Backpacking to Mount Marcy in the Adirondacks (the HIGHEST point in New York!)

this is definitely a jungle jam this has been one of the most challenging hikes so hello from the adirondacks when you last saw us we were in buffalo new york and we have since driven six and a half hours northeast to near lake placid to spend the next couple days backpacking in the high peaks wilderness and summiting the highest point in new york mount marcy there are 46 high peaks in the adirondacks called 46ers and mount marcy is the tallest at 5 344 feet you can do the mount marcy hike as a long 17 mile day hike or you can combine it with other trails in the area for an even longer backpacking experience and over the next two days we're going to do a 20-mile backpacking trip on the avalanche pass to mount marcy loop trail we just made it to a free campsite really close to the trailhead and tomorrow morning we will begin our backpacking adventure [Music] it's 6am and we're about to start the hike the trail that we're doing starts at the adirondack lodge which does have a fee to park it's 15 per day but it's less if you're an adirondack club member but the money does go towards keeping the area maintained and today's plan is to hike about six or seven miles on the avalanche pass trail to lake coldin to hang out for the day and camp for the night [Music] we made it to marcy dam which is about two and a half miles into the trail we're finally coming out of the woods the sun's coming up and we're getting our first peak at some of the peaks here in the high peak wilderness [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] we made it to avalanche lake which is a really cool lake that's tucked between two rock faces and to get around this lake it's gonna be a very fun adventure there are ladders there are bridges people basically say it's like a jungle gym to get to the other side of the lake and people have said it's not really the best trail for dogs but if you can carry your dog in some parts you should be fine kona's basically a little mountain goat she loves to climb up things so we're hoping she does okay and if not we'll just have to carry her [Music] okay here's the first major ladder 14 rungs pause the video now and comment below if you think kona can get up it by herself you got it girl she just went for it good job kona this is so fun i love when trails just have unique features like this [Music] i think the thrill is gone for her she's not wanting to go up even just a small two or three wrong ones having to carry her a lot more that's okay [Music] it was cooler in my head [Music] this is definitely a jungle jam [Music] [Music] home sweet home [Music] [Music] oh have set up our home for the night at one of the designated campsites near lake coldin there are a bunch of different campsites in this area and they're marked on the all trails map and they also have these yellow circular signs on the trees to kind of point you in the right direction of where the campsites are we think we're the only ones camping out here right now so we had our pick of all the sights but we chose a site that's really close to the trail we need to be on in the morning just to make our lives easier we don't have a view or anything like that but we're surrounded by all the trees and it's super nice and peaceful [Music] we talked about bear safety when we backpacked in the wind river range but the adirondacks are home to black bears and there's a few bear safety precautions that you need to take if you're overnighting out here number one you need to carry a bear canister they actually had a problem in this area with bears getting into food they actually got into those uh thin blue plastic bear containers so they highly recommend you bring one of these heavy duty guys like this you can rent these at the trailhead or in town in lake placid another important tip to follow is you don't want to eat in or around your campsite or your tent so we've come over to this nice little stream here to eat some lunch [Music] we've basically spent the last few hours doing absolutely nothing we've been laying around in the tent i dozed off for a bit we went for a little walk so nothing too exciting to show you guys but for us it was much needed we just really wanted a day to relax out here because tomorrow is a huge day we have 13 miles to get back to the van and that includes hiking up to the summit of mount marcy so we're going to spend the rest of the night just gearing up for that and hitting the hay early [Music] [Music] here [Music] bring it up [Music] so [Music] we're on the trail for day two the sign by the campsite said we have 4.2 miles until we get to the top of mount marcy let's do this [Music] what just happened i just wiped out in the mud this trail is so muddy you have to be so careful there's hardly anywhere to step and i was trying to step on this log and my entire leg went into the mud this trail is never boring it keeps you on your toes you either have these big wooden ladders like this suspension bridges and especially all kinds of mud especially if you uh fall in it like someone here [Music] [Music] nice they're better than me not gonna lie the mud has made this hike pretty brutal this morning there's like a fun amount of mud and then there's a brutal amount of mud [Music] so that peak behind me is mount marcy we apparently only we have like