Savich Trek: MT PHELPS--THE NEWLYWED HIKE

Before our wedding day, in May 2007, I dreamed of taking Lesya on her first hike in the ADKs. My friends recommended Phelps as an an easy and scenic hike and so in my head I began to plan that first hike. Three months after getting married we decided to do a family camping trip for a couple days at Limekiln State Campground on Labor Day weekend 2007. At the end of the camping trip we decided that instead of heading home we will drive up to the high peaks region and spend the night at Marcy Dam. So we drove into the South Meadows Parking Area couple hours later than planned and hiked into Marcy Dam at dusk.

At Marcy Dam we located an open lean-to and since it was getting dark we decided to quickly eat at the lean-to and go to bed. We didn't realize that we broke a major rule at Marcy Dam--DO NOT EAT IN THE LEAN-TO! The next rule we broke was we washed our dishes and eating utensils near our lean-to. Although we did rent a bear canister to hold all of our remaining food and we placed it some distance away, however the damage has been done. We had 4 furry visitors the following night. It's a story in itself and will be talked about in a later post.

The next morning we set out on our new hiking adventure to the summit of Phelps. Being the adventurous guy I am I decided to cut across Marcy Dam since it was no longer a dam. My wife had no choice but to follow her crazy new husband. The bank of the former dam was very steep and the soil was mixed with loose gravel therefore the descent to the dam was more adventurous than anticipated. At one point Lesya came sliding down the bank and I had to grab her so that she would not continue flying down into the water and mud below. So I learned my lesson there.

Lean-to

Finally on the trail we realized that we had two different hiking paces. If I was leading Lesya would fall behind and then I had to wait every now and then. I had the enlightment to let my wife try leading and see how that would work out. As soon as she started to lead we new the problem was solved. She increased her pace to the pace at which I was comfortable and we both enjoyed the hike a bit more.

Dried up Marcy Dam

We hiked down the Van Hoevenberg Trail from Marcy Dam for one mile of fairly flat gradient. From the trailhead to the summit the distance is 1.2 miles. Its starts out with a gradual increase in gradient for about 0.7 mile. At this point the views of the higher peaks to the south and southwest become more visible. The gradient also become steeper with large boulders to get across. The remaining 0.5 mile has more open rocks and beautiful views. The summit provides the best views of the MacIntyre Range, Marcy Range, and the Great Range. Although the summit is covered in trees, there is enough bare rock to sit and enjoy the views.

After a few summit photos, Lesya and I took a little snooze in the warm sun, with our day packs as pillows. We needed to reenergize after an eventful night of frequent bear visits.