Perfect Day in the Lower Dix Range

I know it's been a while since I last posted, having been busy with a new bird research project that has had me working lots of hours and most days, but I promise that it is quieting down now so that I will have more time to write. I haven't had much spare time to hike in the past couple months, but as things are settling down I have been working my way up slowly to some of the high peaks in the hopes that I can climb more of them this summer. I started with smaller mountains like Ampersand and the Jay Range, and worked my way up to repeating Big Slide and finally some new high peaks yesterday--the lower Dix Range.

I am pretty against the concept of "peak bagging", where people set out to knock 3-7 peaks off their forty-sixer list in one day, as I like to enjoy each peak on it's own and am in no rush to join the club. But for many of the high peaks it just doesn't make sense to do one peak and not another, as is the case with the lower Dix range. Macomb Mtn. is a short but challenging hike from the Elk Lake trailhead whose path includes a half mile long slide that is a challenge to ascend but far more dangerous to come down, so the vast majority of hikers continue over Macomb's summit to South Dix and return via a trail that desecends between South Dix and Hough peaks. South Dix is an easy scramble from Macomb, dropping about 600 feet and then climbing another 100 feet to the summit, and by the time you're there East Dix is just another mile across the ridge at an even lower height, so many hikers include that one as well. From East Dix most people opt to return over South Dix to the col between there and Hough, but my hiking partner and I like to plan hikes with as little repeat hiking as possible, so we planted a car at route 73 in Keene so that instead of ascending back to Elk Lake over South Dix we could descend East Dix on it's north side and follow the south fork of the Bouqet River for a scenic continuation of our trip. This idea for a through-hike was the best idea we've had in a while, and made for one of the best days of hiking I've ever had.

The slide on Macomb Mtn.

The most interesting part of the trip by far was climbing the Macomb slide, a half-mile length of bare rock, boulders, and scree, more typical of the types of rocks you see out west than anything I've ever seen in the Adirondacks. As we approached the slide I started to get knots in my stomach, especially since we could see hikers walking the slide and see how slowly and carefully they were climbing. When we first reached the slide I walked right onto the middle of it and my feet instantly slid, kicking rocks and sand down the slide, which made me reconsider the climb. But I quickly realized that there was some technique involved, that there were enough boulders and flat rocks secured to the slide to provide steady footing, and the trick was simply to follow those rocks. Rocky cairns built by hikers helped point the way, and before I knew it I was halfway up the slide, and looking down at an incredible view of Elk Lake below. As we continued up the slide we gained elevation rapidly and a beautiful view of the high peaks started to unfold below. I was almost sad to leave the slide to continue on to the summit and lose the backdrop behind us, but it reappeared at the summit and did not disappoint.

Looking down the slide from above

The slide with a hiker on it for scale

Panoramic View from Macomb's summit

The descent off Macomb was fairly simple, only about a 20 minute hike that drops into a col between Macomb and South Dix. Cols (the dip between two mountains) are quickly becoming one of my favorite places in the Adirondacks. At high elevations these cols are little microclimates in the sky, where protection from the winds that plague the summits allow vegetation to flourish and trees to grow to medium heights, providing excellent habitat for a number of birds. Boreal chickadees, Blackpoll warblers, White-throated Sparrows, and Dark-eyed Juncos are common sights in these cols, and I saw many of them on yesterday's hike. The highlight of the day came in the col between Macomb and South Dix--a Bicknell's Thrush. Bicknell's are an Alpine species of bird that in the Adirondacks is only found above 3500 feet on summits that have dense thickets of Balsam Fir and Spruce. So this is where I have to admit that I've never seen a Bicknell's Thrush before, even though I've been birding the Adirondacks for more than 10 years, because I rarely get the chance to climb high peaks in the summer when the birds are present (I'm usually working 2-3 field jobs). So yesterday's sighting was a life bird for me, and I was very excited to see it and actually get a so-so photo of it. I admit that I cheated, using a recording of it's call to get it to pop out of the thick balsams to get a look, but it appeared only for a few seconds then quickly disappeared back into the thicket. After taking a few minutes to regain composure from the exhiliration of seeing a new bird we made the quick scramble over some open rocks to the summit of South Dix.

Bicknell's Thrush in the col

Looking back at South Dix and Macomb from East Dix

By this time of the day the wind was gusting to what I assume was at least 25-30 mph on the summits, so we took a short rest and then began the descent to East Dix. Getting there involved a small descent into another col, where I was treated to another better sight of a Bicknell's Thrush, and walking about a mile and making a short descent up to the mostly open summit of East Dix. The view from here was spectacular, looking mostly to the east down to the Champlain Valley and the Green Mountains of Vermont. We spent a long time up here soaking up the warmth of the sun while being cooled down by the whipping wind, making for perfect temperatures. The wind, though gusty, was much appreciated because it kept all the bugs away and allowed us to relax. I wanted to stay there forever, but our hike was only halfway done, we still had the challenge ahead of us of five more miles and finding the path back to the car.

View of Dix from north side of East Dix

When we planned this hike I had read trip reports that describe the path to East Dix from route 73 as difficult to follow, so we were both prepared for some rough trail conditions and possible bushwhacking, but the path turned out to be well worn, completely cleared, and easy to follow so long as you were paying attention. Though the entire route of our hike was technically "trailless", we never had issues knowing where to go and the path was clearer than many "maintained" trails I've hiked. The descent from East Dix parallels a slide that could also be used to ascend the peak (maybe next time), and after about 2 miles it begins to follow the headwaters of the Bouqet River. Usually by the 7-8 mile range into a hike you are walking back through terrain you already passed, through monotonous woodlands, and you can't wait to get back to the car, but at this point the hike was still just as exciting as it was going up. The path winded back and forth across streams and then the river, revealing waterfalls, gorges, and swimming holes at every turn. We found an amazing swimming hole about 10 feet deep and stopped to take advantage of it only to find the water chillingly COLD! So cold in fact that my aching knee actually felt better after a few minutes of swimming, as though I had put ice on it! We passed a number of other swimming holes along the way but never one as nice as that one, and I can't wait to hike back to later in the summer when it warms up a little. In the last few miles we passed a few large beaver meadows, where beavers had flooded the woods and killed the trees years ago and huge open meadows subsequently grew in after the beavers moved on. The Bouqet River winded around us sometimes at our feet and sometimes 100 feet below, sometimes raging and sometimes still. At our last crossing over the river, just a few hundred feet from our car, we both stopped and just admired the river for a few minutes, reluctant to leave. This was such a contrast to most hikes, where I practically sprint to the car with my last bit of energy, relieved to have made it back. When I finally made it to the car I only had three thoughts--I'm hungry, I have to drive back to Elk Lake to get the other car (the only downside of a through-hike), and I can't wait to hike this trail again.

Beaver meadow

The Bouqet River

Perfect swimming hole

Waterfall along the Bouqet