My first 2023 adventure took me back to the Adirondacks to continue working on my 46 High Peaks. This was quite a bit later in the season than I would have liked, as the winter season was a bit of a mess (very warm) and also I was busy with onboarding for my new job! Finally, on Family Day long weekend (Feb 18-20), I was able to get out and do my first winter high peaks. I’m not planning to do the Winter 46, but I do plan to get into more serious mountaineering and trekking in the future, so this was a good chance to experience some colder conditions outdoors, including camping.
The main focus of this trip would be to complete Whiteface and Esther, two peaks a bit further north from the main group of ADK High Peaks, with the former home to a very popular ski resort. Whiteface is often a 46er’s final peak, as it’s easy for family and friends to access without hiking (there’s a road nearly up to the top). I planned to hike these two mountains with my friend Matt who I had met on Mount Marcy last summer – he’s looking to complete the Winter 46 and hadn’t done these two yet in winter. I planned to do one other hike that weekend, looking to do 1-2 more of the easier winter high peaks. A lot of the 46 High Peaks are fairly challenging and somewhat technical at times in the winter, so I wanted to get some winter experience with some of the easier peaks. The peaks I was looking at leading up to this trip, in addition to Whiteface/Esther, were Street/Nye, Tabletop/Phelps, or Cascade/Porter.
– Street and Nye are easy to access from the Adirondack Loj and are not super difficult, but feature a couple water crossings which could prove problematic with the mild winter. In addition, with fresh snowfall the trail can be hard to find as it’s technically a herd path.
– Tabletop and Phelps are part of the Marcy group and are also easy to access from the Loj. They also have a water crossing which is a bit easier to deal with than the Street/Nye one. As hikes they’re a bit more strenuous but are still considered easier High Peaks.
– Cascade and Porter are probably the most hiked peaks in the ADK 46 and are often where you see newbies hiking because they’re easy to access and the trail is fairly short. This trail requires a small driving detour to access, as it cannot be hiked from the Loj.
Day 1
I left Toronto at around 11am. I packed quite a lot for this trip – as it was going to be my first solo winter camping trip, I opted to stay at the Wilderness campground near the Adirondack Loj (car camping). This allowed me to have access to some amenities while still getting accustomed to lower temperatures. Prior to this trip I had purchased a winter sleeping bag, the MEC Talon -17C, along with a liquid fuel stove (MSR Whisperlite), so I was looking forward to using those out in the field (I made sure to practice lighting the stove beforehand – it’s a bit more involved than using gas canisters).
I made it to the Loj just after 5pm, making great time from Toronto, though arriving a bit later than I would have liked as it was almost dark when I arrived. I opted to take the faster route with the toll across the US-Canada border, which only costs $4.25 CAD ($3.25 USD) and saves an hour of driving. Pretty good deal! I set up camp and immediately realized one difficulty with winter camping – fixing tent stakes into the frozen ground. I managed to get them in about 1/4 way, and went to bed pretty early, around 7:30pm, after eating a pre-made meal I had brought from Toronto (had too many leftovers).
Day 2
I got up at 5:30am and made a quick oatmeal breakfast on my Whisperlite stove. Wanted to keep things simple, so I simply boiled some water in my pot and used my dish from the previous night’s dinner to eat my oatmeal out of. After packing up my gear aside from my tent and sleeping stuff, I was on the road at 6:40am. It took about 30 mins to get to the trailhead for Whiteface, where I met up with Matt and we started hiking just after 7:30am.
The hike began with a relentless incline for about a mile, which was definitely a butt-kicker given my low activity in the last few months. We saw a few people on the trail including a couple ladies from Québec (Johanne and Joannie) who we leapfrogged multiple times during the hike. Great to meet you both! The trail was fairly icy due to the recent thaw, so our snowshoes got a free ride and we rolled in microspikes. Was very glad to get a chance to try out my new Hillsounds which I had bought in November. After about 90 mins we reached the fork where the trail splits between Whiteface and Esther, and Matt and I opted to tackle Esther first, while most of the others on the trail (including J &J) went for Whiteface first. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous, with snow encrusting trees.
