After a long winter with lousy conditions for snowshoeing I was eager to get out on the trails and tackle some more High Peaks. We finally got a big snowfall in late march so I waited a couple days for other hikers to break trail (thank you to all of you who do that, you are heroes) and then headed out for my most ambitious winter condition hike yet. 

Down low it was more spring spring like conditions but winter greeted me quickly as I climbed. I put microspikes on about a mile after turning onto the Gil Brook Trail and kept those on for quite a while. Gil Brook is one of my favorite trails in the Adirondacks with countless wall falls a beautiful forest scenery. I recommend hiking it shortly after sunrise for the best experience. I continued along the brook all the way to Elk Pass. 

By the time I reached the pass I was surprisingly quite worn out and and I decided that I would eat lunch and rest for a while before turning around and going back to my car, leaving the mountains for another day. I did rest up, eat lunch, and took a long nap before getting up and getting ready to go again. I strapped on my snowshoes because the snow was softening in the afternoon sun. When I got back to the trail I just could not bring myself to turn back to the car. My rest gave me the energy I needed and I was craving the feeling of being at a summit after a long winter. I decided to make the climb up to Nippletop and what a climb it was. The trail was very steep and with the snow smoothing it out I was very thankful to have aggressive mountaineering snowshoes. There were only occasional obscured views until I reached the HG Leach Trail where things opened up. I made the quick ridge walk over to the summit and took in the spectacular views. 

It is very difficult to get to, but Nippletop is one of my favorite summits in the park. It has phenomenal views toward the great range and the other side of the ridge offers views to the south showing the Dix range. What I was not thrilled about was that I reached the summit shortly before sunset and was still hours away from my car. I called my parents to let them know that I was doing well but that it would be a very late night. Then I began the long hike along the ridge over toward Dial. 

By the time I reached the summit of Dial it was long past dusk and I was eager to get back to the car so, I didn't really stop to enjoy it. I continued down and switched back to microspikes around 3,000 ft. After about 12 hours of having snowshoes on it felt excellent to move that weight to my back and off of my feet. Spikes stayed on until I reached lake road where I walked the last few miles back to my car, finally getting off the trail around 2:00 AM. This hike really tested my preparedness and endurance and I am very happy that such an intense day on the trail was still an enjoyable experience for me. They say that even the most challenging day on the trail is better than the best day sitting at a desk and I definitely think there is a certain amount of truth to that.