The 1st highpoint of a four highpoint trip was New York. The night before we stayed at an Airbnb in Lake Placid so that we could be nearby and not have a long drive the morning of the hike. We arrived at the trailhead around 7:30a and paid the ~$15 parking fee. With no employee working at that time, we had to use a supplied QR code using their provided local wifi since there was little/no cell signal. We geared up and headed toward the trailhead registry. The temperature was cool, in the mid-40s, and we expected some wet conditions since the area experienced plentiful rain the day prior.

The first two miles of the trail are gentle and enjoyable, void of any obstacles, save some logs and planks laid across the trail in areas of persistent high water. Once we reached the Marcy Dam, however, the story changes. The steepness increases and there are plentiful boulders that make up the trail. We kept following the Van Hoevenberg trail marked with blue disks secured to trees until we reached the crossing at Henry's Fork. Here the terrain becomes even steeper and the boulders even more plentiful. We pressed on until we reached a small meadow with a clearing where we were afforded our first clear view of Mount Marcy. We took a break to have a snack and for Shelley to dose some ibuprofen for her aching knees. The break was supposed to be short, but Shelley managed to slice open her middle finger while cutting some cheese from a cheddar block. We were delayed a bit while Kyle administered first aid.

We left the meadow behind and started the final push for the summit. We left the blue disks behind, too, and the trail became marked with yellow blazes on the boulders and slabs. The push for the summit was unnerving in places and there were thoughts of "How am I going to do this going back down?". Kyle led the way, doing all of the route finding, which got a little confusing as we neared the summit. We arrived on top about 5.5 hours later, greeted with chilly and very windy conditions. We did not linger. We stuck around long enough to snap a few pictures and find the USGS benchmark.

We started our descent shortly after reaching the summit, setting our sights on returning to the meadow for another chance to snack and recharge. The descent from summit to meadow retraced the really steep sections and somehow they weren't nearly as unnerving on the way down as was imagined. The rock slabs and boulders on Mount Marcy are very grabby, even when wet, so we learned to "trust the shoes" and go. After another short break at the meadow, we pressed on for the rest of the descent. The hike down was pretty slow, though. Shelley's knees were really unhappy. Trekking poles were a huge help and are highly recommended on this hike, at least for the descent. We hit a snag when we had just 1 mile left on our 16 mile hike. Poor signage and tired brains led us to making a wrong turn and getting off of the Van Hoevenberg trail. We noticed the mistake after about 0.5 miles. We retraced our steps and found our way back to the desired trail. That mistake added a mile to our total hike. Eeeke! We got back to our car after about 12 hours. The wrong turn, the steep terrain, first aid for a knife cut, and achey knees definitely tacked on some time. Kyle loved this hike. Shelley categorizes it as "not a favorite." Bottom line, Mount Marcy is a lot harder than her 5,344' might convey.

We left the Mount Marcy trailhead and headed S to Albany to visit and stay with Rob and Elizabeth. Highpoint #35 was achieved.