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2007 TRIP REPORTS
January 7, 2008 1:58 PM ET
Oct 12-14 | Breakneck Ridge and Gertrude's Nose
Crisp fall air, great company, challenging rocks and attractive views from
Manhatten to the Catskills made this trip a winner.
Trip leader - Karin Topfer
| September 28-30 | Middle Settlement Lake Trail Maintenance
By Dave Harrison
At 3:30 P.M. on a drizzly Friday afternoon, seven hikers gathered at a
parking area on Route 28, about four miles southwest of Old Forge, to begin a
combination backpack and trail maintenance trip along GVC-ADK's adopted trail
in the Ha-De-Ron-Dah Wilderness. This was the second Chapter work trip on the
popular six mile loop trail that includes picturesque Middle Settlement Lake
and Cedar Pond. Last May, a smaller group of volunteers worked on the
approximately two and three quarter mile western part of the loop, removing
blow down and vegetation obstructing the trail, and replacing missing or worn
trail markers (provided to us by the DEC). This time, a larger group would
attack the eastern part of the loop. Thanks partly to the work that had been
done in the spring, our walk into Middle Settlement took only about one and a
half hours, and we arrived in time to set up camp at a site overlooking the
lake, prepare dinner, and enjoy the near peak autumn foliage before we lost the
daylight. A campfire helped extend the day, but we all retired early that
evening.
We awoke Saturday morning to cloudy skies and cool weather, and after
breakfast, we headed out to perform a day's trail work, carrying our lunches,
rain gear, and tools. Some of us used loppers and hand pruners to clear tree
branches and shrubs--especially the aggressive hobblebush--from the trail,
while the others took on the task of removing fallen trees with bow saws.
(Under the ADK trail stewardship program guidelines, chain saws cannot be
used.) Gradually, we made our way southeast, clearing obstructions from about
three miles of trail. The weather cleared as we worked, turning into a classic
Adirondack autumn day, and when we returned to our campsite late in the
afternoon, we were able to enjoy a great view. All that was missing were the
loons that usually inhabit Middle Settlement Lake. They had no doubt left on
their fall migration. That evening, we lingered briefly around a campfire
before crawling into our sleeping bags. The next morning, we broke camp early
and hiked back to our cars under sunny skies.
With the completion of our trail work on Saturday, the entire Middle
Settlement loop is now in good shape, ready to be enjoyed by future day hikers
and backpackers drawn to the beauty of Middle Settlement Lake. Having a clear
trail not only makes their hiking easier, but also keeps them on the trail,
thereby reducing the erosion that so often results when hikers create their own
trails by walking around obstacles.
This writer has kept the DEC informed of our trail work, and DEC officials
have expressed their appreciation of our efforts. GVC-ADK can take pride in the
work of its band of volunteers.
Trip leader - Dave Harrison
| August 20-26 | Western Maine Mountains by Day Hikes
By Joe Roth
Bob Ciecierega, Gordie Harvey, Larry Telle and I headed to Maine Monday
morning. The weather report predicted nice conditions for Tuesday through
Thursday, so we planned to climb the mountains with the best views those days.
We camped at a small private campground at Kingfield near the center of our day
hikes and some good restaurants. It was post-season and very quiet. The owners
put out multiple hummingbird feeders and went through a gallon of sugar water A
DAY. Over a dozen hummers visited them constantly sun up to sun down.
Blue skies greeted us as we climbed the Bigelows, Sugarloaf and Spaulding
the first two days. The views from the Bigelows were outstanding because of
Flagstaff Lake and Katahdin across the state. On Thursday the weather began to
turn, so we climbed a single mountain: Abraham. It was a very windy climb, but
we were treated to amazing cloud formations whipping over the mountain top. The
clouds continued to haunt us on Friday as we drove over to Saddleback. We were
in and out of the clouds all day. While hiking over to The Horn, Saddleback
split the southerly wind. It was clear on the west and cloudy on the east. The
trail in front of us was the scene of a battle of the winds with the clear west
side winning most of the time. Nature also treated us this day with 2 moose and
peregrine falcon sightings.
