Hike the Granddaddy of NY!

“I can, great! :D

I've heard that the Feldspar lean-to is in a much better spot than the Uphill lean-to scenery wise. I would try to stay there as it really isn’t that much farther away.

Ok now for so info.

The path up Cliff is fairly short, but will be time consuming due to a lot of blow downs.

Redfield herd path was just recently cleaned up by the 46ers and is in better condition than most marked trails.

The herd path up Grey starts near the outlet of Lake Tear of the Clouds.

If I go up to hike on Sunday I’m hopping to be on the trail between 5 and 6 am, but don’t wait up for me.”

“Mister M - Me thinks I'll have a difficult time catching up to ya. Unless you take a 1 year sabbatical before going for number 46. What's 46 anywho?

If I get on the trail early enough Saturday (like before sunrise), maybe I'll run into you somewhere on the Redfield herd path. Then you can give me 46 reasons why I would want to do Cliff.

As far as campsites go, I'll keep an eye open for you. If the weather forecast remains optimistic, I may bring my hammock which won't take up any valuable tent space.”

“Ok, so let's do Feldspar Leanto instead then. To tell you the truth, I was probably just going to pitch my tent anyway, but that can be decided when we get there. Either way, I'll find y'all's stuff somewhere in that notch -- there's only 1 trail that goes thru there, and I doubt any of yous would drag all your stuff up the mountain...

Don't know if I will climb any peaks on Saturday afternoon. I'd like to, but it depends on what time we get out of the trailhead, and more importantly what time we get to base camp and how we feel. Cliff would be pretty challenging with its rumored blowdowns, and I believe Cliff is also not part of Artex's trip next month...

If anyone is actually interested in the Greats (Marcy, Skylight, and Gray Peak), we will be attempting all 3 Sunday morning before heading out. Can you say "good luck?"”

“LZ, on Sunday, we're most likely going to do Marcy, Skylight, and Gray Peak, in that order -- you could probably outhike us anyday, so I have doubt you'll catch up.

If any of that changes, we'll leave you some sort of message at Feldspar leanto. Hope to see ya there...”

“LZ, I mean that I have NO doubt that you'll catch up.

My bad...”

“PhSoul: Okay, I'll shoot for the Feldspar leanto as first choice. Still, check the Uphill Brook leanto too. If both are taken, a note at one of 'em will indicate where my tent will be (look for my Coleman Exponent Oryx 2).

Pennsy: Hey, that would be excellent to meet you on the way to Redfield! I plan to hit the herdpath by 9AM, but you know I'm a slow hiker, so catching - even overtaking - me is not out of the question. You might pass me on my 46er quest too, because there is in fact a possibility I'll be putting off my last one (Rocky Ridge Peak) until next year. As far as Cliff is concerned... Why would you want to do it? ...only one reason is necessary ...because it's there, silly.

zac: Hope to meet you somewhere/sometime this weekend. Hope you can make it.”

“M Silver, you're saving a good one for last. The trail to RPR is one of my favorites.”

“Wow, I've bagged a 46'er that the mighty M hasn't. Woohoo.

Yeah, everything I've read about Cliff tells me that only a 46'er would do it. But hey, we almost killed ourselves doing MacNaughton and it isn't even one of them.

Anywho, I hope to run into you, probably on your back from Redfield, and the rest of the gang(?) in the afternoon.”

“I think Cliff might be on my itenerary if time allows on Saturday afternoon.

Does Redfield have a herd path that connects from Skylight, or does it have to be climbed from the valley?”

“this isn't gospel, but just from what I've read, but the herd paths to both Redfield and Cliff start across from the Uphill lean-to. The herd path to Redfield is supposed to be excellent, so if I were to do only 1 of those 2, I would choose Redfield.”

“Pennsy: Yes, both herdpaths begin at/near the confluence of Uphill Brook and the Opalescent River. Between Cliff and Redfield, I believe Cliff's herdpath would be the easier of the two, mostly because it's a shorter route to the summit from Uphill Brook. I'm not speaking from experience though, because when my brother and I did Cliff, we bushwacked it from the unmaintained Twin Brook trail to the base of the south-facing cliffs, then very steep up along the west edge of the cliffs to the col between the summit and the NE bump at the top. It was kinda easy, except for the last 1/4 mile near the top, where we really had to fight and scratch our way through the conifers.

Although the herdpath to Redfield is supposedly easy to follow, it's longer than the route to Cliff, and I've been reading that it can be a real butt-kicker too.

Soul: Other than the aforementioned bushwack between the old Twin Brook trail and Cliff, I'm not aware of any established herdpaths between Redfield and Cliff. There may in fact be a route scratched through, but I suspect it'd be pretty nasty to negotiate. My own take on these sorts of things is that I wouldn't attempt it without someone who has some bushwacking experience in the High Peaks. Lots of things can easily throw a bushwack off-course in the thick, steep forests there, even when there's a faint herdpath.

Okay, I'm all packed and ready to go. See youans on Saturday.”

“Soul: Oh yeah... sorry... I think I've read mention somewhere of a herdpath between Skylight and Redfield, but I don't anything about it.”

“Yeah, to me the shorter lung-busters (Cliff) are more do-able than the longer ones (Redfield) -- especially after the 10-mile hike in from Upper Works (is it 10 miles? The sign at the Colden Ranger station says 8.2 miles to Upper Works, so I figured Uphill/Feldspar shelters are about 10 miles from Upper Works. The map LZ sent me suggests that it's only like 6 or 7 miles to Uphill/Feldspar Shelters from Upper Works)

The main reason I picked Cliff vs Redfield is because Artex's trip next month mentioned Redfield, but not Cliff, so I'd figured I'd do Cliff now.”

“I read something from Views From the Top recently saying that even though the Cliff hike is shorter, it will take longer then Redfield because of the blowdowns and stuff. who knows.

I'm trying to get these peaks this weekend because Artex might not make his buttkicker and it could possibly get moved to New Hampshire.”

“Pennsy, You have got to come out here and check out these mountains surrounding Salt Lake City! This place is pretty cool with these monsters all around it.”

“Maybe I will do Redfield then -- I guess I'll decide when I get there...”

“Be ready for some cool weather. It was 37 in Saranac Lake at 7 this morning. Winter is on its way.
:D”

“Yes. the days are getting shorter and the nights are getting colder. It's only August. 45 degrees at 6 AM where I live this morning.”

“I’m going to try and get my car repairs done as fast as I can, so maybe I’ll be able to head up on Saturday afternoon. If that’s the case maybe I could fit Redfield in. This will also save me form doing a 20+ mile day hike of Sunday.”

“Don't forget to carry a rock up to the summit of Skylight.”

“Who has a granddaddy named Marcy?”

“Mount Marcy, elevation 5344', named after state governor William Marcy. Ebenezer Emmons named the peak Marcy on making the first recorded ascent of the mountain in 1837. Marcy has in the past been referred to with the Indian word Tahawus, meaning "cloud-splitter," but there is little proof to indicate that Native Americans ever actually referred to the peak using this name.”

“LZ, it'd be great to see you on Saturday. We'll leave you some sort of message at one of the leantos in that area if we're ahaed, or you can if you get ahead.

Otherwise, if you're only coming for the day, you might want to consider the shortcut in from Marcy Dam. It's only less than half the distance to base camp vs. Upper Works, but it also looks like Marcy Dam is significantly lower in elevation than Upper Works.”

“Alright, I'm packed and off to the top of New York. Gotta stop at Harriman along the way to meet up with one of my buddies from Long Island, where he'll be leaving his car and we'll be carpooling...

CUL8R!”