Esther — 46 Hiking Highs

My Friday evening drive towards Lake Placid was beautiful. The mountains were in full autumn color, even though it was getting late and raining. Driving towards Keene Valley, the rain turned to snow, with a few inches on roadside, and slush on the roadways. Streams were running very high with the all-day rain/snow mix. We’d planned to hike Big Slide Mountain, but with the bad weather forecast, we changed it to Esther, to avoid crossing swollen streams (lesson learned from last year!), and to go for a peak with less of a view. By morning, the temperature in town was 40° and the snow had melted.

We drove to the trailhead at Wilmington Reservoir, and hit the trail at 9:00 a.m. It was wet, but free of snow, and there was great fall foliage here. The trail was practically flat for about a mile and a half, with lots of small, loose stones in it. There were a couple of spots where very small streams crossed the trail due to heavy rain, and there was a lot of standing water on the trail, while a steady, gentle rain fell. Once the trail started to climb Marble Mountain, small patches of snow and slush appeared, quickly deepening to more consistent snow. I put my traction cleats on my boots for firmer stability in the slushy trail. A cold wind picked up, and skies darkened as we summited Marble Mountain, but I stayed warm and dry with my gear.

We turned left on the trail to Whiteface, keeping along a ridge trail with a gentle climb, and turning away from where an old ski lift used to come up Marble Mountain from the northeast. A man and woman joined us for a bit while the snow got deeper, and we broke a fresh trail through the snow. At 3.3 miles, we passed an old toboggan shed that was used for emergencies back when this was a ski area in the 1950s. The trail was beautiful with snow-laden pines, and unbroken snow on the ground, but as the only hikers on the trail that day, the going became tough as we “post-holed” through the ever-deepening snow. We weren’t sure we’d find the right branch to Esther with all the snow, and tried one path in error, but when we arrived at the junction, it was obvious, with a clear, new sign showing the way. Here, we parted ways with the couple who’d joined us, while they headed towards Whiteface.

The “easy” parts before the snow got too deep

Aha! It was easy to find the turn-off after all.

The snow became very deep (up to two feet), and the trail narrowed, since it was unmaintained. We decided to allow ourselves three failed routes before we’d consider this undoable today. As it turned out, it was simple enough to identify the route, especially with clues like cut branches. The sky was whitish-gray, and it was windy, but we stayed well-protected below tree-cover as we hiked the ridge up Lookout Mountain, down into the col, then up Esther. It seemed to take a long time and was very tough going through the snow. Those breaking ground in the exhausting front of the line, swapped places with others every few minutes. I stayed towards the back, with my legs becoming exhausted and unable to go uphill much more. We really needed to stay in a single-file line. At one point, I put my right foot just off our path, and it sank about 18” below my left foot. It wasn’t too steep, but the snow made each step difficult. At the same time, it certainly smoothed out our steps and lessened the danger of slipping and falling on rocks. Snowshoes were called for here, but we did not have any with us.

At 1:40 p.m., we finally reached the summit, identified by a small disc marker on a tree. Apparently, there’s a plaque on the at the summit here to commemorate the eponymous Esther McComb – the 15-year-old who is the first person recorded to have climbed to the top of this mountain. However, it was buried under snow, so we never saw it. In this weather, the summit was a beautiful, unique little dead-end, with trail ending here abruptly, walled in on all sides with snow-covered pines, and no views at all. It almost felt like if you’d hit a dead-end in a corn maze. We celebrated with a quick lunch and photos, then descended just 15 minutes later.

The summit marker!

X marks the spot. The trail clearly ends here.

A tree branch makes for a great camera stand when no one else’s around to take a group shot at the summit

The tracks we’d made in the snow made the descent easier, but my legs were killing me, making for a very slow hike down, and I fell to the back, even after we dropped below snowline. We got back to the cars at 5:20 p.m., and Jeff, John, and I stopped for a celebratory drink at a pub, while we waited for the others to use the showers at the hostel so that we could get ourselves cleaned up after this satisfying, but tiring hike.

We’re back below the snowline, but most of the leaves are already gone on this stretch of the descent of Marble Mountain

Esther Mountain