Copy/Repost Hike

Friday evening four of us met up at the Keene Farm, which is owned and operated by the Alpine Club of Canada.  They have a very nice lodge/cabin, which we all agreed would be convenient, since all of us were traveling some distance for the hike and because of the continued uncertainty with the weather (Thanks to Andrew for organizing this).  Christopher and I had carpooled up, meeting Andrew at the lodge at about 6PM.  Christopher and I went out to the Ausable Inn for dinner, while Andrew had his dinner at the cabin.  Later that evening, Michael showed up.  We hung out for awhile before turning in for the night.

In the morning we got a light breakfast before getting ready to head to the trailhead in Wilmington for the hike up Whiteface.  It was about 9AM when we finally got there.  It was overcast, warm and somewhat humid.  Just as we were starting out, it began to rain.  Luckily, it was short-lived.  The initial portion of the trail was fairly flat as it meandered through the woods.  After about a mile, the grade began to steepen as we started our trek up Marble Mountain.  This was Michael's first "high" peak, so we proceeded at a modest pace, taking many breaks along the way.  The trail continued at a pretty constant grade until we passed over Marble Mt.  I had thought there were supposed to be views, but for the most part the views were limited.  Also the cloud cover persisted with only occasional breaks.  There were times along the ridge that the weather station on the summit of Whiteface was visible as well as the ski area on Little Whiteface.  Along the way we passed over old and current ski trails.  There was also considerable ice and snow still on the trail in places.  At about 1:30PM we reached the winding road which ascends Whiteface.  Here the trail diverges again and continues along the top of a steep rock wall for the final sprint to the summit.  We finally arrived at the summit at 2PM and enjoyed a much deserved lunch break inside the observatory base.  There were some views over Lake Placid and the McKenzie Mountain Wilderness to the west, but the sporatic cloud-cover persisted.  After lunch we headed back down to the road.  Andrew and Michael decided it would be better on their legs, if they hiked down the road even though it was a few miles longer, and Christopher and I returned via the trail.  It became a race to see who would get back first!  Andrew and Michael won even though they had a slightly longer distance...they beat us by about 15-20 minutes (We had returned by 5:30PM)!  They had already left and Christopher and I headed back, meeting up back at the cabin.  Christopher, Michael and I headed into the Keene Valley where we got a hot shower at the Hostel (across from Noonmark Diner).  While we were away Andrew started dinner, which he had organized.  Once we got back we all pitched in and we all enjoyed a fabulous dinner of blanc du poulet with a risotto and asparagus (Thanks again largely to Andrew!!).  Everyone was pretty tired and we turned in about 11PM.

Notes:  I had given up on doing Ester along with Whiteface, since the group wasn't up for it and it was more important just to have a nice, fun weekend with the group.  We passed the clearly marked trail for Ester along the way, so it should not be difficult at all, contrary to what was suggested in the ADK guides.  Also, while we had taken the main trail from Wilmington, there was a shorter trail which leads up from Atmospheric Science Research Center (ASRC), which would have cut out about 2.5 miles off the total trip.  This seemed to be well-marked as well, also contrary to what the trail guide suggested.  This would make for a nicer alternative and I will probably use it when I return to tag Ester.

On Sunday, we got up and had another wonderful meal thanks to Andrew...crepes!  Micheal wanted to head back, while the rest of us chose to do another "shorter" hike (6 miles) while we were in the area.  This was Hurricane Mountain and we headed over to the trailhead off of O'Toole Road and hit the trail by 10PM.  For the most part this trail was flat for the first third of the distance.  The grade then moderated and then steepened as we approached the summit.  Christopher's legs were tired, so he didn't head to the summit...he rested just below the open summit while Andrew and I headed up.  Hurricane's open summit offers beautiful 360-degree views.  Unfortunately, it was overcast by this time, so it was nice, but not as spectacular as it could have been.  Still we could see the High Peaks as well as Whiteface and Ester to the northwest.  There is also a firetower at the summit, but it is in bad shape and the steps for the lower 2 flights had been remove so you couldn't climb it.  It was about noon when we got to the summit and after hanging out for awhile we headed back down to Christopher and backtracked to the parking lot.  We arrived back to the cars at about 2PM and we all called it a day!

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