Sunny 46

We met at the Exit 9 Park & Ride at 6ish and zoomed up the Northway to the Loj. This time I remembered to grab some extra envelopes so that I could pre-fill them with parking fees and license plate numbers for the next few visits. We got dressed and Sunny's paws got prepped; we were on our way by 9am on the dot. It was over 30 degrees at the trailhead and we were feeling great.

Sunny headed out from the Loj for the 9th time (11 for just me and who knows for Dan). We were shocked at how little snow there was at the start of the hike. After a bit of consideration, we assumed it was because the huge snowstorm that rocked New York a few weeks ago had actually hit a lot harder South of the ADK. Still, it had snowed a few inches the night before and everything was beautiful.

We arrived at Marcy Dam within an hour at 10am. Here, the snow was certainly deeper than at the trailhead and deeper than it was when Dan and I hiked Phelps back in March 2025. We could barely see any of the other distant High Peaks, solidifying the assumption we wouldn't be getting any views today. Again, we were just happy to be out in the woods.

The hiking was fast along the Van Ho trail. The snow underfoot was loose, but crunchy. Clearly, the snow last night was a lot more wet than the and cold and dusty stuff we'd been hiking in all season. 

Sunny was having a lovely time. With the wet snow and liberal application of Musher's Secret at the car, his paws were largely clear of snowballs.

I kept Sunny's leash on until we really started climbing. There was only one other person signed in heading for Phelps, so I unhooked him somewhere between Marcy Dam and the Phelps junction which we reached at 10:45. We followed the snow-filled snowshoe tracks and downhill-running ski tracks up Van Ho trail.

The climb after Phelps Brook was quite a bit more challenging than when Sunny and I had tackled TableTop back in 2022. I wondered out loud who the hell decided to make us climb a mountain before we got to the mountain.

It was about a 650' climb from Phelps Brook to the Table Top junction and took about 45 minutes to climb it, arriving at about 11:45. Sunny tried to follow the ski and snowshoe tracks and was a bit confused when I pointed up towards the unbroken trail to Table Top.

We unshouldered our packs and had some food. Dan and I both dove into our sandwiches so we'd have energy for the climb. It was also starting to get colder so we switched to warmer clothes, especially gloves. I also re-applied Sunny's Musher's Secret. 

We agreed to take turns breaking trail and take our time. It was 0.7 mile and 800' to the summit. We were definitely getting chilly standing still in the snow and figured it'd take us the better part of an hour (or more) to climb so we got moving at noon.

We took turns breaking trail. Most of my photos are of Dan and Sunny because just taking pictures of a white, unbroken trail is kind of boring. For the most part, the trail was pretty easy to follow. People had clearly been up here, but the snow was still 12"-24" deep as we slogged through it. For much of the climb, recent rabbit tracks faithfully followed the trail as well.

The sun had been trying to come out for a bit, but now the snow was starting to come down again. The air was getting colder and the snow underfoot had definitely turned from wet to dusty as we gained elevation.

At one point, Sunny saw something out in the woods and ran after it. Dan warned him that this was a terrible idea as he bounded away into the drifts. I called Sunny back, but it took him several minutes to swim back to us. He only had to learn his lesson once and stayed on-trail after that.

There are a few steeper sections as you approach the summit. Every foot we gained lost 6" to sliding or packing snow. My strategy was to just stab my snowshoe into the snow two or three times with every step and push up. That worked fairly well for this hike. It was tough work, I'm not gonna lie. As usual, however, the ascent wasn't really my most painful moment.

The snow was really coming down now. We were never really afraid of our situation. It was still fairly early, we were well-equipped, and we knew our way around. We only got off-trail once. There's a slab very near the summit ridge that looked to us like a giant drift. We went around it through a path that seemed like trail, but it soon petered out. It seemed like we were to the left of the trail and, consulting the map, it turned out we were. 

We finally made our way over to the trail at great length. Dan found an easy way through the trees. I got hung up climbing over a branch. Sunny ran back around to follow Dan's tracks. For some reason, I'm dumber than a Golden Retriever with one brain cell and launched myself over the branch, snowshoes flailing.

Once we found the trail again, it was smooth sailing. The wind was minimal considering where we were and it was actually quite pleasant all things considered.Despite this, the traverse across the summit ridge felt a lot longer than we remembered from the warmer months. Still, it was absolutely gorgeous up there. There don't need to be any mountain views to witness unique beauty on the trail. 

We made it to the summit sign at 1:45, an hour and 45 minutes after we'd left the junction. We swapped around some layers and contacted our families before snapping some summit photos.

Compare these two photos to see how much height you gain in the winter. On a clear day, I'm sure the views across the Great Range in the Winter are incredible.

I gave Sunny the Stewart's sausage egg and cheese wrap I'd smuggled up the mountain for him. Dan and I had some more calories as well; he actually had to defrost his Cliff Bar with body heat before he'd eat it. I took out my thermos which had hot water in it and I poured in a Liquid IV, declaring it the worst hot tea ever. It did the trick, though.

We hustled back across the ridge. We did a "Hey Kool-Aid!" through the drifts we'd skipped on our way up, so there was a lot less muddling about through that section. However, I think we were a bit over-confident heading down the mountain. It was certainly a different experience from Phelps last year. More than once both of us mis-stepped and slid off the packed trail and into the drifts and spruce traps on the side. Whenever that happened, we'd just lay there for a moment and consider letting the earth take us. Dan told me that's actually what he instructs people to do when they fall after skiing... just lie there for a moment and gather your wits, then get up. 

Still, we made it back to the junction within 45 minutes of leaving the summit sign, a full hour faster than it had taken us to attain the summit. Here we bundled up and took more calories and more hydration. A skier passed us heading down from Marcy. He seemed a little annoyed with us, but we were pleasant.

We made it back to Marcy Dam around 4:10pm. The snow was still falling steadily and it was much colder than when we'd been here 6 hours ago.

I had another little sit down at the dam. I was feeling a bit fatigued and I wanted to make sure I had more water and calories before we moved on. Dan wondered if I thought we'd be back within an hour and I said that seemed more or less reasonable. I'm not sure I was 100% honest. We were off around 4:20pm.

The last couple of miles of a hike are never my favorite and this was super true today. I felt like I was making the same number of steps as Dan, but my stride was absolutely not cutting the mustard. The day was darkening as we finally approached the Loj and Dan had to don his headlamp to sign us out.

We got our gear loaded in the car and I went inside to change into car clothes. I didn't catch the time when we arrived at the register, but we drove off at 5:45. So, I do think it actually took us about an hour to hike the two miles from Marcy Dam to the Loj. It just felt like a whole lot more in my heart.

My thighs were burning like never before. Usually, after a hike, it's my knees or sometimes my back that ache. Today, my normally very strong quadriceps were whining like I'd been torturing them all day. Quit whining... it was really only two hours that I made you work so hard.

Still, it was a beautiful and rewarding day in the woods. I appreciate Dan coming out with me again for a Winter High Peak. Dan suggested that it's possible that we only do this once a year because we forget how hard it is by the time we decide we want to do it again. That seemed to ring true. 

We do actually have a plan tackle Lower Wolfjaw with a much bigger group in a couple of weeks which is about the same mileage as today. However, I'm guessing that hike will be easier in some ways, but much steeper. First, I have plans to hike with Quinn during his Winter break. We'll see if the weather cooperates for all of these lofty goals.