A unique challenge to completing the hundred highest peaks in the Adirondacks is that the approach to three peaks (namely Sunrise Mountain, Boreas Mountain, and Wolf Pond Mountain) are owned by Elk Lake Lodge which are only accessible to visitors to the lodge. The Lodge was kind enough to offer day passes this year, only on Sundays in May and June for a fee that includes breakfast. You can learn more about the day pass here. Striking while the iron is hot, V called ahead to make our Sunday reservations.
We arrived early and hiked Sunrise Mountain before breakfast, leaving enough time hike the peak before the 8am breakfast. Knowing that I am not an early bird, V said he was worried about breaking the news to me that I would need to wake up at 3:30am to make this all happen, and was thankful that I was the first one to send out a schedule which included my 3:30am wake up time, which saved him from any burden of bearing of that bad news.
It was a satisfying feeling blazing legally past the "Private: Elk Lake Lodge Visitors Only" sign on the turn-off to Sunrise Mountain, which we have passed before, wishing to hike the peak, but knowing it is off-limits. The easy to follow, well maintained trail made for pleasant hiking. Maybe it was just my morning cup of tea kicking in but the top offered what (as V suggested) is quite possibly the best view of the Adirondack mountains anywhere. V confidently identified almost every mountain range including the nearby Dial and Dix Ranges, the Great Range, Cheney Cobble, and even the Sewards off in the far distance. The view of the lake from the summit lets you clearly see that the lake has the distinctive shape of an elk's head (or maybe it's just me):
I joke with V that I hear the breakfast bell ringing. Except I'm only half joking, I actually thought I heard a bell, like a church bell ring just one time but I can't be sure I didn't just imagine in. We burn nearly a half hour amidst the summit's wonderful cool breeze, white clouds, and blue skies. And then check the time. Oh no! Are we going to miss breakfast!?!
We scurry down the mountain, making it back before 8am, at which time we check in, collect our Elk Lake Lodge map poster, and hustle for the dining room.
On the way V points out a dinner bell which means I did hear a bell after all.
This is a first! In the middle of a day of challenging hiking, getting served french toast with syrup and maple butter, a spot of Earl Grey tea, yogurt with fruit and granola, a tall glass of grapefruit juice, two eggs, poached of course, home fries, two slices of Canadian bacon, and fresh baked coffee cake, while a veritable flock of brilliantly colored hummingbirds buzz and perch near the flower beds just outside the window. It's also the first time I've heard "can I get you anything else?" on one of these oft-treacherous hikes. I'm sure you'll appreciate a photo of our mostly-eaten meal:
A group next to us is heading to the same mountain we are, Boreas Mountain. Our breakfast indulgence takes a solid hour-and-a-half. With neither empty stomachs nor further ado, we head for the trail. On the way we pass the lake and I take a quick detour to see if I can spot any fish and sure enough, one very large fish, startled by my presence, ripples the otherwise still water as it turns and swims away. The trail, at first, is more like an overgrown road. I look down to see twenty-five mosquitoes simultaneously biting the backs of my legs, easily shooed with a few hand swipes, but after that it's hard to shake the feeling of, well, not wanting that to happen again. It's a slight downhill so we jog which allows us to escape the bugs until we reach the proper trail which is relatively bug-free.
I need to take a few breaks on the way to the top of Boreas Mountain, but otherwise it's all steady hiking. Usually the top of a mountain is a good time for a snack break, but we're both stuffed. There is no trail to Wolf Pond Mountain, so we duck into the woods and head that way. It is relatively easy bushwhacking for the most part. The brush is not thick, and much of the way has been cleared by an army of... moose, as evidenced by more moose poop... More poop, in fact, than I have ever seen in my life. Don't believe me? V took this picture, I swear I wouldn't make this shit up:
It's a little frustrating (not to mention gross) to be standing in *this* *much* moose poop and yet I have still never seen a moose in my home state of New York. We also come across the scat of bear and other smaller animals. Yes we have pictures. No I won't post them. One is enough for today.
V has developed an eye for chaga and snapped a photo of this giant beauty:
After reaching what I'm happy to declare the top, V, who has done his research, says that most people mistake where we are standing for the top. We proceed a few hundred yards to the east to another little bump in the landscape, and find a bit of fluorescent orange marking tape marking the official summit. V suggests that we head downhill rather than return to Boreas Mountain. It will make for a shorter distance with no climbing. Whether it's actually easier or not will be a matter of luck. Along the way we find some very old and overgrown logging paths, filled with saplings and prickers, which chew up our sensitive bare legs, but otherwise these paths make the way easy. Eventually we reach the trail. Of today's roughly sixteen miles of hiking, about four miles of it was bushwhacking. Thankfully it was all easier going than some other recent bushwhacks. We make our way toward the Lodge.
Thankfully the mosquito swarm we encountered in the morning cleared up for us by afternoon. Back at the Lodge we order a drink from the front desk and relax on the dock in a pair of Adirondack chairs - a perfect way to cap the trip.