Wright & Phelps (ADK) Adventure!

"Travel is more than the seeing of sights; It is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living."

Laura and I planned a last minute long weekend get-away to the Adirondacks. We decided we needed this time away and we need to hike some more of the Adirondack 46 High Peaks. The original plan was to have her come sleep at my house after work Friday evening and we would hit the road early on Saturday morning to hike. However, weather patterns started to shift and there was a storm headed our way this weekend.

As usual we waited until last minute, messaged each other and decided screw it, it had been a long week for the both of us and we needed to get out of dodge asap. We booked a last minute Airbnb for Friday night. We then decided to meet at a half way point for both of us where we would leave one car and carpool the rest of the time.

We picked the Richmond, VT Park and Ride to meet. It was roughly 2.5 hours for both of us to travel. We both left around 5:00pm Friday night and met at about 7:30pm in Richmond. Both packing for more than a weekend but we were ready for some great adventures!

Laura loaded up her stuff into my car and we hit the road to our Airbnb. We arrived at our place roughly close to 9:30pm. We unpacked, ate some amazing tortellini pasta salad she made, and drank a bottle of Prosecco. 

We were going to try and do our trip planning for our hikes while drinking in the hot tub, but we both got too lazy and before we knew it it was 11:30pm. We had decided due to the unknown trail conditions, new peaks for us, and lack of any information we could get from anywhere about these peaks we decided to stick with a shorter and smaller peak for Saturday. We agreed to wake up early, make breakfast, finish packing our bags, drink coffee and head towards the Adirondack Loj to hike Phelps.

In the last two years, we have walked by this junction to this summit and have taken this same trail and have joked we should just add it on because it is only 1 mile from the junction. We never did, so we wanted to grab this peak.

We were at the trail-head by 8:30am. We hit the trail with temps starting at -3 when we got out of the car. Before we knew it we were one mile in already and at the first junction where you can go either left to Marcy Dam or right towards Wright, Algonquin, and Iroquis. We started towards the left when we both turned and looked at each other and said "Well the other three are clearly packed out and there is a ton of people going that direction." So we both agreed to go for the three peaks in hopes we could get three instead of one that day. We committed and hit the trail to the right headed towards Wright.

This trail was a very gradual/moderate trail. A little bit of exposed rock and slush here and there but manageable. We wore our micro-spikes the entire time. We slowly made our way up the next 2.5 miles to the junction to split off to the spur trail to Wright.

We started to head up the steep push to the summit of Wright. We were starting to bundle up when before we knew it we had popped out of the trees and onto a rock face summit cone. As we started to climb higher and closer to the summit the winds picked up significantly. We popped behind a rock for protection while we adjusted our layering system and put on our balaclavas, goggles, and warmer jackets. Once fully protected we kept pushing on for the summit, all while getting blown around by at least were 40 sustained mile per hour winds. This I am sure of.

We made it to the summit snapped a few quick photos, and took off back for the trees. When the wind was blowing the snow it felt like a burning sensation. Almost as if you were being sand blasted. With the conditions being as brutal as they were, neither one of us wanted to push on to the other 2 higher peaks or risk putting Ricky in danger.

We made it back down to treeline and we took out the butt sleds. There was some really good sections coming off this peak we used the sled on. I would highly recommend trying it, but please use extreme caution as this can be incredibly dangerous. Also, do not do this with sharp points (crampons) on your feet.

Soon enough we were back at the car and ready to warm up and eat a delicious meal and drink a beer. So we headed towards Lake Placid where we had lunch at a place called Lisa G's. It was perfect!

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We spent Saturday night at a friend's house in Lake Placid. It was right downtown and perfect. We went there and just relaxed for the evening. We were both so tired we ended up in bed by 8:30pm. We decided before we fell asleep we would then hit Phelps on Sunday since we skipped it Saturday. We knew we could get a bit of a later start and take our time.

Base Camp Cafe

The storm came through Saturday night and dropped about 5" of fresh powder on the ground. We woke up a little later and decided to check out a breakfast place down town before our hike. We stopped into the Base Camp Cafe for breakfast sandwiches and coffee. We sat down and ate there these amazing breakfast sandwiches and drank a couple cups of hot coffee while watching the snow fall.

Once we finished we jumped into the car and headed back to Adirondack Loj. Where for the second day in a row paid $12 for parking. This time we hit the trail at around 10:00am. As we started our hike in we came across a ranger who was not happy that I had my dog off leash. So I leashed him, then shortly after took him off.

Unfortunately, one of the things I don't care for is the leashed dog rules in the Adirondacks. It is my own personal opinion and one, as a dog owner bugs me quite a bit. However, my dog does better off leash than on leash, it also protects me from being dragged off an icy cliff.

Any-who, we continued on and used our snowshoes the entire time. We passed several on skis. Cross country and tele. Before we knew it we were already at the junction with only 1 mile to get to the summit. We took a short snack break here. We were stoked to have only one mile left to hit the summit. Since the first 3.5 miles went by fairly quick.


We hit the trail and continued onward and upward. This trail starts off very moderate and gradual then hitting some sections that were fairly steep pushes. At one point I could feel the wind and cold air pushing through the trees and I knew we only had less than a half mile to go. I decided to layer up where we were, but this turned out to be a mistake as I quickly overheated. So I just slowed my pace down and unzipped my layers to manage.

Once you sort of pop out of the trees there is a bare rock with the foot path leading to the left. Continue you passed this and you will hit the summit just a hop and a skip further. A fairly open and large flat summit.

Here we took in the snow-globe like views, had some fun taking photos and then went on our merry way back down.

On our way out the temps were certainly dropping and I could feel my cheeks getting cold. Once we were back at the car we went and hung out in the Loj for a little bit near the warm fire. Then hit the road.

We headed back to my friends where she made us a yummy dinner. Shortly, after we ventured into downtown Lake Placid for our post hike adult beverages where we met some great people at the Great Adirondack Brewing Company!

Overall, hiking these new peaks in the Adirondacks has refreshed my memory on what it's like to hike in unfamiliar places, unfamiliar trails, and has taught me how to read new trail signs, maps, and junctions. It is without a doubt that hiking new peaks in a new place is a great reminder of how comfortable you can get when adventuring in the same place for quite some time.

While we were at the junction just before heading up to Phelps, I asked one of the ladies snacking there also if they had been up this peak, also if it was exposed and if there would be a place to stop and layer up. All of these what seem so simple things to me, I don't ever think about anymore in the Whites because I know these trails like the back of my hand. But it's a good reminder that must be brought to the surface to ensure the safety of someone who may not be familiar with where you are hiking also.

What a great adventure this journey has been thus far! I am looking forward to the many more peaks ahead.