Nippletop and Dial

Nippletop

4,620 feet  |  ranked 13/46 in height  |  35th peak climbed 

Dial

4,020 feet  |  ranked 41/46 in height  |  36th peak climbed

This hike was rather spur of the moment, which for an Adirondack High Peak, is very unusual for me.  Normally I plan things out obsessively, reading and re-reading trip reports and poring over maps and buying special foods.  None of that happened here (except maybe the obsession part, that is ongoing).  What happened is this: I got a text from Erin Saturday saying that Alden was spending the night at his Dad's house and she couldn't stop fantasizing about driving up north and climbing a mountain.  She'd have very little time available, as she'd need to pick Alden up the next day, but was still sorely tempted.  Hmm. Lovely notion, right?  Initially, I dismissed it as pure fantasy, but the idea was lodged like an ear worm -- a mountain worm.

Soon I was scheming, too.  OK, not exactly soon... immediately.  Literally two minutes later, I sent back a text saying "I guess if you started hiking at 4 am and hiked for 11 hours, you'd be back out by 3 pm and home by 7 pm."  Ten minutes later, I sent out another text: "Could we swing Dial & Nippletop in 11 hours?  Walking the Lake Road in the dark would be easy!"  Notice the pivot from "you" to "we".  There was no way to think about anything else after that.  Well, except logistics... neither of us had great packable hiking food on hand, but we both brought double of what we had, to cover different food groups.  We had to discuss a Plan B, in case the parking lot was full.  And we had to contemplate COVID, of course, as we have not had a double bubble.  But Erwin gave his blessing for us to ride together and things kind of snowballed from there.  I ate dinner with the family, stuffed some food and rain gear in my pack, filled my hydration bladder, grabbed a toothbrush, and set off for the Thruway park-n-ride to meet Erin. 

We wore masks in the car the entire ride up; it's just habit at this point.  There was ample parking at the Saint Hubert's lot when we arrived after dark, which was a huge relief.  We brushed teeth and settled back in the car to nap for a few hours.  It quickly became apparent that we would suffocate if we tried to sleep in the masks, so we had to give up on that notion.  A few short hours later, we were struggling to force down a little food and caffeine, then we brushed our teeth again and set out up the road and through the golf course.  It was about 4:30 am when we signed into the register, where the Club was kind enough to provide hand sanitizer.  Then off we went, down the Lake Road. 

As predicted, the road was easy enough in the poor light, although it wasn't really fully dark anymore.  At the junction of the Cutoff Trail, we paused briefly to stash the headlamps, which had been off for some time, and have a small snack.  I'd only managed to choke down half a slice of bread at the car, so would need to be mindful to keep adding calories throughout the morning to avoid bonking.  Eating the cherries early seemed prudent, since they are heavy.  It was muggy and I was sweating buckets already.  The mosquitoes hadn't bothered us thus far, but swarmed when we stopped.  We soon moved on. 

Labrador tea (Rhododendron groenlandicum)

We reached the split with the trail to Colvin and Blake shortly before 7 am; we were here together six years ago today.  From this point forward, it was all new territory for both of us.  Very exciting!

It was thrilling to reach Elk Pass.  I adore alpine lakes, and these little ponds were just so charming with little tendrils of morning mist!  We tried not to dally too long, ever mindful of the need to get back home in time to pick up Alden, but could not pass through without photo-documenting the beauty. 

round-leaved sundew (Drosera rotundifolia)

bunchberry (Cornus canadensis)

It was very exciting to get to the trail junction indicating we were just 0.2 miles from the summit.  Almost there!  A tiny dip and one last small climb up the iconic summit cone that earned Nippletop its name.

view of the final ascent up Nippletop

view from the summit looking south, toward Elk Lake

view to the north-northwest, toward the Great Range

The summit is quite small, and was initially occupied by another party of two women, the first other hikers we'd seen all day; they'd come over Dial, hiking the same loop in the reverse direction.  Unfortunately we could not enjoy the views to the east toward Dix and the Beckhorn, due to a horrifying pile of human waste, complete with prominent stank and buzzing flies.  People are just the worst!  So there were basically just the two boulders available.  We had the summit to ourselves briefly, and then a family of four came up to claim the other boulder, also coming over Dial first.  We ate the PB&Js Erin brought and rested enough to cool down a bit.  [Did I mention it was hot?  Crazy hot, and super muggy, too.  Sweat literally dripping everywhere.  My glasses had been fogged for hours, to the point where I had to remove them to see my feet, so it was nice to be able to put them back eventually and enjoy the non-blurry view.] 

After perhaps 35 minutes we moved on.  The ridge walk over to Dial was very pleasant, virtually all flat and downhill except for a short climb to the summit. 

The summit itself is fairly unremarkable, a single large boulder.  It would be easy to miss.  In fact, we witnessed one party do just that, blow by it and then backtrack.  [I did the same thing on Armstrong.]  Another party arrived almost immediately after us, so we never really got to have Dial to ourselves, which is a pity given just how very small that boulder is.  Under normal circumstances, maybe this wouldn't be a problem, but it was a bit nerve-wracking, given the COVID situation.  Not so much that we were at any huge risk, being outdoors, but just seeing other people is an oddity at this point.  The views of the Great Range were really great though. 

Moving on, the next landmark we hiked toward was Bear Den, but this isn't really worth mentioning.  The summit is fully wooded and barely a rise on the ridgeline.  If there hadn't been a sign posted with mileage back toward Dial and forward to St. Huberts, we would have walked by without knowing it was a summit.  It was no more noticeable than any other bump on the ridge. 

The shoulder of Noonmark was a stark contrast in every way.  We felt that climb, although perhaps just because we were getting tired and dehydrated.  It was REALLY freaking hot.  The forest in this area is regenerating after a forest fire and the trail passes through a grove of mixed birch and aspen.  Birch are common in the High Peaks, but I can't think of many other places with this much young aspen.  It was a fun change of scenery. 

And definitely follow the herd path out onto the rocky ledges, because this is the last spot with wide open views.  We had a small snack to fortify us for the hike out and I finished the last of my four quarts of water.  Luckily for me, Erin had several unopened bottles, so I gratefully accepted a a refill in my Nalgene bottle.  I felt bad taking her water but justified to myself I was lightening her load. 

This hike was about 14.5 miles with about 4,000 feet elevation gain.  We were a bit tired on the drive home, but made it back in time for Erin to pick up Alden and for me to have dinner with Erwin and Frankie.  We were gone almost exactly 24 hours.  It was *exactly* what I needed and I'm thrilled we seized the chance when it arose.  I definitely can't pull of this kind of big hike with such a short turnaround time alone; I badly needed the help staying awake on the drive home.  So happy to have Erin back in the High Peaks game!