Marcy — 46 Hiking Highs

Alex and I had been wanting to do this hike for about two years. At this point, Alex was 15 years old and taller than me. His sister Sami (who no longer wanted to do High Peak hikes) was away at college, so it seemed like a perfect time. It was! We stayed at the Ausable Inn in Keene Valley on Friday night, had dinner on the deck, and went stargazing on a crystal-clear night at Marcy Field. We got up at 6:30 a.m., dressed and had breakfast at the Noonmark Diner, then drove to Adirondak Loj (opting for this shorter hike, rather than starting from The Garden).

We arrived a bit after 8 a.m., only to find that the lot had been full since 7:30 a.m., so we filled our water up and drove up Adirondak Loj Road, and to the end of South Meadows Road for an alternate approach from the gate at the end of this road. This turned out great, as it was still 7.4 miles to the summit, and the parking was free. The “State Truck Road” was a very pleasant, easy, relatively flat, dirt trail for the 2.3 miles to Marcy Dam. Plus, this was a new route for both of us. The weather was ideal today—it had been dry; it was a warm autumn day (in the 60s for most of our hike); there were sunny skies; we had low humidity; and fall foliage was out. Lots of people were at the dam, and the water was so low that there were now just two braided streams, instead of the beautiful Marcy Dam Pond that used to be here. After a very short stop, we signed in, and started along the Van Hoevenberg Trail.

Some foliage and streams where Marcy Dam Pond used to be, before the dam burst in 2011

The hiking was fast and easy up to, and a bit past the turnoff to Phelps Mountain. We continued to Indian Falls at a good pace and walked around at the top of the very dry falls for a short time, taking in our first great views of the McIntyre Range. We saw very few people after this point. We hit one notably steep section 5.2-5.4 miles in, but kept up a great pace, with very good conditions. After the next two junctions, we started getting some great views of our goal, which seemed a lot farther away than it truly was. We also began seeing a lot more people on the trail (many on their descent). The last half mile, roughly from where the Phelps Trail comes in, was tough and slow-going for me, but we had spectacular views, with just some haze. Nothing obscured the views once you hit the bare rock section in the last quarter mile or so.

Beautiful day and view on the way up

We hit the summit at 1:20 p.m., and it was mobbed with over 100 people. I was not surprised on a day like this. We relaxed, celebrated, enjoyed the views, had lunch, and took photos for almost an hour. It was fun to realize that when standing at the very top, at that moment we were at a higher elevation than anyone else in the entire state. One odd thing that we noted was the huge number of termites flying around us—a surprise after we’d already had a killing frost this season.

A couple and their dog at the top, overlooking the colorful views, dulled a bit by the haze

Father, son, and a whole bunch of others

Couples yoga atop the highest mountain in the state, anyone?

Termites above the rock at the summit with a plaque honoring the 1837 first recorded ascent

We started our descent at 2:15 p.m., and made steady progress, with a much more crowded trail. We took a 15-minute break at Marcy Dam, and that did us in! When we stood up, both of us had pain in our legs and toes. The last 2.3 miles out were tough on us! Alex was especially experiencing a great deal of pain in his feet.

Time to head down

The end was slow-going, but we made it out at 6:30 p.m., just as the sun was setting, thrilled to have completed the hike. We regrouped at the car and made a quick trip back to the HPIC to get Alex a sweatshirt, then headed to Lake Placid for dinner at Mr. Mike’s and ice cream at Stewart’s before returning to the inn. In the morning, I gave Alex a quick tour of “The Garden” parking area and we took a short stroll in Keene Valley, then breakfasted at the Noonmark Diner. We made a quick stop to take in views at Chapel Pond, and got home around 11 p.m. It was a great hiking weekend!

Safely off the trail before nightfall, with a beautiful crescent moon

Mount Marcy