The following was written on July 13th, 2016. The hike itself took place on July 11th:
The Great Range (and a whole lot else) from the summit of Dix.
Monday was the one year anniversary of my first High Peak and a milestone to boot. My original plan (as crazy as it may sound) was to start from The Garden, head up the Ore Bed, summit Saddleback then peer down its infamous cliffs. Decide whether I was game for it, if so descend en route to Basin then Shorey to Slant Rock and out. Otherwise, if the cliffs caused me to wet myself, head up Gothics via the cable route onto Armstrong down to UWJ and out. Had the plan all laid out — silly me forgot The Garden parking situation was the biggest obstacle. Nary a sliver of parking space to shoehorn my car into.
The previous night, all along I thought I would revisit Pyramid, Gothics from AMR then over to Armstrong for my big 40. But — I decided then and there to do Dix from Round Pond. I have been really looking forward to this hike and the day seemed nice enough to justify it. Funny, as I passed the AMR lot, there was like but one car parked. Contrast this with the full Garden lot.
I parked at Round Pond and confusion ensued. I followed a worn path into the woods which petered out. It took me a few minutes to realize the trailhead was actually down the road.
Round Pond.
This trail was relatively level for the first four miles, gaining whatever elevation gracefully. Dix is the 6th tallest mountain in New York — I knew I was in for it.
Since I am bereft of rock hopping skills, I removed my socks and boots and crossed the Bouquet. On the way back, I found a place upstream with a big slab rock a normal person could have crossed without removal of his boots.
Bouquet River lean-to before being overrun by raucous teen boys.
Dix slide — the fun doesn’t last long, though.
Noonmark and Giant from the slide.
One of my favorite parts of the trail was the slide. Unfortunately a cairn ended all the fun and the trail ducked into the woods. I savored the view of Noonmark’s craggy witch-hat top before the start of the relentless ascent up the eroded trail. I know the slide doesn’t lead to the summit but the views must be quite nice higher up it.
This was certainly the “push the envelop” part of the hike — on the trails to Dix from Rte. 73 all the elevation is “backloaded.” But it didn’t seem to last as long as I expected it would. Before I knew it, I was at the trail junction and four-tenths of a mile from the summit. I road a wave of unadulterated summit fever to the top in good time.
Adirondack trail-blazers be like “what is a switchback?”
The muddiest stretch of the trail was on the summit ridge. I found it nearly impossible not to get my new boots dirty. The Adirondacks has its way of christening pristine gear.
On the top, I was greeted by a congenial couple from Michigan. Then another couple from Michigan followed in my footsteps. What the heck.
As for the view — it was as spectacular as I expected it to be. The words ‘Majestic AF’ — as a friend described Dix — resonated in my mind during the hike. I am with Joe Bogardus, Haystack is more intimate and still my favorite. But I would not argue with anyone who thought Dix offered the best view in the Adirondacks. Dix offers a commanding view of the Champlain Valley and The Great Range seemed more palpable than I remembered it seeming on Nippletop. My memory must be faulty. I may be the only one but I fancied seeing the works of man sprinkled about. Rte. 73, the road I have traversed so often, snaking through the expanse of green and disappearing into the haze. Anonymous municipalities dotting the Vermont side of the Champlain. I look forward to returning up the Beckhorn trail on a less hazy day.
Stellar view to the east.
…and to the north.
Hell, the view to the west (where all the action is) ain’t too shabby.
I have now done all five mountains in the Dix Wilderness. It’s an amusing task to reflect on erstwhile perceptions of the High Peaks. My friend, who (for the most part) got me into this craziness, had little more to say about Dix than it was “muddy” and recounted its difficulty. On a map the rest of the range appeared to comprise a bunch of reclusive mountains returning no measure of payoff. A year later, the veil lifted, I have to say I, like so many others, embrace the Dix wilderness, through and through.
As for the Sewards, the perception I had is basically the reality I experienced.
Adirondack Hiking 