Macomb Mountain
June 14th 2011: Attending this hike was Andrea, Daddio, Myself and Puppy.
The Start of our first over night trip started out with Macomb Mountain!! We all had no idea what to expect considering camping situations, wildlife situations and food and water situation. First off Andrea was carrying a backpack of about 20 to 25 pounds, Dad was carrying a backpack weighing 30 to 35 pounds and my backpack was roughly 40 pounds with a bunch of water, tents and a bear canister. For those of you that do not know, it is highly recommended for any over nighter in the adirondacks to own a bear canister which is basically a large plastic / fiber glass container that is locked with a lid, so bears are unable to get to the food you are carrying.
So with our massive packs on our back, we headed out on the trailess peaks of the Dix Range starting off with Macomb! The first couple miles are actually located on one of the DEC trails that heads to the summit of Dix Mountain( see Dix Mountain), so these first couple miles were relatively easy compared to what we were about to endure. The Map shows that when we were at a campsite location this was were we were supposed to turn right on to one of the bushwacked trails. All three of us were a little unsure of exactly where we needed to turn because of the multiple trails that leaded off into the woods, so we decided to turn off onto one of the trails that looked the most defined due to logs that were cut for trails and so forth. If you have ever been on a trail in the adirondacks you know what a standard trail looks like. So after about a quarter mile maybe a little less we ran out of the clear paths and was running into the thick woods, at this point we knew that something wasnt right and that we needed to figure out where we were and how we were going to get back to the trail that should be headed up Macomb. After 15 min or so Andrea and dad decided to head toward the right (east ...south east) on the compass. After another 15 min in the thick of the woods bushwacking and forcing our way through the trees we heard a brook. The brook on the map compared to the trail that we needed to be on were basically right on top of each other so we knew if we could make it to the brook than we should be able to find the trail that we needed to be on. Finally we made it to the brook and sure enough there was a somewhat heard path trail that makes its way to the summit of Macomb. MAYBE 3 miles into the hike and we had already gotten off trail and struggled to find the trail.... if this was what to come for our 5 peak summit adventure we were headed on this was going to be a lonnnng trip.
At this point we had been traveling at a decent rate making up some of the ground that we lost when we were searching for the trail earlier. Then we reached a point in the trail were we saw a huge rock slide ( loose rocks not a smooth rock slide), I had always wanted to climb one of these, but unfortunately the trail leaded us left of the rock slide onto a waterfall terrain area of the mountain. As we were climbing this waterfall area the trail seemed to "trail off" and was not existent. So at this point we decided to stop and look at the map to see if we are supposed to follow the water at this point of the trail. I personally got tired of guessing...i was being impatient (sorrrry haha) and i took my bag off to be more mobile and headed up the waterfall to see if the trail was more distinctive further up the trail. I unfortunately did not bring my camera with me, but what i saw a little bit further up the trail was absolutely amazing.... imagine hiking up a waterfall rock scramble area with thick trees all around you and you look up ahead and all you see are trees lined up like someone layed them down 20 feet high in the trai. I was so comfused at what i was looking at until i decided to climb through the trees to the top were on top of the trees laying down was dirt, grass, and small rocks.... and the side of the mountain was completley bare. A brand new mud slide caused by the extremely bad rain storms that we experienced earlier in the year... the trees were stopped by other trees and larger rocks. The new rock slide was amazing... all this new rock finally exposed after how many years... millions? thousands? This was too dangerous to climb with our packs so i used the 2-way walkies to call down to dad and andrea to tell them. So dad decided to climb down without his pack to see if he could find the trail but we didnt see it the first time we went by it.
After a 20 min climb back down and waiting to hear from dad, we got confermation that the rock slide that I saw earlier was actually the trail we needed to take, so we packed up and headed back down to where dad was. The rock slide was everything that i expected plus more... This rock slide was extemely large.. actually one of the largest slides we have had to climb thus far in the high peaks.
After 4.1 miles and nearly being lost for about an hour of the 5 or so hours spent traveling to this summit we finally made it to the top with extremely poor views due to the cloud cover that had made its way in as we were hiking. To document out travels and succssesful summit of our 16th high peak we all took pictures and video camerea'd. Now on to peak number 2 of 5 South Dix.... you can follow our adventure either in the Adirondack 46er page by clicking on South Dix or by clicking here!!!
