Camping and Hiking at Lake Placid, NY
The past weekend was eventful with some camping and hiking in the Adirondack mountains. Starting out to plan some mild day-hikes during my current trip to the US, I got tempted into signing up for a 2-day camping coupled with a strenuous hike— The Great Range Traverse. The trip was memorable with some nice camping and lounging around the lake, and some not-so-memorable hiking due to lesser preparedness. I recount both, here.
The Great Range Traverse
Meetup.com has turned out to be a blessing to pursue one’s interests by helping quickly locate groups and people who share similar interests. Having signed up for a few active outdoor meetup groups around New York area, I was drawn to NY Backpacker’s meetup on the ‘Great Range Traverse hike’ and ‘Camping at Loj in the Adirondack mountains’.
Touted as one of the toughest hikes in America, the plan was to hike ~20 miles (32 km) covering 8 mountains with an elevation gain of ~10,000 ft. All done within a day! With incessant rains for a week prior to the trek, the entire trail was slushy and slippery. As if to throw in a few more challenges, one had to watch out for the teeming wildlife population in the forest range, in addition to some not-so-safe insects.
When I also read that the hike was around Lake Placid, it brought back memories of the Hollywood horror movie of the same name, one that I had come across in my college days. And that was the last link to convince me to sign up :)
Preparations, or the lack of it
Doing my first hike in the US, after years of hiking in India, several things surprised me. First thing which struck me was the elaborate preparation in every aspect of the hike. Whether it was the organizer’s minute planning of every detail, the participants freezing plans a month in advance, the readiness with the camping/hiking gear, or the level of preparedness with maps, GPS and other scientific aids to do the hike.
Unfortunately for me, I had taken this a little too light. Having led 20 — 30 km day hikes, in Indian mountain terrains, carrying 16 kg+ backpacks and nothing to aid with routes other than natural trail markings (albeit couple of years earlier), I stepped in underprepared for the challenge and without much of my hiking gear around.
What I was also not mentally prepared for, was to live a weekend alongside black bears, with this site reporting the highest bear population in NY State.
I was stumped to run into the below board, barely few minutes after reaching the camping site, late at night. It took me a while to come to terms with the sign that said “Leave bears alone.. Don’t follow or harass them!” What also didn’t help to soothe nerves was my newfound knowledge of the lyme disease, the carrier ticks, and onset of ‘ticks season’ in the mountain.
A forgettable hike
Starting at 4:30 AM, we witnessed a gorgeous sunrise behind the Adirondack ranges. It was an arduous climb with most of the elevation gain packed into the first few hours. With very few hikers starting this early and planning the full range, it was a solo hike most of the way.
With lack of preparedness in terms of sufficient gear and terrain familiarity, the first 5 hours of incessant climbing was gruelling. Caught unawares with bear paranoia, it seemed a risk to snack in the trails all alone, since it may have well been an open invitation to the bears to share my peanut butter sandwich! Lack of adequate body nutrients started having a telling effect.
Navigating purely using the marked trails and with a sense of direction, though manageable, wasn’t effective in terms of choosing routes and assessing elevation climb needed. Though the navigation skills saved the day and helped me get back in one piece, it was stupidity not to carry even a map, when offline GPS coords were easily available for the entire range.
All this put together started having a toll and brought me to a halt around mid-day. Inspite of having climbed most of the elevation to be achieved, there was quite a bit of distance and more scrambling to be done. My estimate on completion was 2 AM the next day, with minimal stops.
Though potentially doable, I took a call against pushing things too far or beyond manageable risk levels, given the new terrain, preparedness and solo tango-in-the-night with bears. With a heavy heart I took an alternate route to get back to the base by evening, when it was still bright. I had done 15 miles (~24 km) in all with the aborted mission, short of the 20 miles planned and several peaks missed.
Camping saves the day
After the disappointing hike, the camping experience at the Loj campsite was a delight, with a very warm and sociable group, crackling food and live conversations by the campfire. The site’s facilities & common amenities could be rated ‘luxury’ level, which made one forget that they were right in the middle of the woods.
Sealing the food in bear canisters and vehicle trunks, we had peaceful coexistence with the bears, and no tent intrusions. Well almost, except one simulated by my tent-mate who woke up in the middle of the night with a loud scream and vigorous shaking of the tent. Alarmed and wondering if we had had a bear attack, I learnt later that he had a nightmare of bears grabbing his arms from outside the tent!
Right adjoining the campsite was the Heart Lake, a scenic place lit up by colours of the surrounding mountain ranges. After a day of hiking, it was a calm and refreshing experience to unwind by the lake, soaking in the warmth or taking a dip in the refreshing waters. To add to the charm, there was a nice fire place next to the lake, though we chanced upon an unlikely visitor lounging around lazily.. a snake soaking in this experience as well!
Getting back to New Jersey the next day, I kept fingers crossed to visit the Adirondacks sometime again, better prepared and for completing the full Great Range Traverse. Perhaps as part of the next NY Backpackers annual meetup.
