Well the time had finally come. Time to climb Dix mountain and complete the list of 46 high peaks in the Adirondacks. Last weekend was a bit of a washout with low cloud cover and potential for a lot of rain so I bumped it up to this weekend. This meant that some of the guys I had invited along couldn’t make it but some others were now available so I was glad to have some company along for this “last” of hikes. The weekend started off badly as I got the word that a lot of snow had fallen on the high peaks – would that end my chances for the season? Nothing for it but to press on and see what the day would bring. Pete and I decided to head down Saturday afternoon and camp at Wilmington notch. Second strike? I forgot the tent poles that were in my workshop drying out after last weekend. No matter, we conjured up a nice leanto with our hiking sticks and the tent fly and soon had a workable sleeping structure…. But what would be next to go wrong? Over night the temperatures dipped below zero but Pete and I slept soundly in our sleeping bags and woke just before sunrise to prepare for the hike ahead. Indeed, as we drove down to the trailhead, Marcy and Algonquin were well coated with snow but Dix looked to have fared better with just a dusting of snow. Things were looking up.
Mike joined us at the trailhead after spending a comfy night in a motel in Saranac Lake (He’s not a camper… yet) but he was suffering from a bit of a sinus cold and was unsure if he would join us. I convinced him to come along for the start and see how it goes, if things didn’t improve then he could turn back. As it turns out he did the whole hike so I was happy he was able to come along. I’ve done the most peaks in the Adirondacks with him so it was fitting that he would be here for the last one. 
We signed in at the trailhead to discover that a crew of 46ers was doing maintenance on the very trail we would be hiking so I took that as a good omen. Sure enough as we got to Round Pond (the first stop along the trail) we started to come across several members clearing waterbars and cutting blowdown (many thanks) and they wished us well on our journey. The first part of the trail is pretty mellow with only a few little climbs along the Bouquet river – very Gatineau Park-like with mixed hardwoods and beautiful colours. The temperatures were cool (5C) which made for pleasant walking and we made good time to the leanto that marks the start of the real climbing. After a quick rest and a snack, we started to climb and shortly made it to the base of a massive slide off of Dix. Scenic vistas were now opened up looking back down the valley to Noomark and Giant and the fall colours playing out before us – another good reason to stop for a bit.
Beyond the slide the trial turned steeply uphill. Mike made sure to remind us that the guidebook referred to this section of trail as “murderously steep” but he was unsure if that meant the trail would murder you or the climbing party would murder the guy who decided to chose this trail for his 46th…. I stepped a little ahead just to be sure ;-) Somewhere through here we met up with two young guys from Montreal who were also climbing this peak. Interestingly one of them had no pack while the other was carrying a large load. We asked how they decided who carried the pack. Seems they camped at the leanto the previous night. The one without the pack had decided to climb a tree over the brook, gotten too high and fell out of the tree and into the brook injuring his back and hip. Unable to carry his pack and walking with a bit of a limp, he still wanted to do the climb and his buddy agreed to carrying the load…. Ahh to be 20 again. While unspoken, they latched on to our group for the final climb to the summit. Better to hike with some others in case things went even further wrong. 
After some while of climbing the “murderously steep trail, the grade finally eased and we pushed out onto the final summit ridge. From here to the top the views opened up and the whole high peaks began to unfold before us. Much picture taking, ohhs and ahhs, ensued and the last stretch went slowly (not because we were tired or anything ;-) but finally we made it to the last few steps. Strangely there is a US Geodetic plate at one point and 100m further along is the Colvin 1880 survey bolt… but which is the top? Makes no matter, I stepped up to both points and Mike graciously offered me a refreshing 46er Ale to celebrate – no small feat considering he hauled the bottle up here. He also mentioned that Bryan had planned to bring one of those cakes where the girl jumps out of it to help me celebrate my finish – sadly Bryan couldn’t make this hike as I would have liked to have seen that. 
With the formal celebrations over, much picture taking and a little lunch ensued. The clouds rolled by offering changing views and occasional patches of sunshine. Off in the distance Marcy played her role as the “cloudsplitter” and shone with a new coat of snow and below us Elk lake gleamed with occasional patched of sun. Finally, before we all froze, I built a small snowman and placed him on the summit rocks to reign over his high peak empire. As always though, far too soon, it was time to head down and return to the car. As we left the summit a light snow began to fall and this was somehow fitting – time for fall to end and move on to winter… well perhaps too soon for some but I’ve got my skis waxed and ready to go!
Once hiking again we all warmed up and apart from one scary moment in which Mike looked to descend several hundred feet in a pinwheeling airborne motion (but thankfully regained control) we made it down the murderously steep section to the base of the slide and the long walk back along the valley. Things moved smoothly along the valley, the colours surrounded us and the day had warmed so although we were running low on energy the walk out was pleasant. Soon enough we were back at Round Pond with the sun setting behind the Dix range and shortly after that I signed out – a newly minted 46er(pending all the necessary paperwork of course). A celebratory pint of beer and we were off on the drive home. A great day hiking and I’m pleased to have got it in before the heavy snows of winter start to fall.
3 comments:
Very Cool! Congrats on becoming a 46er. No small feat. Here's to exploring the other parts of the park below 4,000 feet.
Many thanks Corin, Indeed this of course is not "last" hike... just the last on the list. Lots of other places to explore and more than a few 46ers worth revisiting as my next blog post will show (coming soon!)
And of course, more than a few of the 46 are worth a second look. Congrats!
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