under two miles to go it looks so far and like so much more elevation i don't know if it's because we haven't really climbed like a true large mountain in about two months or so haven't backpacked in about two months but this is kicking our butts this has been one of the most challenging hikes not just because we have these heavy packs on but just every single step is an awkward step you're stepping over a stone or a root or a big giant rock oh it's been challenging [Music] [Music] we just got our first glimpse of the views that we will see from the top of mount marcy which gave me like a burst of energy to make it all the way to the top we did talk to some people and they said super windy on top so it's probably going to be one of those get up there take our quick photo head back down kind of thing but okay we're almost there we're in the alpine zone let's do it [Music] this never happens it's always me that's dying i don't know just seeing the views got me so stoked [Music] oh oh [Music] that was hands down the most powerful win we've ever been in in our entire lives it was pushing me over i could barely stand up we're trying to power through so we can see all the views which are freaking phenomenal up here just mountains everywhere and the mountains are our absolute favorite place to be we've missed being in the mountains so much so we are on cloud nine right now [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] we have made it back to the marcy dam which is about two to two and a half miles left to the van back to the adirondack lodge but this last five and a halfish miles has just been a grind [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] 19.1 miles it sure feels good to sit down at the trailhead is adirondack lodge which has rooms and beds you can rent before or after your hike they also have a restaurant called the hungry hiker which has burgers and other items but unfortunately it's closed today but that's okay because we have a high point pizza tradition to continue [Music] the savior coming through so when we hiked to the highest point in new mexico we got pizza afterwards and then when we hiked to the highest point in colorado we also got pizza and we decided that from here on out anytime we hiked to the highest point in the state we're getting pizza so we came to a spot in lake placid called big sly brewery brewer i can't say that word in public house and got us two pizzas and i've never been so excited all right the first one we've got here is the okay boomer and that's pretty funny name it's got garlic creme fresh base mixed mushrooms except we got those off spinach goat cheese dutch knuckle cheese fennel pollen and truffle oil that is very unique and that is some garlic ingredients i don't know i haven't even heard of that stuff that is super creamy super garlicky i love the spinach underneath there it gives a little bit of freshness this is a gluten-free crust here and it's got good little chew to it and then crispy on the edges this one has a nice little tang from the goat cheese it's so garlicky you do not want to kiss someone after eating this don't get this on a first date but when you're married who cares who cares number two is the hunter spinach and pumpkin seed pesto smoked venons venison sausage grilled onion dutch knuckle cheese and pickled blueberries what it is super cheesy the venison sausage hiding under there gives it a nice spicy flavor and then the blueberry gave it like a really pop of you know pickled flavor but very sweet i would have never thought to put blueberries with pesto but it gives it such a nice like pop of just juiciness and freshness and a little bit of sweetness we had originally planned to do a couple day hikes in the area and a separate day hike up to mount marcy but the weather later in the week was looking kind of crummy so we had to quickly re-prioritize what we wanted to see in this area and we last minute decided on this backpacking trip and it was just awesome we're bummed to miss out on the other hikes but we already know we'll be back to the adirondacks and just upstate new york in general just even driving from buffalo all the way out here we saw so many things we wanted to come back for it's so beautiful and even though this backpacking trip kicked our butts like real real good like i feel i can barely keep my eyes open right now we've got scratches all over me bruises bumps shoulders are destroyed it was definitely type 2 fun which means that you hate it in the moment but you look back on it fondly so we had some highs we had some lows but we're really glad we did it we've learned lately that we really like getting deeper into nature and kind of getting away from more of the crowds and just really challenging ourselves and yeah it it did all of that so we're gonna spend the next couple days resting and recuperating get a little work in and then we'll be off to new england and our first stop will be vermont was cooler in my head i'm just trying to be too cool this trail is never boring it keeps you on your toes i'm pretty sad that we're leaving the adirondacks without summoning a little nipple mountain oh nipple top a little nipple top we we couldn't have hiked i mean let's be real we're like 10 year olds inside we couldn't have hiked a little nipple top and not just giggled the whole video so it's probably best we stuck with marcy yeah