LOCALadk Magazine

34 Spring 2017 LOCALadk Magazine LOCALadk Mount Colden, or simply Colden, is, at 4,715 feet, the 11th high- est peak in the Adirondacks. Colden, with its slides on the north- west face of the mountain, easily observable from Lake Placid and The Plains of Abrahams, it is one the most iconic and recog- nizable views of the park. When it comes to Colden it's not just about the destination, but the journey. There are a few ways to climb Colden, including the strenuous and somewhat technical Trap Dyke ascent and the scenic northeast approach from Lake Arnold. As a photographer, I am always in search of a new perspective, but no matter how many times I hike the Colden Loop, I always find something new: a different light, or a different composition. The 14-plus mile trek to Colden is simply full of landscape gems along the way. I spend, or should I say invest, a lot of time scouting the Park, looking for the next shot. I walk away happy from a hike when I find one special location that resonates with me and gets me excited. The way that I work is by tracking my route with the GPS and as I shoot. When I find a "must comeback" location, I drop a GPS waypoint. The first time I hiked the Colden Loop I dropped waypoints along the way like confetti. The hike starts at the Adirondack Loj and from there the trail leads to Marcy Dam and continues south through Avalanche Pass for over a mile. Soon after, Avalanche Pass Trail bifurcates and you can decide to hike the loop clockwise or counterclockwise. The first time I hiked the loop I was lucky to be with my friend, photographer and mountaineer Chris Lang. Chris has so much ex- perience in the High Peaks that he recommended we do the loop clockwise, since the approach from the north side of Colden is more gradual than the south side approach. I agreed and turned left towards Lake Arnold. The trail up Lake Arnold follows a beautiful brook all the way to the lake. Lake Arnold is a small lake surrounded by alpine vegetation. It is a very picturesque location and one that I know I will be returning to repeatedly in the years to come. Lake Arnold is also a great place to camp if you are plan- ning on summiting Colden for sunrise, or to shoot the night sky. From Lake Arnold, the trek gets steeper, but the rewards are breathtaking once you make it to Colden's false summit. This is hands down one of my favorite photography spots in the Adiron- dacks. The false summit has clear views of Mount Marcy in the east, Colden in the south, and, looking west, a jaw-dropping per- spective of the McIntyre Range. What makes the false summit special is that it also offers beautiful foregrounds, alpine vegeta- tion, (including bunchberries that bloom around May) along with some boulders to work on different compositions. After passing the false summit, the climb continues for 0.3 miles towards Colden's "actual" summit. Colden has an open summit with 360 degree views of the High Peaks. In addition to spectacu- lar views of Mount Marcy (east) and the McIntyres (west), Colden

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