~*~ 
“Semi-solo in the rain”
Date:
Hikers:
Just me for the most part,
Mileage:
Elevation
Gain/Loss:
When
I rode with
As we drove on north, the lightening became increasingly amazing.
It seemed to come from nowhere and was never a bolt or the same show twice. It
simply crackled in the middle of the sky and spread out like spider veins.
Truly remarkable and unlike anything I’ve ever seen Silence had come over both
of us just waiting to see what would happen next.
.
We had coffee and bagels at a little Sourdough Bakery on the main
street outside of
It’s been awhile since I’ve been up to the
Once we broke tree line, we faced the giant rock slab that could
be “Any Summit” in the
My camera batteries died on me so I snapped some pictures with his
camera. I particularly liked the one shown here to the right because it was
such an overcast day and his red jacket looks like a beacon on the rock. It was
an instant Verizon commercial. “Can you hear me now?” Perfect reception on the
peak! Go figure.
After about 30 minutes of relaxing, we headed back to the
trailhead. He had a lacrosse game to get to and I still needed to get to my
camp (yup, car camping w/out the car). It began to rain almost as soon as we
got off the slab and back onto the dirt/rock trail. Several people were on
their way to the summit but I’m afraid they weren’t going to get much of a view
at that point. A group of teenage girls that we bumped into on a false summit
seemed a little smitten with
I’m not sure what time I woke up but it was raining. Oh great…and
I had forgotten to bring my raingear with me. I decided to have some breakfast
and coffee and then go explore. The map at the campground indicated that the
Lake Placid Railroad ran right behind the property so I eventually wandered
down and decided to take a hike along the tracks a la Stand By Me. It was a
peaceful walk and the train didn’t come along even once. Although the weather
was kind of iffy, I didn’t mind being chilled because I knew a hot shower at
the campground would fix me right up.
The tracks pass through some really scenic little areas, with
peaks jutting out all over the place. As I turned the corner, I noticed lots of
fence and a giant brick building. Upon further examination, I discovered I was
walking by a federal penitentiary. Oh bloody hell!!! Images of escaped convicts
raced through my mind and I
immediately turned around and high-tailed it back from where I came. As hurried
along the tracks, I realized suddenly that my boots felt funny. I stopped and
plopped down on a rock for closer inspection only to find that not one, but
both of the soles of my boots were flapping away like flip-flops on the backs
of my boots. Are you kidding me?!?!? I’m in the
Back to the campground I went, wet and pissed off about my boots.
I had sneakers waiting for me in the tent but sheesh…sneakers are not very
supportive on the terrain around here. When I reached camp, I tossed my boots
off and hit the showers. I was sick of being wet by now and decided the best
thing to do would be to get dry and warm and walk to Tail o’ the Pup for a nice
hot dinner and cold beer. So I did. I had a really good salad with BBQ chicken
on it.. I met the owner of the place, who was incredibly nice and showed me his
first ever $75 martini as he took it off to a table of folks who were obviously
in need of a stiff drink. I headed back out into the rain for camp. Of course,
my headlamp was in the tent because I didn’t think I’d be back so late and on
my way through the campground, I slammed my left thigh into the corner of a
picnic table. It’s a lovely shade of blue/purple, thank you very much.
Time for bed.
Good morning indeed! What a beautiful day to wake up to! I was
ready to hit the trail today and see some stuff. I quickly gathered up snacks
and water, through on my sneakers and headed back to the railroad to find the
trailhead for Scarface. I ended up walking by it twice before I realized it
couldn’t have been any more obvious. Sometimes I’m not too bright…
The first part of the trail is very nice. Wide and grassy in most
parts and only a slightly gradual incline. The forest around here is beautiful
and green from the rain. Although the trail was a bit wet from the rainfest
we’d been having, it did nothing to dampen my spirits. I was only on the trail
about 30 minutes when I caught up with a couple who were heading for the summit
as well. We chatted briefly and I discovered they were from
Then the hike got fun. The climbing ensued, although the abundance
of water made it more like hiking in a stream bed at times. It wasn’t too bad
but I was cautious because the rocks and roots were very slippery. I did manage
to leave one really nice skid mark in the mud when my left leg decided it 
was ready to go back down the
mountain without me.
I came upon a point where I couldn’t see any blazes. I was
momentarily confused as I looked around trying to find anything to help me. I
could see them behind me, but nowhere else. I looked up at the straight and
very steep rock slab that was covered with roots and thought “hmm”. That’s when
I saw the blaze at the top of the rock. Oh hell yeah!!! The only way to get up
the rock was to maneuver from one branch to the next…very carefully. It took me
a little while because some of them were a decent stretch for my legs but I was
having a blast! As I turned the corner, I heard the couple I had met earlier
chatting about the trail. I can only assume they found the same blaze I did
because I heard the woman see “Are you f*cking kidding me? No f*cking way am I
climbing that f*cking thing!” And that was the last I heard or saw of the CT
couple.
Scarface has an entire slew of false summits…and to be perfectly
honest, I don’t know if I ever actually reached the real one or not. If I did,
some of the false ones had much better views. Once I started hitting them, I
was rewarded with blue skies and some killer views. That CT woman really should
have reconsidered climbing that rock. It’s a shame she missed it. Not another
soul was around so I stopped and kicked back a few times to enjoy it. After
putzing around a bit, I decided to head back down and stop at one of the other
false summits for a snack.
I ended up meeting another couple and sharing my dried fruit with
them while we chatted. They were wondering where the summit was and I told them
I honestly wasn’t too sure but the best view was right here, that’s why I had
come back down. I’m not sure if they continued or not because when I left, they
were still lounging in the sun.
My feet hurt a bit from being in sneakers and not having support
on the ankles, especially with all the mud. I kept slipping and it was getting
tiring. I passed only one other couple who were hiking with their Australian
Shephard. They both commented that they needed to invest in trekking poles
because it would have made the hike a lot easier. I smiled and agreed and
happily bopped away while they sat and drank water.
I was back at the campground by
They went to bed late and they were up at the butt crack of dawn.
I’m going to kill them. All of them! I barely slept with the racket they were
making and I was inclined to say something to the trip leader but I decided to
be nice. In hindsight, I should have politely told them how obnoxious they
were.
I packed my stuff up, read for awhile and then went to read while
I waited for
It was a rainy but nice few days. I can’t wait to go back up to
the ‘Daks for some backpacking rather than just dayhiking and rain dodging.
It’s truly beautiful in the
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