On June 22, 11 adults and 19 scouts set out for the Adirondack Lodge from scout field with the intention of summiting multiple peaks in upstate New York. The troop arrived on Friday afternoon, setting up their tents and preparing to hike the next morning. The weather was uncooperative to a high degree, making the campsites wet and muddy. Despite this, the next morning three groups departed from the camp. Two groups were heading for the summit of Mt. Marcy, the tallest peak in New York state at 5,433 feet. The other was heading for Mt. Phelps which reaches 4,161 feet.

The first group heading for Mt. Marcy was led by Vincent Lavechia and Jon Denfeld. It consisted solely of those previously heading for the Philmont backpacking trip in New Mexico (It has been shifted to Alaska because of fire-related dangers). They departed at approximately 5:45 A.M. hoping to complete the hike before the weather worsened. The second group was mainly senior scouts who were not going to Philmont. They left at 6:30 with similar goals. They were also accompanied by two former Troop 5 eagle scouts: Jack O’Neill and Anthony Crinieri, as well as their fathers, Jimmy O’Neill and Michael Crinieri. The final group departed at (please insert time) bound for a different peak, This time Mt. Phelps. Mt. Marcy was a 15 mile hike while the Phelps hike was 9 miles. The trek up Mt. Marcy was interesting topographically as the majority of the ascent was in the last mile. The rest of the path was relatively flat and sometimes even traveled down hill. About half a mile from the summit the tree cover faded, leaving nothing to shelter us from the wind and rain which grew stronger the closer we came to the summit.

Both trails were wet, muddy, and slippery. This especially posed a problem in descent when the slick rocks brought fear of slipping and falling. Fortunately, nobody was injured. All the groups eventually returned to the campground for a supper made by the scouts themselves. Some younger scouts even lit their own fire in an attempt to earn their Fir’man Chit, an award certifying scouts to carry fire-lighting devices such as matches and lighters as well as light camp or cooking fires. The next morning they had another scout-made breakfast and finished a mile-long hike around Heart Lake. Unfortunately they were forced to leave the campsite early Sunday afternoon due to difficulties with the weather.

Isaiah Weir