Expedition Consulting

Approach from the ASRC

We started from the Atmospheric Science Research Center, there was only one other car when we arrived around 7am. The first stretch was uneventful: dry tread, clear footing, and the kind of steady uphill that warms the legs without being demanding.

Once we hit the old Marble Mountain the angle steepened dramatically and it felt like it was heading straight up for quite some time. After the third sustained rise we encountered some other hikers heading back down; who had decided the relentless stairway was too much for them that day.

Traversing to Esther

We reached the turn-off to the herd path to the summit of Esther, it wasn’t difficult terrain but it did get muddy in places and required a fair number of minor detours around good sized mud pits. Jasper, handled it without issue only occasionally trying to pull me the wrong way around or under a tree. Esther’s summit is enclosed without any views; Jasper found the plaque but refused to agree that this was the top of a mountain.

Whiteface

Once back at the junction we turned uphill towards Whiteface, had an interesting time getting around some blow down but soon enough we began crossing cut areas where the resort has cut up and across the trail, then passed the top end of one of the chair lifts before heading back into stacked boulders. Jasper isn’t a fan of this kind of terrain but with some boosts he made it through until we passed under the embankment for the toll road. We decided to take the road around the final section.

Once at the castle we took the stairs up the ridge to the summit where Jasper found a nice clear spot and sat for about twenty minutes just looking out over the mountains while mingling with all the others on the summit. The toll road means that this is by far the most crowded in the Adirondacks.

Rather than repeat the bypass on the way down we descended the trail so Jasper could build confidence on the slabs that we avoided on the way up and before long we were back at the car.

Trip Summary
Distance 18.7km
Elevation Gained 1359m
Elevation Lost 1359m
Peaks Summited: Esther, Whiteface