Planning a backpacking trip can feel daunting, especially for beginners. One of my friends and I regularly dayhike together, and she was finally ready to take the plunge on an overnight trip. In this post, I’ll go through our trip plan, what worked well, and how we pivoted on the fly when an unexpected rainstorm rolled in - and still managed to summit Mount Marcy.

When most people think of backpacking, they think about hauling a heavy pack for the entire trip. However, you don’t need to do this to go backpacking! For beginners, a base camp style trip allows them to have a full backpacking experience without suffering under a heavy pack for miles on end. For my friend’s first trip, we did a base camp style adventure. This gave her the freedom to pack extra gear without carrying it all day.

Our Planned Itinerary:  

Day 1 (2.5 miles): Park at the Adirondack Loj, and hike into Marcy Dam. Set up camp. Hike Phelps if time allows.

Day 2 (10.2 miles): Hike Mount Marcy with daypacks. Return to camp at Marcy Dam. 

Day 3 (2.5 miles): Pack up camp, and return to the Adirondack Loj.

The Adirondack Loj parking lot tends to fill up early, so we arrived around 6am. We had breakfast in the parking lot, waited for sunrise, then hit the trail. 

The hike into Marcy Dam is relatively short and easy. There’s ample campsites in the area, and I spent a while scouting around for the perfect spot. I’d been hoping to find a campsite by the river, but unfortunately I didn’t find any. As we were scouting out the sites, it started to rain. The new objective quickly became to find a campsite where we could pitch our tent on high ground. 

We quickly set up camp, loaded our sleep gear into the tent, and stashed our bear canisters. The rain had started as a gentle mist, and quickly was becoming a more solid downpour. The 20% rain in the forecast had just become an unfortunate reality. 

Knowing that the trails in the Adirondacks quickly become messy after heavy rain, we made the decision to summit Marcy that day. We climbed up past the junctions for Phelps and Tabletop, and crossed Indian Falls Brook. 

Just before the river crossing, we started seeing other hikers who decided to turn around. We felt good about our pace, and also knew we would have hot food and dry clothes waiting for us at camp. Additionally, both of us carried headlamps, which is essential if you know your hike might take longer than expected. We discussed a definitive turnaround time to make sure we were on the same page. 

As we broke out of treeline and sloshed through the flooded trail towards Marcy’s summit, the rain stopped. Clouds whipped over the Great Range, and the sky began to clear. We summited Marcy just before 2pm, and had the summit all to ourselves. It was absolutely incredible, and the pictures don’t do it justice. 

After enjoying a quick lunch, we started our descent back into Marcy Dam, making it back to camp around nightfall. We both enjoyed some Butternut Dal Bhat from Peak Refuel, and then climbed into our tent to sleep. 

It rained all night, but we stayed nice and dry. When we woke up in the morning, it was still raining, and the trails were starting to look rough. We decided to cut our trip one night short, packed up camp, and headed back to our car. As we drove out of the Adirondack Loj, we saw thunderheads starting to roll in, and were very glad we decided to hike out. 

We stopped at Noonmark Diner for an absolute feast. It was 10/10, and the perfect way to end a backpacking trip. 

Overall, this was a successful trip! My main goal was for my friend to have a positive experience backpacking. We summited Marcy, and checked off another peak on the ADK 46. We had a great time camping out at Marcy Dam. And, most excitingly, we eagerly talked about our next trip all the way home.

Tips

Here’s a few key tips from our trip to help you plan your next Adirondack backpacking adventure!

• Arrive early. We’ve made the mistake of arriving at the Loj too late, and had to hike an extra two miles! 
• Plan a base camp style trip. This allows you to carry extra gear without suffering under a heavy pack for the whole trip. 
• Stay flexible. Mountain weather is variable, especially in the High Peaks region. Being able to quickly pivot your plans can save your trip!
• Always bring rain gear. Rain always shows up the one day you left your rain gear at home.
• Establish a turn around time. As simple as this sounds, establishing a clear turnaround time can help prevent you from getting lost in unfamiliar terrain after dark.