Solstice Dog's New York Trip Report

The final epic hike left most of Lake Placid and Saranac Lake without power. Those of us on the summit of Mount Jo this morning were buffeted by stiff winds - gusting enough to push us around and make picture taking difficult. I do not think The Dog Team caused the power outage, but - hey - you never know.

Cave Dog set out yesterday at 9 AM, attempting to emulate Bob Marshall's Fourteen  in a day hike . Those of you familiar with that hike know that Marshall did it in July, leaving Johns Brook Lodge(JBL) at 3:30 AM and finishing back at the Loj at 10:40, having summited 13 High Peaks and Mount Jo.

Cave Dog's route took him out from the Garden at 9 AM. Unlike Marshall's summer hike in 1932, the 2005 late November weather did not cooperate. It was in the 40s at the start, and by the time he finished the temperature had risen to over 60.

After summiting Big Slide, Lower Wolf Jaw, Upper Wolf Jaw, Armstrong, Gothics, and Saddleback, Cave Dog was stymied by the cliffs descending Saddleback. It was late at night and he could not see his feet below him, the fog and mist were so thick. He resorted to taking off his headlamp and shining it down on the ground, in order to find the route. Paint blazes were covered with snow and ice or otherwise hidden by the fog and, as he inched along, he would come to a precipice, peering doubtfully into the abyss below him.

At the same time, gale force winds were pushing him around. I was snug in bed in Lake Placid and the winds outside Snow Dog's place were howling all night. I cannot imagine being out in that kind of weather at night on those cliffs!

At this point, Cave Dog decided - or rather the conditions decided - that there was no way to continue on to Basin. He began to have his doubts descending Gothics, but at least on that route the cables were there for him to hang on to, to prevent him from being blown off the mountain.

So Cave Dog came down the Orebed Brook Trail, and continued his hike at lower altitude, completing the necessary mileage to finish 50K, except for the last two miles roundtrip to Mount Jo.

Unfortunately, Night Dog had hiked into the Basin/Haystack col to resuppply him with food and water. There was no way to let him know that Cave Dog had to change his plans. After spending most of the night out in the deepest reaches of the High Peaks, totally soaked from the mist and intermittent sprinkles, Night Dog made it out and was able to rejoin The Dog Team at Heart Lake. He was just a touch hypothermic. (OK - he was shaking uncontrollably, but we were able to warm him up with some spare clothes). We were so glad we did not have to send in a search party for him. Thanks for the tremendous effort, ND! You are incredible!

Cave Dog finished up all but those last two miles by 4 AM and was able to get a couple of hours of sleep before we all met up at 7. The ride into the Loj was interesting - dodging the blow down and one huge tree blocking half the road a mile from the parking lot.

The early morning gathering included family and friends, photographers, videographers, print and TV reporters - including the Explorer Editor. Most of us headed up Mount Jo.

We were snapping photos as Cave Dog ran around jumping on the summit - at times almost suspended in air and leaning into the wind. It had to be 35-40 mph wind with some stronger gusts. Views from the top were limited - but we did have views towards Indian Pass, the MacIntyres, and the Great Range. The mountaintops were totally socked in. We lucked out though - no rain.

On the way down, I was ahead of the group by 50 feet and heard a loud crack - it sounded like a gunshot. It was a large tree that had just cracked in front of me and was doing what trees do when they go tim-ber! I practically jumped out of my boots to get out of the way of the falling tree. Thankfully its fall was broken by other trees and my heart rate slowly receded from 200 beats per minute.

Upon returning to the Loj, we were met by more media and Roger Marshall and his wife. Roger is the nephew of Bob Marshall. In 1939, Bob was on his way to visit eight year old Roger when Bob died at the age of 38. Roger told us some wonderful stories about his family and later took Cave Dog to Bob's old stomping grounds in Saranac Lake. Roger lives in Burlington. It was terrific that he came over for the finale.

We all went back to Adog's house - a stones throw from the ski jumps in Placid - only to discover there was no power for our post hike pancake celebration. Ever resourceful, The Dog Team broke out the propane burner for hot water and the pancakes were flipped in the Duofold RV.

An extraordinary ending to an extraordinary challenge - an idea inspired by Bob Marshall and brought to fruition by Cave Dog. It was great to see so many of The Dog Team - Snow Dog, Adog, Lucky Dog, Sea Dog, Crag Dog, Schwach Dog, Honey Dog, Sugar Dog, Rad Dog, Night Dog, and other Dogs that I am sure I am forgetting. I was dodging rain, wind, and flying tree limbs on my way down the Northway.

Cave Dog said this was the most difficult of all the 50 hikes. We knew it would be. I do not think he would have it any other way.

Live the Dream!

Solstice Dog