Coming In Hot

The first stop on the Comeback Trail for the Goodfellas was an impromptu strategy and planning meeting in Lake Placid this past weekend. After Nipplehonker ("NH") finally decided to ditch his prior commitments for Saturday afternoon allowing for a Friday night departure, the Goodfellas settled on Lake Placid as a venue. We reserved a top of the line cabin at Whispering Pines Campground in Lake Placid.





Everything being an adventure for the Goodfellas, we coasted into the campground at 2AM on fumes as a result of poorly judging our fuel level and every gas station north of exit 25 on I-87 being closed. Immediately, the Goodfellas reverted to top form using their exceptional wilderness skills to create a large campfire worthy of this epic reunion. After the fire was tended to, the Goodfellas consumed fine libations courtesy of the Busch family, discussed their plans for the future, and then retired to bed at an hour that most would consider early morning.

Saturday morning brought a delightful round of golf at Whiteface Country Club.



After golf, the Goodfellas procured provisions for a feast and proceeded to stock their bodies with protein for the coming months of training.



After consuming their feast, the Goodfellas again built a prodigious campfire and proceeded to map out their plans for the coming year.



The discussion carried on late into the night and spilled over to the early morning. The result is this: the Goodfellas have mapped out two ventures for the coming year: (1) to compete in and complete the 2008 Florida Half Ironman (see link on right); and (2) a top secret 2008 Catskills venture which we believe would be the first of its kind. With respect to (2), the Goodfellas respectfully decline to elaborate any further in order to protect the virginity of the venture. While we would never expect another trail duo to "steal" our idea (the mountaineering ethos frowns upon such behavior), the venture would lose a great deal of its appeal to us should it first be completed by someone else. As time goes by and we come nearer to the starting date of this Catskills venture, we will reveal more details.

With respect to (1), the Goodfellas have laid out an ambitious weight-loss plan and subsequent training plan, the details of which are forthcoming in a later post. Of course, our efforts to train for the Florida Half Ironman will bring us to the mountains again as the mountains offer excellent training opportunities. You can expect those mountain excursions undertaken in the name of Ironman training to be fully reported and documented here in the coming months. These training sessions in the mountains will also, in most cases, serve the dual purpose of preparing us for our secret Catskills venture as well.

So, there is it...a broad road map for the Goodfellas upcoming year...stay tuned for more, we'll be coming in hot all year long.

Nipplehonker Takes Plateau Mt.

After the Goodfellas emotional reunion on Graham Mt., this past Saturday Nipplehonker was rolling solo again in the Catskills. I approached Plateau from Rt. 214/Stoney Clove via the Devil's Path. The first mile is hell. Between the heat that day and the fact that the trail gains nearly 2000 feet of elevation in the first mile, I was pretty depressed. The best views come from Orchard Point, an open ledge 1 mile in, after which the climbing ceases.




After snapping these pics, I strolled along the flat summit for nearly two miles. I was moving pretty quickly, so I didn't really notice much. Most folks write that they enjoy the summit of Plateau, but I found nothing special about it. In fact, I found it somewhat boring. From Orchard Point the trail gains 240 feet over 2 miles. The difference in elevation is not noticeable and one is hardly aware when they pass over the actual summit. At the far end is a small view of Kaaterskill and Roundtop Mts. through the trees. All in all, I completed the nearly 8 mile hike in 3 hrs and 20 minutes. The climb was difficult, but the recent training helped some.

Nipplehonker

The Goodfellas take on Graham Mtn

The bucolic relay tower on the summit greeted us to this fine Catskill summit. The excitement was unbearable. Graham is assuredly named after some douche bag so we found this a suitable peak for the Goodfellas to do somewhat of a cleansing climb. This trip confirmed that climbing mountains is indeed a sport for those who lack any thing resembling a life.

Nipplehonker Takes Panther Mt.

Now that the torture of the bar exam is over, I can devote myself full time to training for and preparing for the Tour.

Last Thursday night I once again drove up to Woodland Valley to camp for the night so that I could embark on a my second training climb. This time I tackled Panther Mt.. I drove up late Thursday night and the trip started with an exciting moment. About a mile down the road from the campground, a black bear jumped out in front of my car, ran down the street in front of my car for a few dozen feet, and then veered off into the woods. I have "seen" a black bear twice before, but neither time did I get a really good look at one. This was one of my best looks at one, albeit only from behind while he ran away from my car. As cool as it was to see one, it wasn't exactly the most comforting thing to see right before you're about to camp for the night. Unfortunately, my camera was in the trunk with the rest of my gear and I wasn't able to get a picture.

