Skylight peak

Skylight peak
Originally uploaded by kenmore photos

Saturday I managed another long hike – Skylight and Gray by way of Mt. Marcy. This was almost a complete repeat of a hike I did a number of years before with my friend Mark. We did it that time with full backpacks camping at Flowed lands and Indian Falls. This time I did it as a day hike and kept marveling at how dim/strong we must have been as the climbs (with a full pack) are brutal. On that hike we hadn’t tagged the two side summits along the trail so I had to go back and “finish the job” today. Another excuse for a great walk in the woods.

I headed out from South Meadow with another cool day ahead. I was careful to check my watch as I walked the van Hovenburg trail to the summit of Marcy. Last fall I read a report that Kris Freeman – US elite xc-skier – used this trail for a training jog and topped out in 1 hr and 26mins. He commented on how much he likes the trail as it is a steady 8 mile grind to the summit - a couple of steep pitches but nothing extreme and fairly even footing for a mountain trail. I’m no elite skier and I had a full daypack on (and more peaks to climb afterwards) so I was really pleased to steadily hike the trail in 3hrs flat. I may come back in the fall and try again (with lighter pack and a bit of running) to see how I do while I get ready for the ski season. At least now I have a baseline to compare with.

Reaching the summit I shared it with the ranger (Doug) who comes up to educate hikers on the fragility of the alpine flora…. We chatted for a while. He does an 8-hour shift on a summit every 3 days – tough commute but an excellent “window” office.

From there it was off down the backside of Marcy to Skylight. This may be one of my new favourite summits. I spent close to an hour here alone with a (bold/greedy/hungry?) little bird as I ate lunch and watched dozens of people top out on nearby Marcy. The top of Skylight is a unique little alpine meadow above tree line. A beautiful spot to spend some time. (hiking) Legend has it that if you bring a stone to the summit of mount Skylight then it will not rain on you. I added my rock (collected from Ottawa) to the massive pile on the summit – apparently a well adhered to legend. From there it was off to tackle Gray peak – highest of the trail-less summits.