27, 28, 29, & 30: Macomb, S.Dix, Grace, & Hough

 

A high-pressure system (or a series of them) had been keeping Upstate New York clear of inclimate weather for quite some time in late August and early September. Although Quinn and I had taken advantage of it for a hike up Kipp Mountain, I hadn't been to the high peaks since the Seward hike.  With a lot going on in the weekends in September, I used my last remaining unclaimed personal day and took a random Wednesday off to hike the Southern Dix range.

Macomb

We stayed overnight at our family's seasonal site in Chestertown, which is a short 40-minute drive to the Elk Lake trailhead. That night, I made up some pulled pork mac n' cheese and listened to an audiobook to chill out.  I played with the idea of getting a 3am start in order to possibly get a sunrise at Macomb and get home early. Instead, I decided to get a good night's sleep and wake up at 4:45. 

I made coffee, then heated up the mac and put it in my thermos. We were out the door around 5:15 and at the trailhead around 6:05 -- first light.

We were on the Dix Trail by dawn at 6:20. The trail between the trailhead and the camping area is very well-maintained and dry. It seems like a great deal of effort has been put into bypassing and directing drainage here. We moved very quickly. 

There's quite a bit of signage regarding the private property at the start. I must say, much of the private property signage throughout the high peaks region makes it seem like the landowners are doing us a favor by letting us hike there when the situation is far more nuanced than that. The sentiment seems somewhat disingenuous. Still, it is important to be respectful of the land these trails cut through.

The crossings along the way are easy to traverse, at least this time of year.

We made it to the herd path cairn in about 40 minutes.

Just past the designated campsite are a pair of cairns denoting the herd path. Note that, much like other herd paths in the High Peaks region, this one starts off with a lot of diverging and converging of multiple paths. The trail quickly resolves to a single path, however.

As with some other High Peaks herd paths, this one is subject to rigorous trail maintenance. 

As I've found with other South-facing ascents, the hike to Macomb is lush and pretty.

The first half of the Slide Brook trail is a gradual ascent.

Lots of this.

More trail maintenance is evident as you start the actual climb.

The trail gets gradually steeper as you make your way up the second half of the ascent.

We quickly found ourselves at the base of the infamous Macomb Slide.  This is a really fun section of the hike. I recommend taking a breather every few minutes and looking out over the Southern High Peaks region and beyond.

I'm not sure when this slide occurred, but it is fairly recent. The sandy soil hasn't washed away yet and the rocks definitely move underfoot, so be careful. Today, the soil was still somewhat damp and it held fairly firm, but I doubt that's the case every day. I guess this is one of the few hikes that's easier when its wet.

You can see from this picture that it's easy to do your own swichbacking up this section. Of course, you can just forge forward in a straight line, but I chose to switchback. Following a friend's suggestion we started the slide by keeping to the left, then crossed over nearer to the top. That worked out great. 

Pride Rock shot of the hike.

It was at this point, near these little trees and bushes that we crossed over to the right.

Sunny barked at me to keep up several times. Sunny was full of nervous energy during the slide ascent. There was a group of hikers ahead of us and he didn't want us to be separated from them.

After the slide, there is still about 600' of elevation left to ascend. This is where we found mud for the first time and it made for tough going at this steep grade. Sunny did okay, but I had to make up for the lack in foot traction by using my flimsy upper body strength to pull up via roots and trees.

It's steep, but easier after that nasty 100' or so after the slide.

There is a gorgeous view prior to entering the trees to the summit.

Schlup schlup schlup! Sunny downed at least a liter of carried water on this hike. It is dry up there. We made it to the summit at around 8:50, over an hour sooner than I was hoping for. I was feeling really good about reaching the summit in 2 and a half hours.

Adirondack Kommando thinks Macomb is a fun ascent.

S. Dix

The hike down from Macomb was fast, following a spur rather than a drainage. Since there's no drainage to be had, I guess that's not surprising. As such, it was dry. We chewed up ground like crazy going down. 

More trail maitnenance evident during the descent.

The col between Macomb and South Dix is dry. Here you see the cairn marking the junction where you can turn West to get down to Lillian Brook trail if you so choose. We went straight towards South Dix.

I was shocked to find that the trail almost immediately breaks the treeline as you ascend. I'd heard that the S. Dix summit was fairly unremarkable and wooded, but I had missed that almost the entire ascent was exposed. This was an absolutely lovely surprise.

