Day 2: Marcy, Gray and Lake Tear of The Clouds

Today was our big hike. We planned on climbing Mt. Marcy (the highest
mountain in NY) and Mt. Gray (the highest trail-less mountain in NY)
from the Adirondack Lodge.

I got up at about 6am to pack and get ready for the long climb. At
7am, my parents, Al and I got in the car headed towards the Adirondack
Lodge. We were on the trail by 7:39.

The hike out to Marcy is pretty nice. The grade is pretty reasonable
all the way up, and there are some spectacular views, especially from
Marcy Dam (photo-marcy_dam)

We had a gorgeous weather, and it was one of the few days this summer
with no rain. The trails were pretty muddy, so we spent a lot of time
looking balancing on fallen branches and looking for other ways to
avoid stepping in the bigger mud puddles.

About a mile away from the summit, there's a clearing that gives a
great view of Marcy's peak. (Photo-marcy_east) In total, it was 7.4
miles from trail head to summit, with 3166' ascent.

The summit was gorgeous, and we could see for miles and watch as the
clouds rolled in. (photo-summit)

After we'd eaten lunch, we headed down Marcy's west face towards Lake
Tear of the Clouds. After descending 998 vertical feet over 1.1
miles, we were at the outlet of Lake Tear of the Clouds. (photo-tear)

This is the highest pond-source that feeds into Hudson River. Its
outlet is so small that we were able to hop over it to reach our
herd-path. Gray is fairly well traveled, so the herd path was pretty
easy to find, but really, really steep. We climbed about another 600'
up, over the course of a quarter mile or so. (photo-gray)

Then, we headed back down, and began our descent towards the Adirondak
Loj [sic]. This was about 7 more miles. At the end, I was pretty
wiped out, and really had to focus on the trail to keep my footing.

We made it back to the Loj ad about 6:00 and then headed home for a big dinner.

Since I like signs, I thought I'd include some photos of the sorts of
markers we ran into in the mountains.

The simplest are the guide-posts that are set at trail junctions.
These give distances and directions. (photo-guide_post).

Next, there are trail makers. These are color-coded, and the colors
are marked on trail-maps, making it easier for people to be sure of
where they are. They generally also carry an insignia to represent
the group that maintains the trail. (photo-trail_marker)

On exposed rocks, the way is generally marked by blazes (photo-blaze)
and cairns (photo-cairn). On Mt. Marcy these are intended to protect
the alpine vegetation by leading people on a few narrow paths.