Dennis Dixon is heading North!: August 2021

Friday, August 13, 2021

Adirondacks - Marcy, Skylight and Gray

Wednesday/Thursday/Friday, Aug 11/12/13, 2021 - Wendy, Ellie and Deede are heading to Falmouth today to see a play - so I'm heading to the Adirondacks to bag some more peaks! Once again, Vermont's beauty does not disappoint:

Right before I left Vermont, a HUGE STORM came through - the wind made the flags go straight out:

and there were white-caps out on the lake:

I got two more Post Offices:

Checked into the Super 8 in Ticonderoga around 5 PM. I had some of my pizza at a park:

Just in case you didn't know where I am:

Thank you God for this wonderful driving day!

For today's driving music, I listened to one of my mp3s-on-a-cd:

David Wilcox - Big Horizon, 1994:

His best song is "Eye of the Hurricane" from How Did You Find Me Here, 1989, which got a lot of airplay on WBOS. Nice distinctive voice.

Ferron - Driver, 1994:

Michael Franks - Barefoot on the Beach, 1999:

Van Morrison - How Long Has This Been Going On, 1996:

the Rolling Stones - It's Only Rock 'n Roll, 1974:

Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On, 1973:

the Miles Davis Quintet - The Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel 1965, 1965 live album:

disc 1 - December 22, 1965 — first set (67:51)

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Thursday, Aug 12, 2021 HIKING - I have FOUR peaks remaining in the Adirondacks!

Colden, Marcy, Skylight, and Gray. I have read that Marcy, Skylight, and Gray can be done in one day-hike, so that's what I'll be doing today [we'll see about tomorrow - maybe Colden?]:

The milage estimates were a little varied - 20 miles/21 miles/22 miles; but the timing seems to be around 11 or 12 hours (NOT 13, like last time!).

Up around 5:20 AM, shower/shave/and shine, some coffee and breakfast, and left the Super 8 at 5:40

Got to the parking area just before 7 AM. After changing and doing other stuff, I hit the Trail Register at 7:17

The first 2 miles is basically an easy flat trail through the woods:

Going up the trail, before you get to Marcy Dam, there is a little side-trail down-to-the-left that crosses Marcy Brook:

A nice hop-skip-and-a-jump, and you are across. You then walk up a kind-of-unofficial trail to get to Marcy Dam. I was glad to have MapMyWalk, and the opportunity to compare going up (unofficial, arrows pointing down) versus going home (official, arrows point up):

Nice views up at Marcy Dam at 8:07

Five Miles to Marcy!!

And this is where the trail starts to get LOUSY. Rocks, you have to figure out where to put each foot. Passed the turn-off for Phelps, and kept going up. I had been this way before (to hike Table-top), but I don't remember each individual trail. Which is why, 40 minutes from Marcy Dam, I was looking down at my footsteps AND MISSED THE TURN-TO-THE-RIGHT:

I thought the sign was for the trail going off to the left, so I went straight:

The trail was not-as-worn as "the correct trail", but I climbed up it about 1/2 mile before giving up and turning around. Google Earth does a good job of showing my mistake:

At the top, the ski trail angled off to the right. If I had kept going just a little bit, I would have run into "the correct trail". Oh well.

Back down to the correct trail, then up to Indian Falls:

Nice stream that feeds Indian Falls:

One hour later I'm still making my way UP THE LOUSY TRAIL (for those keeping track, this is the "Van Hoevenberg Trail"):

At 11:30 I was high up in the clouds:

Of course "mountain climbing" here in the Adirondacks actually entails some climbing UP:

Be a good hiker, and don't stray from the cairns:

The "Marcy Plaque" at 11:55

And the summit a few minutes later:

From there it was down the backside of Marcy:

with a quick glimpse of my next stop - Skylight:

I was down at Four Corners at 12:40, where I left my hiking poles and backpack before going 1/2 mile up to Skylight:

25 minutes later I had broken out of the forest, and saw a couple of Trail Stewards working:

LYING DOWN on the summit at 1:09

Maybe I'll come back when the weather clears:

I actually had a wonderful hike back down the mountain, bounding from rock-to-rock. They were spaced very nicely, and it worked out great! I grabbed my stuff and headed west - I was at Lake Tear of the Clouds at 1:40

I found the trailhead for Gray Peak, left my stuff, and headed UP. Reached the summit at 2:18

Unfortunately, there was no view:

Back down from Gray Peak, then west for a little more than a mile. The trail ("Mount Marcy Trail") ran alongside Feldspar Brook, which was nice. I reached the intersection with Lake Arnold Trail at 3:30

Hey, only 6.3 miles back to my car! I should be done by 6 o'clock.

