Adirondacks Conclusion

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With the remnants of Tropical Storm Beryll gone from our area, we head out for more exploring. We decide to give the rain water a chance to runoff before we try another hike but heading into Plattsburgh and checking out some of the things to see in town should work out well. Plattsburgh was home to an Air Force Base from 1954 until 1995. We vaguely remember coming up here back when the base was still in operation but cannot remember much about town. While many of the old buildings have been repurposed or torn down, there is a museum that has all sorts of displays celebrating the base’s history. We head there first.

B47 Bomber

PFAB Museum

The museum building isn’t all that large (maybe 1000 square feet) but they have an amazing amount of items and displays inside. The volunteer working during our visit was chatting with another group, so we just wandered around and marveled at all of the displays.

Flight Suits

Smiling Bomb

Air Force Head Gear

After 15 minutes or so, a second volunteer arrived and came over to chat with us and answer any questions. He used to be a pilot stationed here, so he was loaded with all sorts of stories and information. One of the displays he was proudest of was the cockpit simulator. He insisted that we hop in and try things out. We got a 5 minute lesson on flying a FB-111A but I’m not sure we should be given a real one quite yet.

Model Planes

Nice Leather Bomber Jacket

"Cardboard" Simulator

There are a couple of planes on display in a small park very near the museum. We also got a chance to walk around some of the old base and see how the beautiful buildings have been transformed into businesses or nice looking housing for local residents of Plattsburgh.

FB-111

Tailwing Art

Old Stone Barracks - circa 1838

Housing Units

Next we drive into downtown Plattsburgh to tour the murals of the city with the help of an Adventure Lab. There are definitely some very nice old buildings and some of the murals were better than many we have seen elsewhere.

Michael Anderson - Astronaut and Plattsburgh Native

Beautiful Stone Church

Mosaic Mural

Between the stops to look at the murals and a couple geocaches, we spent a fair amount of time wandering around. At one point, a dark cloud snuck in and started to drizzle on us. We decided to call it a day and head to a nearby Mexican restaurant before heading back home.

Nice Stone Ship

Another Elaborate Mural

Old County Court House

One Last Mural

With just 3 full days left before heading out, we wanted to get in another serious hike. The “real” hikers in the area are known as 46ers. This references those that hike to the 46 highest peaks in the Adirondacks - ranging from 5344 to 3820 feet above sea level. This is one of those goals that we likely should have started 30 years ago. We have come to recognize our limitations and so we pick a hike that sounds quite nice but doesn’t involve a hike to a peak. In fact the day we plan to do this hike is rather foggy and cloudy so the views would not be all that great from a peak so why put the extra effort in to get to a peak?

The trail we pick is Avalanche Lake which is about 10 miles south of Lake Placid. There are a few different approaches to get to the lake. But the two most promising ones are rated as “hard” with 10 miles and 1300 feet of elevation gain. Some recent reviews of one of them, mentions the trail being flooded at the beginning. It was described as 6 feet of water which immediately ruled that option out especially with the recent rains. We instead pick the trail that starts from the Adirondack Loj. The downside of this option is that it cost $18 to park there. Associated with the Adirondack Mountain Club, there are lots of trails that start from this spot. When we arrive at the entrance booth to pay our money, the guy asks us which trail we are planning on hiking. When we tell him Avalanche Lake, he winces and says he heard that trail was flooded out of this location as well but we should go in and ask some of the others at the service desk. He was nice enough to give us our money back and told us to just pay at the desk if we decide we can do this hike or pick another.

We were amazed by how big the parking areas were and how many cars were already here on a day with less than ideal weather conditions. The people at the front desk told us that they thought the Avalanche Lake trail was okay but to go check with one of the rangers outside. We got confirmation that the trail was not flooded although we should expect plenty of mud. We can handle mud just not wading in head deep water. We pay our parking fee and gear up for the hike. Since so many of the hikes start from the Loj, the initial portion is confusing even with all the signage. The beginning of the hike is on very nice trails with bridges or boardwalks where needed and is pretty flat.

Trail Starts Out Easy Enough

Bridge Over Wet Area

Entering High Peaks Wilderness

Even though there were lots of other hikers, it wasn’t too crowded and at each intersection we seemed to lose a few hikers that would turn off for a different hike. There is a stream running next to parts of the trail early in the hike and the water was flowing quite fast.

Head This Way

Mushroom with Old Log as Shelter

Rocky Stream

At just over 2 miles in, we come to the Marcy Dam. Well more accurately, the remains of the Marcy Dam. Apparently in August of 2011, Tropical Storm Irene caused significant damage to the dam. Instead of the trail going over the dam, it is now diverted several hundred feet downstream across a new bridge. The old platform made for a pretty stop to have a snack before continuing up the trail.

Looking Across the Former Marcy Dam

Replacement Bridge

Marcy Brook from Bridge

Opposite Side of Marcy Dam

The trail follows Marcy Brook past the dam but apparently some serious beaver activity has flooded a section of the trail and there is a temporary bypass. This section of trail is very muddy and narrow but we got through it and back onto the normal trail.

Beaver Flooding Detour

Beyond this point, roughly the 2.5 mile point, the trail starts to get quite steep and rocky. Given how wet everything is, I’ll add slick and muddy to the description as well. It’s slow going for a mile or so as we approach Avalanche Pass.

The Definition of a Rocky Trail!