Esther Mountain is named after Esther McComb, who was the first person on record to climb to the summit in 1839, when she was 15 years old. Until the renaming of East Dix Mountain to Grace Mountain in 2014, this was the only High Peak named after a woman. It took us about 45 mins to reach the summit, which didn’t have the best views, but we got some great views of Whiteface at a viewing spot just below the summit. We took a couple photos on Esther before setting off for Whiteface, meeting up with J & J who were on their way down.
The climb was fairly steep with a few tricky icy sections, but we pushed through and made it to the top about 90 mins after leaving Esther’s summit. I was really feeling my lack of fitness here! It was super windy and cold up on Whiteface, and the scenery and views were absolutely incredible. We donned out ski goggles just before the summit, I was super glad I brought mine.
The descent to the trailhead was largely uneventful but I was very sore at this point! We caught up with J & J after passing the Esther junction and they were having quite a lot of fun butt sliding down the trail. I really wanted to slide down, bit I did not have my snowpants on and didn’t feel like taking them out of my pack. We made it back to the cars after about 5h 45 mins of hiking, and my 15th and 16th ADK High Peaks!
On the trail I thought that if we finished Whiteface and Esther quickly, it might be better to bang out a couple more peaks that same day, in order to get an early start on Monday for the drive home. In addition, my heels were horribly blistered (I forgot to put on moleskin) and that further convinced me to get another hike done that same day. Matt recommended Cascade and Porter, the two easiest ADK High Peaks, which are possible to complete in under four hours, and thus worst case scenario I would be doing a bit of hiking in the dark. Thus, after changing my socks and putting on moleskin (too little too late), I was off to the Cascade trailhead on Route 73, a 20 minute drive, after saying goodbye to Matt and the others. Thanks for joining me and for the great conversations, Matt!
I arrived just before 2pm and was quickly on the trail, making sure I had my headlamp in my pack. Within 30 mins I was really struggling and contemplated turning around. But…I’m not a quitter, so I pushed through and took it one step at a time, and made it to the junction between Cascade (0.3 miles away) and Porter (0.7 miles away) after about 1h 15 mins. After fueling up with water, trail mix and chocolate, I ditched my pack at the junction (someone else had done the same) and set off up to Porter. I reached the summit about 20 mins after leaving the junction, took a couple photos, and headed back to the junction.
Cascade’s summit didn’t take long to reach, but it was a bit tricky as the summit was mostly bare rock with sporadic ice patches, along with a wicked wind that nearly knocked me off my feet. I removed my spikes for a bit but put them back on for the descent. I spent about 10 mins at the top, chatting with some fellow hikers (including yet another Québecker) and sadly lost my green toque (I refuse to call it a beanie) to the wind on the summit. It got blown off my head! I quickly headed down, aiming to avoid hiking in the dark, and managed to descend the trail from the junction (just over 3km) in just under 45 mins for a 3 hour car to car hike! Was incredibly wiped at this point but super happy to have knocked off another 2 High Peaks and get to 18 of 46 total completed!
I made my way back to camp and was too exhausted to cook dinner. But I did have some cold food to help refuel my broken body and was off to bed at 7:30pm.
Garmin GPS Track (Esther/Whiteface)
Garmin GPS Track (Porter/Cascade)
Day 3
I got up at 5:30am, packed up, boiled some water for oatmeal, and was on the road at 7:15am after stopping by the High Peaks Information Center for some patches. Smooth sailing the whole way home, arriving at 2pm, including a stop for gas and food. It was raining for the first couple hours of the drive, which made me feel good about my decision to do all my hiking on Sunday. Managed to avoid the worst of the post-long weekend rush hour traffic as well which was nice.
Now, to get some well-deserved R&R, tend to my destroyed heels, and plan for my next ADK adventures in March!
Veg 'n' Alpine 