ADK Family Winter Trip 2018

We headed to the ADK this past weekend for what is now our annual winter trip. Going into it, the weather wasn’t looking too favorable with previous weeks of warm weather and no snow, but we got lucky with about 5″ of fresh snow the day after we arrived.

Due to tricky travel conditions and just the need to sit home an relax, we did just that and spent most of the first day handing out in the condo.

The second day was our big day with an attempt to hike to Avalanche Pass. It’s an 11 mile round trip hike with moderate elevation gain. We figured we’d give it our best and see how far we got.

The trip to Marcy Dam was pretty uneventful. We stopped for lunch for ourselves and the chickadees.

With full bellies, we continued into the interior of the high peaks region. It’s a steady ascent most of the way, and doesn’t feel too steep except for one area near the end. At this point Lauren decided that she’d about had enough. Lucky for her, Mom wasn’t far from the same conclusion and they decided to slow down and take their time before deciding to go all the way or turn back. Abigail and I forged ahead.

Fortunately that last tough climb is very close to the end and we all made it to the frozen lake.

For me it is one of the more beautiful things to see in the ADK in winter. I was super excited to have everyone there to experience it together. Abigail and I even ventured out onto the lake to see the Trap Dike. Unfortunately it was too cloudy to see much beyond the first pitch.

Though not a summit of any kind, we did get to see some rime ice on a grove of saplings. Typically on a summit where there’s more clouds and wind, you’ll find rime ice on the rocks and anything else sticking up off the ground. Because the saplings were all exposed at the base of a slide and therefore getting more wind, I think the rime ice was able to form at a lower than usual elevation.

On the trip back the girls rode sleds most of the way.

We had gotten some easily packable sleds that are basically cafeteria trays with handles to steer. The girls loved it.

– b