12/21/2020
Ahh… The Winter Solstice has finally arrived! I haven’t been excited like this since I was a little kid, (Or maybe since last winter solstice)! Snow covered trees, serenely quiet, no bugs, Adirondack butt-sliding– it is my favorite season to hike!
Our hiking group planned to meet for 4:30am but I could hardly sleep and woke at 1:30am! Of course no one was up yet, so I baked some bacon (the best way to make bacon) and quadruple-checked the hiking packs and gear. We had had some unexpected snow the previous night so bringing along the snowshoes was in order – I was later glad that I did.
Despite my overwhelming excitement, the others were not so elated to wake up early to hike, although, I think my mood was contagious. It wasn’t long before everyone had a bounce in their step.
We arrived at the High Peaks Information Center on Loj Road and paid our parking dues. There were about 15 other cars and I’m sure more piled in after us. We signed into the register and were on the trail at 6:30am, still dark, 30 degrees with little wind– it promised to be a glorious day!
Our plan was to complete an out and back via the Lake Arnold Trail. The eastern side of the mountain is much less steep than coming at it via Avalanche Pass (which can be slow – maneuvering over the boulders and ladders). The first 2.3 miles to Marcy Dam are over easy terrain and completed relatively quickly. Once over the foot bridge and onto the other side of the dam, we continued straight ahead toward Avalanche Camp for another 1.1 miles. Here, you’ll follow the signs making a left to head up towards Lake Arnold.
Marcy Dam
The terrain begins to change into a moderate climb once closer to Lake Arnold. We all didn’t realize just how much we had climbed until going back down. Everyone was enjoying the snow covered landscape and the stillness nature had to offer. The peacefulness out there has a way of making you feel immensely grateful.
Lake Arnold sits at 3800′ making it one of the highest bodies of water in the Adirondack Park
Although my weather app promised the sun would show itself, it did not. No blue skies over Lake Arnold, but I didn’t let that damper my mood! Only 1.4 miles to the summit from here!
From Lake Arnold we continued on the trail towards the right. The trail was covered in 5 inches of fresh snow so we put on our snowshoes to groom the trail for other hikers and to make the trek out easier. The trail towards the secondary summit of Colden changed from a moderate to steep grade. The thick layers of ice beneath the snow makes hiking slow and dangerous. Inadvertently stepping off the trail revealed a depth of 18 inches of snow!
The trail turned into a magical winter wonderland and the snow and ice covered trees were stunning.
Not long and we were at the secondary summit! Here it could be a little confusing on which way to go, especially since we were in the clouds and fresh snow masked the trail. The trail bears left and starts a small descent to the base of Colden’s true summit.
Snow covered ladder and Mount Colden in the clouds
On our way up to the summit we saw a couple friendly groups of men. All were prepared and seemed like experienced hikers. A nice sight to see since I’ve been seeing far too many ill prepared hikers recently.
I was hoping the sun would show itself briefly but no such luck. A cloudy summit and no spectacular views to be had today.
Mount Colden is the 11th highest peak, elevation: 4,714′
We only stayed long enough to take our summit photos and quickly descended to the base. Here we stopped to eat some snacks and change out of our snowshoes into our MICROspikes. It was an uneventful, although beautiful descent back to Marcy Dam. Right at the end, the blue skies opened up and I contemplated for only a brief moment of going back up to catch some of Colden’s spectacular views.
Everyone was a little tired and it was a quiet 0.9 mile trek back to the parking lot from here. I was secretly plotting my next winter adventure!
This made for my daughters 8th High Peak and my 5th Winter High Peak!
Total Mileage: 12.6 miles
Total time including stops and breaks: 8hrs