On Top of New York – Hiking Mount Marcy

Yesterday was the day! It was time to tackle New York’s highest mountain, Mount Marcy! I took the day off from work so Jordan and I could hike together (he works weekends so he usually can’t hike with me then). We met Brendan at the park and ride at 5:30AM and off we went to the ADK Loj. The easiest and most popular trail to the summit of Marcy is the Van Hovenberg. This is the same trail to Phelps and Tabletop as well. The last time I was on this trail was January 2014 and it was zero degrees. Yesterday was a bit different with 80 degree temps in the middle of August.

Much of the trail up to Marcy is a gentle ascent. The biggest issue was the mud! I wasn’t expecting it! The trail finally got really steep once we could actually see Marcy in the distance.

Looks daunting, but it isn’t so bad.

At 5,344 Mount Marcy is the tallest peak in New York! There are excellent views from the summit. Totally worth the almost 8 mile hike to it. We had a warm but amazing day.

Since it was a Monday, the summit wasn’t too crowded. I spotted a woman on the way up that I saw when hiking Colden last weekend and had to say hello.

Marcy was Jordan’s first high peak! Woo!  It was great to finally hike in the high peaks with him! He loved it!

I’m at 25.

Brendan is at 16.

A strange bug landed on Brendan’s backpack. It looked like some kind of bee. Everyone gathered around to take a photo of it.

There is neighboring Haystack.

Colden with Wright, Algonquin and Iroquois behind it.

We sat at the top of New York for about 45 minutes and then headed back down the way we came. We decided to stop at Indian Falls, a few feet of off the trail near the junction for Tabletop.

Great views of Wright, Algonquin and Iroquois!

It was pretty warm out yesterday, but not unbearable. I brought almost 4L of water with me and a large Gatorade and didn’t drink it all. The walk out was nice, too.

We made a stop at Heart Lake to jump in and cool off afterward. What a great ending to a perfect hiking day!

Mount Marcy
Distance 15.3 mi RT
Total hiking time 10 hours including stops
Elevation 5,344′
Ascent 3,182′

Gear used Osprey Sirrus day pack, 3 L Platypus hydration bladder, 1 L Hydroflask, Kelty trekking poles, Under Armor crops, Old Navy tank, Keen Durand hiking boots, Smartwool socks, Buff headband