TR Mountain - wait!? where?

I opted for a hike this past weekend but wasn’t really sure what to do. My first thought was to “get” one of the ADK peaks off my summer list… but I haven’t been down to the peaks in a while so – as I arrived at the appropriate trailhead - the thought of a long (long) walk didn’t really appeal. So I chickened out and headed off to a backup plan! Unfortunately that got scratched as well when I found the car park overrun with cars at 9am. I could maybe have squeezed in but it was a shortish hike and I figured - with all the cars in the lot – the trail would be a complete traffic jam/zoo. So maybe on to Plan C?! A quick scramble through my head for ideas and I was quickly headed for the Loj. The lot at the Loj was also jammed but I was running out of ideas/options at this point so I squeezed into the lot anyway. A full parking lot was discouraging but at least – from the Loj – there are plenty of hiking options and the crowds will spread out somewhat as I got deeper into the woods. Add to that, a good number of people parked here could potentially be doing overnights (i.e. already a good ways out in the woods) and I felt better about my chances of having a slightly “wilderness” feel to my trek. Loaded up the pack and strapped on the boots but I still didn’t have an agenda. Decided to head up the van Hovenberg trail which would give me some options along the way. Soon enough I was at Marcy dam but I'd been lulled by the mellow path and still hadn’t made up my mind where I was going. Onward though and I harboured thoughts of perhaps hiking to Phelps – a nice open peak nearby. On the plus side it was a beautiful day so I wasn’t feeling too bad about not having a destination yet. Clear blue skies and the temperature had fallen significantly to pleasant temperatures which were more reminiscent of fall than mid-summer. As I passed a group of hikers below the Phelps junction my mind suddenly wandered to TR mountain (!). It’s a lonely peak in the center of a large cirque of higher (and thus more popular) peaks. All the summits are above 4000 feet and draw significant crowds whereas TR (named after Teddy Roosevelt in 1999) is a mere 3950 feet, has no trail and holds limited interest it seems. I had heard there was a little bit of a herd path if you can find it so that became the first item on the agenda for the day. Arriving at the right area for a potential herd path and, sure enough, found clear signs of boot prints heading right where the van Hovenberg turned left. I followed it 10 steps into the woods…and it promptly petered out (more likely a turd path... so I trod lightly!). My GPS told me the summit was a mere 400m and 500 feet up so I decided to press on and try my luck with the bushwhack. The woods were pretty open here – so how hard could it be? Turns out bushwhacking in the high peaks can be pretty hard. The open woods were traded twice for thick fir waves which slowed me considerably as I swam through the pines. A few significant blow downs blocked my path in the more open areas and there were more than a few “femur eaters” covered (hidden) in delightfully deceptive moss. Even a couple of cliff bands had to be negotiated… but I pressed on (femurs intact fortunately). The summit was marked with a little piece of orange surveyors tape about 15 feet up in a tree. I had pushed to a little clearing at the base of said tree through a final thick spruce glade and was presented with views of more spruce and a tourist plane which flew overhead… inauspicious indeed. On the plus side, I found a wee trace of the herd path and followed it down. It made progress a little easier but it was often hard to follow through the spruce waves and care had to be taken to try and pick it up again on the other side. It also presented me with a couple of "near miss" view points as well - if you could stretch tall enough and contort your self to the right angle. Finally I could hear happy hikers strolling up the main trail just a few feet below me. With some more clambering through the thicket I exited onto the trail a mere 10 feet further up from where I had first pushed in to the woods. “Missed it by that much” but a good reminder of how thick the bush can be in these mountains. Onwards to nearby Indian Falls to take in the view, have some food and take a break. Lots of folks here today and why not – outstanding spot to take a lunch break. I chatted with a few people - none of whom had even heard of TR mountain despite them currently sitting on its shoulder. Took the time after lunch to go below the falls and see the rare sight of the water cascade. Usually the visit to Indian Falls only includes the summit vista (above) but today it was too nice not to scramble downhill a bit and cool off in the sprays from the falls. After lunch I headed off towards Colden… but not too long after I developed a bit of a pain in my foot that seemed to be problematic. Not wanting to push it, I opted to turn downhill at the junction and head for home rather than start up Colden. Sure enough, ½ mile down the trail and my foot was once again fine so perhaps I was overcautious... but better safe than sorry. Another nice day in the woods. Even with no agenda there are new places to visit and a bit of an intro/refresher course to bushwhacking reminded me that staying on the trails isn’t always a bad idea.