Hiking along the northwest side of Johns Brook

We got to Slant Rock at 10:45 a.m., excited to have finally gotten to the landmark where Alex and I would soon diverge to some new trails for us (by this point, we’d hiked this same 7 miles of trail three times in the past 5 days!). After a 15-minute break to rest and refuel, it was back to the trail. The junction where we’d turned off last week was just a couple of minutes further along, and then we finally broke new ground. There was a well done, impressive boulder staircase that took us up many dozens of feet, and lots of clear, flowing water along the trail… or stream. We joked, “Trail. You keep using that word. I don’t think it means what you think it means”. At noon, we hit the junction with the Range Trail to the left, leaving the Phelps Trail. It felt like we were simply hiking up waterfalls at this point. Some views began to open around us, as we gained elevation. So far, other than the very wet ground and length of the trail, this route had not been too difficult.

Made it to Slant Rock! Now to take some new trails

At 12:45, we hit the false summit just before Little Haystack. David the Elder decided to dub it “Microstack”. There were great views from here. It’s a classic view you see with both Little Haystack and Haystack’s summits looming ahead. Personally, I found the view intimidating, and I know my cousin felt the same way. I was glad Alex and David the Younger were with us to help with emotional support. This last ¾-mile stretch is nicknamed “The Devil’s Half Mile”. It was quite imposing. Little Haystack sits there as a big bald dome, between you and the final goal. Looking at the cairns and the people in front of us gave it scale. There would be a lot of scrambling coming up. I was eager to just do it, so after just a couple of minutes, we descended 100’ into the shallow col, quickly hitting the junction to Basin on the left and the sign that we were entering the Arctic/Alpine Zone. We continued straight on towards Little Haystack.

Now things got tricky. We hit that bald rock dome immediately, and the ascent went straight up it. Alex went ahead of me, to help guide where I should grab my next hand hold. David and Dave followed behind. I was quite tense and nervous at this point. At a spot where I could stand, and gather myself for a moment, I looked back, and my cousin David was no longer there. Alex and Dave R looked solemnly at me and said that David turned back. He’d said he had no need for more views, no need to scare himself, or put himself in such a dangerous situation, and no need to get to the summit of this mountain. He was quite comfortable stopping and planned to head back at a slow pace and meet us at Slant Rock whenever we got there. I was both disappointed and relieved for him. I wasn’t surprised. He and I are like-minded and had psyched each other out on our previous hike. With Dave and Alex, I was determined to finish off these 46 peaks.

The route took us along difficult ledges, with scrambles, grabbing onto wherever you could get a hand hold, and foot hold. I had to stop several times to gather my wits, hugging the rock face in front of me, before going on. The incredibly strong wind didn’t help things. Alex was great, encouraging me with each step forward. Eventually, we hit the summit of Little Haystack, and the wind was ferocious. We guessed it was probably about 50 mph. I huddled in front of the cairn at the top of the peak. Some hikers came up from over the other side, looked at me, and gave encouraging words of “it gets easier”. The view ahead to Haystack didn’t look quite as bad. But, as soon as I got up, I could tell that the path down Little Haystack into the col was going to be just as tricky as coming up. We made it down this much the same way that we made it up the other side—with a lot of helpful guidance from Alex in front of me, and Dave watching me from behind. I was so relieved to make it into the col between this and Haystack.

By this point, I knew that I would make it. Nothing was going to stop me now. I was about to become a 46er. I’d been through the hardest part. However, as we started the final ascent of Haystack, I was still quite unnerved. Alex made me stop, and noted “Hey, Dad, relax. This isn’t any different than any of the other peaks that we’ve done, and it shouldn’t be scary for you. You’re past that part.” He was right. With that realization, I relaxed quite a bit, and enjoyed the rest of the way up to the summit. Alex and I got to the top together, and at 1:59 pm, simultaneously became 46ers! It was thrilling and I was so proud of us and thrilled to have done this together. Dave came up right after us. There was a group of eight others in their late teens at the summit ahead of us. They were excited for us, as we celebrated our accomplishment. We took photos, rested, and ate. The wind was very strong, but not quite as strong as it was on Little Haystack, and we took shelter and lunch on the leeward eastern side of the small, pointy summit. I was also happy for Dave to have finally seen phenomenal views from one of these hikes, since we’d had minimal views on the previous hikes that we’d done with him. I relaxed a bit, although I was still unsettled, perched on a narrow rock at the summit, with a strong wind, steep drops all around, and knowing we would soon go back that same route we came up. The views of Basin, Gothics, and Sawteeth to the east, were amazing. To our west stood Skylight and Marcy, and we were surprised to see that even Mount Marcy has a “mean side” of very steep cliffs along its northeastern flank, invisible from other perspectives.

Almost there! Haystack lies just ahead

After 30 minutes, it was time to descend. I knew what awaited us, but I also knew that I’d gotten over it already and would do so again. The alpine grasses blew furiously in the wind, as we hopped the rocks through the little pond on the northern flank of Haystack (wet up here, even at the top of the mountain!). Again, with some help and coaxing, I made it to the top of Little Haystack, a bit easier than I had 45 minutes ago. At the top, the winds were again blowing fiercely, and I took a fun little video of Alex and Dave bracing against the wind. Heading down the other side was substantially easier for me than it was going up. I spent my time looking out and around quite a bit more, instead of just looking at a rock face 5 inches in front of my face.

We tried to make good time heading back, so David wasn’t waiting too long, but it was still slow going, navigating the flowing water, mud, rocks, and roots. At 4:50 p.m., 2.5 hours after leaving the summit, we were back at Slant Rock, where David was standing waiting for us. He had just finished scratching a note for us into the dirt, to tell us that he was heading back. He’d heard from other hikers that we were successful, but had been waiting for 2 hours and was cold and beginning to stiffen up. We needed a bit of a break, though, so we all stayed about 20 more minutes and took the long, muddy hike back. At Bushnell Falls, David the Younger and Alex took the side trip to see the falls and quickly caught up to rejoin us not too much later, reporting that the falls were beautiful, and that the trail there was steep and messy. I pointed out to Alex that this would have been my 32nd anniversary with his mother, who had passed away in 2009, and it was a sweet way to celebrate the date, since she and I had discovered the Adirondacks together. Arriving at Johns Brook Lodge just before 7:30 p.m., we soldiered on through the mud and dark with headlamps for the last half hour, finally getting back to the car and completing our hike at 9:15 p.m., 15 hours after setting out. My Adirondack 46er adventure was finally complete after almost 20 years, and Alex’s after 14 years. What an absolute pleasure to have completed this goal together. We arrived back at the lake house at 10 p.m. and celebrated with friends and family the next day.

David welcomes us back to Slant Rock after our victory