Phelps Mountain
Date of hike: 7/20/2011
Vertical Ascent: 2150’
Length of Hike (miles): 8.8
Total Time: 8:00
Hiked with: Samantha, Alex, Wendy, Amanda, and Bria
This was the third High Peak that we did with our annual camping trip at Heart Lake. The day was picture perfect, and we left camp at 10 a.m. It was slow-going for our group as we started out, but it was an easy hike to Marcy Dam. The weather was great, and telling jokes along the way got the kids warmed up.
Wendy was moving slower than usual but kept plugging along. Sami was not in much of a mood to hike, but also kept going. The trail started a more consistent ascent once we veered off the Van Hoevenberg trail and up Phelps for the final mile’s ascent. Although our pace was slow, this was a very easy trail compared to other High Peaks. Near the top was a stunning view of Colden and Algonquin.
The girls enjoying the rocks at a stream crossing
Just before the summit, we walked along a neat ledge-like portion of the trail. The ground sloped upwards to our left, and the right side of the trail dropped off below (but not sharply), with low greenery along it. Although usually uncomfortable with ledges, this was not uncomfortable for me at all. This brought us to what we believed was the summit at 2:10 p.m. We couldn’t find any markers here, but we did enjoy stunning 180° views to the south, dominated by Tabletop Mountain in the foreground and Marcy and Haystack behind it. There were about 10-15 other people, who all felt that this was the summit. I looked around a bit, to see if anywhere went higher, and it did, in fact, appear that we’d made it. We had lunch and enjoyed the spot.
Great views from the top of Phelps (with a puppy photo bomb!)
Chalked up my lucky #13
We started our descent at 2:45 p.m. It was an uneventful trip back. We decided to take a detour through the “Fangorn Forest Trail”, which branched off on the west side of the Van Hoevenberg Trail, and close to Heart Lake. This trail was completely overgrown and unappealing. I don’t recommend it. We arrived back at our campsite at 6:00 p.m. This was probably the easiest of the High Peaks hikes that I’ve done so far.