I Stayed overnight at the Adirondack Loj, run by the ADK. The night before my hike a group from Binghamton, NY came in and took the bunk house portion of the Loj. They came down to the General Seating area to chat, where I picked up that they were expecting to climb Mount Marcy. They were expecting to be up by 04:00, and on the trail by 05:30. I figured if that sounded like a good plan, except I was going to miss out on the breakfast served at 07:00. They had arranged ahead of time to have the Loj make them a breakfast that was sitting for them in a cooler the night before.
Sure enough, at 04:00 they started milling around upstairs making it impossible to sleep anymore, so I got up and started to get packing. My strategy was to wear my trail running shoes for as long as possible till I hit too much snow and ice then switch to my mountaineering boots and crampons. I figured a jacket, winter gloves, skull cap, and gaiters. I packed all of this in my backpack with a water pouch and said goodbye to the group still trying to herd cats.
I downed a couple of complimentary coffees, and a Myoplex shake for breakfast, and headed out to the trail head about 100 yards across the parking lot (how convenient). It was 5:30 and enough light out on a brisk 28 degree morning. The Loj figured the temperature at the summit was a 10 - 20 degrees colder, making it around 18 degrees at the summit.
I had on my trail running shoes, hiking pants, tee shirt and long sleeve shirt, and ball cap. I was wearing light so I could fly.
I made Marcy Dam in what appeared to be 1/2 hour. The dam was broken, and the walk way was somewhere downstream, but crossed at the temporary bridge down stream. I pushed on and kept hustling till I hit a stream. I had skipped the "High Water Bridge" downstream, and was now faced with crossing the stream with what appeared to be some dry and wet rocks. Well guess what, those wet rocks were really cleverly disguised ice rocks. Yeah, water freezes on rocks at less than 32 degrees. I managed to get across a few rocks when I had the thrilling sensation of trying to catch myself on a ice rock surrounded by water with a pack on, in the middle of the Adirondacks. I made across with a leap of luck, and pushed on noting next time use the "High Water Bridge" instead.
I proceeded up till I finally hit the snow and ice. Choices, stop and switch into Mountaineering boots and crampons, or push on with the trail running shoes. My feet were already wet from a few mud puddles so I figured on just heading up and take my chances with the trail running shoes. I wanted to keep up the quickest pace, and the Mountaineering boots were going to slow me down. I did pull out the trekking poles. The snow was very hard packed from melting and refreezing over the past weeks of high and low temperatures. The ice was not too severe, and heading up on ice is a lot easier than heading down.
I made it up to the tree-line in 3 hours. The sun was out and wind blowing briskly, but the temperature had already risen to about 30 degrees. The top of the mountain is almost one complete piece of granite with rising boulders and slabs of rock. It is great for gripping with trail shoes, but treacherous when icy. I figured I could make it to the top, but by now I was slightly concerned with some hypothermia setting in (I did not want to pull out my jacket). It had gotten steep enough where I needed to catch my breath.
I got up to the flat rocks and made the conscious decision to bag the summit since I was here for the training, not necessarily the peak. Its amazing what a couple of minutes of rest can do. I dropped my pack, grabbed my phone, and pushed to the top in just under 10 minutes proud that I pressed on (9:00). Sometimes we see the summit, only to find out it is a false summit and we have more climbing to do. I took a few pictures, and headed back down to my pack.
By this time, any perspiration had evaporated and I felt fine. I proceeded down the mountain but quickly hit the ice and determined enough was enough It was boots and crampon time. The boots were practically brand new, and I had never been on crampons before so this was going to be interesting. As soon as I started heading down the ice, the crampons gripped and held, and I felt at ease. I met the 12 person group about 45 minutes down the trail, and advised them on how close they were. The rest of the trail was easy with the proper gear and warming temperatures. Some of the areas frozen before were beginning to thaw and turn into mud pits. My new boots kept me dry and I stomped right through them. I eventually made it to a point where the crampons were off, but left in the Mountaineering boots on since they still needed to be broken in. I got down to the trail head after a 7 hour round trip ordeal. Since I made it early enough I figured a quick shower at the Loj, and hit the road for my 5 hour ride to Rochester.
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