Street and Nye Mountains, NY
Date: 07/23/2006
Persons in Group: Brian.
Weather Conditions: 60 degrees, rain. Sun/Clouds/75 degrees at midday.
Route: Herd path from the ADK Loj, due west to the shoulder of Nye Mountain. Summited Nye Mountain, then Street Mountain.
Notes: I got to the Loj around 7:45 AM, and hit the trail in the (pouring) rain. I thought for sure it was going to be a nasty one all day, so I came prepared with extra clothes, extra rainjacket, and sandles for the Indian Pass Brook in case I needed them (and I did). The herd path is very easy to follow for the most part, I think I may have lost it once or twice in the .5 miles from the "fake Y intersection" to the "real Y intersection". There is some gnarly, gnarly blowdown on that section, however the path does a good job of getting through it. Once you get to the Y Intersection, it's a cakewalk to Nye (with no views) and also easy to Street (some views, but not for me). I was at the summit of Street Mountain at 11:30 AM. On the way down, I ran into a couple groups, a total of around 8-9 people. There are some great views on the .5 mile section below the Y intersection, I actually got to see them on my way down when all the clouds cleared up.
No GPS route today, it was raining too hard for me to bring it out.
The Loj at 7:45 AM. Nothing but rain. I figured I was in for a wet and muddy day. (I was right on both accounts).
Heart Lake, you can see the clouds sitting very low, blocking any view of Algonquin which would normally be seen here.
A dark picture. You follow the Old Nye Ski Trail for a bit, until it turn up to Mt. Joe. At that point, you keep heading west on the herd path.
No way accross without getting wet. (Albeit, I didn't look to hard around the bend). I had brought a pair of sandles with me just for this, so in I went. The water, at it's highest was up to my knee's, with a fairly strong current. I strapped my shoes around my neck, poles were helpful for balance.
Soaked already.
A view climbing up to the Y intersection. At this point it stopped raining, and it actually looked like it might clear up. I was hoping to time it so that would be the case when I got to Street.
The Y intersection, marked with a cairn. Left for Street, Right for Nye.
The summit of Nye Mountain. I stayed long enough to take a picture, and mark a waypoint. 10 min later, I was back at the Y Intersection.
A little while longer, I reach Street.
Views from Street. Wright, Algonquin, Boundry, Iroquois, Marshall. (Somewhere).
One final picture of Street.
Whats that, an Algonquin slide?? Yes, things started to clear up as I headed down from the Y Intersection...
Some excellent views to be had, for sure in this section of trail. There is so much blowdown, and the steepness is just right. You can make out Heart Lake in the first picture.
The rest was me cruising back out the Loj. I was hoping the water level would make crossing a little easier, as in not changing shoes...but no dice. Had to wade accross the brook again.
Don't even get me started on how far out of my way I had to drive out of way to get the Essex/Charlotte ferry crossing. I left the Loj at 2:45 PM, I managed to catch the 5PM ferry. Ouch.