Gothics, Armstrong and Upper Wolf Jaw via Johns Brook Lodge

Date: July 17 & 18, 2014

Hikers: Elijah, Abbey, and me

Dog-friendly: Mostly

Gothics Summit looking South

My son and I hiked most of the Lower Great Range of the Adirondacks last week. We've been avid hikers for a while now and have viewed Gothics, the 10^th highest of the Adirondacks, from many angles. It's always presented an imposing visage and we've been eager to see what the world looks like from the top of the massive North- and South-facing slides.

We got to the trail head at the Garden parking lot in Keene Valley around 5:30PM. It took us a while to hike the 3.2 miles or so to Johns Brook Lodge (JBL) because we weren't used to hiking with all the camping gear, but we made it to the lodge by 7:20 or so, with plenty of daylight left to allow us to pick up our bear canisters (provided by the lodge), find our lean-to and setup camp. We reserved a lean-to in advance through the Adirondack Mountain Club, which owns three in the vicinity of JBL. This is a great way to do it, as the bear canisters are included, as well as access to potable water. My preference would have been to stay in the lodge, but they don't allow dogs and Abbey, our yellow lab, needs to hike.

Ore Bed Trail

When we got to our lean-to, there were a couple squatters there eating what looked to me like a gourmet meal. They were polite, but checked with the lodge to verify we were legitimate and then yielded the lean-to, although we had offered to share.

As we were getting our dinner of Ramen together, I realized that we had forgotten to bring any utensils. So, it was cave-man style pasta for us. I think I scared Eli and myself as we discussed how important it is to get every bit of food into the bear canisters. The increased use of canisters seems to have really reduced the amount of black bears hanging around campsites and I'm glad it has become the standard.

The slide

It was dark, so we went to bed around 9:30. I read some poems aloud from A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson (iBooks) to settle us down.

Our close proximity to Johns Brook caused Eli and me both to have to go to the outhouse in the dark a few times. This was especially problematic as the temperature was unseasonably cold for July, even in the Adirondacks. I don't know what the exact temperature was, but we were both shivering in our mummy bags that are supposedly rated to -20° Fahrenheit.

Ore Bed stairs

After a fitful sleep, we awoke at 6:30AM. We had planned on instant oatmeal for breakfast, but that seemed a little difficult without any spoons, so Eli ate the Pop-Tarts and I ate one of our spare PBJs. We left our bedding and cooking gear at JBL and were on the Ore Bed Trail by 8:00AM, heading up to the col between Gothics and Saddleback. When I had mentioned the loop we were planning (Upper Wolf Jaw to Armstrong to Gothics) to one of the staff at JBL, he advised us that going up Gothics is probably a better bet given the steepness and that our knees would probably thank us for starting with Gothics instead.

The hike up the Ore Bed Trail was very comfortable and then became steep as it ascended the slide on Saddleback. Some or even most of the slide is fairly new and was caused by Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. There is a very long stairway up the West side of the slide, which we starting climbing at 9:30. When we got to the junction at col between
Saddleback and Gothics at 10:00, we briefly entertained the idea of climbing Saddleback first and then doubling back to complete our loop. After talking to an experienced hiker at the junction we wisely decided to save Saddleback for another time and made for Gothics.

Traversing Gothics

From the junction to the summit of Gothics took us until 11:15. It is quite steep and exposed in sections, with the exposure increasing as we approached the peak. A few years ago cables were installed on the steepest part to give hikers something to hold on to, Batman-style. Abbey has four good legs and had no need of silly cables. The first peak you see is actually a false summit, but once you are on top, it is really just a short and completely exposed traverse over to the true summit. Breathtaking views of Haystack, Marcy, Saddleback, Basin, Big Slide and many more distant mountains. In retrospect I wish we had taken the side trip over to Pyramid, which is said to have great views of the Great Range, but I guess that gives me one more good reason to go back.

We lingered briefly and had some Gatorade. Chatting with the other two hikers on the peak, it turned out that one of them was a student of my brother's. I asked him to take our picture and he obliged.

Armstrong. You can see the slide we climbed on
Saddleback in the background. The peak above my left
hand is Gothics as seen from the East. We've
covered a lot of ground.

Not knowing what other challenges lay ahead we continued on to Armstrong. The hike down the East side of Gothics was not too difficult and neither was the ascent up the West side of Armstrong. Everything was pretty dog-friendly and we arrived on Armstrong by 12:18PM, where we lingered for a while and ate a couple apples and power bars. I took a couple panorama shots as the view to the North and of Gothics from Armstrong is awesome. We started our descent at 12:40 and that's when the most difficult part of the hike began.

I suppose if one were hiking sans dog, this would not be a big deal, but there are a series of small 5' to 8' cliffs that you have to navigate on the descent of the East side of Armstrong. Abbey needed a few boosts down.

Upper Wolf Jaw

Then we came upon a 12' to 15' ladder against a very sheer rock wall. We puzzled over what to do for 10 minutes or so, even considering going back. But going back up and then descending the West side of Gothics held little appeal and we were well past the half way point of our loop. There was a little ledge on the right side of the ladder halfway down. My plan was to drag Abbey down the ladder to that point and then figure out what to do from there. I shed my pack and took everything out of my pockets and then held her head facing me over my right shoulder and pulled her onto the ladder. At first she sort of dragged her legs, but she started realizing that the steps could support her weight, so I just continued all the way down in this manner, crisis averted. Given this one feature, I don't know if I would consider this hike dog-friendly, unless your dog works for the circus.

Upper Wolf Jaw. Eli and Abbey reach their 14th High Peak!

At 1:48 we were at the summit of Upper Wolf Jaw, which is apparently 10' taller than Lower Wolf Jaw, but looking across, LWJ seemed taller to us. There is not much to see on Upper Wolf Jaw, so we continued on and made it to the trail junction to JBL at 2:33. After the drama on Armstrong and the glory of Gothics, the descent seemed quite easy and mellow. We stopped at a stream and soaked our feet for a little while, but made it to JBL by 4:00, where we reorganized our packs, got our camping gear and left for the Garden by ten past. Oddly, even after all that exertion Elijah and I both felt stronger hiking out with the heavy packs than we did on the hike in. Abbey, on the other hand, was moving pretty slowly by this time. With this expedition, Elijah and Abbey have now climbed 14 of the 46 High Peaks and I have broken 20. It feels good.

Finally at the Garden at 5:50, I saw a group packing to go in for the night. They had beer. I half jokingly called out, “Hey I'll give anyone $5 for a beer” and they offered me one, no charge. They couldn't fit them all in with their gear anyway. There comes a time when all your well-honed craft IPA and Belgian beer accustomed taste buds give way to the idea that the beer in your hand is your favorite beer, regardless of the brand or its aluminum vessel. This was such a time. Man that was tasty.