The Dix Range via Grace Slide – 8.11.18

Back in August I went up to the high peaks for some hiking! I have a few friends that are still working on completing the 46 high peaks, so anytime they invite me on a hike I’d like to re-do I try to make it happen. On this particular Saturday, they were planning on hiking the Dix Range. However they were not taking the traditional route up the Macomb Slide, they were going in via the Grace Slide.

Now, I’m not an experienced slide-climber (this was my first slide climb if you don’t count Macomb), and we were hiking with a very experienced climber and someone that knows his way around the high peaks, so I felt very comfortable going up this route. However, I can’t stress enough: do not attempt to bushwack or slide climb an unmarked trail unless you really know what you’re doing!

We did the entire hike as a point-to-point traverse. We had two cars, one parked at Round Pond (the end) and one parked at trailhead just above the Round Pond trailhead on 73 (see map below).  Our plan was to bushwhack/follow a herd path along the North Fork of the Bouquet River to the bottom of the Grace Slide.

The first part of the slide climb wasn’t too bad. Eventually, it got steeper and steeper. Finally, the slide became cliffs that we had to climb up. Thankfully our friend Francis is an experienced slide climber and talked us through some of the tricky spots. It was terrifying!

We took a short break on the summit of Grace to take in the views and look at what we had just climbed. How crazy is that? 

Next up: South Dix! My group went on to hike Macomb, however I stayed and waited on South Dix, I didn’t really feel the need to hike over there since I’m just hiking for fun and have already hiked Macomb.

Next up was Hough. This part is a blur to me. I don’t think I have any photos from the hike to Hough. The last peak of the day was Dix Mountain via the Beckhorn, same as last time. 

It was about 4 or 5 pm by the time we started descending Dix via Dix Trail to Round Pond. This was a new trail to me! And it was a steep descent. Eventually, we got to the base of another slide and the view was amazing.

The rest of the hike was pretty uneventful. It got dark. The miles were long. We walked out with headlamps on. I could see the flicker of campfires on Round Pond was pretty jealous that people had set up camp and were cozy in their tents while I was still trudging through woods in the misty darkness.

Soon enough we came to our 2nd car, parked at the Round Pond trailhead. What a long, yet satisfying day in the mountains. Sitting in the car was a relief. 

Dix Range via Grace Slide, traverse from Rte 73 to Round Pond
Distance ~16 miles (~20 miles if including Macomb)
Ascent: 5,251 ft (not including Macomb)
Time 15 hrs, 3 min