I have always had the fascination with bushwhacking to some obscure peak in the middle of the wilderness to see what’s up there. I have also embraced the idea of climbing all the 46er peaks via a new route, or a bushwhack route. Over the course of several years I managed to finish them off with a trek up Skylight; I was the second person to complete the feat – one behind John Winkler. So anyhow, here is a flashback of a late fall bushwhack up Tabletop Mountain with my close friend and hiking partner, Nancy.
It was a day in early November, 2008 when I contacted my friend Nancy via an email and asked, “How would you like to do Tabletop?” She replied, “Sounds good.” “Bushwhack route,” I quickly snapped back. “Even better,” Nancy replied in what I saw as an enthusiastic response. There it was, plans were set, and we would meet at 8:00 am at the Adirondack Loj Trailhead hiker mecca near Heart Lake. It was two days that I had to wait to explore this new route to a 46er peak, I spent some of my free time looking over possible routes to the summit and came up with one that kept drawing my attention. The route I chose was to follow Phelps Brook up to the col with Tabletop and what is referred to as North Tabletop. The bushwhack wouldn’t be too long, not as long as some of the other bushwhack adventures I had been on, but it seemed to fit.
At the Heart Lake Trailhead
It was early and cold, yet damp. Bundled up for the short haul we started knocking off miles and reached Marcy Dam quicker than I ever had in the past. 2008 was a year when Marcy Dam still existed in its full format and the pond glistened with the mountains towering over it. Today it is a much different view.
We passed over the bridge not thinking anything of the future fate of the historic dam and continued on our tear through the High Peaks Wilderness. We moved swiftly up the VanHoevenberg Trail passing by campsites, trail intersections, and other hikers as though they were standing still – we had an agenda and we needed to consider time. Our 8:00 am start was about 2-3 hours later than our normal start time, and we were unsure of the battle ahead, we needed to make time where we could – the trail was that time.
Bushwhacking Tabletop
As we flew past the Phelps Trail we knew we would soon be leaving the trail for areas unseen by the masses and, of course, never seen by us. We arrived at the bridge that spans Phelps Brook and eyed a faint path that followed the left side. I had never noticed it before, odd I thought, does it lead anywhere? We quickly found out – it didn’t.
We remained in the trees as much as we could but it wasn’t too long before the spruce and balsams started to tighten up the playing field with a full court press. The evergreens forced us to follow the brook. We were equipped to the hilt with the proper footwear and clothing; we would not be wet on this day. Out waterproof footwear allowed us to rock-hop and walk the slab rocks that made up the ever narrowing brook before us.
“What’s that?” I exclaimed. With the ever deepening snow it was hardly noticeable, but out of the corner of my eye rested an old cast iron wood stove, or what was left of it. Was it part of a hunting camp? Maybe a logging camp from before the turn of the century, before the Adirondack Park came into being? That was our guess, what a cool piece of history in the middle of what was now a dense forest. After a couple pictures we were on our way again, passing easily up Phelps Brook as though it were a perfectly cut trail, which essentially it was. The water cut the trail and Mother Nature laid the course, we were happy to follow. It wouldn’t be long though until the brook just petered out and the evergreens took over again. As the brook disappeared into the mountainside beneath a rocky structure we had to make a GPS heading toward the high col between the peaks.
The forest, still compact before us, fought us around every turn. However, the higher we reached in elevation the more the trees seemed to spread out, and only the scratchy dead branches of spruce remained. The snow continued to get deeper but the skies were as blue as I had ever seen – the clarity was unmatched. While still moving a bit slow, we seemed to be making good time with our direct heading. At about 4000 feet in elevation we felt really good. The forest had pushed us a bit further right than planned but that only got us closer to the summit. The ridge, while short in distance was very tight. We were squeezed by the evergreens as we pushed through the thickest growth I had seen in some time. The deadfall and blow down from hard winters on a high ridge were stacked like “Pickup Sticks” before us. The passage was tough and the frequent slaps to my frozen cheeks gave me moments of frustration. As we pushed through, it was like a miracle; we hit the trail and didn’t even see it coming. We ended up about 200 feet from the actual summit – perfect!
We passed over the summit down to the viewing area and took in the stellar views of the Upper Great Range. Haystack called out my name, it would have to wait for another day, and that’s a totally different bushwhack story. We opted to descend the trail back to our car. My goal was to bushwhack to the top - mission accomplished.
Boy, that was almost seven years ago, how time flies – but my memories don’t. Bushwhacking the 46 High Peaks was one of the hardest and most extreme challenges I have ever done, but yet one of the most rewarding. The friends you make, and the friendships you build, while depending on one another in the wilderness are unmatched.
