From the trailhead, we hiked about a mile and a half through a relatively flat birch and hemlock forest. Many babbling brooks crossed our paths and we enjoyed the frozen ice shelves which had formed on and around the brooks. The next half mile was more of an incline, but did not compare to the icy incline of the final climb which I estimate the degree of inclination to be 45 degrees at some points. The icy trail was covered by a thin layer of snow which had fallen the night before. This gave our shoes something to grip onto, but it proved to be an insufficient amount. We slipped several times, but no major wipe outs. At times, the mountain presented us with false peaks and gave us the illusion we were close to the summit. This frustrated us because we wanted to receive our reward of COMBOS for making it to the top. Later, we cheated and munched on COMBOS before we got to the summit. With the extra energy from our delicious snack, we reached the apex of this great mountain and discovered that our real reward was the grandiose view. You can’t grasp how big the Adirondacks are until you stand on top of one of the many high peaks. Forested mountains go on as far as the eye can see.

Our trip down went quickly, but we slid, crabbed and stumbled on our way. This is where the cramp-ons could have helped. This was an excellent hike and the reward was well worth the effort!

Enjoy the pictures below which Mike took (except the one of him).