Trial run

Over the holidays, Dan decided that it would be a good idea to try out our hiking skills on Mt. Marcy, (the tallest mountain in New York). A few years ago, Dan climbed it with a few friends from university. All I remember from that adventure was that there was a blizzard, they got lost, and he got frostbite. So right away I was like “yes, so excited, when do we go?”…not really. I was nervous; I don’t like cold weather, I rather not get frostbite, and it’s just the two of us…what would I do if Dan falls and breaks his leg? (Yes, that could happen). I tend to jump to the worst case scenario in all situations. But before I knew it, we had our hotel booked and we were on our way. Ever since I decided to go to Africa I have been googling none stop about the climb, but for some reason, I didn’t do any research on this one, and was going into Mt.Marcy blindly. 

We left early on Saturday morning, the weather was horrible, roads were bad, and passed many a car in the ditch, took us about 8 hours to get there. When we first arrived at Lake Placid, we got our snowshoes, checked into the hotel, and went for supper (to a place recommended by the friendly Best Western man).  Either Best Western man has no taste in food, or the restaurant just had a bad night, because the food was very bland, and came way too fast (kinda makes you wonder). We left with queasy stomachs, and went to bed early hoping to wake up better. The next morning, the alarm went off at 5:00. Dan was feeling fine, but my stomach was still aching…but off we went anyway. 

"So far away"

We started our hike around 6:30 in the dark, wearing our attractive head lamps. This was also my first time snowshoeing, so after a few trips, and falls to the ground we were on our way. Surprisingly it wasn’t that cold, mind you the temperatures were around -10, but we were layered up and working hard so felt comfy cozy all day. However, thanks to my “delicious” meal the night before, I was not feeling good, had no energy, and just wanted to throw up or give up. But Dan just kept on going, and so I followed. Before we started the hike, we set our turnaround time for 1:30pm; we didn’t want to hike back in the dark. So on and on we went, and it seemed like we were hiking forever, until we came to a clearing and Dan pointed to where we were headed. Talk about disappointment! I thought that at any moment we were going to break through the trees and “ta da” we would be at the top…but no, I looked in the distance, and it still seemed soooo far away. There was another couple at that spot when we got there, and the lady was just as wide eyed as me. We were both saying under our breath “it’s so far away”….but before I knew it, Dan was gone. “He gone” (I would say to myself in a redneck, Duck Dynasty kind of way). We noticed the couple decided to turn around and head back (smart people). After a few more hours, we finally made it above the tree line, and it was windy…and cold, about -25 F! I had to dig my poles into the ground, and put my head down to brace myself from the 60 mph gusts that nearly knocked me over. It was 1:25 and the peak was still about 400 feet away. Dan knew it would take at least another hour to get to the top from that spot…and judging by my energy, the wind, and the barely there trail, we knew it was time to head back. We took a few pictures and were on our way.



yes, I do have icicles on my eyelashes



I can’t believe I made it that far, 7 hours, uphill, with snowshoes, and an aching stomach. Also, NEVER can I go 7 hours without using the bathroom, so by the time we were at the top, I had to go! And when I have to go, I have to go NOW! I practically ran down the mountain, it was an emergency! If Dan stopped or slowed down, I yelled “keep going, I can’t stop”. It was urgent, all I knew was that there was an outhouse within 2 miles of the entrance…so that was my goal. We walked and walked and walked, until I finally saw the “toilet” sign. Phew, what a relief! However, since I used up all of my energy to get to that point, I was exhausted, and it took everything I had to finish up the last couple of miles. I kept asking Dan, “How much longer?” and without fail his answer was always the same “almost there”, and that would tick me off! If we were almost there, why is it taking forever!? However if he said “it’s still far away”, I would have been equally ticked off, so, bless his heart, we came to the conclusion that there just isn’t a right answer, and I would be ticked either way.



He's even cute in a Balaclava



Finally after 11 hours we strolled into the parking lot at 5:30 and back into the dark. What a day! Beautiful scenery, great company, big accomplishment, and a very, VERY sore body…but totally worth it, at least for my cruise.