Colvin

Days ago, we were eying the weather forecast for the Adirondacks and wallowing in self pity based on the fact that it looked like a washout for the entirety of the upcoming Labor Day weekend. However the prediction changed slightly the day before and we mobilized to get into the high peaks on Saturday.

Our choice was Colvin and Blake peaks, which we had seen the previous week from Nippletop. In fact, we would be following the same trail for most of the trip and branching off for the last few miles. We were on the trail at 6:30, earlier than we would need for the hike but undoubtedly being one of the busiest hiking days of the year we wanted to beat the crowd.

It was unusually gusty and humid for an Adirondack morning. The wind with humidity felt like an ocean breeze. We walked along the lake road as the sun rose until arriving at the Gill Brook cutoff.

Welcoming the scenery change, we started to head uphill and entered state land where we noticed quite a few tents from backpackers. Some were just rising as we headed by. The cutoff to Colvin was just ahead.

When we turned onto the Colvin trail, we followed a series of steep and flat sections. There were some scrambles but we arrived on the summit at 9:45. Sadly, the surrounding views were socked in the clouds which was disappointing after our experience on Nippletop the week before. We ate some bananas and decided to head to Blake. We would have to come to the Colvin summit on the return trip and would have a second chance at the view.

The trek to Blake was slow going with many steep rocky sections. We made our way slowly, happily finding some great views of Basin, Saddleback and Gothics along the trail. The summit itself was advertised as a 'no-view' peak in the Adirondack Mountain Club guidebook so we were happy to have such a nice trail view.

We ate our lunches on the top and chatted with other hikers before heading over the rocky scrambles again. When we arrived at the Colvin summit for our second attempt, the early morning clouds had completely blown off and we had an unobstructed view of the Great Range. We sat and stared at the massive slides on Gothics and Basin while eating the last of our food for the day before descending.

The trail down was fairly easy going except for two rocky sections which we approached at a snail pace. Arriving back at the car, we were tired and ready for some food. We headed to the Old Dock House in Essex for supper before catching the ferry home. It was a perfect day in the Adirondacks!