Adirondack Peeks Winter 2024

firewood. Although lit tle of the heat reached your body the psy chological effect of the flames shooting up and the light they provided had a warm ing sensation. Winter hiking clothes reliably acquired an essence of smoke aroma and a patina of char spots from wandering sparks and smoke. A second concern was the matter of darkness descend ing by 5:00 in the af ternoon. The fire could occupy the hours until

footing or hope there is someone to assist them. Often the second climber becomes an additional victim. In the 1960s, few people were out on the trails. You could climb Marcy on a weekend and see no one else all day. One of our popular semester-break trips in college was to pack into Lake Colden for 3–4 nights. After a sed entary semester at school the always-overloaded pack and extreme temperature changes could initially “jolt” your world. Amazingly, your body quickly adapted to the low temperatures. Each night you slept more comfortably and became more relaxed in your environment. We learned quickly that camping where you could obtain water in a liquid state was far superior to melting it over a stove. If you camped lower near streams or lakes and brought a small hatchet or axe, holes could be cut to obtain water. This procedure saved hours of stove time and hastened the preparation of meals. These were usually of the one pot variety coupled with soups and hot drinks. In those days, amazingly, Adirondack streams were assumed pure, and we healthily enjoyed this water in fearless igno rance, and without consequence. Once you had your camp set up you could gather Climbing Armstrong from WolfJaw Richard Andrews, #15942 First you squeeze through a crevice in the rock: a ladder reaches vertically up a rock face. Each step upwards is instantly forgotten. Surprisingly, you come across the summit, a broad table of rock just under the cloud level. Other climbers join you. Each is on their journey across the mountains: one couple on The Great Traverse; another from Gothics. Remember, though: you are alone, with only the birds and deer to keep you company in the long passage a foot wide, so no one who’d been to the Noonmark Diner could get through it. Zig-zagging from outcrop to rock you gain height without thinking. Then down deep into a gully and suddenly, as if from a dream,

Crampons Useful on Gothics

a more reasonable bedtime arrived. The ban on fires has forced recent campers to rely on candles and batteries. lenge.

Now the sleeping situation offered another challenge. Anything that was damp would freeze. If you wanted damp clothing to dry it had to be worn to bed or dried over the fire. But during a cold night damp clothing next to your body could really hamper your ability to stay warm and get to sleep. Risk takers would heat a couple water bottles and place them in their sleeping bag. This provided warmth at night and drinkable water the next day—but one had to make sure the tops were on tight! I had mentioned that Lake Colden was a popular destination in the 60s. Part of the allure was the presence of Charlie Nolan, the DEC Caretaker. Charlie had an engineering degree from Lafayette College. For many years he was the year-round caretaker with a fanatical interest in gear. His wish was always to retire and go to Alaska. He had a regular group of acquaintances who would ski in with his mail and an occasional tin of pipe tobacco. We always found time to visit Charlie when in Lake Colden, usually after dinner. You were assigned one tea bag and plenty of sugar. After a full day of climbing there was hydrating to be done and a warm cabin and hot tea sure hit the spot. I fondly look back on those days and the many trips I shared with my friends during college. One of my last winter campouts to Lake Colden

downwards through the trees, rocks and rivers back to the Garden.

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