Approaching the Summit, Mt. Marcy, NY

awesome photo. I cant wait to go back there, i was denied a summit attempt by lightning and bears last time.

You're right. The bears in this part of Adirondack State Park have lost all fear of man, and they can pose a serious threat. We had a run in ourselves which was pretty scary, but we stayed clear, and were left alone. Cheers, and thanks for visiting and commenting.

Hank

yea i had rented one of the now infamous bearvault containers, and the lid was ripped off of mine and all my food devoured. The rangers had told me then, in the beginning of august, that this model of container had been getting broken into for the past week. Tough noogies for me.

How long does that rocky summit ridge run for? it looks long in the photo, i thought the hike to marcy was woods and then a little bit of open space before the summit.

We had a similar experience without the expenditure for the bearvault container. We hung our food from a tree, but the bear was able to get to it, pull it down and finish it. This happened on our first night out.

Talk about turning a lemon into lemonade, we decided to proceed anyway, and other hikers shared their provsions with us so we didn't go hungry. It was the most positive of good experiences, and we were all grateful for the opportunity to be helped by strangers.

You have to remember that you may have approached Mt. Marcy form the north. We came from the southwest because out primary goal was Lake Tear of the Clouds, the source of the Hudson River which is about the 4300 ft level on the southwestern slop of Mt. Marcy.

The tree line is at about 5000 to 6000 feet so it's sheer rock for only the last couple of thousand feet (Marcy peak is 8344 ft).

Cheers.

Hank

The data for Mt. Marcy are:

Elevation 5,343 feet (1,629 m) (not 8344 ft.) Location Essex County, New York, USA Range Adirondack Mountains Prominence 4,914 feet (1,498 m) Coordinates 44°06′45.84″N 73°55′25.41"

Thanks jwblilie. You're absolutely right, and I don't remember where I got those other figures. Thanks for setting the record straight.

Hank

Grand.

It's a good climb, Michele. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.

Hank

My friend and I started from the Adirondack Lodge with 2 16 oz. cokes and 2 chocolate bars. This was in 1972 summer, july. Went to thee summit and back. Was never so tired in my life. I slid around 200' coming down from the summit. hurt like hell, but we made it. Ate for about 2hrs. straight that night. Talk about being unprepared.

My son and I started from the Lodge and climbed up Alogonquin with nothing but us. I couldn't walk for 2 days. I was 43 yrs. old.

I guess I was a bit better prepared, but age-wise I was 58 in 2003 when my daughter, my son and I made the trek. Actually, they were accompanying me on MY quest to reach Lake Tear of the Clouds, the source of the Hudson River. Suffice it to say that it should not be treated as a casual undertaking :-).