They were about to do it again. With all the scheduling conflicts, they were headed for another winter without a climb. Trying to avoid this scenario yet again, Alan and Joe opted to abandon the other intrepid hikers and head to the hills while hiking conditions were good.
As is the norm for any hike including Alan, the "GQ" criteria were adhered to: motel, day hike not TOO difficult, dinner, microbrew.
The weekend before the trip the high temperature in Lake Placid was -35° F. Yes, that's a minus sign in front of the 35. All things considered, they were lucky with the high temp of 0° F.
Not sure what conditions were like on most trails, they headed for Tabletop. Turned out to be a good choice. Little trail breaking had been done the previous week due to the temps. While the trail to Marcy Dam and Tabletop herd path were in good shape, arriving at Indian Falls found unbroken trail heading towards Marcy. This is a little uncommon and breaking trail would have made for a rough day for just the two of them.
Right from the start, the boys knew it would be a cold day. Normally, layers would be shed within 15 minutes on the trail. Not this day.
Must Have Been the Drugs
As one would expect, winter hiking requires a few extra precautions. One of the most important is to prevent the onset of frostbite. This includes avoiding anything that might contract capillaries in the extremities. Reduced blood flow leads to frosty toes and fingers. This includes caffeine (oh, that one hurts in the early morning hours), tight clothes or boots, alcohol (good thing that's not a problem at the end of the day) and certain drugs.
Joe has had cold toes on previous hikes so he invested in a new pair of winter boots. Did that solve the problem? Nope. His toes and fingers were colder than any previous hike in similar conditions. What happened? Well, as he was to find out after the hike, the decongestant he took that morning, on the advice of his doctor, to keep his winter sinus condition in check works by constricting capillaries. DUH!!
This may explain why Alan thought Joe was hiking too fast. Joe was trying to keep his tootsies warm. In fact, this report has a special, personal report from Alan:
"Although still not an experienced climber, I have learned much during my outings with Joe. This recent climb up Tabletop was no exception.
"This climb really pushed my aerobic capacity more than any other, since it was close to -10 deg with the wind chill, but the climb made me sweat, despite taking off a layer. One breathes in bone chilling air and hyperbreathes out a gasp of moist mush that instantly turns to ice on your mask-protected face. Lots of fun!
"Despite these irrational conditions, I have never seen Joe hike/snowshoe up a mountain so fast! He was possessed to get to the top of this mountain, a mountain I may add, that you don't even know you are at the top of! No views, no peak, nada. Nothing was going to get in the way of Joe and his quest to the Tabletop! He was Java Joe that morning...a madman on caffeine jolt...this is why we stop at the local convenience store for a large java at 6am on the way to the trail, I suppose! He claims he had to go fast so that he wouldn't get hypothermia. I say he had to go fast to prove that he was in better shape than me! Madman....Thankfully, the trip going down was at a better pace, and I was able to catch up with him and take the lead on several parts of the decent! Then again, my motivation is much greater on the decent...get into Lake Placid and have dinner and lots of beer!
"Thanks Joe for leading another great hike, and next time...
"SLOW DOWN and smell the evergreens!"
Well, not everyone agrees with that assessment. But they did have fun.
Macho Men
Returning to Lake Placid, another first was achieved. They got into the steak and seafood joint Alan has been dying to try but has always had very long waiting lists.
And of course they were given the most romantic, little table tucked away in a corner of the restaurant. This was not looking so good. They were getting stares. Moms and dads were covering their kids' eyes. Without consciously knowing it the two of them began talking in unusually low voices loud enough for other diners nearby to hear. They talked about the wife and kids back home, all the girls Alan is dating (not true), the dating scene in Hoboken, the pros and cons of bottle blonds from Fort Lee, how manly it was to hike in extreme cold , and on, and on, and on. Those nearby got the message and the boys salvaged their images. Not that there really was one to start with.
 |
| Alan at Marcy Dam "Dude, it's cold out here!"
|
 |
Joe at Marcy Dam In his best imitation of an old
guy passing on the trials and tribulations of years gone by...
|
 |
Alan near Tabletop's herd path. "Dude! There's no trail here!"
|
 |
| Joe "My face feels weawy funny, my wips don' work no more, my toes are cold, and I fink my fingers are somewhere back near Mawcy Dam. No pwobwem! Wet's go!"
|
 |
|
"We found the herd path!"
|
 |
| Nearing Tabletop's
summit
What limited views they might have had were hidden in the clouds.
|
 |
|
Alan makes the Summit "We went all this way in this weather and there are no views!? Well, that means an extra beer when we get back."
|
 |
| Joe Last time he was here with Mike, they were standing on the tree tops with terrific views. Click here to see the report.
|
 |
| Heading back down. "Yup, it's still really cold."
|
 |
| Trail Gremlin These trail gremlins only come out in winter and are generally harmless unless harassed at close range.
|
 |
| Alan feeds the Local
Wildlife In violation of who knows how many Adirondack regulations, Alan discovers that chickadees also love Combos on the trail. But just the pretzel part.
|
