Saddleback Slide...whew!

[Coulter]

I just got back from the Adirondacks yesterday. I went up to climb Saddleback Mountain with a guy from Brooklyn. He wasn't feeling well three miles into the trip and I ended up having him stay at the Rangers Interior Outpost on Johns Brook while I climbed the rest of the way solo. There are rugged trails that also go up the mountain, but I wanted to get off the beaten path and do something a bit different this time.

My dream home...


Another mile and a half from the Outpost I finally reached the slide I was shooting for. This is the base of the slide, it was all created by Hurricane Irene last year.


Moving further up...


At last - a glimpse of my adversary. My plan was to take the slide furthest to the right to the summit.


For the most part it was easy going with most of the slide harboring massive ledges that needed to be climbed. That was no big deal though.




This is where it started getting interesting and increasingly steeper. That brownish section is not mud. It's actually an iron rich intrusion in the rock. There are two other climbers on the right side of that making their way up the slide too.


Yep, it was getting steep all right. This is a shot of the slab I was on. Did you ever have one of those moments when you ask yourself...what the */#@ are you doing?


Don't look down man - don't look down!!


This is where I called it and headed into the cripplebrush for a bloody bushwhack the rest of the way to the summit.


I could have made it the rest of the way on the slab, but it would taken more time to find the safest routes. I was already taking too much time with my ailing partner waiting back at the Outpost. I don't like separating from hiking partners, especially when the situation is a bit on the sketchy side.

This is what I finally came out too when I got close to the summit. Impenetrable cripplebrush and a massive cliff!


I chose my route carefully from there and made my way ever so slowly to the summit.


and here's some video footage to really give a better perspective...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6Rwlw5jwO0&feature=share&list=ULI6Rwlw5jwO0

And here is the summit with the 35 MPH winds that were forecast. I'd say they're every bit of 35 mph
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWeKhK_s1tQ&feature=share&list=ULkWeKhK_s1tQ

[coyote101]

“Because it’s there.” - George Mallory

Great pictures Steve, thanks. Looks like a lot of fun/work.

Pat

[Coulter]

Mr. Mallory was a wise man Pat. I like the way he thinks. It is a ton of fun and definitely some hard work. But its not really work if its fun right. Half the fun is in the planning, just like your Alaska trip.

Steve

[HaMeR]

That is soooo cool Steve!!    Thanks for sharing. And those winds might cause a problem if you were shooting groundhogs in it. 

[Hawks Feather]

Really nice images that allowed me to go along on your hike.  Which, by the way, is the only way I would make it.

Jerry

[Hidehunter]

Love your pics...Keep taking us with you!!

[Coulter]

The pleasure (and pain) was all mine guys. The next trip is likely going to be mid to late October before trapping season of course. A mans gotta keep his priorities in line. That should be a really cool trip, I'm not sure which mountains I'm going to hit yet, but I'm hoping the fall foliage is right around its peak when I go. I'm trying to convince my wife to go this time. She can hange around town while I play of course.

And Glen...you just need to apply a bit of that Kentucky windage if you find a hog at 4500 feet

Steve

[Dave]

That looks like it'd be tough - maybe your friend got sick once he saw the slides. "What the " 
Great pics.

[iahntr]

Thanks for sharin with us !!

[FinsnFur]

Awesome pics Steve.
I'm not so sure I'd make it up some of those. 
I love the pic of your dream house up there. Is that a wicked sidewalk leading up to it or a dirt trail? Whatever it is...it looks so cool.

[Coulter]

That's just a very well worn dirt trail Jim.

Here's a trail in the col between Gothics and Armstrong Mountains that really looks like a poured sidewalk.


And here's a shot of the Saddleback Slide from Gothics. I jumped off the slab and into the cripplebrush right around where the "I" is.


I'm kicking myself for not pushing it up the slide further, but I was starting to take too much time and my route finding was going to take longer than anticipated. I hated to leave my partner back at the outpost any longer than necessary. It turns out the bushwhack took just as long if not maybe longer. Of course it was a tad bit safer.

Steve

[FinsnFur]

It sure does look like a poured sidewalk.
Incredibly interesting pics, thats for sure. And I am so much more content looking at those views from your pics then I would be halfway up one of those.

[Todd Rahm]

Thats some beautiful country and looks like a real fun trip Steve.