Chapter 4: Wright Peak

 

Chapter 4 Wright

Started my weekend heading to my base Camp of Draper’s Acres. This weekend was an eye opener full of learning from other more experienced hikers. I arrived early afternoon at base camp finished setting camp by midafternoon. Found a new restaurant that is a little off the beaten path. From the outside it looks like a dive, but the inside is nicely done. The Food service here was top notch. The waitress was attentive without being pushy. The restaurant is called Lisa G’s off of Sentinel rd, right on the corner towards the turn off for lake placid. Forget Domino’s Pizza or any other pizzeria you normally get your wings for football Sunday. I am not the biggest wing fan, but these wings were perfectly sauced and cooked. Easily the best dinner I have had in a long time. I had a light refreshing cocktail, appetizer, salad for an entrée perfectly tossed in the dressing and desert all for under $50.00. I do not recommend Lake Placid pub and brewery. The appetizer was stale, and the cocktail was mediocre.

As for my hike on Wright peak. I followed the recommendation of Zaharek’s guide. I didn’t think that the difference in fitness level would make that big of a difference let alone poison ivy medication complications and weather, mid eighties and ninety-one percent humidity.  I don't do well with high temps and humidity on a normal day ad to this factor that fact that the week before I had a run in with poison ivy which turns out I am extremely sensitive to.  So if i get it on my arms then it gets everywhere that you can see, which I have to be put on medication in order to clear it up.  So really it was the eye of the perfect storm. I did not keep a sharp eye on the changing forecast which originally called perfect hiking weather. Unfortunately, I cooked myself too early before reaching the summit and had to unfortunately turn around as the ultimate goal should always be to walk out on your own power and return under your power. The falls at the 4,000 elevation mark are the perfect spot to filter water. I do not recommend attempting to summit this peak unless you are more experienced or educated within the high peak wilderness. For sure use the Loj parking lot and before you head out stop by the information center to get trail specific education on any of the high peaks.

My next attempt to summit I am going to be more prepared and first summit Iroquois and the back to Algonquin and finish with wright. So, change of plans (which as you have perceived happens frequently). On August 2^nd the caravan of 2 headed off to the cabin for four days with my family from Wisconsin. With the plan to summit wright peak on Monday and on Sunday family activities. 

The cabin was your typical Adirondack cabin with the essentials. For those that are looking for a budget friendly home away from home this is the perfect spot especially if you are planning on doing any of the High peaks. The Adirondack Loj Road is approximately a 15-minute drive or less from the cabin, which allows for a standard wake-up time. For this family it is better to wake up at a normal time not early birds by any means, which is fine for a weekday hike.

On Sunday the family went to The Adirondack outdoor experience where the boys enjoyed two hours of play in a net trampoline, and me and my sister-in-law enjoyed the adventure zone which is a fun ropes course (just make sure that you are strong in your core). After that activity, we all went to the Olympic ski jump complex and rode up the gondola to the top where we watched the Canadian team practicing their jumps. I also went down the zipline from the top.

After that we all went to Lake Placid and walked around and had dinner at 46 crepe and deli. A very quaint diner on the main street right in the middle of the town. All the sandwiches are named after the high peaks, and their salads are named after some of the lower peaks that are found in the region. Then we went home for the night to organize for the morning and have a not so relaxing game of uno, which never ended until almost 11 pm.

The following morning, we were up by 6:30 for breakfast sandwiches for a protein filled breakfast. I also had some sculpt (help with getting rid of lactic acid during your exercise) as well as some whey protein for sustainable energy and filled my water bottles one with only water and one with electrolytes. Then on the way I had some plant protein for an extra boost of sustainable energy mainly because I did not want to have to turn around without making it to the summit for a second time. As a family we started the trail at 8 am and finished together at 4:45 pm.

My recommendation for this peak is to make this peak later in your journey of becoming a 46er especially if you are like me and more out of shape than you realize as this peak is a beast and a half. Due to the summit being all rock slab and therefore hands on the entire way up. The summit is extremely rewarding as you do have 360-degree views of the surrounding mountains including Mt Colden and its new slides, and you can even see the debris fields.

On a separate note, if you can stomach climbing down a rock slab to see the memorial of the 1962 bomber crash that is about 300 feet before the summit there is a sign directing you to the site.

Also, I recommend that you hike in a group so that you can have a spotter guide you up the rock slab if you are not adept at bouldering like me or due to fitness level.

So far in my early stages of becoming a 46er I have met hikers that are extremely helpful and informative and uplifting, I have also met hikers on the other end of the spectrum that are not so nice with their digs. I don’t’ pay any attention to those hikers as they are not worth my time. On this hike on the way down I felt a renewed since of pride as I passed a pair of hikers who asked me what peak I had just summitted, when I told them which one I had just done; their response shocked me as they thought that it was my fifth only to find out that I had indeed shocked them by stating that no it was my 4^th. At this realization they were extremely impressed with my summitting Wright Peak. They in unison gave me their heartfelt congratulations and went on their way. This peak is the first of many peaks that I shed a few tears of pride that I had finished the most technical mountain to date that I have ever climbed. Some advice from me is to be way more prepared than I was at a fitness level and probably do this one after Allen or Algonquin or both, because from the sounds of it they are less technical than Wright. Both with their own challenges and rightly so. This will be my last peak of the year as I am thinking that I am really going to need to focus on my fitness both cardio and strength training to more comfortably complete the rest of the peaks.   So, stay tuned as I may be writing about other challenges along the way to becoming a 46er.

