We Completed #32 Phelps Mountain

I took off work on Thursday to help Jason work around the house. We still had to complete the deck and finish up cleaning the house before my family arrives this Friday. I have basically been spring cleaning because it's something I have never did since we moved in. Needless to say, the house was a nasty mess. Most of it was due to the work on the kitchen and deck. Tracking in all the dirt and mud from working outside starts to pile up.

So Thursday we got a lot done. We cleared out the tree that had fallen 3 weeks before. Finally it was out of our backyard. Jason placed the final boards, except 1, down on the deck so it's nearly completed. So we made a last minute decision to pack up and head for the Adirondacks. We couldn't leave until Saturday because we had already made plans with our neighbors to have a campfire and watch movies.

Saturday came as quick as ever. We packed up all the furkids and our camping gear and began our journey at 7:00am. We arrived at the ADK's around noon. First thing on our agenda was to locate a campsite. Seeing that it was 4th of July weekend this could have been a nightmare. Jason remembered his trip with Jacob and Trish but couldn't remember how to get to the free campsite. We drove around a bit and finally located it. Woo Hoo! Plenty of spaces available. We set up our tent and off we went. We spent most of the day driving around and taking in all the scenery. The ADK's are a beautiful site. NO ONE should pass up visiting them.

We drove to Schroon Lake and had dinner with my Aunt Shirley and Uncle Robert. It was so nice to see them. It's been about 7 months since I seen them last. After dinner we headed back to the campsite. We stopped at the Adirondack Lodge Road to watch the sunset on the range. It was so beautiful. We arrived back at our tent site and went to sleep around 9:00pm. Our tent is a 2 person tent so I was quite concerned about how the furkids would do in it. Only Kenzie, our big dog, has ever been hiking/camping with us. All the furkids slept so soundly. I was so proud of them. We got a very good nights sleep.

At 4:30am on Sunday we woke up, packed our tent and parked our car right outside the trail head. We had a long day ahead of us. Well, a long hike. Our hike was going to be about 9 miles total. The first 2 miles was very flat and easy. I didn't have to stop once, which was nice. We arrived at Marcy Dam in time to watch the sunrise over the mountains. It was so beautiful. We took a few photos and then started up the trail. We had another 2 miles or so to the Phelps Mt trailhead. The trail to the Phelps Mt trail was relativly easy as well. Another trail I didn't have to stop on. We arrived at Phelps trail and I knew this was going to be very difficult for me. The hike was crazy. This trail had tons of boulders to hike over. Some of the trail was sheer rock face, which is tough. The dogs has a tough time but enjoyed the hike. Nearing the top of the trail I wasn't sure if I could continue. I was so tired and couldn't breath. I just started crying. Jason kept telling me to sit down and stay, we could just come back and get it another day. No way was I coming all this way to turn back now. I continued to push myself forward stopping every few inches it seemed like. Chase kept running over and checking on me. She would give me a kiss and make sure I was doing ok and then run back with the others. We finally made it. No summit marker on this mountain. The view was fabulous and we stopped for a few minutes to take our summit photos. The bugs were AWEFUL at the top. They were not allowing us to fully enjoy the summit. One guy mentioned that he wished he would have brought a bug net.

I started to cry on the descent down. I realized that this was the last hike I would be taking with my breathing problems. I hoped that one day I could hike again and not have such a hard time. This mountain was tough. I started to wheeze but didn't give up. I will be a new person next week and I can't wait. Still the old crazy Tonya but with tons of energy.

Check out these photos taken this weekend:

Our campsite

Cascade (one with Rocky top) and Porter ( on the right). Our first 2 summits

A beautiful lake

Jason about died when I told him I was going to pull spring water from this rusty pipe

Kenzie looks like she's about to get into tons of trouble

Marcy Dam at sunrise. Isn't the reflection fabulous?

Jason loved this picture. He said the sign "Toilet" is pointing right at me.

My summit photo (can you tell I've been crying)

Jason's summit photo

Avalanche Pass is in the middle, that's one place I cannot wait to visit.

Relaxing by the river with the furkids