Dix from rte 73

Yesterday I hiked Dix from the Round Pond trailhead with Ken and Pete. The day started out badly as I had a nasty headache and a quick stop at the LOJ road showed that Algonquin, Colden and Marcy were each wearing a covering of snow on their summit cones. Regardless, this was to be Ken's 46th high peak so we were not gonna let a little snow stop us Canadians.

This is a really nice hike on a trail that is maintained by the 46ers, some of whom were out cleaning waterbars and chopping up some blowdown (Thanks!). The first stop along the way is Round Pond which looked great in the early morning with fall colors reflecting in water. The trail is mostly soft underfoot and at a gentle grade until you reach the slide that is past the Boquet river leanto. The slide provides a great spot for a break with views of a couple of slides, of Noonmark, Giant and RPR and plenty of autumn colors.

Beyond the slide the real ascent begins and it does live up to the guide books that describe the trail at this point as "murderously steep". It was steep but as Ken pointed out, you don't get as tired because the pitch means that you move more slowly. At this point the temperatures were dropping but at the same point we started to get views of Nippletop and the Great Range. We also started to see snow on the sides of the trail and in the trees. As we topped out on the ridgeline there was a spectacular sight of Elk Lake surrounded by fall colors.

Onto the summit itself, where Ken was presented with a 46er...ale and congratulations were offered. Lunch was eaten, photos were taken, snowmen were assembled and photographed. This is a great peak with spectacular views but the cloud cover was at approx 5000 feet so the light was not perfect for photography. It was too cold to stay up there for long. The murderously steep section was slow but in general I found the grade of the trail and the colors in the trees to make for a pleasant walk out.

A great day to be out and celebrating Ken's accomplishment!