9/15/13 Final Provision!

 When we were on Giant mountain on 11th of September, I forgot to mention, we were approaching the top and Susie and this fellow coming down looked at each other in amazement "they knew each other from trail maintenance on the AT "

His name was Brian, and he told us his daughter Karen, and her boy friend James, would be backpacking in the same area where we were going, and to look for them! Ha!

We got up early had breakfast and began to walk , we were still on a dirt trail with no real boulders to speak of!

We stopped by the John's Brook Lodge which is like our Hike inn and had coffee!

We continued our hike and went across a bridge and a little Brook and stopped on a rock for a break.

A couple walked by us, and Susie said "there goes our ride"
We needed a ride back to our truck which was 3 miles from where we ended our hike. Due to the change in plans not going over Haystack.
Susie took off with her Turbo legs and caught up with the young couple.

As soon as she approached them the young lady turned around and said "are you Susie? " It was Brian's daughter Karen and they did give us a ride back to our truck! A coincidence? I don't think so!

We returned our rented bear canisters and went for a burger!!!

Coffee Break!

Susie's 1st Bite of Burger

The Lodge

For Graham!

Karen and James

1 Timothy 6:17 Charge them that are rich in this present world, that they be not highminded, nor have their hope set on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy!

 Thanks to Susie Mckneely for making this trip happen! and to Karen and James for being on the trail and finding us!

9/14/13 Haystack Canned!

At Panther Gorge, over dinner, we decided to change our route from Haystack to Mount Marcy. We had much advice questioning taking heavy packs over haystack.

Susie began to read the guidebook from the southside of haystack not realizing the trail numbers had changed. It said "not advised to take large packs over this mountain. " So we looked at our options on the map and the decided to go up and over Mount Marcy the highest peak in the great range. 5,344 ft !

The trail was a steep boulder choked trail.

When we got to the top we took a break before ascending to the top of this high peak!

We were still in the clouds without a view when we started to climb. Then the clouds parted and we began to have sneak peeks at the view as we continued upward!

The wind was howling and it was very cold, but we stayed and had lunch at the top and watched the views unfold before us!

On the way down we got our first view of Haystack  and little Haystack…woe!!!!!

Victory!

the trail

the top

Haystack

Susie

the trail

We stopped at the intersection at the bottom to take a break, And decide which trail we would take as there were two choices.

 We took the advice of an ADK member who said he had never done the left trail so we decided to take the right. it ended up to be a boulder choked steep downhill on a nice brook walking in water again today! We should have gone on the left trail! 

The last part of the trail was much  more level... after the boulder choked trail ...our feet hit dirt again !!! and we made up much time!! 

Reaching the shelter felt good. This little lean to was on the trail.

So we had many visitors during the evening parading through our camp!

We were ready to go to sleep when I said "We will probably have night hikers "

With in 15 minutes they came through the camp with their headlights on!

We also learned from one of the hikers we came across that this was the exact day Teddy Roosevelt was on the same trail 110 years ago when McKinley was shot and a  runner came to find him, he would now be our president! Friday the 13 of September !

1 Timothy 1:7 For God gave us not a spirit of fearfulness; but of power and love and discipline.

9/13/13 Panther Gorge

We met Christina when we arrived at the shelter yesterday she came by for breakfast this morning , she took our picture , and we left in the drizzling rain!

We headed towards mt Marcy to Lake Tear... our destination Panther Gorge for the night.

We were at high elevation when we reached Lake Tear. It was cold and we were in the clouds with a light drizzle!

We stopped here for a quick lunch and continued on...again...the boulder choked trails!

 Susie had gone ahead of me, as usual, to make sure we could get the shelter for the night!

At the end of the trail there was a nice river to cross with a big boulder in the middle and then I was home for the night!

My feet had been wet since I crossed the river yesterday and most of the trails here are on small brooks so wet they remained!

I kept thinking of Noah and how water saved him and his family...here I was sloshing around in it!

1 Peter 3:21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also-not the removal of Dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

9/12/13 Avalanche Lake

We started our hike from the ADK Loj Marci Dam to avalanche Lake. We arrived at the lake had lunch when we saw a large black cloud coming our way! A light rain began to drizzle so we started our walk  along the west shore. it was boulder choked with ladders as stiles to get over some of them!

This was "Our easy day" As Susie quoted at the beginning of the hike, we had no idea the west shore of the lake was like that, nothing in any of the guidebooks said so!

We met managed to make it across all the boulders to the "hitch up Matilda" which was a bridge bolted to the sides of the rocks there we found an overhang that was dry and waited out the storm. The trap Dyke across from us began to flood with an amazing amount of water was coming down Creating waterfalls!

Our destination was Colden Lake. We had trouble finding the lean tos, which were small shelters.

When we finally found one it was full!

One of the men in the shelter took us to the river and showed us where to cross and that there was another shelter over there . We found the shelter, and there was no one there, we had it to ourselves!

It had a beautiful view of the mountains with a large blueberry field! As we slept from a hard day, we had the beautiful music of the rain all night on the roof of the Lean to!

Susie had that bear canister at the top…she had to rent one of the black ones for this trip!!!

2 Corinthians 12:10 That is why, for Christ's sake, i delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in DIFFICULTIES. For when I am weak, then I am strong!

9/10/13 Indian head

We met up with Susie's friends…Bob & Ellen, John, Mel and Elaina. They took us up to Indian head. If you look carefully you can see the outline of the Indian head!

Elaina

Up up and up!

Indian Head