Saturday was supposed to be the worst day, and we saved the Crockers and
Redington for it. It wasn't nearly as bad as predicted, but there weren't many
views anyhow. That night we were between dinner and an ice cream stop when a
remarkable thunderstorm blew through. We were treated to an amazing number of
lightning strikes and were very glad not to be in a tent during the show.
Sunday we broke camp early and headed over to Old Speck. We finished in mid
afternoon and decided to drive home from there. Every mountain over 4000 feet
through NH and VT was in the clouds just like Old Speck. We were back in
Rochester by midnight after a whirlwind week that included nearly 1500 miles of
driving and 53 miles of hiking.
Trip leaders - Joe Roth and Larry Telle
| August 10-12 | Two Fire Towers and West Canada Lakes Quest Area Backpack
The Two Fire Towers and West Canadian Lakes Quest Area Backpack combined
two great ADK quest challenges with a lot of fun and great group; Donna,
Ed, Chris, Clare, Kirsten, Karin and myself. .
On Friday morning, Donna, Ed, Chris and I left
Rochester for Snowy Mountain, just west of Indian Lake. The weather was
questionable but slowly improved as we neared Snowy Mountain around 10:30.
The mountain was still cloud covered during our ascent but temperatures
were mild so it was great climbing weather! As we neared the peak, we
climbed into the clouds. At the top of the Fire Tower, you had a great
view of the person next to you but no farther! The weather cleared during
our descent to become a lovely afternoon. Round trip was about 5.5 hours.
Friday evening, we camped at Lewey Lake campground (at the south end of
Indian Lake). A beautiful campground, nice campfire and good swimming!
Clare met us at the campground. Clare was going to climb Wakely
mountain with us on Sunday and generously offered to move my truck there
since she had non-backpacking plans for Saturday. Kirsten also
joined us that evening since she had to work during the day.
At 9:00am Saturday morning, we started out from Lewey Lake campground down
the Sucker Brook trail. The first several miles were a slow uphill grade
with a vertical rise of about 1200 feet. Then, it was all down hill (well,
mostly). The Sucker Brook trail was a slow backpack due to the numerous
stream crossings but that was a nice opportunity to get to know each other
as we hiked along. We gained a healthy respect for those crossings after
one person fell and received a bad bruise. We took a brake at the Sucker
Brook Lean-To before wading across Sucker Brook (yet again). We arrived at
the Cedar Flow Lean-To around 5:30pm a welcome site to all by that time.
Sunday morning, we hiked to the Wakely dam trailhead where Clare met
us with the truck and we hitched a ride down the road to Wakely Mountain.
Karin Topfer also joined us for the climb. She arrived within 5 minutes of
us, on her way back from Maine with a few planned adventures in between
(What timing!). Wakely was a beautiful climb on a crystal clear day. A
gentleman who used to man the tower also happened to be climbing the
mountain. He gave us some historical background along the way. The view
from the tower was breathtaking. It will be quite a loss if this tower is
removed as proposed. Our informal historian also pointed out that the
firewatchers cabin was unlocked and in beautiful condition on the inside.
It was like stepping back in time. The Wakely mountain climb was about 4
hours round trip.
We rounded out our trip with dinner at the Oxbow Inn on Route 8 in Piseco,
NY. Throughout the trip, I was impressed by the camaraderie. We had a great
group and I look forward to hiking with each of them again.
Trip leader - Jim Luening
| August 4-10 | Maine Peak Bagging, A Serious Adventure
By Reinhard Gsellmeier
At 5:00 AM on Saturday morning, a group of 8 (Art DeVries, Eric Oogjen, Dale
Platteter, Max Sauer, Brett Thompson, Karin Töpfer, Dan Young & Reinhard
Gsellmeier) left Rochester hell bent (would you believe groggy eyed?)
to conquer 11 of Maine's high peaks. After 5 days on the trail covering 60
miles, up and down some pretty tough terrain, I am pleased to report that the
entire group accomplished its mission - with plenty of fun and laughs along the
way!
