the road was maintained better than some streets in Watertown. 

We got to South Meadow Lane at around 7:30. I immediately let Cash out to explore the area while I set up our bed. I covered the platform with thick blankets and two sleeping bags on the top, one each for Cash and I. When it was time for bed he didn’t hesitate to hop in and snuggle up to the down sleeping bag laid out just for him. We were the only car parked in that little parking lot when I went to sleep. When I woke up at 2 am there was one other car that had just pulled in. I am assuming these hikers were out for a sunrise hike. Their headlamps flashed around that parking area for a good 45 minutes until they finally started hiking. 

I got up around 5:30 to get Cash and I ready for the day. We secured a spot at the Adirondack loj parking lot, and there weren’t that many cars there for it being a weekend. We didn’t leave for the hike until 7 am because I had to put away sleeping bags, pack our backpacks, and eat some food. 

There were two groups ahead of us when we started but we soon got passed by about 4 groups of people. In the summer of 21 I hardly let anyone pass me. I would speed up so then I could no longer hear them behind me, or if someone did get past me I made sure that I passed them on the way down. I was a bit competitive, even if nobody was really trying to compete. But when people passed me on this hike I almost felt relieved. It meant that no one was waiting behind me, I could go at my own pace, and it gave me more time to enjoy the trail.

Cash did not enjoy getting passed though. He is a bit scared around new people and very scared around dogs. Being passed meant trying to get several feet off the trail so he could watch people and dogs from a distance without getting scared. Some people were super understanding and waited for us to move off the trail. Others blatantly ignored me when I said “can you give us a moment, he is scared of new people and we will get off the trail to let you pass by.” In fact, I fell down on the way from Nye and looked up to see a group of 10 people charging toward me with their dog in tow. I told them that I needed time to get up and move from the trail because Cash gets scared. To my surprise they kept coming toward me even though I was on a 2 foot wide part of the trail and where they had been standing was flat ground without about 15 feet of packed snow. And they dragged their dog up with them and simply stared and stood right next to us while Cash was barking and whining. You can probably tell that I was annoyed by that situation. My message on that is to maybe be more accommodating of people and their dogs instead of charging toward someone who just fell in the snow with snowshoes on and a dog that doesn’t know what’s happening. I had more faith in Adirondack hikers. 

Besides some not so understanding hikers the trail was pretty straightforward.

From the ADK loj parking booth you go left to Heart Lake. Here you follow the orange trail markers that eventually lead you to the sign for Street and Nye. Street and Nye is about a 9 mile hike with 2,340 feet in elevation gain. The trail goes uphill the entire way when you get to that first sign. I was able to bareboot it until the sign and then I put snowshoes on because the trail gets steep and snowy from there on out. There are two small water crossings. The first one about 2.5 miles in had a small snowbridge on part of it which kept my feet somewhat dry. Then I just hopped to the other side. The second crossing was smaller and lower which meant it was easy to get across without getting wet. Cash did not like the water crossings but reluctantly followed me when I crossed each one. 

The trail is not marked but it is such a popular winter hike that it was packed down from previous hikers when we rolled through. The junction for the side trails to Street and Nye is at the 3.5 mile mark. At this point you are at 3,772 feet and can either go right to Nye or left to Street. I chose to go hit Street first since that one’s longer. Street is about .7 from the junction and sits at 4,150 feet. It can feel pretty long because it’s all uphill but sooner or later you will reach the anticlimactic summit sign. This is a wooded summit and even with all the snow you don’t get much of a view. I had a snack, fed Cash and headed back to the junction. We went to the right to get Nye, which is about .4 from the junction. Nye sits at 4,170 feet. Again, another wooded summit. We ate, took a picture, and headed back to the car. This is when I had the whole ordeal with the group of 10 hikers. And, in reality groups are to be limited to 8 people. But who am I to say anything, especially when I was face down in the snow as they walked over me. 

The water crossings were still low when we walked over them at around 1 pm. 

About .5 from Heart Lake Cash slowed down a bunch. He was walking with his head down and had lost the little pep in his step. I figured it was time for a long break. We took several water breaks throughout the day which is something I didn’t do much when I first started hiking. On this hike I prioritized the breaks so that Cash and I would have a good time and not tire ourselves out too much. He ate some of his favorite snacks and gulped down some water. After 20 minutes he was wagging his tail and jumping, ready to get back to the car. The trail around Heart Lake is one of my favorites. You have some amazing views of Algonquin and surrounding peaks, plus the lake itself. Again, we took our time and I focused on the trail and the views rather than the time it took for the entire hike.We got back to the car and I cranked the heat while Cash rolled up in a ball in the backseat. He was happy to be back in the warm car and to be laying down after his longest hike ever. 

Overall thoughts on the trail:

This was a nice winter hike that didn’t require any technical skills. All you needed were warm clothes, snowshoes, and food. It is a good one for beginners because it is so highly trafficked. The trail was packed down well and it isn’t too long for a day hike. I think I preferred doing this one in the fall though. The snow was very pretty on the trail but I hated wearing snowshoes on the way down. I wrapped my water bottles and electronics in wool socks to prevent them from freezing which I highly recommend when winter hiking. All of the things in my backpack were in one water proof ditty bag to keep them further insulated. Also pack enough warm clothes so you can sit and take breaks along the way. I highly recommend wool layers. It took us about 6.5 hours for this hike. It was pretty slow walking in the snow and having to let people pass. So plan for any winter hikes to take longer than usual. Also I highly recommend investing in snow gaiters. I didn’t bring any and ended up with soaking wet socks by the end of the hike.

What I brought: 

• snowshoes
• winter hiking boots 
• microspikes and ice axe (just in case)
• wool leggings
• water resistant hiking pants 
• wool long sleeve
• wool sweater
• rain jacket
• puffy
• fleece sweater 
• wool hiking socks 
• 3 pairs of wool socks (wrapped around water bottles and chargers to stay insulated)
•  wool mittens 
• winter snowmobiling gloves 
• trekking poles (lost one of them on the trail) 
• first aid kit (and dog first aid supplies
• 3, 1 liter water bottles
• sawyer squeeze 
• portable charger and charging cords
• headlamp with extra batteries 
• beanie
• fleece neck gaiter
• garmin inreach mini2 
  • Cash’s Pack:
  • snacks, cheese, peanut butter, slim jims, dog food, apple 
  • food/water bowl
  • headlamp
  • first aid kit
  • extra sweater
  • winter hiking booties 
  • poop bags 
    • Food:
    • granola bar
    • gatorade powder
    • tuna
    • 2 slices of bread
    • mini snickers bar 

–