A truly stunning and fun ascent.

Cairns helpfully mark the best path up S. Dix.

Sunny was in a great mood.

So was I.

The views ascending S. Dix are marvelous.  I don't know whether this is the beautiful day or my good mood talking, but this was one of my top favorite ascents of any peak so far.

We made it to the shady summit by 10am, under an hour between Macomb and S. Dix.

There were two wads of toilet paper up here. I buried them. After that I lost our shovel somewhere.

Adirondack Kommando sez dis summit isn't great, but the climb is awesome. After the gorgeous ascent, I really didn't mind a shady spot to stop and have a snack.

The hike along the ridge on S. Dix towards Grace was super nice. The periodic views were lovely and the terrain was easy. Honestly, S. Dix is a really great mountain in general

Let's go, Dad!

Grace

In the col between S. Dix and Grace, you'll find some lovely, peaceful woods. You'll pass the cairn marking the trail junction where you can choose to go down to US 73 via the Boquet Forks Trail.  I'm interested in trying this trail out at some point. Someone I talked to during the hike said it's pretty overgrown and it's wise to bring GPS.

There was more mud here, but it was all very managable; my feet didn't get wet.

The true summit of Grace is mostly open, 180 degrees facing East.

We didn't stop there, though. It was highly recommended by friends that we head North to the lookout.

I was very grateful for that advice. We had a lovely place to stop for lunch, arriving at 11am, still an hour ahead of schedule.

Sunny really wanted some pulled pork mac 'n cheese. Spoiler alert: he got some.

I scraped myself up when I accidentally got off-trail heading to the lookout.  The trail is fairly vague despite only being a few short minutes away. I poured some whiskey on it to disinfect, but my friend said only a very few alcohols are good for disinfectant. I broke out the medkit and cleaned it out with alcohol wipes.

Truly stunning view of Dix and Giant with Marcy and Whiteface poking up in the background.  We stayed here for a while, resting, enjoying the solitude, and getting in some calories.  I also popped some tylenol and drank a liter of water with a Liquid IV added. In all, I drank 4.5 liters on this trip.

Hough

We made quick work of the trail back to S. Dix. We met a lot of lovely people around this time and afterwards. Sunny got lots of pets from strangers which is his favorite thing in the world. We stopped briefly to enjoy the view again several times before stopping at S. Dix again to eat a cookie. After that short rest, we headed for Hough, about 1 hour after leaving the Grace slide overlook.

The view as you begin the S. Dix descent lets you get your bearings going forward. Pough is in the foreground, while Hough is the mound center right. Beck Horn is the pointed peak poking up beyond.

I was worried the col on either side of Pough would be muddy as hell, but I was proven very wrong. They are lovely places to walk and enjoy nature. If I'd studied the maps a little more, I'd have noticed that the drainage for Hough and Pough go down the sides of the mountains and their spurs touch in the col, so the wet doesn't really seem to collect there, unlike some other recent mountains we've hiked. 

I honestly don't know if Pough is the real name of the peak, but I love the idea of this ridge making the word "Houghlepough". At any rate, it had some nice views and the terrain wasn't too bad. All in all, I'd say this is a far nicer ridge walk than Dial-Nippletop or Donaldson-Emmons. Even as late in the day as it was, we were still in good spirits. 

The descent down from Pough is fairly steep and I was honestly glad I wouldn't have to return back up it.

Enjoying the col between Pough and Hough.

The junction marking the hike up Hough or down Lillian Brook would actually be a lovely place for a campsite, but it is marked with a no-camping sign and seems to have scattered firepit stones and sitting stones.  I suspect this was, in fact, a campsite at some point.

The spur climb up Hough is extremely steep. It starts with roots and rocks. I had to stop several times to catch my breath and drink. I don't really know what the official grade is, but apps show it to be upwards of 50-60% in some spots.  

Then you come to a wild formation pictured above and below at about 4000' elevation. This reminds me more of the rocks in the Catskills than the Adirondacks.

I'd read in Jonathan Zaharek's book that you could go around this formation to the left and scale it easier. I thought he was referring to this crack. I kept a hold of Sunny's long leash, took off my pack, and clambered up this crack. Then, I was able to haul Sunny up; he was too afraid to attempt it himself.

