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We arrived at the Ausable club trailhead at 7 am. It was just Derek and me on this excursion. It was December 16, 2006, and we began our trudge up Lake road. There are often complaints about this road, as it seems to go on and on and seems like a monotonous trudge. It is nice to travel back down it at the end of a hike as it requires no thinking of where to plant your feet, unlike the trails where you have to step over rocks and roots. So basically, you just put it in overdrive and motor down…

We started at the Science Center at 6 am. It was still dark, so we used our headlamps; it was a nice and cool morning, at about 47 degrees. We got to the first lookout (Marble mt?) just before the junction from the trail coming up from the Wilmington reservoir in time for the sunrise.

I opted for this route and mountains because I was getting back into hiking after being operated on in April. I had two vertebrae in my neck fused due to a disc impingement on my spinal cord. The Doctor cleared me…

Yesterday, 1ADAM12, Flying Cow, Derek, and a gentleman whom we shall fondly refer to as "Other Craig" set off from Elk Lake an early o'clock with the Dixes in our sights. As with any proper hike, one person started the day with the sentence, "Oh, $%!^, I forgot (insert a critical piece of equipment here)."

This time, it was Flying Cows' turn. He forgot his nice shiny orthotics. After about 4 seconds of contemplation, he said, " Whatever, my feet will just hurt."

We set off, made pretty good time…

This is what happens when Colvin and Blake elude my feet.

I had my goals set on Colvin and Blake, but my knee began bothering me, so I opted for something a bit less stressful for them.

I had heard of Indian Head from a few people, and I figured, why not today? I had already done the long boring Lake Road trudge. This was a nice hike and a beautiful day too. Once on the ledges, some beautiful views of Ausable Lakes and some of the Great Range and Colvin.

At just over 9.5 miles round trip and just…

We started around 7 am the hike around Round Pond is a pretty one; continuing up to the first trail junction is a nice warm-up hike. From here to the leanto is a nice walk in the woods crossing a few brooks and streams; we arrived at leanto at 11 am.

After crossing North Fork(?), the hike up to the slide is moderate. After arriving at the slide at noon, we had a snack.

After we crossed the base of the slide, the real work began.

We arrived at the junction with the red trail at 1 pm and summit at…

I decided to take the day off and try at these peaks for a third time. My son was also off from school, and I just needed a reason not to go to work. I had tried these peaks on two other occasions, and I didn't make it past the Nippletop/Colvin junction. That would not be the case today.

We signed in at the gatehouse at 6:45 am; there was only one other hiker signed in ahead of us going to Armstrong/Upper Wolfjaw mountains.

Have to love the Lake road trek. It's straightforward to navigate, and…