craigscholl.com

On February 1, 2004, Derek (10) and I started to hike these two mountains. Unlike the first attempt, where we were overdressed and overheated, we were better prepared to hike our first of the 46 high peaks this time. It was a beautiful day with clear skies and temperatures expected to be in the low 30s. It certainly made for a beautiful day; the air was crisp. We arrived at the trailhead around 7:30 am and soon started on the trail at 7:45 am on a very hard-packed trail.

We had taken a few…

We had hiked this on February 21, 2004. It was Mark, Chris, Justin, Derek, and myself. It was an overcast day with snow flurries, a typical winter day in the Adirondacks. I cannot remember the temps, but I don't recall being overly cold, probably in the mid to upper 30s.

It was a crowded day on the trails, which is typical, especially on the weekend. The trail from the Loj was hard-packed to Marcy dam. This is a highly trafficked section of the trail as it is the only route to Marcy Dam from the…

We had previously hiked this on April 8, 2004. It was a lovely warm spring day, but snow and ice were still on the ground. It was Mark, Justin, Derek, and myself. The trail is relatively easy and meanders upward, with not much for views for a while. There is a lovely waterfall that looks stunning when it is frozen. There were a few steeper sections just before the junction, with the trail to Wright Peak and the trail that continues to Algonquin and beyond.

There are remnants of a plane wreck on…

On Saturday, Sept 4, 2004, we set out to climb Mount Colden. Our original intent was to stay at the Marcy Brook lean-to; however, we could not due to prior commitments. Our climbing companions (Mark and Chris) had hiked into that lean-to the previous day and spent the night; we met up with them this morning. We left my apartment in Peru at 430am; it was my son Derek, our friend Justin, and I.

We arrived at the ADK Loj parking lot at 6 am, did our stretching, and set off for Marcy Dam. It was an…

We left the apartment at 445am to get a good head start. We arrived at the ADK Loj parking lot at around 6:50 am, there were a few cars already there, and in fact, it looked like they had spent the night in the woods somewhere because of the frost on the windshields.

We did our stretches, signed in, and headed for Marcy Dam. It was a cool morning with many frozen mud holes along the way. The air was nice and crisp; I loved this time of the day. We arrived at Marcy dam at 7:50 am to enjoy…

We arrived at the garden around 7:00 am, paid for our parking, did our stretches, and signed in; it was my son Derek and I. We were on the trail for Big Slide by 7:15 am. We took the trail over the Brothers; I liked this approach, and with the many outlooks along the way, it gave a lot of inspiration. We arrived at the first Brother around 8:50 am I was surprised at all the nooks and crannies along the way; we passed a huge outcropping that looked as if people used it as a shelter. The one…