The Whiteface Mountain Memorial Highway is a two-lane paved toll road that winds around the topography of the mountain to within 300 vertical feet of Whiteface’s summit. Admittedly, the accessibility that it provides, takes a little (ok, a lot) of the lustre out of climbing to the top – but since Whiteface is the 5th tallest of the high peaks, it had to be climbed to get our eventual 46.
No, no, no, of course we didn’t cheat!
In the morning, we drove to the top, locked our bikes to the flagpole at “the castle,” and drove back down to the trail head. The plan was to hike in, summit first at Esther, next at Whiteface, and ride our bikes the 7 miles back down to the car. Done, done, and done.
The first segment of the hike, the ascent up to Marble Mountain, got us up the bulk of the elevation in a remarkably short distance (pant, pant). From Marble to Lookout Mountain we mostly just followed the ridge.
Then the going got a little tougher:
Ominous...?
Truth be told, it really wasn’t that bad. The herd path was obvious enough that markings would have been a little redundant. The maintenance, however, I missed. There was lots of this:
Dangling feet
The col that we descended into before gaining elevation on up to the summit wasn’t anywhere near as bad as I’d imagined. It has a reputation for being incredibly swampy, i.e., shin-heigh gaitors are recommended. We were pleasantly surprised to find that someone (probably for an Eagle Scout project), has built a bridge over the swamp from split logs. The things we regard as heavenly out in the woods…
We made it to Esther’s summit around 4pm, arms a little sore from brushes with trees (the herd path is only about shoulder-width). The summit wasn’t a lot to see, with too many trees for much of a view – but it was the first time we’d had a summit to ourselves, which was kind of cool.
Esther Mountain - 4,240 ft.; 28th tallest.
We returned to the trail leading to Whiteface at about 5pm, very aware that it was later than we’d imagined it would be. Watching the sun sink lower, we hauled up toward the summit. What a weird experience that is! The trail seemingly just… ends… at an imposing rock wall.
To one side, there’s a rock scramble that makes it possible (if not easy) to haul your now-dragging butt over the wall, and onto… the road. Paved. Double yellow lines. Although I’d been there earlier in the day, it was so very soul-crushing.
Fortunately, it was late enough (the road closes at 5:45pm) that the tourists were gone.
We followed the road for the last small-fraction-of-a-mile, and up the final 300 vertical feet – complete with hand rails! – to the summit. So the hand rails were lame, I’ll admit. The views, however, were pretty great.
(Not the best view)
Whiteface Mountain - 4,867 ft.; 5th tallest.
The obligatory summit pose
The real treat, though, was watching the sun set from the summit. Since you can’t camp on the summits (nor would you want to – brrrr!), watching the sun rise or set isn’t really feasible. The bike option, however, allowed us the necessary get-off-the-mountain-free card to stay for the sunset:
Whiteface's shadow, reaching to Lake Champlain in the distance
Lake Placid
We made it back to the car just as the last of the daylight faded. Of the peaks we’ve done so far, these were probably not my favorite two – I like my peaks without pavement - but they were a very nice way to spend a day.
41 to go!
Hey the foliage up there must be great about now. It’s a great time to bag a peak! I’ll be seeing you guys at Thanksgiving, right? I’m in charge of getting side dishes on the table.
What are the little medallion thingies that you point to?
They’re summit markers, placed by the US Geologic Surveyors. Not all of the peaks have them (and some have been stolen), but many do.