Despite the forecast for clear skies and reasonably warm temperatures, Rich was unable to find a hiking partner for the day. Not wanting to waste the chance for what could be the final Fall hike, coupled with a desire to see what damage Hurricane Irene had done to the High Peaks, I headed out solo. Leaving the house around 5:30 AM, I still hadn't decided on a destination, and wasn't even sure I would try a summit. Eventually I parked at the Upper Works trail head and set off along the Calamity Brook towards Lake Colden and the Flowed Lands.
The path got diverted to some new trails at a couple of points because of damage from the recent storms, but it was still a reasonable hike. The sun never really appeared for very long, but visibility was pretty good most of the time. Arriving at the cairn for Mount Marshall, I decided to at least investigate the herd path and see if I had the energy for a climb. There was significant blow down for much of the early going, and I lost the trail on two separate occasions. Just when I was about to give up and head back towards Lake Colden, I bumped into the first human I had seen all day (after about 4.5 hours) who was coming down from the summit. He showed me the path, and I was able to quickly complete the trek to the top. Surprisingly, my cell phone worked on the summit and I was able to call home and let everyone know that I was probably going to be a little later than planned.
Near the summit, there was a fresh dusting of ice and snow on all the trees and branches. Now that I was able to recognize all the trail markings and milestones, the descent was more relaxing and I could take in all the sights of the Herbert Brook. I had no issues making it back to the (now deserted) trail head, and I didn't bump into any more people for the rest of the day. The total hike was about 14 miles in about 8:15.
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