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