Training Log Archive: iansmith

Ascent up Mt. Marcy! In preparation for our Adirondack expedition, we purchased 3 L of powerade, ~400 g of M&Ms, a 200g bag of goldfish, 8 granola bars, and 8 small packs of crackers. I had a pdf of the trail map on my phone, and I brought my usual bag of fun emergency hiking equipment - headlamp, matches, emergency blanket, gauze, medical tape, and a knife. We also had extra clothes, which we didn't use at all on the trip, and sunscreen and hats which we did use.

We left the hotel at about 8 and got to the trailhead at 8:30. In total, we had about 6L of water and powerade, which was a good amount with a little extra in reserve. Our pace was comfortable and leisurely; it took about 4 hours to travel 11.4 km with about 1 km of vertical. We stopped for snacks every 45 minutes or so. There were large stretches of rocky ground, and the trail was surprisingly wet with marshy areas at over 1200m.

We lingered at the summit for about 30 minutes and snacked - the M&Ms and goldfish were particularly scrumptuous, among the 30-40 people milling around the wide summit. The views were magnificent, and a friendly ranger was advising people to not destroy the vegetation and be mindful. Again, I had contemplated a circuit, descending via Lake Colden, but the ranger advised us that the trail was considerably longer and wetter. So, we descended the same way we came.

It was a glorious day with perfect weather. We got back to the car at about 5:30p, got ice cream in Lake Placid, and drove back to Toronto.

Descent track; my watch died, as I hadn't fully charged it overnight.

After the wedding on Saturday, brunch Sunday morning, and a relaxing day hanging out with Katie's family on Sunday, Katie and I drove up to the Adirondacks from some hiking. I had already selected Mt Marcy for our Tuesday expedition, and Giant Mountain was my choice for a quick Monday scamper. We set out from the road near St. Huberts at about 3:30p, and did the 5 km, 1000m vertical ascent in a leisurely 2 hours. We parked at the top for some snacks and enjoyed the vista of the sun going down over the peaks to the west - including Marcy. I had originally planned to do a loop going north, but we decided that the extra ~3 km could take an excessive amount of time. Also, we were planning on setting out for Marcy quite early the next day, so it didn't make sense to exhaust ourselves on a peripheral peak before the main event.

We descended the same way, drove to Lake Placid, ate a pizza, and bought supplies for the morrow. Lake Placid is a very charming spot.