It was a long day, but a great time was had by all! Tim and I met at the Essex Center P&R at 7:00 am, picked up Rob at the Agway in Williston and then headed for the Charlotte ferry, where we then picked up Wes and Lynda. Headed across the pond to NYS. Don’t let me forget to mention that the back of Tim’s car was piled high with stuff – if 7 more people had shown up in their birthday suits, we could easily have outfitted them. Correction – Lynda and Rob could have outfitted them. Headed upstairs on the boat and took in the foggy, gray conditions. It was OK as no precip was falling and none was predicted. We were in for a good day.

Stopped briefly at the Dogwood Bakery in Essex, NY for coffee refills before heading to the Adk. Lodge trailhead in Lake Placid. Emptied our coffee and then we were on our way around 10:20 am. Easy walk into Marcy Dam, and met only a few others along the way, including three strapping young men who were headed to Marcy for the night and hoped to be out before the storm hit on Sunday. Their packs were so big, they looked like they might have been ready for a few days in the mountains. Anyway, after a brief snack, onward we were on the Van Hovenburg trail before cutting off to the left onto the Phelps trail. There was little snow from start to summit and none of us needed our snowshoes, just microspikes. I don’t recall even seeing anyone with shoes on, either.

The sun tried to break through a few times and Wes, speedy Wes, hit the summit first and snapped a few pics of a little bit of clearing. Marcy was not to be seen in all her glory that day, but another time for sure! Four others with 3 4-legged friends approached right behind us so we had company for lunch. And of course, if you have Tim on any outing, no matter the season, you also have wine! Yeh! We toasted and had a bite, then headed down. Also, let me mention that if you have Lynda or Rob on any hike, you have built-in, free entertainment. So there was a double dose of stories upon stories. I will say nothing, except you will experience them and hardly need to ask any questions. Say a word and that will remind them of a past life experience and one story leading to another to another. Great fun and so many laughs! Since none of us had any evening plans, we decided the Noonmark in Keene was calling us. Everyone found something on the menu to enjoy and then we were back in the car. The Charlotte ferry had barely pulled out and darn!, Tim brought more libations, so we needed to, had to, were forced to enjoy them during the hour-long wait for the next boat to hit the dock. More stories and more laughs…home again for all! And many great memories!

Who: Outing Leader: Robynn Albert, Rob Selvaggi, Wes Volk, Tim Welsh, Lynda Hutchins;

Wes Volk photo