After a 12-hour drive, we camped Saturday night at the base of Bigelow Mt. -
where Dan made the first of his much appreciated nightly campfires. On Sun. we
dayhiked over Bigelow Avery, Bigelow West, and The Bigelow Horns (N. & S.),
where we enjoyed spectacular 360-degree above treeline views all along the Bigelow
Ridge. Sunday afternoon we shuttled vehicles for the start of our 3-day, 40-mile
(inc. 12,000' total climbing elev.) through hike of the AT from Hwy. 4 to Hwy.
27, described by some as the most difficult section of the AT in Maine. Major
peaks that we summited on our through hike included Saddleback, The Horn,
Saddleback Junior, Abraham (via. spur trail), Spaulding, Sugarloaf (via. spur
trail), S. Crocker, Redington (via. herd path) & N. Crocker. Our nightly
campsites were located at Piazza Rock, at Orbeton Stream, and along the South
Branch of the Carrabassett River. The views from the long open ridge of
Saddleback, and open rocky summits of Abraham (with its remnant of an old fire
tower) and Sugarloaf, were particularly breathtaking. Although we did
encounter some rain (& lightning) Monday afternoon and Wednesday, Eric kept the
group's spirits high with his humorous recanting of tales from his recent AT
through hike ("...you can't make this stuff up..."). The summit of Redington
greeted us with 40-50 mph winds and a horizontal driving rain, thereby ensuring
that Brett will never forget his 24th birthday celebrated on this summit! Art
provided the group with some excitement on Tues. coming down off Sugarloaf,
with a free fall impact test of his pack; fortunately both Art and his pack
passed the test with flying (pun intended) colors!
Wednesday night was spent at the Maine Roadhouse bunkhouse, with Wed. nite
pizza in Stratton where we ate like ravenous wolves. Thursday's itinerary
included a dayhike of Old Speck from Grafton Notch at Maine Highway 26. This
was a glorious day, with full sunshine, comfortable temps. and a gentle breeze
From the summit observation tower 360-degree views were once again to be had,
including views of the mighty Presidentials in NH. A pair of Canadian Jays
also befriended us on the summit, eagerly snatching from our open hands trail
mix that was being offered up. The hike down was rather quiet, as the group
knew that our memorable trip was slowly coming to an end. Thurs. nite was
spent at the Shapleigh Bunkhouse in Crawford Notch, NH, with Thurs. nite dinner
at a nearby eatery followed by an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet on Fri. AM
before our drive back to Rochester.
Congratulations to all in the group who really pulled together in
completing this strenuous trip. The camaraderie was great, spirits were high,
and I'm certain all came away with memories for many years to come.
Trip leader - Reinhard Gsellmeier
| August 3-5 | Annual GVC Women's Trip, Ampersand Mountain
by Donna Dinse
On the first weekend of August ten member from GVC-ADK climbed Ampersand
Mt. Ellen Parsons, Judy York, Lucy Piper, Claire Sloat, Vicky Southall,
Janette Decker, Gail Soucy, Deni Charpentier, Judy Immesoete and Donna Dinse
headed to Tupper Lake on Friday afternoon. We picnicked that evening at our
motel enjoying an abundant variety of delicious potluck offerings.
The next morning provided perfect hiking weather, sunny and slightly cooler
than the previous day. After breakfast at the motel we carpooled about 9 miles
to the trailhead and began the 2.7 mile hike to the summit. The trail gently
rises through mature forest for about a mile. It then begins a steady climb
that becomes much steeper around 2 miles. Near the top the trail passes between
large, dramatic boulders. A small climb ends in a large summit area of bare
rock (thanks to the 19th century survey induce erosion). We were rewarded with
a beautiful 360-degree view of surrounding mountains and lakes. We lingered
over lunch enjoying the view, sunshine, and cooling breezes until turkey
vultures started to circle overhead. Upon returning to the trailhead we
celebrated the completion of Ellen's first Adirondack hike with a pole salute.
