9: Colden

The scheduling for our trip to Colden was plagued with uncooperative weather conditions. We had to keep moving the day forward until we had a dry day. This Friday and Saturday showed it would be dry and the clouds starting to clear up around 11:00am on Friday. The report showed gales of 20-40mph on both days at the summit with wind chills in the single digits Farenheit. I like keeping the weekends for family activities and I was dreading dealing with parking on such a beautiful Saturday, so I decided to toss the dice and hope that the clouds would be cleared up when I reached the summit.

It started to drizzle on our way north on I87 and hadn't let up when we arrived at the Loj. It was disappointing. I'd only been paying attention to the summit weather and hadn't considered that "cloudy" on the summit might mean "precipitation" on the ground. In retrospect, this should have been a consideration.

I hadn't fully researched an alternative hike (again) so I decided to wait it out for a little while. Sunny and I chatted with a few people for a bit and by the time the welcome center opened, it was snowing instead of raining. That was a bit more tolerable. Every season and weather condition creates a different experience. If the weather became intolerable, we could always get some pictures and tap out. 

All the little streams were running and major ones were swollen. The foliage wasn't totally ablaze yet, but even in the overcast light, there were some pretty views to be had.

Sunny clearly does not care what the weather is doing.

The one part of the hike I actually wasn't looking forward to was the Lake Arnold Trail along the Northeast foot of Colden. I'd gone down it once after doing Tabletop and had thought to myself at the time "Gosh, I'd sure hate to go up this" and here I was going up it. It's not that it's terribly steep, but it's just a laborious, rocky mile of fairly unremarkable trail that's a constant up.

Halfway up the trail, the snow started sticking to the trees.

The Lake Arnold Trail becomes much more interesting as it bends to the North. There are loads of little streams running into the trail. Lots of trails leading uphill in the Adirondacks are just streambeds, but this one was a completely swollen stream gushing from Lake Arnold itself. I've been hiking streams in cold weather since I was a kid, but I knew I had nasty wind chills to contend with later so I did my best to try and keep out of the water.

The mixed weather and all the little microclimates along the way made for some really unique experiences. 

The Lake Arnold Trail eventually climbs out of the main streambed and into a more tame path. That and the trail around Lake Arnold was a mud-sloshing rock and log hop. Many of the logs here were badly rotted or gone entirely. 

The wet and cold weren't slowing Sunny down at all. Sunny has taken to using the logs and rocks when he can, but many of these were just too slippery for either of us. 

As such, I contemplated putting on my spikes but I held off for the time being. The ground and water temps are still a bit too high for ice. It was just wet.

It is good to stop sometimes, and just listen. No cars. No people. Just the wind, the streams, and your own heartbeat. I try to do this a few times during each hike. During this hike, Sunny used these moments to enjoy the snow.

The actual climb began in earnest immediately past the lake. We were glad to finally be climbing properly. It didn't start off too slippery. All the smooth, eroded parts of the trail were far more managable than the ones on Gothics. Gothics was worn totally smooth where these were far more porous; we were able to easily clamber up them without slipping.

And where the slide was more challenging, the powers that be had seen fit to supply us with ladders.

While the climbs were great, what made the ascent truly difficult were the switchbacks and cols. These were all incredibly muddy and many of the logs were badly rotted. Wet feet are to be expected in the Adirondacks, but it was cold enough that it was a safety consideration. With these sloppy traverses, every time the water in my boots warmed up, I'd find another puddle to slip into. At the false summit, the cold and the 30mph wind bit in and I knew we'd have to hustle.

The trip through the col between the summits warmed us up a bit. Sunny wasn't sure what to think of Colvin's big boulder tunnel. It was here where we found some of the first ice of the trip. I decided I'd put on my spikes once we got to the top because they'd make the trip down much easier.

There were no views at the summit, but this guy was Sunny enough for me!

The top of the slide was icy. We skirted around it in the snow, pecking our way to a rough patch of foliage near the boulder of the true summit and I put on my spikes. If we'd slipped there, we would likely have slid all the way down to Avalanche Lake. I didn't even risk that surface with spikes on.

It was very cold at the top. When I took my glove off to snap pictures, the wind quickly bit into my skin and I knew there would be no waiting for the clouds to pass, even if we waited in the lee of the big boulder at the true summit nestled in the trees. We didn't even stop to eat lunch. It was just too cold. Adirondack Kommando agreed.

This is clearly where the Snow Faeries live.

Sunny and I made very good time on the descent with spikes and claws to assist us. 

Everything from icy surfaces, to wet rocks, to the rotting logs were twice as easy with spikes. With my boots on, using the spikes didn't feel much worse than just walking on an even gravel surface. 

We made quick work of the hike all the way down to the Lake Arnold crossover where it bends back to the Northwest where we ate our lunch and Sunny took a breather. 

After the muddy slog past Lake Arnold, I was warming up to the bottom half of the descent.  It was still a labor, so since I hadn't seen a soul since I left Marcy Dam, so I thought it was safe to pop on Kate Bush for some inspiration. Of course, someone would come up behind me at the exact moment I was "Running [down] that hill" for the second time. At the bottom of the trail at the Avalanche Lake junction, I switched to a dry pair of socks and my running shoes.

By the time we got to Marcy Dam, the ceiling had finally lifted above the summit of Colden.

Despite the condtions, we still managed to make the entire 12+ miles up and down Colden in about 8 hours. There were no views at the top which is a shame because I've heard they are incredible. However, we did have a lovely and uniqe expereince as the snow encrusted the autumn wilderness and that was pretty cool. 

I love fall hiking. The terrain is beautiful and the air is crisp. I love winter hiking. There are no bugs and I don't need to carry 5 liters of water to fuel this weird body I have. However, fall hiking in winter conditions is a different animal. The wetness really gets into you. Fortunately, I brought my winter boots and my winter coat, and I'd put on my thermals. We were prepared for this trip to get gross and that's why we were able to finish. 

The map from this hike:

Next, we will be hiking Dix with friends. I think it's going to be tough. Any hike that starts from the Loj starts at 2000' elevation. Dix starts at 1600 or so according to the map, and you eat up the first bit of  elevation at the start of the hike and then a steady/relentless climb of about 2500' at the end. Although Colden is 4700', the ascent from Avalanche camp is only 1400 or so feet if you count the extra you have to do thanks to the false summit. Even though the climb up Dix is over 2000' of elevation gain at the end from Boquet River, it's the several miles of just walking in beetween which I'm most concerned about. 

I'm going to keep my eye on the weather and make sure I get my swimming in this week to keep my breathing and heart trained.