Big Slide Mountain - 4/12/14
Big Slide Mountain ranks #27 on the Adirondack high peak list at 4240'. I chose to climb the peak via the brothers (4 miles). The return trip was via the Slide Mt. Brook Trail to the Johns Brook Trail for a 9.5 mile loop.
I arrived at the Garden Parking lot to find a DEC ranger at the entrance indicating that the parking lot was closed to due to the access road being washed out. I know my car would not have been able to make it up the road in it's conidition. I was forced to park back in the town and walk the mile or so back up to the Garden Trailhead.
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| Sign at the entrance to the Garden Parking Lot |
The walk along the road was pretty uneventful. I did come across two deer drinking out of one of the puddles. They let me approach fairly closely with a watchful eye.
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| Deer drinking from a puddle |
I was on the trail right around 9 am. I signed into the trail register, put my traction devices onto my boots and was off on the trail guided by the blue trail markers.
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| Trail Register |
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| Trail signs |
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| The trail was basically ice and hard packed snow |
The trail starts with an immediate climb. No warm-up for this hike. Straight up the ice and snow. The trail continues
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| First portion of the trail |
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| Particularly steep section of trail |
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| Looking back down the trail |
The trail opens up to an exposed ridge which offered the first spectacular views of the day. The trail goes over the three brothers which has sections of both exposed rock and wooded areas. I coudnt really tell where the peaks of the individual brothers were, but there were many views of Giant Mountain, the Great Rang and the valley below.
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| Giant Mountain off in the distance |
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| First good view of the Great Range |
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| Snow capped Marcy is just visible on the right |
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| Section of open rock scramble |
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| More exposed rock |
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| Thats where I was heading to |
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| A cairn that marks the way |
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| A view of the valley below |
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| Off to the next Brother |
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| Portion of path on the edge of a slight cliff |
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| Snow packed trail through the woods between Brothers |
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| And thats what happens when you step off the hard packed snow... |
The portions of the trail through the woods were still thick with snow. I really should have had snowshoes. It would have made the going much easier. Portions of the trail were like a tight rope of packed snow. When you stepped off of it, you were in snow up to the knee/hip area.
After 3.7 miles, I came to the junction of the Brothers trail and the Slide Mountain Brook trail (which I would take back). The final .29 miles was probably the steepest portion of the trail.
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| One last push! |
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| Sign at the trail junction |
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| Steep section of trail. The ladder that is supposed to help the climb is barely visible under the snow. |
When I reached the summit, I was rewarded with some truly breathtaking views. After 4 miles, 2800' of elevation gain, and 4 hours, I had the summit to myself and enjoyed the views and some lunch. The wind was whipping so I put some additional layers on.
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| Picture on the summit looking towards the Great Range |
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| Giant off in the distance |
The trek back down the Slide Mountain Brook Trail was a relatively easy, moderate 2.4 mile descent to the Johns Brook Trail. The trail followed along the Slide Mountain Brook, crossing over several times.
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| Exposed section of the brook |
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| The brook runs under the snow/ice |
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| There is a swiftly moving brook under that... |
The trail intersects with the Johns Brook Trail near the brook. From there, it was a 3.0 mile hike back to the Garden Parking lot. This section of the Johns Brook Trail is pretty level and easy to traverse. It goes over several small streams and some slight ups and downs.
