Set out to do the Lake Placid 9er Route, with self-supported driving between most trail-heads.
First stop was the Catamount trail head. Great trail running for about a mile, then we hit some steep inclines and climbs. Pushed through, got lost on the summit, but made it back to the car on schedule. Off to Bear Den.
Second peak was Bear Den, in the shadow of Whiteface Mtn. Some quick trail running until it became a bit steep and rocky. Back to the car for some fueling (glucose gels and SiS powder packs all day) and then on to Cobble Hill! Cobble Hill was a fast up and down, but it was starting to get hot!
Next stop was parking at the Adirondack Loj (I swear it gets more expensive every month) for some quick running to the base of Mt. Jo. Only 2 miles round trip, but muddy conditions and steep/rocky segments slowed progress, as well as the heat.
On to the Olympic Bobsled parking for Mount Van Hoevenberg! This trail is pretty benign and full of rock steps, so we were able to push through. Great views on the (crowded) summit!
At this point, spirits were high as we had accomplished 5/9 of the mountains and about 50% of the elevation and distance. But next up was Pitchoff, the steepest mountain with over 2000ft of ascent in a little less than 1.9 miles. Trail running was limited here due to mud, rocks, water, and roots (as well as getting lost) and the humidity and temperature was soaring. Started to have major hip pain as well form an old injury, and the group mood went downhill quickly. We made it back to the car in low spirits as the day went on.
Next up was Baxter, a fun hike with a nice summit. This was a lower gradient and intended to be a bit of a recovery hike after Pitchoff, but the high temperature finally got to us, with heat exhaustion and continuing hip pain taking a toll. We took a longer rest at the summit to cool down, then made it back to the car for the final transition to the Big Crow Parking Lot.
From the Big Crow Parking lot, we were able to do Big Crow (short and sweet), then back down for the longest individual hike of the day and second highest elevation gain: Hurricane Mtn. 300ft shy of being a high peak, it was a easy and flat 1.2 miles in, but once we crossed the river, we were hit with mud and steep rocky conditions. By now, our stomachs were rebelling from 11+ hours of drinking and eating pure glucose, and I stopped at every stream on the way to dunk my head and cool down. Spirits were low by the time we reached the summit at sunset. The descent down happened in the dark with lights, where slippery rocks forced us to slow down and let to some close calls. We finished in the dark at the Hurricane/Big Crow lot after about 13.5 hours.
Overall, we started this effort strong, but lost a lot of time on the second half due to heat/humidity, injury, and conditioning. While we beat the male self-supported time, I think we left some hours on the table. Until next year!