MT COLDEN--THE DECEITFUL CLIMB

By the third day of our 4 day trip in May 2005, we have had many challenges. The challenge on the third day was 2 members of the team had some nasty blisters on their feet because of poor shoe choice the previous day. Early in the morning we hiked from Beaver Point lean-to, located on the shores of Lake Colden, to the Avalanche lean-to located just beyond Avalanche Pass. At this point 2 team members had made the decision not to continue hiking anymore that day. Andrey M. and I decided to proceed. The other team members volunteered to carry our bags further down to Marcy Dam where we will spend the night.

Mount Colden is a great climb because it stands between two awesome climbs on either side Marcy and the McIntyre Range. Our legs were sore but it was a nice and sunny day, a great day for hiking. Outside temperature was mid-60's. The ascent was gradual slope. It was our first time on the Colden trail and we were excited when we reached what appeared to be a possible summit, only to realize that it had a false summit. We were disappointed that we had a few hundred feet descent then the final ascent to the actual summit. On previous hikes its always fun to get a break in the gradient and even a little descent but the reality is that you will have to ascend again. Eventually we made it to the summit. It was roughly a 2 hr hike. The views at the summit are spectacular. The visibility was perfect and Marcy and Gray peaks stood out distinctly to the left. The right were was Avalanche Mt and beyond it stood Iroquois, Algonquin, and Wright. Great views of Lake Colden. After a 30 min break and summit photos we began our descent.

False summit

Lake Colden 

Marcy and Gray (right)

Avalanche Mt (Algonquin Behind)

The descent was a fairly quick 1.5 hr hike to Marcy Dam where we met up with the rest of our group. Overall it was a nice 7 mile round trip hike. Andrey and Ruslan had conveniently set up camp in one of the lean-to's. They had time to tend to their wounds and relax. We spent the last night at Marcy Dam before returning to our vehicle at South Meadows Road.

Drinking tea last evening

APPLE SMOKED CHICKEN

Last year  my wife and I decided to raise a few chickens of our own. Well to make a more honest statement, we purchased a dozen and added them to the several dozen that my parents already had. "When you have that many what's another dozen." Since they were meat chickens they grew fast and slaughtered at about 3 months. They were all nicely butchered, packaged and stored in the freezer. The freezer filled up pretty quickly with a dozen chickens, some salmon, and venison.

Recently I decided to smoke the chicken thigh quarters and chicken wings using different recipes. For the thighs I used Myron Mixon's Basic Chicken Rub recipe and simple marinade he uses which includes chicken stock and ranch dry dressing mix. For the wings I used a recipe from a blog called smokedngrilled. The wings marinade recipe called for Worcestershire sauce, water, garlic salt, minced onions, and lemon pepper.

Both were marinaded overnight and cooked at the same smoker temperature of 220 degrees Fahrenheit. I also used a simple rub of raw brown sugar, kosher salt, onion powder, and garlic powder.  I had a meat thermometer in a chicken thigh for accurate temperature readings. Both the wings and thighs cooked for about 2.5 hrs until the internal temperature of 165 degrees was reached.

The thighs tasted much better than the wings. Since purchasing Myron Mixon's BBQ/Smoking Meat Book over a year ago I have not been disappointed in any of the recipes that I used for my meats.

On the other hand the wings had a strong Worcestershire sauce taste which was not the best thing to taste in the wings. Before I smoked the wings, my research indicated that the skin on the wings becomes tough when smoked and that is exactly what happened. So removing the skin before eating and pouring some Dinosaur BBQ sauce solved the problem.

 

MT. ALGONQUIN- "ENDURANCE TEST"

The May 2005 hiking trip was by far the most memorable and painful hiking trip of my young life. It all started when 3 of my friends and I decided to take a 3-4 day hiking trip in the High Peaks. The plan was to hike the first mountain, Mt. Algonquin with a full pack, 65 pounds. Neither of us have ever hiked with that much gear, nor distance. But it turned out to be very exciting indeed. We parked in the South Meadow Parking Area and decided to bushwhack our way to the trailhead of Algonquin. Shortly into our adventure we came across a good size brook that we couldn't cross without getting really wet. We decided that getting wet this early into our trip was a bad idea and so we began building a dam from fallen logs. We even used a manual chain saw to cut shorter logs. I regret not taking a photo of our creation. But it worked and we all crossed without getting wet.

