From atop a smooth rock lookout point that is the southern face of Mount Van Hoevenberg seven miles outside of Lake Placid, Elizabeth Lee and I took in what is arguably some of the most spectacular views anywhere in the Adirondacks: Indian Pass and Wallface Mountain to our right; Avalanche Pass straight ahead; and countless peaks scattered about including Big Slide.
All these were decked out in what we thought were just past-peak colors of yellow and muted reds. The day was overcast and threatening to rain, the gray sky adding saturation to the spectacular fall colors.
Elizabeth, a licensed guide and naturalist from Westport, and I had planned this trip the week before when we both attended the New York State Outdoor Writer Association Conference held in Lake Placid.
The most feasible way to do the Van Hoevenberg climb is using two vehicles, leaving one at the Olympic Regional Development Authority parking area at the bobsled run on the north side of the mountain, and driving the other to the trailhead off the South Meadow Road, two-tenths of a mile from the Adirondack Loj-Heart Lake Road.
For the first mile or so on our hike up the 2,860-foot mountain, it was easy walking; at one point we hiked through an even-sized stand of magnificent red pines. This led us to an old beaver pond that still held water. The pond shore was a perfect spot to view the place we would be climbing, the sheer rock cliff plainly visible.
From the pond, a very wet section where waterproof footwear is a must, we began the ascent. Along the trail, I checked the muddy spots for moose tracks since the Van Hoevenberg area is one of the better places locally to see moose sign. It was not far from here that last fall a cow moose created quite a stir near Route 73, a couple of miles from where we were hiking. But we would see no moose sign that day.
The trail is 2.2 miles from the parking area to the summit, but only the last quarter of it requires some moderately strenuous climbing. We then came out on the first of two open cliff faces. After soaking in the scenery, Elizabeth and I headed down the northern side of the mountain on what would be a less dramatic shift in elevation until we came to remnants of the old bobsled run that was used for the 1932 Olympics. We then followed a wider and better maintained, almost roadlike trail down to the current bobsled complex and our first vehicle.
This was a learning experience for me. Though I have climbed many Adirondack peaks and hiked a lot of trails, I had never been to the bobsled run. Quite frankly, I was surprised how off the beaten path I felt at a venue I had only previously seen on television. What a fitting end to a relaxing morning hike up Mount Van.
E-mail Dennis Aprill at daprill2000@yahoo.com and check out our Web site at www.pressrepublican.com/0105_outdoor_perspective for more photos and past articles.
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October 17, 2009
Climbing Mount Van
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