Back at the motel people swam or relaxed or went for more wine before dinner.
We decided to forgo the planned restaurant excursion and feasted again on our
potluck dinner.
The next day we visited the new Wild Center in Tupper Lake. Since I saw it
last year, the Center has added new exhibits. We were delighted with the otter
talk and the Adirondack slide show is so beautiful that it always makes me
teary eyed. After a lunch at the local Italian restaurant we headed back to
Rochester. A great group of hikers, perfect weather and good food provided a
very enjoyable and relaxing weekend.
Trip leaders - Donna McLendon-Dinse and Judy Immesoete.
| July 20-22 | Algonquin, Iroquois and Wright - Photos by Aaron Perey
Our group
arrived at Heart Lake on Friday evening amid a drizzling rain. After
setting up camp and heading into Lake Placid for dinner, we retired and
awoke the next morning to blue skies. At the trailhead, we met up with
two additional members of our group from the Albany area.
While we ascended to the summit of Algonquin,
some cumulus clouds moved in and, by the time we hit the top, they were
sitting a little low, passing over and around us, so the views were not
the best. Nevertheless, it was still nice to be up there.
We then continued on to Iroquois over Boundary. The col was very
muddy, having rained the previous night, and, as we discovered, sometimes
the mud was more than ankle deep. By the time we made it to Iroquois, the
clouds had lifted, affording better views. We enjoyed some time on the
summit before returning to Algonquin. This time on Algonquin, the views
were much better with Gothics and the slides on Colden standing out boldly
in front of us.
Next we moved on to Wright. We enjoyed the landscape for a while and,
then, after some searching, found the airplane wreckage, which consisted of
some twisted aluminum and a couple of struts. We then descended to the
Heart Lake trailhead.
On the way home on Sunday, we turned off for a side hike up Mt. Arab,
a quick little climb, but strenuous enough to be fun. At the top, we met
the Summit Observer, who gave us a little history and pointed out some of
the points of interest from the top of the tower. It was a clear day, and
you could see Mt Marcy, Whiteface and Tupper Lake. After we came down off
the tower, we checked out the little museum in the observers cabin, and,
then descended.
Trip leader - Aaron Perey | June 29
- July 1 | Bondcliff, NH - Nothing But Wilderness: Big Alpine Views
By Dan Young and Karin Töpfer
What makes a great ADK trip? First, you need a great place to go, and the
White Mountains of New Hampshire with Bondcliff have one of the best views in
the country. Second, great weather made this a special trip. Third, and most
important are the mixture of people on the trip. We had two experienced people
in Karin Töpfer and Eric Oogjen who know the "Whites" and all the in and outs
of the area. More importantly, their life experiences are priceless. Amber
Rinderknecht, who recently moved here from the West Coast, loves the Eastern
Mountains and is a great hiker. John Brooks loves to hike the mountains and he
wanted to share this with a neighbor who just graduated from high school. John
knew that Chad Ofterhaout likes hiking and camping and presented him with this
great graduation gift. We all marveled at the amount of food Chad carried and
ate. Finally, we had Peter Fellegara who was our GPS man and kept track of our
distance and elevation. Peter kept us oriented, sane, and well-fed with extra
dessert.
Starting and finishing at Lincoln Woods this crew bagged 6 high peaks
carrying full packs most of the way. The mostly open ridge from Bondcliff over
Bond all the way to Mt. Guyot on the Appalachian Trail stole the show, and the
cliff on Bondcliff has to be seen to be fully appreciated. What a great place
to lounge.
Trip leader - Dan Young. | June 8-11 | Southern New Hampshire High Peaks
By Joe Roth
John Brooks, Tom Arter, Craig Johnson, Larry Telle and I headed north
Friday morning. The weather report for the White Mountains looked iffy for the
weekend. But if one schedules such a significant trip from Rochester, one
normally goes. One plus for this group was their inexperience with the Whites.
