Naturlvr73
08-03-2010, 02:05 PM
Donaldson and Emmons or a cheesy Meatloaf song
My love affair with the Sewards began last summer. On one of the very few rain free days of summer 2009 we climbed Seymour. I found it both surprisingly difficult and surprisingly beautiful. After summiting we sat on a ledge to eat lunch and gawk at the beauty all around us, and I felt the same kind of cosmic click I’ve felt when meeting people who have become lifelong friends.
We returned in the fall. Snow and ice joined mud and glorious colors. We did Donaldson via the Calkins Brook herd path, got a bit misplaced, and hiked out by headlamp with snowflakes swirling around. My love deepened and I vowed that we would come back in the summer and camp at the great campsite near Calkins Brook. :cool:
Sunday July 25 found me sleepless in a Tupper Lake Motel, jazzed up from dinner in Lake Placid as the fastest athletes crossed the Ironman finish line. The next day we realized our hike to camp would be so short we needed to kill time so I fiddled with my new backpack and we went out for a big brunch.
Even with stopping to adjust the pack the easy three and a half mile hike only took an hour and a half, giving us plenty of time to relax in camp and plan a three peak day the next day. We were up at 5; 45 and after coffee, breakfast, water pumping etc. we were on the trail by about 7:20. My hiking partners (my non forum spouse, Peter and our friend Steve 446) were off to a fast start as usual. They got to the junction with the Seward trail in about two hours…it took me two and a half or so. We summited Donaldson again, then headed to Emmons.
At first it’s quite easy though messy at times, so it was a nice rest from climbing up D. Then there is lots of sometimes steep downclimbing, before you finally climb up. Even though I had been warned it would take longer than you would think, I did stop and check the map and compass once. I was determined to hike my own hike this day. :) Often hiking with the guys I get “hangdog, farfel in the manger”. :oops: I can’t keep up with their pace. They wait for me at junctions etc. , having already has a break, and then I try to keep pace with them, fall behind again etc. etc. without really taking good breaks. Today I decided I would stop once an hour, drink water, and eat a tiny bit. I stopped for just two or three minutes each hour and it really helped me feel stronger. I was still able to stay in audio contact with the others.
Peter had lunch waiting for me on Emmons, and after we relaxed a bit together. I soon sent him on his way. I told him I was thinking about skipping Seward. I had marked the junction with a bandana. I told him if I decided to head back to camp, I would switch from the purple bandana on the tree to the yellow one I was wearing.
I took at least a fifteen minute break on Emmons. It was the first time I’ve ever been on a high peak all by myself. The views were terrific, and they kept coming as I hiked back to Donaldson. Views to the west, to the east, to the north…the day was perfect and I was exclaiming with delight. :D
As I admired mossy grottoes, scrambled back up the steeps, and tried to avoid becoming a swamp thang on the way back, I wondered how could I possibly have a better time today? Getting three peaks instead of two would not make it a better day. That stupid Meatloaf song we had heard on the way to Tupper kept running in my head “two out of three ain’t bad…..” Besides, this way we’d HAAAAVE to come back. Now I felt like the Sewards were candy, and I had picked the piece that would last the longest, like a piece of really good taffy. Another consideration: this way I would be able to actually move about and have a nice evening in camp instead of staggering around like Frankenstein. My knees became painful and immobile after too much downhill, making me hike even slower. This had happened after Colvin/Blake/Colvin and I didn’t want it to happen today.
After the bandana switch, another at least 15 minute long break at the junction admiring the alpine goldenrod and the dragonflies, then back down to camp. Just when I started to feel a twinge of regret, the rewards started. Great Spangled Fritillaries http://www.enature.com/flashcard/show_flash_card.asp?recordNumber=BU0043 chased each other right at my feet Swamp Candles appeared, and then a life list bird. The black Backed Woodpecker. In the Northeast, found only in the Adirondacks. http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-backed_Woodpecker/lifehistory A long, long viewing as it worked many trees. My day was complete. I think I’ll try Seward from the North later this month.