 I found that I enjoyed the hike more as I was able to share the time with those that are close to me, which made the summit even more special than if I had completed this on my own. From watching their antics as a unit to the guidance for me and the cheerleading section on the way down the mountain especially when I felt as though I couldn’t continue forward at the last few miles. Even with the technicality of the mountain itself I found this hike to be my favorite so far and one that I will cherish.

If you like me are lucky enough to have a brother that enjoys hiking like my aspirations, are it is for sure worth to invite them along. My brother's expert guidance with explaining that I need to follow the vein of the rock slab and showing me what a vein is. This was extremely helpful to get through the summit. On that note i plan on doing mt Colden with someone that has experience with slides so that I can have a guide and spotter for the safest way up the slide.

    I have learned that there are going to be mountains that are smarter for me to have someone else with me and other mountains that I can conquer myself.

When summitting this mountain be sure to pay close attention to the weather forecast for the mountain itself as that was extremely helpful for me as that helped to prepare me for the hike weather wise. To date this hike is my proudest hike out of the four because I truly conquered the mountain due to my fitness level, oddly enough my anxiety as well as family dynamics. For example, I told my brother that tabletop mountain would be as better hike and he said “no, that’s too long for the boys.” I knew that it would be an easier hike because the distance is not the issue it’s the actual climb up the side of the mountain that makes these peaks the challenge that they are. I have learned that I do not travel well with others as I like to the morning of the hike get up and get moving as in a quick breakfast then get ready for the day of conquering mountains. That being said I strongly feel that without my cheer squad I would not have made it without my brother and sister-in-law to the summit without their guidance.

    Some prefer solo hikes as you don’t have to wait on others to be ready. I see the positives and the negatives of both sides. As I have solo hiked previously I enjoyed being able to go at my own pace throughout the hike plus once at the summit you are able to just sit and enjoy the wonders of the world. The negative for me is its just you and your own thoughts as well as you are your own cheerleader. For this peak in particular I found that it was more helpful to have a cheer squad to get me through the entire climb.

     I strongly recommend if you want to hike with others that you find a group of fellow hikers that are at your level of hiking experience or close to your own experience because frankly having someone that has a little more experience than you is a fabulous resource to tap into regarding any other mountains and can be helpful in guiding you through technical sections.  

    There are social media groups on Facebook/meta that you can ask for a hiking partner or ask about trail conditions. Which I have done we just need to figure out which ones they still need that I do. And go from there. There are at least 3 ranges that I would like to do as a backpacking trip. Why? Because I think that it would be fun as you can make a game out of the hike. For instance, for the dix range which has Macomb, grace or East dix, Dix and South Dix as a loop, with a way out in case you feel the need to hike another day due to either fitness level or weather. I will have to figure out the lean-to situation or will I need to get a lighter one-person backpack type tent that I can carry in my pack. Why am I bringing this topic up now?  Because I only have Tabletop, Iroquois and Algonquin left for my day trips. I believe there are others that can be done as day hikes but those are the only ones off the top of my head that I can come up with. So, upon further research I found at least ten more-day hikes before the three backpacking ranges.  So, I am almost to the point where I am looking for a Garmin or a Fitbit with a gps system built into the Fitbit so that I have a way for the dec to find my location if the need should arise.

I am learning so much about myself in regard to my tenaciousness and my inner strength. I have found that I am stronger with others surrounding me as my support. Another thing that I learned is that I need my trekking poles mostly for the way down the mountain as that is when I tend to fatigue quickly especially with my current fitness level, hopefully this aspect will change as I walk more and strength train more. I am learning my weaknesses and strengths. Play to your strengths but also know your limits as well as your weaknesses as this will help you be successful and help you to turn your weaknesses into your strengths for other hikes that are more technical like Macomb with the slide and Mt. Colden.

I am planning on doing Mt. Colden soon as I fear that eventually that will ultimately become all slides, which for me at this point in my journey is a no go. Mostly because I am still learning to trust my boots and my balance on the mountain side. I am thinking that a half size bigger boot may help with the balance and trust issue.  

New equipment that I need soon is boots and better snacks that are more quick release energy and less slow-release energy such as honey stinger gummies from rei co-op.

News flash I am heading back to the high peaks to tackle Tabletop mid-September. I plan on taking Friday off so that I can drive up that night and hike the next day as well as make the trek home that way I don’t miss the game Sunday. I was able to find a hiking partner through social media who needs that mountain as well and is also towards the beginning of her journey as well. She is also a slower hiker like me, so it seems like we will be a great fit.

On a separate note I will be renting a cabin for the night. That is right in the middle of the Olympic complexes. Since the hiking season is winding down so places such as hotels and cottages or even cabins are budget friendly. I have found that vrbo is user friendly and easy to use. Plus the hosts work with you if you are honest and up front with the reasons as to the hold up more details later. For example, the cozy cottage that I intend to book for this trip out I messaged the host to ask if there is any way to hold your cottage as the price and space is perfect for what I need? I don’t get paid until this Friday and I fully intend to book it that morning. The host of the cottage responded immediately with yes, I can block those dates off for you and then that morning I can unblock those dates, and you then can complete the booking.

So, on that note stayed tuned for more chapters to follow.