Ten minutes later the the trail kind-of-deteriorated. BADLY.

I'm sorry, but make a decision: either realize you are in the "recreation business" (with thousands of people visiting you each year), and make trails where you say you have trails; or say "the-heck-with-it", "we are wilderness - if you want to go back in there, good luck and have fun (and BE CAREFUL)." [Don't get me started.]

An hour later I'm still going up the "trail":

A little after 5 PM I came across a rock-in-the-trail that had a USGS marker on it:

I finished about 7:15 (12 hours hiking)

MapMyWalk said 19.33 miles in 11 hours 16 minutes, which means it missed 44 minutes and probably about a mile (it got funky around the back-side of Gray Peak).

Drove back to the Super 8 Ticonderoga, had a Quarter-Pounder w. bacon at 8:50 PM - Baseball on ESPN, phone call with Wendy, and LIGHTS OUT (oh, after a hot shower). Certainly "Thank You God" for getting me up-and-down safely.

Um - that only leaves ONE MORE MOUNTAIN in the Adirondacks! I even have the sign all ready (just have to change the date on it - no way I'm going hiking tomorrow):

Hiking music today - start off with some Phish music:

Junta, 1989 debut double-album:

Live Phish Vol. 9 - Townshend Family Park in Townshend, VT, triple-live-album recorded 1989, released 2002:

Lawn Boy, 1990 second album:

A Picture of Nectar, 1992 third album:

Round Room, 2002 tenth studio album:

OK - I don't need to hear anymore Phish. I like "Bouncing Around the Room" from Lawn Boy, which I'll keep in Goodsongs3; the rest is bye-bye.

Bruce Springsteen - The Ghost of Tom Joad, 1995:

Wow, that is some depressing music.

Bruce Springsteen - The Promise, recorded 1978/1979, released 2010 double album:

22 songs recorded during the recording of "Darkness on the Edge of Town". Interesting collection of

- his songs done by other artists ("Because the Night", "Fire, "Talk to Me"),
- different versions of songs ("Racing in the Street ('78)", "Rendezvous", "Candy's Boy"),
- and other songs that just didn't make the cut for "Darkness".

And I'm sorry, but the lyrics to "The Promise" are so depressing:

When the promise is broken you go on living, but it steals something from down in your soul
Like when the truth is spoken and it don't make no difference, something in your heart turns cold
Thunder Road, for the lost lovers and all the fixed games
Thunder Road, for the tires rushing by in the rain
Thunder Road, remember what me and Billy we'd always say
Thunder Road, we were gonna take it all then threw it all away

Bruce sings songs about redemption. I get it (and have always loved it) when he sang about lost and broken dreams ("Is a dream a lie if it don't come true or is it something worse" from The River), but for my ears, they always seemed about a situation Right Now, which means there is still the future (with its possibility of reconciliation/redemption). Maybe I'm just older, but the songs on this double-album seem to be about being at the bottom AND at the end - and I do find that depressing. So I won't be keeping this album around.

And then an hour of quiet finishing the hike. Today's driving music:

the Miles Davis Quintet - The Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel 1965, 1965 live album:

disc 3 - December 22, 1965 — second set (36:47)

Neil Young - Old Ways, 1985:

Neil doing a "Country album". Ok, but not a keeper.

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Friday, Aug 13, 2021 - Beautiful morning near Crown Point, New York:

The White River, alongside Route 100 in Vermont:

It was 96 degrees on 128, but only 86 at our house, where I got to wash my hiking boots:

Home at 2 PM - Thank you God for these Great Adventures!!

Today's driving music - from my silver nano:

Taken by Trees - Other Worlds, 2012 third album:

Excellent early morning driving music - trance kind-of?

Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes - Havin' a Party With Southside Johnny, 1979 greatest hits album:

WOW - Play It Loud!

Scott and Brendo - And Away We Go, 2013:

Hey - a really wonderful album, with great hooks and rhythms!

Peter Gabriel - Secret World Live, live double-album recorded 1993, released 1994:

Bright Eyes - The People's Key, 2011: