ADK

Adirondack 46ers...

I'm not one yet, but my goal is to become one years down the road.

It is hiking season for me once again this year. I had been planning and looking forward to this trip for some time now. One of my main purchases for this trip was to own some of my very own hiking boots, after last year's experience. I realized very quickly that you can't go in snickers, and don't know how I came back from that trip without a sprained ankle or something. Anyways.. God is good.. and kept us safe.

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There are 46 high peaks in the Adirondacks that people hike! These mountains are very challenging and tiresome, especially if you are out of shape. Believe me, you don't have to hike for very long to find out if you are in shape or not. =) Last year's hike was a living nightmare, to say the least. At that time, I hadn't started my membership at the gym yet. It wasn't until I had this experience that a gym membership was absolutley necessary. I was bound and determined that my next experience would be more enjoyable.

(This is a closeup of Dix Mountain. )

Dix Mountain is the sixth highest peak in the High Peaks of the Adirondack Mountains at 4,840 ft and 13.2 miles in length. My best friend & I started early in the morning enjoying the cool breeze. I was pumped as we started out down the path with our far away goal in mind. I had already noticed a big difference in my physical condition, so much that I wasn't stopping to catch my breath. During the first 3-5 miles of our trip, the path was pretty much mud/water with many rocks to step on. Along the way we'd come to these interesting bridges that crossed these creeks/rivers. Some of them were a bit unsteady to say the least.

The bugs were definitely out. We fought them for awhile until we gave in with some "OFF" bug spray. Continuing on...There were several locations (3 maybe) where shelters were located that we'd stop at for a little break and snack. We came to one where people had left their belongings under tarp until their return that night. For lunch, we ate at one of them... setting up the little heating device we had to cook our food. We brought several snacks along-fruit, protein bars, trail mix (2 kinds) crackers etc. which was a very good thing because for the main course of the meal, we had prepackaged hiking meals where all you have to do is heat water and pour it into this bag of food, let it soften, then devour. Needless to say, we tried a brand new kind.. and we did all we could to get it down.... so then we decided to feed the fish... shhhh!
After lunch, we needed to make some good time since we spent more time than planned for lunch. The problem was... from there on, it was an upward climb. I still felt pumped physically. It didnt take too long aftwards though for me to start to feel worn! It was ok though. I hadn't complained until that point... so was very proud of myself as this was several hours into the trip.

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Ahead of us... continued to be an upward climb... then flatten out for a short distance.. and upward again. Peering through the trees, once we felt we were at a decent elevation, we'd stop to enjoy the scenery a bit. What a gorgorous view every step we took. The problem was, I'd also be looking for the top, and when I thought I had a glimpse of the top... it became discouarging at times knowing how much farther we had to go. Getting to the top is such a reward though. Such breath taking views that dont even compare to how pictures portray them! You have to be there yourself to understand.

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About 3/4 the way up, we entered a zone that had flowers/creatures in which we were strickly instructed(by a sign) not to touch, pick, step on etc... because of the rarety(sp?) of them. This was a random picture on that path.

Here is just a slight glimpse of rock that we climbed heading up the mountain. There were times in which I did all I could to force myself to go up it, holding on to branches of nearby shrub/ trees. This here was also where I noticed a big difference from last time having my hiking boots. I was able to rely on the grip they gave.

Here is some more rock along the way....

Below are some scenic pics taken during our little breaks, and then some once we arrived on top. Im not sure which ones are which.

HORRAY!!! We found the marker on the summit that proves we made it to the top! What a wonderful feeling. Mind you, this is now 6pm when we arrived after starting 9 something that morning. Now the trick was to make REAL good time and get out before dark. One of our previous hikes, we managed to by dusk.. but wasn't so lucky this time. Flashlights were pulled out... as we made our way through the woods. Luckily, we had at least made it back to more flat paths rather than still trying to get down the rock. By this point, I was burnt out, exhausted beyond words... and just didnt want to do it anymore for that night. The path continued on and on and on......... The darker it got, the less we were able to see (obviously), which ultimately made the trip seem even longer yet. All the while, we were looking for our path marker signs to tell us how many more miles we had to go... YES MILES. Pitch dark, and still had MILES... like 3.8 miles.

There was no cell phone coverage to make a call home... so we just had to continue to walk. All I wanted to see was the car... thats all I wanted. One of the flashlights used... kinda bit the dust.. so we were down to 2 for the rest of the time. If Im honest, I was a bit worried, not about being in the dark WITH flashlights, but in the dark WITHOUT them. I found myself several times whispering prayers about asking God to continue to give us the light we needed to get out safe.

This is a picture of the summit I believe looking back, before heading on down.

So, anyways... I'll spare you anymore details... and sum it all up by saying... we exited the woods at 11:30pm that night, safe! Overall, what a much better experience we had. I'm already looking forward to conquering another one possibly before the summer is over.