Wolfjaws

Lisa and I awoke at sunrise in Wadhams while our friends Kevin and Elizabeth slept. We fried bacon and eggs and then I played reveille on the trumpet to signal breakfast. After stuffing our faces, we packed the car and headed for the Ausable Club in Keene Valley. Our destination would be two mountains in the Great Range: Upper and Lower Wolfjaws!

The temperature was perfect as we headed on the West River Trail, climbing slowly as we followed the Ausable River. After finding the sign for "Wolfjaws" we began to climb steadily as the trail became rocky and eroded. We ascended steadily with occasional views of Noonmark Mountain through the trees.

At the trail intersection, we decided to head to Lower Wolfjaw first, where Elizabeth (of course) found friends on the summit. It was pushing noon, so we decided to scarf down our sandwiches while talking to a pair of hikers and playing with their dogs. We snapped some pictures of the view and continued down the trail.

The hike from Lower to Upper Wolfjaw disoriented Lisa and I. Kevin and Elizabeth were out of sight when we found ourselves descending after a long ascent. Did we miss it? We stopped and checked the map and as it didn't seem possible, we carried on. Catching back up to Kevin and Elizabeth at the summit revealed the view with an extra hump between the two peaks that Kevin had nicknamed "the molar."

We made our goal for the day, but decided that we would continue up the range and get one more view for the day. After some scrambles up bare rock, we were on the peak of Armstrong mountain for the best view of the day with Mount Marcy looming in the distance.

The descent was difficult for the first mile and got much easier once we felt sod beneath our boots. We enjoyed the view of Beaver Meadow Falls on the way out and found ourselves quite footsore as we walked out on the road.

On the way home we grabbed malts at the Elizabethtown Stewart's to celebrate and Kevin made a fantastic chicken dinner. We watched the final stage of the Tour de France and made our last ascent for the day...up the stairs and into bed!

Nectar of the Gods

From the air...

We awoke the next day, sore but hungry for another adventure. We headed to the orchard in Crown Point to pick up Tom and three boats. After tying the boats onto the car, we ate a picnic and headed into the Hammond Pond Wild Forest where we would carry boats into Hammond Pond.


This was the first test hiking with our Hornbeck boats (made in Olmsteadville!); they are ultralight boats that are designed to be carried over a shoulder. Getting into the pond seemed incredibly easy after our previous experiences of dragging heavy boats on dollies.

The pond was full of lily pads and weeds but we didn't mind as it added to the wild feel of the area. With mountains rising around us and no one in sight, it proved our adage that in the Adirondacks you don't have to go far to find solitude. We paddled as far as we could to each arm of the pond before packing out.

We headed back to the orchard where we watched the lake in the evening before heading home for the night. It was yet another successful Adirondack exploration!