Dial, Nippletop #10/11 (8/27/09)

I was going to try to go hiking yesterday, Wednesday, but the forecast for yesterday was 40% chance of thunderstorms and for today was mid 60's and blue sky. Thankfully I was able to switch shifts at work to make it out today, because as far hiking weather goes it didn't get any better than what I had for today. It was absolutely perfect! I started out of the Ausable Club and decided on doing the loop, rather than up and back. The hike over the shoulder of Noonmark was pretty neat, as the forest was regrowing from the fire 10 years before. The top was covered in new growth and some remaining dead tree trunks from the fire. There was alot of bird activity as I made my way over towards the col between Noonmark and Bear Den Mtn.
After stopping for a quick drink, Clif Bar, a chat with another hiker named Bruce, and a few pics towards the Great range and Dix Mountain, I continued on towards Bear Den. The decent into the col wasn't nearly as bad as the ADK book had described it. They had mentioned two "very steep" descents, but also mentioned that at the time of the publishing several years ago the trail hadn't recovered from the fire fully and that when it did that the trail would revert to the older path that was less steep, so maybe that was the case. The climb up Bear Den had a steep stretch or two but nothing remarkable and the view from the top was non-existent. From there the trail made its way up towards Dial Mtn. The trail was very nice and maintained and instead of any steep stretches it was really just a long steady climb. Once I reached the summit of Dial, I was rewarded with a beautiful view of the Great range and more. I could see Lower, Upper Wolfjaw, Armstrong, Gothics, Sawteeth, Basin, Big Slide and more. Being in no hurry, I took time to have a sandwich and enjoy the view and awesome weather. After a few more pictures, it was time to head off for the tallest mountain of the day, Nippletop. The trail was really quite dry all the way up to the last stretch of Nippletop. The last .2 of a mile or so had some muddy patches but not that bad. The view from Nippletop was amazing! It had all the same that were visible from Dial and many more, including Dix, Macomb, Allen, Skylight, Haystack, Marcy, Algonquin and Saddleback. I kicked off the boots an relaxed on the rock for probably close to half an hour and chowed down another Clif bar. I am totally sold on those things! Several more pictures and a last glance around at possibly my favorite view yet in the Adirondacks and it was off, down the Elks pass trail. For everything that the trail up had lacked in steepness, ruggedness and mud, Elks pass was quick to make up. Not that it was extremely steep, but it was steep and it stayed that way for almost the entire portion of the 2 mile journey to the intersection of the trail up Colvin. The portion of the trail around the two ponds at the base of the decent also had some of the thickest, deepest mud i've seen yet this year. It was real watery, puddle type mud, but more thick, pasty mud. After what seemed like longer than it should have been I finally intersected the Colvin train and continued my trek back to the Lake road. Once there I made awesome time. Whether it was from the Clif bar or something else, I had a high level of energy even after more than 11 miles completed so far, so I jogged the entire length of the road back to the sign in log. I had the neat experience of jumping 3 deer along the side of the road on the way back. Overall I would tentatively rate this my favorite hike yet! Two more down, more to go!