What was I thinking? Seward Range (ADK)

[Coulter]

Well, a couple of the Sewards anyway. My daughter Tori and I managed to get Donaldson and Emmons under our belts. No pictures as of yet, I can't find the cord for my camera. So the TR is about it for now.

Conditions couldn't have been better unless you took away the skeeters and black flies. They weren't unbearable provided you kept moving. Once you stopped though, look out! We started off on Coreys Rd. and took the foot path after reading previous reports of how bad the horse trail is. It didn't seem to be all that much further anyway. There were a couple of muddy spots, but nothing that couldn't be dealt with.

Our plan was to head up Calkins brook and tackle Donaldson and Emmons, then drop down and grab Seward and over to Seymour then camp at the Ward Brook LT. That's where the plan went awry. And I'm still kicking myself for not dropping our fully loaded packs, complete with bear can and two solo tents, at the campsite along Calkins. Nope, we were going to carry them straight up to the junction, then bust out the smaller day packs for D/E. Then get the big bags back on and head down to the col for Seward. That was the plan, until we actually saw the southern side of Seward. Humbling indeed. What was I thinking to carry fully loaded backpacks up there and expect to be spry and ready to roll on over to Seward?!

So we ended up dropping our packs at the junction as planned and hit D/E. We talked with a few others up there that came from Seward and I reassessed the risk versus reward at that point. It just wasn't worth it with all the weight were lugging around.

We decided to make our way back down to the Calkins campsite after bagging two. Did I mention I wish I would have dropped the packs there?Then we would see how we felt in the morning.

The only thing I can say about the descent is yes it is gradual....very gradual. I heard the path get closer to Calkins at one point but I knew we would vere away from it again. And so we did. The weight was really taking its toll on both of us. I haven't had any issues with my knees for the last few hikes, but man they were killing me on this descent. I thought about taking some Vitamin I, but didn't want to since I hadn't eaten anything with any real substance.

Finally I heard Calkins again...nope just one of the many small feeder streams along the path. We pressed on. This was becoming the descent from hell with all the weight we were carrying. Very humbling indeed.

I kept checking the altimeter to get a fix on when we might be getting closer. 2600...2500...we should be hearing Calkins anytime now. Then I heard it again, and we stayed close. It was only a matter of time now. I got so fixated on one foot in front of the other, when we came to a small descent I thought what the heck, then looked to my left and there it was...CAMP AT LAST. I nearly walked right by it.

We both put up our tents and just skipped eating we were so wiped out. I figured on refueling in the morning. We were both out of it by 7pm.

We got up and ate some delicious dehydrated eggs (lots of sarcasm there). Well, I ate most of mine. Toris looked more like mustardy baby poo. She was only able to down a few bites. That will teach her not to read the instructions on the package. She hadn't thought to pack a skillet for her food. Guess I better check her rations before the next trip up.

So we made our way back down the trail. At first we were going at a pretty good clip. Until we started on a few of the descents. My knee was throbbing with every step on the descents. Favoring that knee was starting to cause the other to ache too. We pretty much decided that Seward and Seymour would be had another day.

We were actually supposed to meet up with Gerard for his attempt at SB too since Tori doesn't have that one yet. My climbing was done for the weekend though and I really didn't want to send her in there solo. Especially since I was testing her coming down the mountain by letting her lead. It wasn't long before she had us going down a quickly dissipating deer path heading back towards Seward. Fortunately, I knew we were going in the wrong direction pretty quickly and showed her where she went wrong. We only went off course by 50 yards or so. That's all it takes up there before the path is gone. I'm going to have to force the orienteering on her.

So all in all another great, albeit humbling, trip up to the Adirondacks. Another lesson learned and we'll be tackling some more in August or sooner.

Steve

[Dave]

Sounds like a whole lotta work, but that's what makes it fun.  And to go on all your climbs with your daughter must be the most rewarding of it all.

[Okanagan]

What a great trip with your daughter.  I'm envious of that.  My little girl is 40 and too busy with two of her own nowadays.  Enjoy it while she can hike with you!

My knees have gradually gotten so that they will swell on long downhill hikes with a hefty pack.  FWIW two things have helped me a lot, and you may already be doing them.  The most help is to use walking sticks.  My guess is that the sticks take a few pounds of weight off of the knees on each step.  The other help is to ice the swelling ASAP when possible.  We've used bags of snow at times, bags of cold creek water and ice from the first store we pass on the way home.  Without icing my knees are swollen and sore for several days.  With it they are OK by the next day.

Looking forward to more of your hiking journals.

[Coulter]

I love hiking with Tori...It get awfully difficult to mesh our schedules though. She works, goes to college and has her navy Reserve committments. We try to get a few climbs in a year at least. They more difficult climbs still lie ahead. I think I'm getting this all figured out now after 17 of the high peaks.

Yep, I use some Black Diamond trekking poles on the descents. They do help, but there have been times that I haven't used them at all and I was just fine. Though, I didn't have a fully loaded pack on my back, just a daypack. That's the key for me go light and/or set up a base camp for the longer treks. We're shooting for another trip in August, but I may try to sneak up again before that.

Steve