Macomb Mountain : 4405 Feet
Elevation Gained :
Timing : 4.1 Miles (5 Hours)
The Start of our first over night trip started out with Macomb Mountain!! We all had no idea what to expect considering camping situations, wildlife situations and food and water situation. First off Andrea was carrying a backpack of about 20 to 25 pounds, Dad was carrying a backpack weighing 30 to 35 pounds and my backpack was roughly 40 pounds with a bunch of water, tents and a bear canister. For those of you that do not know, it is highly recommended for any over nighter in the adirondacks to own a bear canister which is basically a large plastic / fiber glass container that is locked with a lid, so bears are unable to get to the food you are carrying.
So with our massive packs on our back, we headed out on the trailess peaks of the Dix Range starting off with Macomb! The first couple miles are actually located on one of the DEC trails that heads to the summit of Dix Mountain( see Dix Mountain), so these first couple miles were relatively easy compared to what we were about to endure. The Map shows that when we were at a campsite location this was were we were supposed to turn right on to one of the bushwacked trails. All three of us were a little unsure of exactly where we needed to turn because of the multiple trails that leaded off into the woods, so we decided to turn off onto one of the trails that looked the most defined due to logs that were cut for trails and so forth. If you have ever been on a trail in the adirondacks you know what a standard trail looks like. So after about a quarter mile maybe a little less we ran out of the clear paths and was running into the thick woods, at this point we knew that something wasnt right and that we needed to figure out where we were and how we were going to get back to the trail that should be headed up Macomb. After 15 min or so Andrea and dad decided to head toward the right (east ...south east) on the compass. After another 15 min in the thick of the woods bushwacking and forcing our way through the trees we heard a brook. The brook on the map compared to the trail that we needed to be on were basically right on top of each other so we knew if we could make it to the brook than we should be able to find the trail that we needed to be on. Finally we made it to the brook and sure enough there was a somewhat heard path trail that makes its way to the summit of Macomb. MAYBE 3 miles into the hike and we had already gotten off trail and struggled to find the trail.... if this was what to come for our 5 peak summit adventure we were headed on this was going to be a lonnnng trip.
At this point we had been traveling at a decent rate making up some of the ground that we lost when we were searching for the trail earlier. Then we reached a point in the trail were we saw a huge rock slide ( loose rocks not a smooth rock slide), I had always wanted to climb one of these, but unfortunately the trail leaded us left of the rock slide onto a waterfall terrain area of the mountain. As we were climbing this waterfall area the trail seemed to "trail off" and was not existent. So at this point we decided to stop and look at the map to see if we are supposed to follow the water at this point of the trail. I personally got tired of guessing...i was being impatient (sorrrry haha) and i took my bag off to be more mobile and headed up the waterfall to see if the trail was more distinctive further up the trail. I unfortunately did not bring my camera with me, but what i saw a little bit further up the trail was absolutely amazing.... imagine hiking up a waterfall rock scramble area with thick trees all around you and you look up ahead and all you see are trees lined up like someone layed them down 20 feet high in the trai. I was so comfused at what i was looking at until i decided to climb through the trees to the top were on top of the trees laying down was dirt, grass, and small rocks.... and the side of the mountain was completley bare. A brand new mud slide caused by the extremely bad rain storms that we experienced earlier in the year... the trees were stopped by other trees and larger rocks. The new rock slide was amazing... all this new rock finally exposed after how many years... millions? thousands? This was too dangerous to climb with our packs so i used the 2-way walkies to call down to dad and andrea to tell them. So dad decided to climb down without his pack to see if he could find the trail but we didnt see it the first time we went by it.
After a 20 min climb back down and waiting to hear from dad, we got confermation that the rock slide that I saw earlier was actually the trail we needed to take, so we packed up and headed back down to where dad was. The rock slide was everything that i expected plus more... This rock slide was extemely large.. actually one of the largest slides we have had to climb thus far in the high peaks.
After 4.1 miles and nearly being lost for about an hour of the 5 or so hours spent traveling to this summit we finally made it to the top with extremely poor views due to the cloud cover that had made its way in as we were hiking. To document out travels and succssesful summit of our 16th high peak we all took pictures and video camerea'd. Now on to peak number 2 of 5 South Dix.... you can follow our adventure either in the Adirondack 46er page by clicking on South Dix or by clicking here!!!
Macomb Mountain : 4405 Feet
Elevation Gained :
Timing : 4.1 Miles (5 Hours)