We found the trailhead a short distance up trail from the Adirondack Loj. It was a gradual incline to the base of Wright Mountain. This marked the official start of the "Endurance Test". We quickly realized that resting was a necessity every 30 minutes or so. Our fuel the entire way was Beef Jerky and water with an occasional trail mix. We had to refill our water bladders twice, using a filtered manual water pump. The worst part of the hike was just beyond the trailhead to Wright. Andrey and I began to develop muscle cramps in our quads. Nearing the top, they were so bad that it was impossible to walk. Taking a break was no longer relaxing but it was a time period during which you hoped that the cramp would let up. The summit couldn't come soon enough.

All the pain, sweat, and almost tears were worth it when we got to the summit. Nobody disagreed to a prolonged break and stay at the summit. After a change of clothing, a nice snack, and a short nap we broke camp. The summit photos will be forever the most memorable. Amongst ourselves, we call the photo posted on the home page of my blog our "famous photo."

On a side note, we meet a seasoned hiker who is a ADK 46er twice over and he shared an interesting fact. He commended our ambitions to full pack hiking in our young years but he also recommended that it should repeated again. He told us that he has only hiked with a full pack once or twice. He suggested using a day pack may prolong our hiking days and make them more enjoyable.

In retrospect, we never hiked Mt. Wright nor Mt. Iroquois when it would have been a wise decision to do so since they were only less than a mile off course. But at the same time it was something to look forward to doing in the future.

The fact was that the ascent really took most of our energy, the descent was not a pleasant journey either. The quads, knees, and soles of the feet burned twice as much. Thankfully we didn't have any major injuries except for a few minor scraps, bruises, and blisters. We set up a base camp at one of the Beaver Point lean-to's right on Lake Colden. The first night we didn't enjoy the views because we were to exhausted.

MASTERING MARCY!

The first time on Marcy was only memorable because at the summit we didn't get to see much. The weather was cloudy, cold, and drizzling rain. After staying at the summit for 15 minutes we quickly left. Therefore I had to go back in better weather to enjoy the hike to the summit and the summit view more than before.

And so in May 2005, my three buddies and I went hiking in the peaks on a three day trip. Day One was hiking Mt. Algonquin with 65 lb. packs. It was just a warm up. Day Two we hiked Marcy starting out from Lake Colden lean-to. I have descended Marcy via the trail on its the southern side. The
ascent via this trail was a new experience. It was also nice to leave the full packs behind and carry a super small day pack. Starting out we hiked for several miles between Mt. Colden and Cliff /Redfield Peaks. When we actually came to the trailhead at the base of Marcy we noticed it was a much steeper ascent compared to the Van Hoevanberg trail to the north. We encountered some snow in a few areas long the way.

The final 3/4 of a mile was all open rock with beautiful views. The summit photo was as clear as it could be. It was finally nice to be there without any obstructions of view. The view was incredible--we could clearly see the Olympic Ski jump in Lake Placid. It was a good feeling to stand on the highest point in New York State at 5,344 ft.

It was in the mid-70's at the summit with complete sunshine. After a nice snack we all found a comfortable spot and took a good 30-40 nap. And I can clearly remember that we actually slept well. 

We descanted by the same trail. It was a quick descent just under 2 hrs. In retrospect it would have been wise to hike Gray Peak since it was just off the trail. But that will have to wait for another Marcy hike. 

ADK EXPLORER MAGAZINE-Jan./Feb. 2014

Had a few minutes to indulge into the ADK news in the Jan./Feb. issue of the Adirondack Explorer Magazine. The photos of different parts of the Essex Chain are getting better with each publication. More people have access to the former Finch, Pruyn timberlands, therefore there are more explorers venturing out to check out future kayaking trips and hikes. 

I am in turn excited about doing some kayaking over the course of a couple days, covering the lakes that are linked. As far as I understand a short portage may be necessary at times but it's all a great part of the adventure. 

POST REVIEW

When looking back at the posts of 2013, I quickly noticed that I had far more post on FOOD than anything else. That would probably explain the fact of being slightly more over weight than I would like to. So in order to get ready for some more biking and hiking I need to shed at least 20 lbs. 

My wife and I took on a challenge of trying to make it happen over the course of 60 days. Admittingly the first 5 days have been challenging because I haven't been focusing on the diet. Starting is one thing but having a concrete plan in mind is another thing. So I'm looking forward to less food, more exercise for a healthier body to accomplish the future Savich Treks. 

SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE THIS!

This is how I sometimes feel about hiking! At this time of year, in this season of my life, I feel like the only thing that I can do is write about previous awesome experiences to forever capture the stories. Writing about the past helps secure the memory for the future when things may not be so clear. 

My wife and I discussed today how we should do day trips or one nighter's to get some more hiking under our belts this year. 

DEER HUNTER 2014--THE GAME!

Since I haven't been hunting for three seasons, my brother David, introduced me to the game, Deer Hunter 2014 by Glu Inc. I downloaded the game but didn't get into playing it at all because I simply didn't understand the game itself. So Thanksgiving Day after eating a nice turkey dinner, my brother and I discussed hunting. I mentioned that I had downloaded the game but didn't quite get how it all worked. Well I was talking to the right person. David had apparently made it to Level 7 or 8 and had earned enough money from Contract Hunts to buy some nice guns. After a little explanation and some demonstration, the game came to a new life for me.

Before I knew it I was playing a couple times a day as soon as I was reenergized on the game. I began to make some serious progress and Savage 46 was getting good at hunting. It actually felt good to be "successful in hunting" after several years of not actually hunting. Soon I finished up Region 1--Pacific Northwest, then Region 2--North Africa, Region 3--British Colombia, Region 4--South Africa, and onto Region 5--Alaska. Being on vacation for a week helped keep things moving. When I got to Region 5 the app started to act up and not work well. The only feature that worked in the region was Rare Hunts and the Holiday Series. So I was stuck. Apparently there were a few hundred other people stuck and weren't able to play a favorite game.

I really like the game because its FREE! But Glu Inc. is also really good at making the game seem as realistic as possible. It also has a complexity to it as well but its a nice challenge and not ridiculous as other games. The paid hunts also see fair and its not unbelievably challenging to move from one region to the next if you continue to hunt, update your guns, and have good aim. Overall the game was updating well from one region to the next until Region 5. Its disappointing because I lost all interest in playing the same hunts over and over again. I hope to restart playing if Glu Inc. fixes the problems in a good update soon. I have been tempted to delete the app and start over but I would hate to lose everything that i worked up to this point. So hurry up Glu Inc!! My patience won't last forever as "deer don't hang around forever."

BROTHER'S HUNT DEER #3

So it has been a very successful hunting season for my brother. He had 5 tags and he filled 3 of them. He got two does and one buck. The third deer came a little later in the season after one of the first snows. The very factor that increases the quantity of deer hunters on the first days of snow is the visibility. The forest and all of the surrounding nature comes alive in a very new and different sense. It usually is a lot colder but the hunt is that much more exciting. Walking to the tree stand is really nice because everything stands out so much more. If you have good boots and learn how to walk quietly then its a nice and silent entry into the woods. Up in the tree stand its so much better to see anything that moves against the white background.

And so the day of the third kill, my brother decided to do something different, stand on the ground and maybe sneak up on some deer. It wasn't long after standing in a hedgerow for a few minutes that a fawn came into view. Shortly a nice size doe came along following the fawn. It was a nice and close 40 yards as per range finder. That was a too good of a range for a shotgun. The deer all of the sudden sensed danger and started to move but it was too late! Trigger squeezed and down came the doe! Dropped in mid-step with the bullet traveling cleanly through the lungs.

Congrats David on another great kill of the season! Bagging and tagging would be an appropriate thing to say!!

A PROMISE TO SELF!

I have to admit that its been fun blogging since March 2013. I had 70 posts and over 1200 views. Although the posts have not been plenty and the views not excessive its been fun sharing my outdoor experiences with the few people that have read my Savich Trek Blog. Thank you for reading. I hope to blog more and in a timely fashion following my adventures this year 2014.

There a few more adventures that I would like to have in areas like road cycling, kayaking, and especially hiking in the ADK High Peaks this coming year. So I raise my glass to all of the fun adventures that will come this year and hopefully in a large quantity than last year. I hope more of these adventures will be with my awesome wife and beautiful kids.

I'm in the process of working on 4-5 short videos of my adventures such as kayaking the Moose River, hiking Blue Mountain, ocean kayaking in St. Lucia, and mountain biking in Limekiln Campground.