Basin and Saddleback

May 28, 2022

Sometimes a hike takes several attempts to complete. Though I have hiked this route quite a few times in the past, the last two attempts had been stymied by bad weather. As I work on the seasonal 46, I tried this route in Fall 2018 but was turned back at Slant Rock due to a wet snowstorm. Fall of 2021, a two day camping trip to climb these two plus Haystack had us scurrying our sopping wet tails back to Keene Valley after netting just Basin. It was with a bit of dismay that I saw yet another rainy weather forecast for this day, but decided to go ahead and try again, hoping for a bit of luck this time. No chance of moving the trip to another date, as this was the culmination of my training for the beginning of the bigger summer trips.

Eric and I drove down to the Keene Farm after work on Friday, slow going as it was raining cats and dogs. This was forecast, and we only hoped it would lighten up a bit before we got there to set up our tents. It fortunately had diminished to just a drizzle as we arrived, so we set up camp quickly, had a couple beers under the cooking shelter and went to bed.

The next morning was a bright day! We struck out from the half full Garden parking lot at 06:00. Full sunshine greeted us as we took our first quick break at JBL and we quite enjoyed the hiking all the way up to Slant Rock. Unfortunately as we worked up the climb towards the Range Trail the weather started to turn, and by the time we reached the lookout towards Haystack, the summit was obscured in clouds. Basin for the moment was still clear, so we hustled along hoping to get to the top before the view closed in. As we made our way up the steep slopes it started to rain a bit and we shrugged into our waterproof jackets as a cool breeze picked up. After about four hours of hiking we arrived on the summit of Basin, looking into the nothing. We found a sheltered clearing and sat down for a sandwich break, greeting the first person of the day, a Quebecois woman who was looking for the summit in the fog.

JBL in the early morning sunshine

The newt of Slant Rock

Climbing the steep trail above Slant Rock

The three sisters of Basin

Haystack obscured as the weather rolls in

Hey, they fixed the ladder!

Basin's headwall

Basin Summit. Check out the view!

The descent down Basin was significantly more eroded than the last time I was here, so we picked our way carefully down the slippery wet slabs towards Saddleback. The scramble up Saddleback Cliff was a hoot as always, the fog and wind making this feel like a much more substantial mountain than it actually is. Second summit attained meant the mission was nearly accomplished. We simply needed to walk out.

Climbing Saddleback cliff

Soggy dudes on Saddleback summit

We met a few other folks as we descended, but it really was an empty day for a holiday weekend. We stopped for a second sandwich at a lean-to, and had a nice chat with a forest ranger at JBL who was setting out to clear some of the blow-down on the trail we had just crawled under. The sun came out again as we hopped, jumped, and skipped along the Johns Brook Valley trail, arriving back at the Garden mid-afternoon, completing a nine hour hike. This gave us ample time to go back to the farm for a nap prior to heading into Lake Placid for supper.

Descending the stairs of Cirith Ungol

Pretty cascade along Ore Bed Brook

[Home] [Main] [Next]