We had a variety of unclimbed mountains from which to select the best (or the
worst) to hike in the rain and fog without missing any significant views. On
Saturday we chose the Hancocks. Purple trillium and wild azalea (?) kept us
company on the way up. At the top we were not too disappointed with the fog
because we had a plan.
We woke Sunday morning to a light rain. Our plan of holding mountains with
good views was about to backfire. A slip on the Hancock trail caused Larry to
take a break this day. That was bad for Larry but a fortunate circumstance for
the rest of the hikers. It allowed a point to point hike over the Osceolas from
the south, a much preferred route for the two mountains. As we drove south out
of the Franconia Notch camp area the weather started to clear. By the time we
reached the trailhead not a cloud was visible. The views from the top were
stunning. More remarkable were the angry clouds lingering over the camp area
captured by the high Franconia Ridge.
While breaking camp Monday we had quite a few black flies. The temperature
in camp had crept past 60F and the critters were hungry. Don't flee to New
Hampshire in June to escape these pests! While we hiked on Saturday, Larry
toured the area and scoped the hiking option for Monday. Tecumseh was an easy
choice before driving back to Rochester. Through Vermont we noticed heavy haze
or steam over what looked like pristine forested hillsides. It was odd, since
the day was so clear. The road finally took us close enough to see that it was
pollen shaken loose from the white pines by the breeze. A subtle show by Mother
Nature was just the thing to top off a fine weekend of hiking.
Trip leader - Joe Roth. | April 7 | Trip Leaders' Workshop - Photos by Jacqui
We trained 16 new trip leaders for the Chapter and had a great time engaging in various activities. We hope that some of them will add new flair to the schedule.
| March 9-11 | Giant, Rocky and other Surprises
By Karin Töpfer
On Friday night, 6 of us, Mary, Bill, Gary, Kim, Mark and Karin, met a Carl R's
for dinner to gather some more strength for the next day. We continued to the
Maple Leaf in Schroon Lake and settled into our comfy rooms. To our great
relief plans to backpack the whole Giant and Rocky Peak Ridge all the way to
New Russia had been abandoned because of a questionable weather forecast.
On
Saturday morning, we set out from the Chapel Pond trailhead at 8 a.m. No sign
of rain yet, calm conditions and a mix of sun and clouds. We enjoyed the views
from the long open ridge trail, and although climbing Giant always feels hard,
we reached the summit in just over 3 hours to enjoy more views. To our great
delight the trail to Rocky was broken, but the snow was still unconsolidated
enough to try some glissading on snowshoes. For 3 of us, Kim, Gary and Karin,
Rocky was new winter peak as we slowly work towards the elusive goal of
completing the winter 46.
Getting back to the col between Giant and Rocky we
were ready for some adventure. This, after all, had been too easy for a winter
climb. The adventure was a bushwhack to the Giant Dipper, a little pond not far
from the trail and the Washbowl. It started out very pleasant at moderate
grades between open hardwoods. Further down we started to follow the more or
less steep banks of streams always trying to stay out of them for fear of
hitting the bottom. At one crossing I got the experience of just doing that.
Now we knew how deep (over my head) and wet it was.
Thanks to Bill, who knew
that the secret for avoiding spruce holes was to stay away from spruce
altogether, most of us made it though this obstacle course without dipping too
deep. Mark, at the rear, however, found just about every hole and gave Kim and
Gary many opportunities to dislodge his stuck snowshoes. Many other
spruceholers before us have discovered that snowshoes may keep you out of the
hole in the first place, but one you are in you wish you never had them.
After
a lot of hard work and some scouting, we finally found the Giant Dipper more
than 3 hours after we had left the col. By this time it was raining and the wet
snow on our snowshoes felt like concrete. It was time to get out the woods. And
we made it before dark.