Bridge

Still on Trail to Avalanche Lake

Getting over the pass was very interesting. There were stairs, more rocks and mud, as well as some large rock walls and crevices that the trail went along or through. Every surface was covered in thick moss or lichen.

Stairs

More Rocks

Trail Along Rock Cliff

Crevice

A series of thick planks provided for the pathway over some creeks that lead from the pass down to the north end of Avalanche Lake. It took us over three hours to get here but this was not our final goal and given what it took to get this far, we were unwilling to stop now.

Planks Along Wet Area

Made It to Avalanche Lake

The lake itself is about 2/3 of a mile long but only a few hundred feet wide. It is situated between Avalanche Mountain and Mount Colden with sheer rock walls along much of the lake on both sides. The fact that someone decided to put a trail along the length of the lake is the real draw for us. We had seen pictures from the hike and knew what we were getting in to but the adventure was the draw for us. The trail along the western side of the lake has huge boulders to crawl up and over. At times the gap between the rocks is narrow enough that having our CamelBacks on hinder us a bit. When the rock obstacle is beyond what can be scaled by hand and foot, there is some sort of wooden ladder or short bridge to continue on. We pick a spot halfway down the lake to sit and have our lunch. What a view even on a dreary overcast day.

Ladder Helps Get Over Boulders

Chris Cautiously Dismounts the Ladder

Bridge

Beautiful Lake View During Lunch

Looking across the lake at the nearby vertical rock wall, I guess it is clear why this side was chosen for the trail but the bridges, ladders and other platforms required to make it across this side are never ending. For the most part, Chris overcame her fear of heights and exposed areas and slowly made it up and over all the obstacles so far.

Cliff on Other Side of Lake

Stairs or Ladder?

Bridge Over Water

More Carpentry Work

It turns out there are two sections of vertical rock wall on this side of the lake as well that we need to get past. Today there are catwalks built into the side of the cliff to permit us to get past them without getting wet. These structures have an unusual name - Hitch-Up Matildas.

Looking Back at the First Hitch-Up Matilda

The origin of the name is from a hike along the lake back in 1868. The guide leading a family of 3 reached one of these spots well before any sort of bridge or platform existed. There is a small horizontal ledge a few feet under the water surface that can be walked on. He offered to carry the three family members across on his shoulders. The wife, Matilda, was first and as she started to slip off the guide’s shoulders, he hollered “Hitch up, Matilda!” to get her to scooch back up. Somehow this name has stuck even though the crossing method has changed over the years. In the 1920’s, logs were strapped to each side of the cliff forming a floating bridge. In the 1960’s these were replaced with rock filled cribs which suffered from lake level fluctuations. The current design was installed in the 1970’s. It consists of metal bars bored into the side of the cliff a foot deep with angled support arms all covered with a wooden platform and some railing.

Close-Up of Mounting Structure

Between the cliff wall on one side and the handrail on the other, we both make it safely across the first one and feel much more comfortable when we arrive at the second one a few hundred feet down the trail.

At the Second Matilda

Jack Poses for Picture

Opposite Side of Avalanche Lake

The last portion of the trail down to the southern end of the lake seems relatively tame compared to what we just accomplished. It did take us an hour to get from one end of the lake to the other. There are some excellent views from this end. The Colden Trap Dike is a narrow crevice on the opposite side of the lake that apparently is a popular rock climbing spot. Nobody was attempting it today and I don’t think we will give it a go either.

View Looking Back North

Colden Trap Dike - No Thanks!

It has taken us well over 4 hours to get to the turn around point and it is nearly 3 PM. Even though the trail continues up to Lake Colden, we know we need to turn around if we want to make it back before dark. We know the strenuous part along the lake will likely take the same amount of time to complete but at least we have the experience to know what the challenges are.

Bridge Over Outlet on South End of Lake

Chris On a Matilda

We are able to get back to the north end of the lake in just over half an hour. We came upon a group of through hikers with large backpacks working their way thru the boulders, stairs and Matildas. I’m glad we are traveling light because it looks very challenging to account for the extra weight and size while negotiating the narrow and steep boulder sections.

Colorful Flowers on Dreary Day

Last View of Avalanche Lake

Working our way back up and over the pass will be the last uphill section for the hike. The rocky downhill sections are slick but we manage to make it without twisting an ankle or worse. Back at the Marcy Dam were a couple of rangers. We stopped to talk with them and get some insight on other areas of the Adirondacks. Not that we will have time for them this stop, but I could see coming back.

Nearing Avalanche Pass

More Planks Over Wet Area

We made it back to the car just after 6:30. We had closer to 12 miles according to our Fitbits and Garmin and took us just over 8 hours to complete! We were dead tired, very muddy and still had a decent drive back to camp but this was an incredible hiking adventure that we won’t soon forget.

Unusual Mushroom in Moss

Dirty Boot and Leg

We take the next day off to recover from the hike and when we head out on our last day at Macomb Reservation State Park, we keep the hiking very simple. First with a hike around the park and just to the north of the camping area where there was a trail with a few geocaches hidden. The trail brought us to some nice ponds and we found all but one of the caches. We likely found the remains of the one cache but all that was left was the camo tape from the container.

Mushroom

Pond View

Remains of Geocache

After finishing up the hike, we stop at the beach area and being a decent Sunday afternoon, there were several large groups in the shelters and kids playing on the beach. Our 2 weeks here were very enjoyable. We got in some excellent hikes and other sightseeing. Our next stop will be back to Vermont for a 4 night stay in Burlington.

Nice Wide Trail

Beach Area at State Park