Adirondack Forty-Sixers

- Hiking the Adirondack High Peaks -

One of my hiking goals in 2011 was to hike the 46 High Peaks in the Adirondacks Mountains. In the late spring, early summer, and early fall I took three trips and completed my goal. I took a week off in early June and hiked 31 of the high peaks just as the rainy and cold spring weather snapped and was rewarded with seven out of nine days hiking in incredible weather! It took a few days to get used to the muddy trail conditions and some narrow herd paths but all in all it was lots of fun. I did some amazing one day hikes of the Great Range, MacIntyre Range, Dix Range, where I got to experience some of the most phenomenal views I've ever had hiking. In July I came back to ADK's to hike the Western High Peaks (Santanoni and Seward Ranges), once again I lucked out with some great weather and was able to hike 7 more peaks for a total of 38, I really enjoyed the Santanoni Range and didn't think Couchsachraga was as bad as the rep it's given. Finally in October I came back to hike the final 8 remaining peaks on the list and was treated with peak foliage and perfect weather as I hiked all over the eastern, northern, and central high peaks. I had a blast hiking the remaining peaks and even really liked hiking Allen Mountain which has a reputation as being a slog. I finished my 45th and 46th peak in style on Sunday, October 9th by doing a Big Slide / Gothics / Sawteeth Loop and enjoyed every second of it taking in the killer views! Click the links below to view trip reports

Date
Adirondack 46 High Peaks
 Miles 
Elevation Gain
ADK   46-R #
6/2/2011
8.4
2,500
1-2
6/3/2011
18.6
6,000
3-6
6/4/2011
25
8,500
7-14
6/5/2011
5.9
2,250
15 - 16
6/6/2011
18.6
6,000
17 - 20
6/7/2011
15.5
5,250
21 - 25
6/8/2011
13.2
3,000
26 - 27
6/9/2011
13
4,500
28 - 29
6/10/2011
18.2
4,500
30 - 31
7/16/2011
16
4,100
32 - 34
7/17/2011
21.4
5,500
35 - 38
10/5/2011
8.4
4,000
39 - 40
10/6/2011
12.8
4,200
41 - 42
10/7/2011
18.6
5,200
43
10/8/2011
18
3,850
44
10/9/2011
22
6,250
45 - 46

Spring (31) Summer (7) / Fall (8)
253.6
75,600
46 / 46


 Hiking down from Wright Peak
 Mount Colden from Algonquin Peak
Lake Colden, Flowed Lands, Allen Mountain from Algonquin Peak
 Basin, Saddleback, and Gothics from Haystack Mountain
 Gothics, Pyramids, Sawteeth from Haystack Mountain
 AMR Gate at the beginning of the private Lake Road
 Lower Ausable Lake from Mount Colvin
 Basin and Saddleback Mountain from Mount Colvin
 Blake Peak, Mount Colvin (foreground L to R) and the Upper Great Range (background)
 Basin and Saddleback Mountains
 Gothics and Armstrong Mountain
 It's pronounced Kook-sa-crah-ga or "Coochy or Cooch" for short
 The Seward Range from Pather Peak
 Saint Huberts from the Zander Scott Trail
 The Central High Peaks from Giant Mountain
 Keene Valley and the Great Range from Giant Mountain
 Keene Valley and the Great Range from Giant Mountain
 Lake Placid from Whiteface Mountain
 Iroquois, Algonquin, Wright Peak (L to R) from Mount Colden
 Flowed Lands from Mount Colden
 Mount Colden from Algonquin Peak
 "Walking the submerged planks" across Lake Jimmy on the long path to Allen Mountain
 'Panther Gorge' with Haystack Mountain from Allen Mountain
 Haystack, Gothics, Sawteeth from Allen Mountain
 Sawteeth (foreground) and Giant Mountain with Rocky Peak Ridge (background) from Allen Mountain
 Great Range from the First Brother
 Johns Brook Valley and the Great Range from the Brothers
 Mount Marcy and Haystack from Big Slide Mountain
 The Great Range from Big Slide Mountain
 Upper Great Range from Big Slide Mountain
 Big Slide Mountain from Gothics
 Giant and Rocky Peak Ridge from Gothics
 Basin Mountain slides from Pyramid Peak
 Basin and Saddleback from Pyramid
 Giant Mountain from the Ausable Club Golf Course
 The Dix Range from Rocky Peak Ridge
 Sawteeth and the Great Range from Giant Mountain
 Lower Great Range from Giant Mountain
 Giant Washbowl and the Great Range from the Zander Scott Trail
 Central High Peaks from Whiteface Mountain
 Mount Colden and the new slide formed during Hurricane Irene
 Basin Mountain from Sawteeth
 Marcy Dam before and after Hurricane Irene
 "Trap Dike" before and after Hurricane Irene
 Mount Colden slides and Trap Dike before and after Hurricane Irene
 Mount Colden, pre and post Irene

9 comments:

  1. Fantastic pics! Thanks for the before and after - headed up Colden this weekend :)

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    Replies
    1. Glad you like the pics, thanks! Enjoy Colden, some of the best views in the ADK's from the summit :)

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  2. Your pictures are terrific--breath-taking!

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  3. Chris, I really enjoyed your pictures, found your blog researching the Dix mountain range hike. We did it this September on a crystal clear day.

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    Replies
    1. Glad you liked the pics and blog! Sounds like you all had a phenomenal day in one of the best ranges in the northeast!

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  4. This is amazing man. Incredible that you did 31 in 9 days. I love finding a well put together websites with exactly what Eastern hikers want to see, so I applaud you for this site. I hike in the Whites and I'm really itching to get to NY, I plan on visiting my buddy at Clarkson soon. I wanna hit the Algonquin range and Avalanche pass for my first 3. Any tips?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Cole, The MacNtyre Range is awesome and it's a great first hike, my only tip is do it when you have decent weather with views, it makes for a phenomenal hike. If the weather is crummy or socked in the clouds hit up stuff like Street & Nye, Phelps & Table Top, Dial & Nippletop, or Marshall. Enjoy the ADKs!!

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