The temperature in the ADK Loj parking lot was about 32 degrees, and the trails were all hard packed with wet snow. I started out with multiple layers of shirts, ski jacket, hat and gloves. Within 30 minutes I was down to just a wet T-shirt. It was a perfect day for a winter hike, and the trails were packed with people taking advantage of the unusually warm weather. The only drawback was the lack of any kind of clear views from the peaks. Sitting on the summit of Phelps, you could only see about 50 feet, but it was dead calm and very peaceful.
Since I made such great time getting to the top of Phelps, I headed in the direction of Lake Arnold with the possible notion that I would summit Tabletop if I felt like I had enough energy. While resting at the trail juncture to Tabletop, a Giant glob of wet snow fell from a branch above and landed on the back of my neck. I took that as a sign from the Gods that I should loop back in the direction of the car. It was a good thing, because by the time I made it back to the trail toward Marcy Dam, I was exhausted. It's too bad none of the kids ventured out; it was a perfect Winter hiking day. The total hike was about 11.5 miles in 5:35 (no wonder I was tired). Seventeen high peaks down (for Dad); 29 to go.
