Trap Dike: Part One

Hard core I am not. Adventurous maybe. Curious, most definitely.

For years, friends told me stories about ascending or descending the Trap Dike and I wondered how this place could be so amazing. I knew that Avalanche Pass was gorgeous from other through hikes I had taken, but this dike they all talked about definitely had me curious.

I was always jealous of listening to their climbing and skiing adventures and silently pouted that no one would ever take me. Finally, I mentioned my interest in reaching Mount Colden's summit via this classic Adirondack climbing route to my friend Emilie and we started planning when we could go. This planning process took us approximately two years to finally have days off together and have the weather be on our side. With Emilie's upcoming trip to the Indian Karakoram for a climbing expedition of her own, this first week of summer was our week. Or so we thought.

We kept watching the weather report and things looked good for our adventure, with a 30% chance of showers in the late afternoon. Emilie figured out that if we started by 8 am, we could be on our way down before any supposed rain would begin. Not trying to get ahead of myself in the story, but I should note here that approximately 3 hours later she told me that if she had a client with this forecast, they would not have attempted the proposed hike. However, a paying client I was not and as two friends, we plowed ahead and so we reached Avalanche Lake looking out for dark clouds.

Unusually optimistic for the two of us, we determined that it was partly cloudy and we circled the lake. Confident that the weather man was spot on with the weather forecast, we decided to eat a sandwich before we started our scramble and just as we were finishing the crusts, we looked at one another and said, "Was that a raindrop?" Yes, but no sprinkle was going to keep me down and so we continued.

Then those sprinkles turned into heavy rain drops, we put on our raincoats and the rocks became slippery and wet. Turns out rain and rock slabs don't mix well and Emilie, the knowledgeable guide gave Mother Nature the thumbs down.

And so there I was crouched in the rain with my SPF 70 having her tell me how nice it will be to do the Trap Dike with fall foliage.

So, as I feed her cats this summer and tell them stories about their owner climbing on the other side of the world, at least I'll have Trap Dike, Part Two to look forward to.

Best of luck Emilie on your big adventure!