Location:	Mt. Marcy!  The highest peak in New York.
Dates:	July 16-18, 2004
Who:	Mike Fitzsimmons John Koslosky Cliff Rose John Ivory Brian F. (the elder) Brian F. (the younger) Jeremy R. Phil F. Bryce H. Matt I.
Notes:	This was our first time scaling Mt. Marcy.  It was a lot of work, but worth it.  Special thanks go to Mike Fitzsimmons for making the plans and talking us into this.

	As you can see in the upper left, we hit a little snag on the way out, as John K's car developed a flat at a rest stop.  Easy problem, quickly solved. By the time we got to the designated campsite (Adirondack Loj) and set up camp though, it was a little late (and we were a little tired), so we went into town (Lake Placid) for pizza and a little sight seeing.  It's a beautiful little town with a lot to see all on its own.

	The day started out fine, and we were lucky enough to have reasonable weather.  Roughly speaking, it was about a 16-17 mile round trip, although it certainly seemed like a lot longer.  The trail is very well marked and tended.  Some number of us carried back-packs up the hill.  At one of the rest stops, Matt actually had steam rising from his sweaty T-shirt.

There were only 2-3 places along the 5.5 hour up-hill that we could see the top of Marcy.  It always looked to be a long way away.  Campsites along the way were VERY bear proofed, as they are known to be a serious problem.  As you'd guess, we all ended up losing steam.  Even so, it was definitely worth it.  Sometimes you have to stress yourself to learn your capabilities, and we all were pushed a bit.

	As you can see from these photos, two things became apparent at the top... we were exhausted, but the view was worth it.  After an hour's break, complete with MANY sandwiches, we began our 4.5 hour hike back down.  Unfortunately, we had to deal with about 2 hours of rain and thunder. Click here for a full 360 degree panorama view from the summit of Mt. Marcy. Just scroll left/right to see the whole thing.  It's pretty impressive.