When we first started our assault on the 46 High Peaks, we were very concerned about our ability to succeed given the large number of mountains that have unmarked trails. Being novice hikers, there was a lot of worry about getting lost trying to follow the herd paths. On the last weekend before school started again, Rich and Jack set out to try and overcome that fear in the Dix Wilderness, with the goal on getting to the top of three of the peaks in that area.
We got a early start from the Elk Lake trail head, but very quickly gave back any head start by remembering that our GPS was left in the car and needing to go back and get it 15 minutes into the hike. The cairn at the start of the Macomb Mountain herd path was easy to spot, but there were several times during the early going that we felt like we had lost the trail. Once we got to the big rock slide that marked the bulk of the hike, we gained a lot of confidence and made it to the summit well ahead of our self-defined schedule.
The temperature improved and the wind died down on the way over the path to Dix, but the heavy cloud cover made it seem like we were losing daylight fast. It wasn't a tough hike to the top of Dix from Hough, and once we got there, it seemed like the clouds cleared out a bit. We had some fantastic views of the Great Range, and the valley South towards Elk Lake. Unfortunately, our car was parked way down by that lake, and it was over six miles away. At least we had maintained trails to guide us the rest of the way, so losing our path was less of a concern.
It was an easy trip from Macomb over the col to the summit of Carson Peak, and on that peak we had a great conversation with a couple of experienced hikers that gave us directions and tips about the herd paths in that area. Additionally, they planted the seed in Jack's head that we had plenty of daylight to reach the peak of all five (5) Dix range High Peaks.
Following the path to Grace Peak was also fairly easy, but the vegetation was more dense and we sustained our share of cuts and scratches. On the summit of Grace, two different father / son teams chatted with us and informed us that they were both attempting to climb all five (5) peaks in that chain. That finalized the decision for us, and we started our climb back to the summit of Carson and the unmarked trail to Hough Peak.
The trail to Hough was the toughest part that we had experienced on the day, and to make things worse, the temperature dropped significantly and it started to rain a little. Regardless, our course was set, and we reach the top in about an hour and a half. It was exceeding windy and cold on the summit, so we took a few pictures and left quickly for Dix Mountain.
The temperature improved and the wind died down on the way over the path to Dix, but the heavy cloud cover made it seem like we were losing daylight fast. It wasn't a tough hike to the top of Dix from Hough, and once we got there, it seemed like the clouds cleared out a bit. We had some fantastic views of the Great Range, and the valley South towards Elk Lake. Unfortunately, our car was parked way down by that lake, and it was over six miles away. At least we had maintained trails to guide us the rest of the way, so losing our path was less of a concern.
It took a bit longer than we expected to get all the way back to Elk Lake, and darkness was settling in fast, but we made it to the car without having to break out the headlamps. We were very excited about bagging five (5) peaks in the same day, and couldn't wait to call Mom to tell her (and explain why we were 4 hours late). The total hike was about 16 miles in 11:30 (including the lost time to go back to get the GPS). Twenty-six (26) High Peaks down; 20 to go.
