So, my first "summer" high peak of the year started off totally by accident. I was planning on hiking Noonmark and Round Mt as a loop with the hiking group, but when no one signed up and I chanced on seeing someone post a comment about hiking Macomb on the same day, I jumped at the chance to upgrade my hike! I met up with Tracy and Bruce and we headed out of the Elk Lake trailhead, my first time to Elk Lake! The trail back to the starting point of the Macomb trailhead was pretty simple, basically just a walk in the woods. When we reached the turnoff point, just past Slide Brook we started the real hiking. The entire Dix range, with the exception of it's signature mountain, is trailess and quite remote and wild. I was excited and a little nervous about this hike, as it was my first time doing a slide hike. We got to the base of the Macomb slide around an hour after we took the turnoff onto the herd path. The Macomb slide is a bit unique from what I know in that it's made up primarily of loose rock, or scree. Being my first slide to climb I can't say how it compares to others, but I thought it was relatively easy to climb. It was steep in spots and the loose rocks made it tricky but my distain for heights never came into play. It was nice once we got to the top to take a breather and snap some photos on the famous boulder that overlooks the slide. We had an awesome day to go hiking! The weather was fairly sunny and maybe in the 70's. Once we left the top of the slide we had probably the steepest climb of the day, but over a kinda short stretch, to the summit of Macomb. The views from the top, while limited in range, did not disappoint in quality! Great views of Elk lake, and many of the high peaks. I even had the company of a little mountain sparrow while I ate lunch on the top. After a bite to eat, it was only I think 11:30am and we all still felt fairly full of energy and so after some discussion we decided to make the push to get the rest of the "lower" Dixes in. Since we were up on the ridgeline the effort would be moderate to minimal to get South and East Dix in. On the backside, or eastside of Macomb we encountered a little bit of ice and snow remnants, but very little and it posed no difficulty to our passage. Down into the col between Macomb and South Dix, then up the rocky scramble to South Dix. That part was pretty fun. We had some nice views from the open rocks and since there are zero views from the actual summit of South Dix we took some pictures and soaked it in. The ridge-line walk between all three mountains was interesting. I was a bit concerned from having read up on the Dix range and seeing everyone talk about how remote and the jumble of herd paths and that you should be ready with your compass and maps for the challenge of navigating them, but whether over the past few years the paths have become more established or I just have an eye for keeping a trail, we never had an issue finding and following the herd paths for the entire day. There were certainly some stretches of trail where it was so tight that you had to force your way through the cripplebrush and evergreens but the footpath itself was distinguishable. As we reached the third high peak summit of the day on East Dix, I was really impressed with the panoramic view it offered! All the way from Giant and Rocky Ridge, to the foothills in the South, South Dix and Macomb to the West, and Hough and Dix to the North, the views were awesome! Really a beautiful sight. I wish I had known exactly where the Great Slide was, as it would have been cool to gone and looked down on it, but I hadn't expected to be on East Dix that day and didn't read up on it. Well, our trip back was pleasantly uneventful. We made it back to the top of Macomb without a hitch. The toughest part of the hike might have been the descent down the slide. Having to pick your way down the steepness with loose rocks breaking way and sliding from under your feet definitely was a tedious and tiring process. We all made it down though safe and sound and although I think all of us were a bit sore and tired after 11 hours on the trail, we made it back to the cars happy and with a great sense of accomplishment! A wonderful hike through a great wilderness!
