August 20: South Shore of Colden Lake   Miles Today : 11.6 Total Miles : 36.5

Just a few minutes up the trail out of the valley and back to the ridge, I hiked into the clouds and the sky closed up. This was disappointing since I was on my way up to the summit of Mount Marcy, the tallest peak in the Adirondacks at over 5000 feet. It was cold and wet the entire way up, and once I was above treeline I could barely see far enough to make out the next trail marker. Somehow, however, I made my way to the summit and had the entire place to myself. Actually, it could have been quite crowded up there, but I would have had no way of knowing since I could not see more that 10 feet away. There was no spectacular view up here on this day, but hiking above treeline in these conditions does have a certain appeal all its own.

It wasn’t long after I started my descent off of Marcy that the sky started to clear up once again. Down below 4000 feet, it was actually a really nice day, as the clouds gather up near the peaks and then dissipate away from them. I stopped at Indian Falls for a snack and to appreciate the nice view from the ledge above the waterfall. From this vantage point, I could see most of Mount Colden, however the summit was hidden from my view as clouds surrounded it. It was then that I decided to stay low for the rest of the day.

From here, I headed further down into the valley just to climb back up a few miles later. On the way back up, however, I would be heading through a very unique part of the landscape, Avalanche Pass. This trail was nasty! It squeezes in between two steep cliffs, over boulders, across brooks and on top of several wooded catwalks and other man made structures that aid it getting around this tricky section. The trail then follows the shore of the small but beautiful Avalanche Lake, a body of water nestled in between these two cliffs.

It was right before this lake that I had yet another amazing trail encounter. I passed a young couple heading the opposite way on the trail and gave my standard hello greeting as they passed. About ten steps later, the guy yells out to me “Hey, did you hike the Appalachian Trail a few years ago?” I was stunned, I looked back and answered yes, but I still did not recognize who it was. Turns out, it is Grizzwaldo, who I hiked with on and off from New York to Maine. He even threw a party for thru-hikers at Bear Mountain, NY. We talked for quite a while about what we had been doing since the trail, and about our plans to get out west and hike the PCT in the next few years. It was good to talk to someone else who was still eager to get back out there and do more long distance hiking. It seems like so many people that I knew from the AT have reintegrated with society and are happy to continue with their lives as they were before they hiked. It is not so with me, and Grizz and I talked to a while how we are planning to change our lives.

After promising to keep in touch, we both headed on our separate ways. The AT continues to effect my life in more ways that I ever thought possible and this chance encounter with an old friend is just another great example. I continued down the trail and came upon Colden Lake, another small lake that was tucked in closely between the surrounding mountains. From the south side of the lake, where I am camped out, I can see two 4000 foot peaks, Mount Colden and Mount Algonquin. Actually, I can see most of these mountains, but the peaks are still surrounded by clouds.

My shelter mates from last night are camping out in a nearby lean-to and asked me if I wanted to join them. However, sleeping in a full shelter on a nice night like this one is not my idea of good camping. I tried to convince them that the view and the tentsites here were better than a dark, smelly shelter with eight people, but they are weekend warriors and preferred the friendly confines of three walls and a sturdy roof. Too bad, they were a fun group, but I think that I would rather have some solitude tonight anyway.

Colden Lake is a pretty amazing area, which probably explains why the area is virtually overrun by campsites. There are four shelters and over 20 designated camping areas with several sites each. That does not count the other areas that are further north along the lake. Just a rough guess, but I would say that there are over 50 people camped in this area tonight. And this is a Monday night. That might also help to explain the bear problem in the area that I have been hearing so much about. There are special bear wires located throughout this area to aid in hanging your food our of reach from local bears looking for a free meal. Its about 9:00 right now and I just heard a loud crash, I hope that wasn’t my food bag getting torn down.

Oh well, I am not going to worry about it and I am certainly not going to go over there and wrestle my food away from a bear if he is chowing down. I hope he doesn’t like Powerbars. Well, it might not have been a great day up in the peaks today, it was certainly a perfect day to be down in the valley. How can you help but love it out here?

-Chomp

< Previous Entry | Next Entry >