My love affair with the Sewards began last summer. On one of the very few rain free days of summer 2009 we climbed Seymour. I found it both surprisingly difficult and surprisingly beautiful. After summiting we sat on a ledge to eat lunch and gawk at the beauty all around us, and I felt the same kind of cosmic click I’ve felt when meeting people who have become lifelong friends.
We returned in the fall. Snow and ice joined mud and glorious colors. We did Donaldson via the Calkins Brook herd path, got a bit misplaced, and hiked out by headlamp with snowflakes swirling around. My love deepened and I vowed that we would come back in the summer and camp at the great campsite near Calkins Brook. :cool:
Sunday July 25 found me sleepless in a Tupper Lake Motel, jazzed up from dinner in Lake Placid as the fastest athletes crossed the Ironman finish line. The next day we realized our hike to camp would be so short we needed to kill time so I fiddled with my new backpack and we went out for a big brunch.
Even with stopping to adjust the pack the easy three and a half mile hike only took an hour and a half, giving us plenty of time to relax in camp and plan a three peak day the next day. We were up at 5; 45 and after coffee, breakfast, water pumping etc. we were on the trail by about 7:20. My hiking partners (my non forum spouse, Peter and our friend Steve 446) were off to a fast start as usual. They got to the junction with the Seward trail in about two hours…it took me two and a half or so. We summited Donaldson again, then headed to Emmons.
At first it’s quite easy though messy at times, so it was a nice rest from climbing up D. Then there is lots of sometimes steep downclimbing, before you finally climb up. Even though I had been warned it would take longer than you would think, I did stop and check the map and compass once. I was determined to hike my own hike this day. :) Often hiking with the guys I get “hangdog, farfel in the manger”. :oops: I can’t keep up with their pace. They wait for me at junctions etc. , having already has a break, and then I try to keep pace with them, fall behind again etc. etc. without really taking good breaks. Today I decided I would stop once an hour, drink water, and eat a tiny bit. I stopped for just two or three minutes each hour and it really helped me feel stronger. I was still able to stay in audio contact with the others.
Peter had lunch waiting for me on Emmons, and after we relaxed a bit together. I soon sent him on his way. I told him I was thinking about skipping Seward. I had marked the junction with a bandana. I told him if I decided to head back to camp, I would switch from the purple bandana on the tree to the yellow one I was wearing.
I took at least a fifteen minute break on Emmons. It was the first time I’ve ever been on a high peak all by myself. The views were terrific, and they kept coming as I hiked back to Donaldson. Views to the west, to the east, to the north…the day was perfect and I was exclaiming with delight. :D
As I admired mossy grottoes, scrambled back up the steeps, and tried to avoid becoming a swamp thang on the way back, I wondered how could I possibly have a better time today? Getting three peaks instead of two would not make it a better day. That stupid Meatloaf song we had heard on the way to Tupper kept running in my head “two out of three ain’t bad…..” Besides, this way we’d HAAAAVE to come back. Now I felt like the Sewards were candy, and I had picked the piece that would last the longest, like a piece of really good taffy. Another consideration: this way I would be able to actually move about and have a nice evening in camp instead of staggering around like Frankenstein. My knees became painful and immobile after too much downhill, making me hike even slower. This had happened after Colvin/Blake/Colvin and I didn’t want it to happen today.
After the bandana switch, another at least 15 minute long break at the junction admiring the alpine goldenrod and the dragonflies, then back down to camp. Just when I started to feel a twinge of regret, the rewards started. Great Spangled Fritillaries http://www.enature.com/flashcard/show_flash_card.asp?recordNumber=BU0043 chased each other right at my feet Swamp Candles appeared, and then a life list bird. The black Backed Woodpecker. In the Northeast, found only in the Adirondacks. http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-backed_Woodpecker/lifehistory A long, long viewing as it worked many trees. My day was complete. I think I’ll try Seward from the North later this month.