My husband and are avid hikers and backpackers. We are working on hiking the high peaks of the ADK mountains. We were out backpacking to hike Skylight and Gray and decided to take a side trip and summit Marcy. It was worth the trip, and a beautiful view. The last bit was a steep climb, but not difficult technically. My best advice to someone who is considering climbing Marcy - do it, but don't be fooled into thinking it is the one and only hike to do in the ADKs... it might be the highest point, but it's not the be all and end all. Also, if you're planning to hike Marcy, don't plan to be alone because it is very well traveled and not the best option for the "wilderness" feeling. However, you can't get a view like that just anywhere :)
A Canadian friend of mine suggested in March(!) that we'd drive for 4 hours, trek up&down Mount Marcy at night and then head back to Ottawa. I said yes at once, and off went. We got to the parking lot arount 10pm, and reached the summit sometime around half past midnight. I was dead, since my friend was fitter than I, but it was mervelous! We got all sorts of weather: wind, lightning & thunder, hail, clear skies and finally rain. Fantastic!
I don't think this trail has much to recommend it other than it being a highpoint; there was not much in the way of beauty/scenery/views on the way up or down, it's just a slow stead slog to the top. We did it as a race against rain in the forecast; the rain never materialized, but the view at the top was non-existent and it was CRAZY windy. It took us about 4 1/4 hours to get up with not much by way of breaks. The trail is very very rocky, and at the top it is a lot of boulders to scramble over. I would highly recommend trekking poles; we put one pole away for the scramble at the top. This hike would suck in heat or rain - I would say it is dangerous in rain. Trail well marked, but had areas in need of maintenance.
We are in good condition and were prepared for the long trek, backpacks at the ready, lol, but Marcy is unrelenting when it comes to her climb. Not easy, but worth the trip!
10 hour hike. Loved the views. good hike, but there was a lot of running water, mud, ice and snow (it was mid May). Fun hike and not too challenging.
Most people do this hike from the Adirondack Loj or Johns Brook Lodge, but if you want a challenge, then you do it from the parking lot. I hiked from the Garden parking lot to the top and back, stopping at Johns Brook for Lemonade on the way up, and some reward ice cream and chatting on the way down. Either way, you'll be taking the Phelps trail towards Mount Marcy, but it was recommended to me via an online source, to make it a loop trail, by taking the Hopkins up, and the Von Hoevenberg down, or vice versa, which return you to the Phelps main trail. This was a mistake, as one of the trails (I forget which one), hadn't been used for a long time, and thus the trail had narrowed out, I walked through well over a dozen spider webs, and there were a couple times where I actually wasn't sure if I was on a trail, or just walking into the wilderness. How many people did I pass on the way up? 0. On the way down? A handful (it was starting to get somewhat late). The hike itself wasn't too difficult, but a lot of elevation gain and very minor scrambling starts to add up, especially when you do the full hike, round trip., which came out to be about 18 miles. I regret not doing Haystack while I was up there, but I didn't have a headlamp and I knew that Haystack would have definitely caused me to do at least a couple miles of night hiking, even if I skipped the Lodge on the way down, so I had to make the tough decision. There was a member of the Adirondack Mountain Club up there, making sure people kept off of the Alpine Vegetation that they were trying to restore up there, and he also was great to talk to and pointed out the major peaks from the Summit. Make sure you hike to this highest point in NY, while you're in the area!Bring 1-2 liters of water, just in case, and of course, a camera! :)
Hikes to the summit in August, leaving the base lot at 355am, submitting at 830am, weather was beautiful, and no bugs like I was reading about in other posts. Lots of mud and slippery rocks though beware! We climbed down the far side of the mountain for the 18 mile loop and went 2 miles more out of the way to loop back via Avalanche pass, which was well worth the painful muscles I had the next day! Total miles: 20 Total time: 355am-530pmMy training schedule prior: uphill biking vs uphill running every other day, and upper arm weight lifting. What would I do differently? Drink more freaking water! What helped? : topographic map + compass, and bring someone with an encouraging attitude! This was the longest hike I have ever completed in one day-
Now before you say "average, what is she thinking?", we only went as far as Marcy dam!! Mt Marcy is a 14 ish mile hike(round trip), and near the top I am told its a biotch. We left later in the morning and although my 54 yr old brother really wanted to do the whole thing, I knew that my out of shape 55 yr old body wasn't going to do it without a great deal of rebelling. My 58 yr old SO isn't an avid hiker, so going to the dam was about as far as he was going to go. The 2. something mile hike to the dam is really nice- 'beginner hiker territory'. You will work up a sweat (well, I did), but it was an enjoyable hike for us with nice views at the dam. Took about 3 hrs- but we stopped and spent some time at the dam.
July 10 2014:A friend and I arrived at the Adirondack Loj at around 9:00 am to set out on our adventure. There is a small $10.00 parking fee at the Loj, but this fee is completely reasonable given the nicely maintained trails and ample parking. We set off from the Loj at around 9:30, coming across many sights on our way to Mt Marcy including Marcy Dam and Indian Falls, both of which are awesome places to see! We arrived at the summit of Mount Marcy at around 1:30 pm, after about a 4 hour hike including a stop for lunch and to admire some sights. As you approach the summit from the trails branching out from the Loj, there are some relatively steep sections of rock which must be climbed to reach the summit. We were easily able to make it up with 20+ lbs of gear in an internal frame backpack. The views are absolutely amazing, even being able to see mt mansfield (the highest peak in Vermont) from the summit. At the summit, we met an incredibly friendly summit guide named Devin, who told us all about the history of the area, the endangered plants, and what laid beyond the mountain. We ended up climbing down the opposite side that we ascended, and hiking to Lake Colden to camp at a surprisingly nice campsite directly beside the lake, providing a beautiful view. We hiked back out around Avalanche Lake, and through Avalanche Pass. The trails in and around Avalanche Lake are a ton of fun, including many ladders, bridges and platforms to navigate, providing a fun obstacle course type hike. Our hike was around 18 miles total, spread out between two days. I was very sore by the end, but the natural beauty and majesty of the area is more than enough to make up for that. I could not have imagined a better hiking trip. Make sure to bring bug spray!
Went alone in February 2011, very quite with amazing clear views. Bring food, this time of year you may want to camp half up, I did both one year I stopped but didn't make it to the top bc my boots froze over night. The second year was strait up and down and a success. I've heard the summer is very crowded.