Mount Marcy, NY

 

Mt. Marcy

(Canon F-1/ Kodak Tmax400)

Sitting in the 'High Peaks Wilderness Area' of the Adirondack Mountains, Mount Marcy is the highest point in the state of New York.  With an elevation of 5,343 feet, it is miniscule compared to western American mountains.  However, because of the forested and rocky terrain, it can be a very challenging hike...as I would learn.

Mount Marcy is most famous for it's association with Theodore Roosevelt.  When President McKinley was shot, Vice President Roosevelt rushed to his side.  However, when it appeared the President would recover, he decided to go hiking in the Adirondack Mountains as not to be a distraction for the media. Returning from the summit of Mount Marcy, he saw a suited man in a top hat running through the forest waving a telegram: McKinley had died and he was now President of the United States.

I made a massive error in my assault on Mount Marcy; I got drunk the night before. I hadn't consumed alcohol for a while, and the three...okay five...Old Fashioned's I had at my campsite hit me HARD.  This would make what should have been a lovely day's hiking into one of the worst experiences of my life. 

The hike to the summit starts at the Adirondack Loj, which is a wilderness and education center with a hiking supply store.  At the trailhead is a registry book you fill-in just in case things go wrong.  The High Peaks Wilderness is massive and full of bears, so the Forestry Service wants to have an idea of who is out there.

The vast High Peaks Wilderness

(Canon F-1/ Kodak Tmax400)

The Van Hoevenberg Trail takes you all the way to the summit.  About an hour in you come to the Marcy Dam (what's left of it, anyways).  Built in the 1930's, the Marcy Dam created Marcy Pond.  An Interior Outpost is maintained on the western side with campsites and lean-tos.  The dam was partially destroyed by Hurricane Irene and the Forestry Service has decided not to rebuild it.

After the dam is when the real fun begins. From this point on the trail is almost entirely uphill with no switchbacks. I say trail, but it becomes just rocks which get bigger and bigger as you go through the forest.  Eventually you are bouldering over the bigger rocks as you move higher.

At the three hour mark you entire the 'Alpine Zone'.  The trees disappear, leaving nothing but rock, and the terrain starts to look very "Lord of the Rings'.  It also starts to get chilly, which feels great as I was covered in sweat by this point with a throbbing headache.

A cairn with Big Slide Mountain in the background

(Canon F-1/ Kodak Tmax400)

Because there are no more trees to mark the trail, the only thing left to guide you are the 'cairns'; large piles of rocks all the way to the summit.  They are quite beautiful but can deceive you into thinking that you are at the summit when really you have half a mile more to go...

Being massively hungover and borderline delirious, the only reason I knew I had made it to the peak was a large plaque telling me I had done so.  I collapsed, ate a sandwich, took a swig of whisky from my flask (BAAAAAD idea...), and called my mum.  There was nothing left to do but start the 7.5 mile journey back down...

The summit

(Canon F-1/ Kodak Tmax400)

It was coming down the mountain that things really went wrong for me.  I was so nauseous I couldn't bring myself to eat and I quickly ran out of water. You can see how people sit down and die on Everest. When you are that completely drained of energy (thank you, hangover), you start thinking about lying down and having a sleep for an hour or so. The truth is, you'll never get back up.

After ten hours of hiking, I stumbled into the parking lot at the Adirondack Loj.  First thing after taking my boots off, I hobbled my way over to the supply store and bought three bottles of Gatorade.  I then drove my Rover back to the campsite and slept for 12 hours.

The lesson here is that the wilderness does not suffer fools lightly, and on this trip I was a fool.  The mountains do not care who you are, where you came from, or how under the weather you feel.  I went to the wilds seeking the brutality of nature, and here I found it.