Thanks to Mary for leading us on this adventure.
| March 2-4 | Mt. Adams and Camp Santanoni
By Karin Töpfer
This trip started with an unexpected treat when Larry, Rob and I drove up
to Newcomb on Friday afternoon. Near Old Forge, braced for ice rain and icy
roads, we noticed that the weather was a lot better than the forecast. Larry
suggested climbing Bald Mountain, and we quickly changed into our hiking gear
and Larry's huge van. A thin layer of ice and fresh snow made the trees sparkle
in the sun. We reached the top and the fire tower in less than an hour, and the
shadows got longer and longer for some dramatic late afternoon light. Many
pictures were snapped. At the house in Newcomb we were greeted with some
freshly prepared chili and corn bread.
Next morning, the untouched snow cover
on the road to Tahawus gave us glimpse of things to come. According to the
trail register Mt. Adams had last been climbed on January 31, and we knew that
a lot of snow had fallen since. The trail to Flowed Lands and Allen was
discernable, although not broken, and we made quick progress. We even did some
additional trail breaking for the Allen crowd by missing the trail to the
mountain. We were looking for an elusive trail sign that must have vaporized
since last summer. Once we found the trail markers, the fun started, 1.5 miles
and ca. 1800 ft elevation to go. The following 3 ½ hours turned into a true
teamwork exercise. The snow was totally unconsolidated and the trail breaker
was allowed to fall back to the end of the line after ca. 100 meters of hard
work. Seven of us made it to the top by 2 p.m.
Again, the weather held, we had
some sun, and when we climbed the somewhat derelict tower, Algonquin, Colden
and Marcy filled 180 degrees directly in front of us, a very unusual and
rewarding perspective.
We cruised back to the base of the mountain in 55
minutes on the beautifully broken trail.
Happy hour and a great, freshly cooked
dinner were waiting for us the house. We especially liked Judy's dessert.
Everybody was sitting around the dinner table to listen to many more tales from
the Appalachian Trail etc., no TV entertainment needed. On Sunday, 6 of us
skied to the camp, a great example of Adirondack camp architecture. The skiing
was perfect, although the surroundings could not match the true wilderness
encountered on Mt. Adams. After a few snacks on one of grand verandas we headed
back. Thanks to Barry, Judy, Bill, Anne, Larry, Rob, Mark and John for an
enjoyable weekend.
| Winter
2006-2007 | A Fond Farewell to Winter from Trails
Some of the most exciting winter trips happened during the first two
weekends in March.
On March 10, Mary led 6 of us to the top of Giant and Rocky Peak Ridge. This
was too easy because the trail to Rocky was broken. So, we topped it off with a
bushwhack to the Giant Dipper. Need we say more about spruce holes.
| January 19-21 | Gray & Skylight
By Reinhard Gsellmeier
Our group of five (Lois Dannenberg, Eric Oogjen aka Rev. Yukon Jack, Andy
Sansone, Mike Gsellmeier & Reinhard Gsellmeier) left Upper Works PL Friday
around noon under a light snow. The way the winter had been going with the
mild temperatures, we were thankful for the cold & snow (some folks would say
we winter enthusiasts have a warped view of the world). Trail conditions were
such that we barebooted to Flowed Lands before donning snowshoes. A
"short-cut" across the frozen waters of Flowed Lands led us ..... to the Red
trail to Lake Colden (we're all still scratching our heads how we managed
that). Down the trail we went, across Colden dam to our campsite for the
weekend.
Saturday morning we were greeted with cold temps, clear skies and about
12" of fresh snow; perfect. We had to break trail all day, so that slowed us
down a bit - but we were able to climb Gray and Skylight. The steep sections up
Gray were challenging, requiring the use of an ice axe by Eric to cut some
steps (all in a day's work.....). At the summit of Gray the conditions (fresh
deep snow over a crust of ice, high winds and ice-laden evergreens) forced us
to abandon the notion of bushwhacking over to Marcy, so we headed back down and
tackled Skylight. The summit of Skylight was cold and very windy, with
sustained winds of maybe 35 mph. We didn't linger.
We were back in camp by early evening, and hiked out Sunday. This was a
fun trip with a good group. It was Mike's first full-fledged winter backpack
in the 'Dacks (congrats, Mike), and both Gray and Skylight were new peaks for
Lois (congrats, Lois).
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