Winter Adventure in the Adirondacks
I started going to Upstate New York for winter wilderness treks in the 1990s. My brother-in-law invited me to join him and his friends for the first time in 1991. We began that trek near Keene Valley, New York and followed a frozen drainage to the summit of Mt. Marcy.
I was in my early 30s. We stayed in one of the lean-to shelters typical of the Adirondacks. On the second day, we ascended Mt Marcy, then returned to the shelter. It was a fun trip. This is the pattern of these trips: three days and two nights during the coldest month of the season, February.
Roll forward thirty-plus years. In mid-February this year, I went up for a trek with the crew. Weather permitting, we planned to climb a mountain west of that original trip, Mt. Grey. Flexible planning is necessary because the weather (and our ages) dictate whether we attempt to summit.
There had been significant snowfall in early February. The week of our trip, more snow fell, and the temperatures were near zero. The snow base was 3-4 feet (1-1.5 meters), requiring snowshoes or cross-country skis to enter the wilderness.
We arrived at the trailhead at 10:45 AM and hit the trail.
There was one guy on cross-country skis who left fifteen minutes before we started. His tracks eased our passage, but cross-country skiers don't cut much of a trail as a group using snoeshoes.
Two of our team were dragging sleds, which slowed progress. We arrived at the lean-to shelter at 4:15 PM. The winter sun goes down early in the Adirondacks. Sunset was 4:55 PM. This provided enough time to tamp a treadway to the privy and clear snow from the privy and shelter.
Shelters in the Adirondack Park save time by reducing camp setup work, but digging access into the shelter is required. As you can see from the photo below, snow was plentiful.
I’m the only member of the crew who doesn’t live in New York or New Jersey. Doing a trip like this with experienced winter trekkers is wise. I’ve done a dozen of these trips. My friends have been winter trekking in these mountains twice every winter for over thirty years. Since I have to contend with air travel, they provide meals, which saves me the trouble of packing food.
When camping in cold temperatures eating a lot of hot food is important. Drinking hot tea or coffee with hot meals keeps your body’s internal furnace running. Every night is a feast.
The next morning, we hit the trail after sunrise. We were crossing a frozen lake in a wetland area known as the Flowed Lands.
After the first 10 minutes, we were breaking trail for the rest of the day. It was overcast, and light snow was falling. The temperature was 15 degrees Fahrenheit. As we climbed, the snow got deeper. I fell into a Spruce trap while moving through a steep section. Spruce traps are small pine trees (1.5 to 3.0 meters tall) covered by snow. Stepping on one covered in powder snow causes you to sink several feet into the snow and tree branches. It takes extra effort to get out of these holes.
This is part of the type 2 fun of winter trekking in upstate New York provides. As we continued up, my brother-in-law decided he was not going to attempt the summit. I agreed to return to camp with him. The other half of our team continued toward the summit of Mt Grey. I suspected the snow conditions would prevent them from reaching the goal.
My brother-in-law and I turned back and headed toward camp. After an hour of hiking, we encountered a park ranger on cross-country skis, making her rounds. She asked if the shelter near the Flowed Lands was our camp and complimented our setup. She apologized for not cleaning the crap from our privy. We were not expecting this service ten miles from the nearest road. We continued backtracking our original route through light snow and arrived at our camp at 2:45 PM.
We cooked a late hot snack and chatted. If Joe and Paul were to summit Mt. Grey, they would not get back to camp till after dark—around 7:30 PM. I thought the snow conditions would make the turn around at the base of the final ascent. That is what happened. They returned to camp right after sunset.
We had a hearty meal and drank hot tea for a couple of hours, swapping stories of the day’s effort. The next morning was sunny and cold, around zero degrees Fahrenheit. Packing sleds added time to breaking camp. The skies were clear, and the scene was spectacular. One of the sleds had a metal hardware failure requiring makeshift rigging. This repair took fifteen minutes.
The views would be special on our trip back to the parking lot.
We reached the parking area in under three hours. It was easy going because we’d cut the trail two days prior, and other people using snowshoes had further packed the base. Arriving at the parking lot around 10:45 AM, we changed into clean clothes, took final photos, and hit the road.
The crew from left to right, Dave (my brother-in-law), your author, Joe, and Paul.
These trips remind me of my solo adventures during my childhood. I grew up on the south shore of Lake Michigan. I love hiking in the woods after a snow. Sublime silence.
We traversed the headwaters of the Hudson River. This is the river that runs to New York City. In the Adirondacks near the Flowed Lands, it’s a stream. In winter it looks like any other steam in the mountains of the Adirondacks, a silent rocky snow-covered flow.
The woods in these mountains are a serene reminder that wilderness is worth the effort. If you are in decent shape and have the right gear, a trip in these mountains is challenging and rewarding winter adventure