Tabletop and Phelps

May 29, 2022

We slept in, had breakfast and drove up to the Loj, arriving at 06:30. We were greeted by a full lot and a long line of cars down Loj road... quite a difference from yesterday! Anyway, this saved us the parking fee and we decided to hiked in via the Truck Trail, which I have skied many times, but never walked. As we approached Marcy Dam, we discovered a junction of a brand new trail which is not on my copy of the map. The signs suggested it was going the right direction, so we decided to explore.

Beautiful day along the Truck Trail

This was a lovely walk through the woods on soft forest loam. We passed a pretty campsite and a shiny new lean-to, and after a short while we came out onto the standard route a good way up the Phelps Brook trail. Here we started running into a lot of people. Most seemed to be heading to Marcy, and many seemed to be a bit dismayed when I gave them a truthful answer to the question of how much further it was to go.

New lean-to

During the ascent up Tabletop we met a fellow from Pennsylvania and had a nice chat for most of the climb. We plopped down for a sandwich at the summit along with a few other hikers, there now being a very nice view up here as it looks like someone has been doing some tree-thinning.

Break on the top of the table

We said goodbye to our new friend and then turned downwards. We passed a lot of people coming up as we scooted downwards, and then hordes of people once we were back on the Phelps Brook trail. Lots more directions to Marcy were given... lots more disappointment. The climb up Phelps is very nice compared to Tabletop, with rock slabs and a few scrambles. Arriving on the summit it was quite crowded, but with such a glorious day and view, we could definitely not fault anyone for lounging out here for a while. In fact we joined them, taking in the views, drying our feet, and soaking up the sunshine for a good half hour.

Climbing Phelps

Phelps summit and the panaramic view

Finally we turned to go. The descent was uneventful, just passing lots of people. Everyone was friendly and we negotiated passing as the situation dictated on the narrow trail. Everyone that is except for one jerk who popped around a blind corner yelling something to me about trail passing etiquette, and then again at Eric who was trailing a little further behind. Bad day at the office for this fellow I guess. More Marcy directions ensued once back at Phelps Brook, and then mercifully we were on the new bypass trail and back to solitude.

A final sit-down break at the lovely lean-to as exhaustion was beginning to set in. The mosquitoes came out in force for the last hour as we slogged along the Truck Trail, and we finally arrived back to the car after eight hours on the go, ending a successful peak bagging weekend. Training complete... let the summer begin!

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