Peripheral New York: June 13th-June 20th, 2022

After my first week blitzing it through the Eastern High Peaks, I took a rest day and decided to knock out the Seward and Whiteface ranges in quick succession, hopefully then finishing up the southern Great Range, then doing Giant and Dix, finishing by doing Santanoni and Allen from Upper Works. However, the Sewards fucking wrecked me, and the only hikes easy enough to do for where my body was afterward were Street and then Hunter and Slide. Even after I got my more recovery days, I still couldn't muster the stamina of my first week. Honestly, I think that was the hardest hiking I could do for a week, and this week was me learning that I couldn't sustain that pace for another week. That being said, I knocked out the two Catskill 4000fters along with 30/46 High Peaks, so I absolutely had something to show for my efforts

Seward and Seymour Ranges, June 13th

From the Seward trailhead, I slogged five miles to the Seward Leanto, then up Seymour, then down and then up Seward over to Emmons, and then down the side of Donaldson and then all the way back in a single day. This was probably the *hardest* hike I've ever done. I've done longer, I've done more elevation, and I've done more tricky/involved hikes, but emotionally, this was the worst. I think this hike singlehandedly fucked my body for the next week or so, and I simply was no longer capable of sustained 20+ mile days for the rest of my time in the Adirondacks. Unfortunate

Street and Nye, June 14th

I originally planned on having a full rest day after the Seward debacle, but I eventually decided to do Street and Nye and then drive over to the Catskills to knock out Slide and Hunter. The hike was easier than the last time I did it since I started from South Meadows and not from the Marcy Dam Leanto. Anyhow, Nye doesn't belong on this list not because it's not 4000ft, but because it has a pitiful amount of prominence

Hunter, June 15th

This was the third time I did Hunter, and although I wish I had gotten my photo next to the fire tower for continuity purposes when I would pursue the NY fire towers two years later, it was still a good photo and a good hike

Slide, June 16th

Slide was pretty uneventful the third time I did it, and I still just don't see much in this mountain other than it's prominence and elevation and isolation - you'd just expect a mountain like this to be a little more whelming

Marshall, June 17th

I was originally going to hike Marshall and Redfield and Cliff, but I didn't have the strength to do those two after Marshall. Even though I HATED Marshall the first time around, I actually found it alright the second time around - I think Marshall was my intro to poor Adirondack trails last time and it came as a shock to my system lol

Whiteface and Esther, June 19th

The cold snap of June 18th, 2022 was a wild one. In the span of 24 hours, we went from 60-70 degree sunny days at the base of the high peaks to the high 30s with incessant rain. The highest peaks got multiple inches of snow, and the wind chill was supposedly bellow freezing. I didn't have any winter gear with me, so I decided to sit the day out and spend the time physically recovering, a wise choice, as at least one person lost their life venturing into the mountains that day (the fatality on Agiocochook). The following day, with the wind chill still below freezing, I started up Whiteface and Esther, finding evidence of snowfall and frost past 4500ft. That being said, the view was incredible, and the hike was fantastic

Central Great Range, June 20th

To finish out my trip to the Adirondacks, I decided to hike my favorite peak pf the 46: Haystack, along with it's siblings Basin and Saddleback. Starting from the Garden, I went all the way forward and found the peak to be as wonderful as the first time I did it. Funnily enough, I had a very concerned hiker interrogate me about the steepness of the descent from Little Haystack to the col between them, which struck me as odd considering he had to commit to at least a 16 mile day to hike this peak. I told him not to do anything he was uncomfortable with but I wonder if he interpreted that not as a "as a fellow hiker I want you to be safe and comfortable" and more as a "I'm challenging you to push yourself past your comfort zone". Either way, assume I mean the best for you if you interact with me. Anyhow, the rest of the hike was okay, and I was too wiped to try and do Giant the day after :P