Little did I know that, if I'd observed my surroundings a bit more, I'd have seen the trail cuts across the rest of the rockface to allow you an easier climb up on the other side. I felt really dumb when I found that on the way back down later.

I recommend stopping and resting here a moment. Eat a cookie. Enjoy the view from the boulder. There's a good 400' more elevation to accomplish after this spot. 

This was the first time all day I'd felt anything less than elated. I just wanted this climb to be over. 

I was very glad to make it to the summit of Hough, the last of the elevation gain done! It took us 45 minutes to climb from the base of the mountain to the summit. We stayed, charged my phone, ate more food, drank more water, and enjoyed the Western view.

A gentleman on his way to Dix was also hanging out eating lunch and we chatted quite a bit. He remarked how well-behaved Sunny was, which is always nice to hear.

Adirondack Kommando sez "Quit whining and get on with it!"

Descent & Camping Area Notes

We took our time hiking down the spur. The last thing I wanted to do was twist or break an ankle at 3800 feet. Still, it only took 30 minutes to descend to the junction. We started the hike down Lillian Brook at around 2:30.

Going over the flattish hump near the top of the trail you get a lovely view of the drainage between the two peaks.

The initial hike down Lillian Brook Trail is very claustrophobic. There are points up there where the air feels very close, almost stifling. I was worried that this trail would be miserable the whole way down.

The thick brush gave way to stands of cranky conifers. At this point, the trail opened up and felt nicer. The steep part of the descent was a little rough on my knees and feet after having done so much elevation, but I powered through it. Sunny was tired, too; he was taking up position right behind me as he does when he's low on gas.

As the trees thinned out, the air freshened and the breeze reached us. Our spirits lifted as we descended. 

The trail isn't very obvious, but after spending the last year hiking nothing but herd paths, I was able to follow it very easily. I would not want to hike this in the dark, though.

There was a bit of blow-down as well.

Once you start to hear running water, you know you're near the bottom of the steep part.

Lillian Brook Trail from the base of the mountain is absolutely beautiful. It's a bit of distance and folks do say it feels longer than it is. I think I felt that a little bit since we had just ascended essentially 6 peaks. However, the hike out from the base of the mountain wasn't nearly as much of a slog as I thought it was going to be. The forest here is just gorgeous and the ground is spongy and comfortable to walk on. 

The junction with the spur trail from the col between Macomb, S. Dix, and Pough is marked with a cairn.

Sunny was perked up for this part of the trail, partially because we met a family with a dog coming down Macomb.

It is so verdant here. I loved it.

Come on, Dad! Let's catch up with them!

Going for a swim in Lillian Brook.

We came to the Dix/Lillian Brook junction at about 4:00. I was proud of us for powering through and finding the joy in that part of the hike.

Sunny and I found some foliage on the .8 mile to the camping area.

The camping spots along Dix Trail are very nice indeed.

They also feature magnecite-rich steel beams with trees growing over them.

Sunny! What'd you do to that bridge??

Another flat, dry campsite with loads of space for tents.

The lean-to is great as well. It looks like campers have kept the firepits around here dug out, which is nice.

The campsite across from the lean-to.

A rogue firepit near some more magnecite-rich steel.

More artefacts. I have no idea what these are.

I would like to say the hike out felt quick. I would be lying if I said that. It took an hour to hike the 2.2 miles back to the car, 20 minutes slower than this morning. This is still a perfectly reasonable timeframe for me, especially after a long day. Sunny was really pulling hard on the leash. I believe that's because he smelled his scent from this morning and he was eager to get to the trailhead. The pulling was killing my back, so I let him go in his own and re-clipped him as we approached the trailhead. 

I signed us out at 5:30 on the nose. 

Reflection

What an absolutely lovely day in the mountains. I will certainly be back to this range again. I probably won't bother with Hough again, though it was a decent workout and a wonderful personal challenge. For a fun day hike, however, I think the hike out to Grace with a return trip back over S. Dix and down the Lillian Brook spur would be fun.

We're at 30/46 now and I'm getting excited about next year. Our plans for the rest of the month are very exciting. My sister is visiting in a couple of weeks and we'll be hiking Algonquin. Shortly after that, some friends and I are hiking MacNaughton.  I am also hoping to hike Street & Nye or Seymour at some point this Autumn.

Wish us luck!