With a clear forecast for the weekend I decided to make another run down to the Adirondacks to do some climbing. With luck I’d get clear skies and maybe the bugs had died back a bit allowing for some precious summit time. I loaded my car and started driving Friday after work. On the way down I came across a number of town parties underway – July 4th of course – but I had a few miles to cover so I kept rolling. As I approached the village of Long Lake I found I was just in time for the fireworks and an impressive show it was. Turns out the villages in the Park trade off the “big party” from year to year. This year it was Long Lakes turn which meant that – by enjoying the fireworks as I pulled into town - I also had to cope with the traffic as all the spectators (coming from a 100 miles in each direction) scurried back to their cars to get home after the last “rocket burst in air”. Long Lake usually takes 5mins. to drive through but tonight it was like Sussex drive last Tuesday night(Canada Day) – a free for all! Forty minutes later, unscathed, I headed off to make camp and get some sleep. 
I woke up pretty early on Saturday and wanted to make time to the parking lot. My goal today was the Dix range – a cluster of 5 peaks in the southern end of the high peaks area. The entry point today would be the Elk Lake lodge parking. It’s on private property but they have a small public lot for hikers to use. I wanted to get a spot to park before it filled up as I hear it’s a popular hike and this is a holiday weekend afterall. By 6am I was on trail and I made good time until the slide up Macomb. Here the herdpath enters a long rocky/gravely slide and climbs it for close to vertical 1000ft. While modestly tough going, the views also open up and I kept stopping to enjoy the view in the early morning sun (stopping didn’t hurt at letting my heart rate drop either). With the slide behind me I summited Macomb mountain and with that the bulk of the climbing was done. Once on the ridge the trail (a herdpath) goes up and down the group of peaks but never loses a lot of elevation so from then on the climbs were small. The views on the other hand were anything but small and it was a glorious day to enjoy it with bright sunny skies. 
Three peaks in the bag I met my first (and only) hikers of the day. I was on my way back (on an out and back section) so they had a little more distance to travel but we chatted for a spell and compared notes. In the end I didn’t see them again so I had the whole range mostly to myself. Sadly as I topped out on Hough I found I was not entirely alone as my old friends the blackflies came out to welcome me. They weren’t really aggressive – more geriatric blackflies - but they were still annoying non the less so I ate and photographed quickly before heading down for the day. The heat of the day was starting to ramp up anyway so it was time to get down and call it a day.
With the peaks behind me I though the excitement of the day was over but as I approached my return trail to the car I was attacked by a very aggressive grouse. Usually grouse just fly off into the bush – startling the bejezzus out of you – and are gone. In this case the grouse came at me like those mini dinosaurs in Jurrassic Park - the ones that killed Neuman – puffed up and hissing and spitting like crazy. This of course startled the bejezzus out of me but it was far from gone. After two brief backwards dashes from this insane beast I collected my wits (and may even of started laughing). Time to teach this overgrown chicken what a carbide tipped hiking stick can do to its puffed up self… but then I noticed in its anger it had worked its way off the trail so a few more yells at it (and a few more hisses and spits at me) and I was free to scoot by and carry on my way. First animal attack in a while but certainly a memorable way to end the day.
Macomb - 39 of 46
South Dix - 40 of 46
East Dix - 41 of 46
Hough - 42 of 46
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