Mt Marshall 1983

I worked summers at the GE facility in Binghamton. One weekend, I decided to drive up to the High Peaks region of the Adirondack Park and go for a hike -- with no particular destination in mind. I had hiked Colden Peak with coworkers from the Binghamton plant, so the way to the Upper Works Trailhead and Lake Colden were familiar to me.

At Lake Colden, I turned left and hiked up Mt. Marshall. From the top, I looked north and decided that it was not too rugged. I went cross-country from there, with the goal of striking the trail running from Lake Colden toward Indian Pass.

By the time I found the trail, it was past sunset. My map showed that there was a lean-to shelter nearby, but I was unsure where I had hit the trail relative to it. I hiked a bit southeast and then decided that was wrong. I turned around and found the lean-to just as night fell. I was a bit worried about bears, but soon drifted off and slept soundly.

It was another fine day when I awoke. I started out heading northeast toward Indian Pass. There, I turned north and hiked in the direction of Lake Placid. I decided to make a bee-line for Lake Placid, and hiked to the west of the Loj, picking up Bear Cub Road near the Sugarloaf Mountain Trail. 

I hiked down past the ski jumping complex, but decided it was too far out of my way to hike downtown and pick up more food. Instead, I hiked back down the Highway toward the road to the Loj. A short way up the dirt road, I stuck out my thumb and a motorist gave me a lift up to the Loj.

I hiked to Avalanche Lake, and followed the trail along its edge. This brought me back to Lake Colden. From there, I took the well-worn trail back to the Upper Works Trailhead.

I had hiked close to 20 miles, traversing the High Peaks region in one day: From the lean-to in the middle of the high peaks out to Highway 73 near Lake Placid, then back through Avalanche Pass all the way out to the Upper Works. My short ride subtracted only about 2 miles from the loop.