5: Tabletop & Avananche Lake Detour

Due to a series of unfortunate events, we weren't able to do our next hike on a weekday, so on Saturday August 19, 2022, when Sunny and I pulled up to the Adirondack Loj parking lot at 6am and the lot was almost full. Our plan was to hike Tabletop, but I'd heard that the summit wasn't all that great, so I wanted to add a detour to Avalanche Lake as a consolation prize, maybe for a swim. The helpful attendant at the Loj booth informed me that Avalanche Lake wasn't great for swimming. I was grateful for that information as I'd only ever been up there in the winter and I'd been making some assumptions about what the lake was like for swimming.

The Approach

The haul through Van Hoevenberg and Phelps Trails were dry and full of people. Sunny was really excited about how busy the trail to Marcy was because that meant he got lots of pets! This also meant that we were delayed but I can't really blame anyone; I tend to be a bit of a talker too and liked chatting with folks. 

Still, we quickly made it to the junction which was well-marked, though the rest of the trail up Tabletop is unmarked.

The Climb

The first  part of the trail going around the curve of the mountain was a worn path through the trees. The main obstacles were roots here.

It wasn't long before the true nature of Tabletop was revealed to us.

We were grateful when the real ascent began. A stream (and hikers) had cut a channel through the topsoil. 

There were fewer ledges and boulder scrambles compared to Phelps; it was a much more gradual climb to the summit. That's not to say it was easy to ascend to 4400 feet, but I would say it's the easiest we've done yet, at least from an athletic perspective. 

The Summit

The summit of Tabletop featured some incredible views of mud pits.

Adirondack Kommando was not impressed.

There is a small lookout on the south side of the mountain which offers a decent look at Mt. Marcy and Haystack

The Descent

There were  a few nice but obscured views of Algonquin and Wright during the descent, but we were eager to get off this trash mountain and get to Avalanche Lake.

The descent down the wet streambed was very difficult for me. Sunny was fairly patient, but he was also keen to try and catch up to everyone who passed us. I must admit that I'll have to add hiking poles to my kit for descents like this. Holding Sunny's leash offers stability on ascents, but I can't use him in the same way during slippery descents. The poles should also help take some of the strain off my knees which are pretty tore up from spending several years weighing at over 300 lbs.

Indian Falls & Lake Arnold Crossover Trail

Our mood improved greatly upon reaching the Indian Falls outlook. There were more people to pet Sunny and we got some pretty photos there. Sunny was very good with the people and got some snacks!

The connecting trail between Indian Falls and Lake Arnold Trail was awesome. The earth was peaty and we had zero passers-by. It was a quiet and verdant walk in the woods which stood in stark contrast to our hike up Trash Mountain. We were very glad we decided to take this detour because it made the whole trip worthwhile.

Although he didn't get any pets on this part of the trip, Sunny still enjoyed rolling in the rotting vegetation.

Lake Arnold Trail

The Lake Arnold Trail was well-trodden and we, once again, came across more hikers. These folks were mainly heading up to Colden. Sunny got lots of pets here and I had some nice chats. This entire portion of the hike was downhill. It parallels the Phelps trail to the North, so even though we had a few Adirondack Miles to go, there wasn't a whole lot more "up" to go. 

If I'm keeping it real, I prefer ups over downs. Even this fairly gradual grade down was a bit painful for my knees. I definitely need to have one hiking pole at hand for these gradual rocky descents.

Avalanche Lake

The descent was complete and we had the choice to either head back or complete our plan. My feet hurt, but it was early yet and Sunny was full of energy. We headed for Avalanche Pass. I'd been there a few years ago with some friends during the winter and it was a much different hike without snowshoes. The ascent was much easier this time for sure!

The cyclopean "slides" along the narrows of the pass were cool to look at and it was interesting to see what they looked like when they weren't covered in ice.

We were eager for a rest by the time we got to Avalanche Lake and we were not disappointed with the views there. It was interesting to see the contrast between Summer and Winter. I could see why the ranger suggested not swimming in this lake; it was pretty muddy and stagnant. We sat for a bit and had some lunch. Sunny cooled off in the mud.

On the way back, we came across a weasel. It was a beautiful animal with lighter brown fur and a black mask. It was lighter than some of the photos I've seen on the internet of a Fisher, so I am wondering if it was a Marten. Sunny didn't see it, but he definitely smelled it and it took me quite a while to get him to move on. 

Sunny took several dips in Marcy Brook to clean off the mud.

Wrap-Up

The actual Trash Mountain portion of this hike was admittedly not great, but the rest of the day was pretty amazing. This hike was a microcosm of a lot of things you can expect from the Adirondacks: the the quiet beauty of nature, the awesome majesty of the land, cool and interesting people, and punishing effort.

Sunny was actually quite done by the end. At the car, he layed quietly in the shade as I unloaded our stuff.

We went into the lodge center to potty and shop. I'd talked with my buddy who knows a thing or two about Adirondack hiking, and he suggested replacing my  emergency blanket (just a blanket I bring in the fall and winter) with something lighter, so I picked up a Sol Emergency Bivvy and a Heat Reflective Poncho. I'll add these to my "emergency pouch" which I never hope to open. I also picked up the ADK Mountain Club High Peaks map which my buddy also suggested because it includes all the unmarked trails (discounted for ADK members!). I also grabbed our summit pins for the past 4 mountains. I didn't realize how expensive these were; I may forego getting one for each of us going forward.

Sunny had the 40-yard stare on the way home. I really don't think he got enough to drink on this hike. Usually, on the ridge hikes, I feed him water in his bowl and he drinks it fairly dutifully. On this hike, there was water everywhere, so I mostly just had him trod in streams to drink, but I really don't think he drank enough. He spent the whole next day completely sacked out.

Stats from our hike:

The map:

Conclusion

There are three major take-aways from this hike. 

1. I need to bring poles for the descents.
2. I need to wear separate sneakers for the flat trails with long approaches like Loj and Garden. The boots are great for ascent and descent, but they are shit for long walks. I feel like I really need the support for elevation, though, so I can't just meet in the middle with a pair of trail runners.
3. When I plan to do an Obligation Mountain, I should also plan on hitting an adjacent feature to make the hike more valuable. I'm really glad I did that this time.

In consideration on how to make up the weight I'm adding with the sneakers and the poles, I am thinking of ditching my 1.5L bladder. On this hike I did drink all 4.5L, but I could have just brought 3L and relied on my filter bottle instead of carrying all that weight. Of course, I'll still want to bring the extra on dry ridge walks, but for these kinds of activities, the 3L should be more than sufficient.

Next Up

The plan I orginally had was to do Giant & Rocky Peak Ridge, however I'd like to better prepare for the 13+ Mile hike up Dix mountain we are doing in October. I'm thinking I might do Gothics from the Garden instead while it's still Summer. That's a 12+ Mile loop and I can test out the sneakers approach. There is plenty of water along the way so I can use my filter on the way out.