8 April 2021
I set out for Colvin, Blake, Nippletop, Dial loop Unsupported FKT. These are 4 Adirondack High Peaks. I was confident walking into this that I'd get this one in the bag EASILY and lower it by a lot. HA. Pride comes before a great fall (or many great falls)! I ankle postholed in crusty, corny snow pretty much all day (snowshoe season is officially over yay!!). It was about 70 degrees all day and the snow was getting so soft! This made for really tough running conditions. Taking steps forward with no firm base uses up energy a lot quicker!! But I did use microspikes 80% of trail. La Sportiva Kaptiva GTX. I started with Colvin via Gil Brook and ended with Dial/Bear Den/Noonmark Shoulder.
I really contemplated bailing at mountain 3 (Nippletop). I had about 6 miles left and some elevation gain still--my feet were drenched and freezing. i dropped some food on the trail and had the last of my snacks. I had the last of my Energy Water. Go back to the Lake Road Or continue forward? I waited 15 minutes to warm my feet up in my jacket and ringed out my socks and shoes soles. I Obviously move forward. I continued to dial and lost even more energy through great falls and postholing scraps. I got reallllllly light-headed...ut oh...I fell to the ground to conserve any energy I had left. luckily I forgot I had put some honey stinger waffles in the back of my vest. I mix that in my mouth with some clean snow (Waffle Slushy mmmmm) and waited 10 minutes. Over Dial- I take in the lovely views and enjoy the sun for a few moments. Snap some pictures. I found more water and had a filter so I drank up and back to 6-8 min miles heading down the HG Leach Trail once over Noonmark Shoulder (microspikes were taken off at this point). The lake road I kept a steady pace to end at the Rangers Sign In.