I arrived at Woodland Valley around midnight, set up camp and was asleep by 12:30 AM. Like last time, I was up early, around a quarter after 6 and was off before 7. I stopped at the White Shack Deli for breakfast again and was on the trail towards Panther by 7:45AM.

About a half hour later I hit the trail junction between the yellow blazed Denning-Woodland Valley trail and the blue blazed Giant Ledge-Panther Mt. trail.
Around 8:40AM I made it to Giant Ledge. At around 3200 feet, the views from Giant Ledge were great, much better than when I had last been on Giant Ledge in Feb. '04. I managed to snap a self-portrait using the timer on my camera and take a view other pictures of the great views while I relaxed on the ledge for about 10 minutes.


Below is the view of Cornell and Wittenberg Mts. from Giant Ledge.
Next the trail descended into the col between Giant Ledge and the summit of Panther Mt., from the col the trail climbs about 750 feet to the summit of Panther at 3720 feet. I managed to snap this self-portrait on the summit of Panther by rigging my camera to a tree. I plan on ordering a lightweight tripod from REI for the Tour and future trips to use for more of these self pics.

After a small rest break on the summit, I headed back toward the parking area and was in my car by 11:15, having covered the 6.6 miles in about 3 hours and 15 minutes. Just one week of training in the gym made a huge difference in my pace and how I felt compared to the last climb on Slide Mt.. Hopefully a solid month of hikes like this and daily training in the gym will make the climbs on the Tour marginally less painful.

Next up this weekend: Asswrangler and I have tentative plans to do an overnight in the Catskills, possibly Graham Mt. A full trip report will follow whatever we do. Later on in the week, I'll post the gear lists I've been working on and a more detailed report of my training since I have nothing better to do now.

Nipplehonker.

Panty Raid

The mini-trip was a success. I departed from Queens immediately after BarBri class ended at 12:40. Over the Throggs Neck, down the Cross Bronx in some light traffic, over the GWB lower level, north on the Palisades Parkway to I-87 north and I was in Phoenicia in 2 1/2 hours. I stopped in the "Phoenicia Supermarket" for some firewood and some Velveeta shells & cheese to make for dinner. After getting slightly lost trying to find Woodland Valley Road due to some construction detours, I made it to Woodland Valley State Campground just before 4PM. I picked a nice tent site on the banks of Woodland Creek. The water in the creek (and in all the other creeks and rivers in the area) was rushing hard and was the color of chocolate milk from all the sediment turned up by the recent rains upstate. It took me about an hour to unpack my gear, pitch my tent, and get settled.


The weather was great, I just sat at my site and studied ConLaw for about an hour and a half before making dinner. I was glad I decided to make just mac and cheese and didn't get a steak. The ranger told me they have had bears in the campground every night since the 4th of July when some genius campers left their cooler out all day. After cleaning up, I lit a fire and basically stared at it for 2 hours.

While staring at the fire, and not studying, I had a thought of driving back into Phoenica, picking up a 6 pack and drinking myself to sleep. Surely, had Asswrangler been accompanying me on this trip we would have been drunk already. After thinking about this for two minutes, I realized I was too lazy to make the 15 minute drive. Then I remembered the Yankees-Red Sux game. I was able to listen to the last three innings on the radio in the car. While doing this and wishing I had brought a radio so I could listen to the game while staring at the campfire, I thought maybe XM satellite radio would be a worthwhile investment for the upcoming trip. Supposedly they carry all baseball games nationwide, and the unit is detachable from your car and insertable into a portable boom box type of thing. Asswrangler and I could surely use this on our 10 day long trip as it would avoid us having to pass the time by talking to each other. After Mo struck out the side in the ninth, I jumped in the tent and went to bed (and slept surprisingly well given the bear watch).

Up at 6:15 (an usually early start for a Goodfella), packed up, washed up and was on the road by 7. I stopped at the white shack on the corner of Rt. 28 an 47 for breakfast sandwich. While waiting for the toothless wench to fry my bacon, egg and cheese, I made an interesting observation: bolted to the front of the counter was a plaque, from the town of Shandaken, recognizing the white hick shack deli as a former site of the underground railroad. History in Shandaken!

From there I made it to the Slide Mt. parking area and was on the trail by 8AM.

The 2.75 miles to the summit were ugly. Despite the fact that Slide Mt. is the highest in the Catskills, it supposedly one of the easier hikes. I nearly had an aneurysm on the way up. Since the unfortunate demise of my Mt. Rainier training program in mid-April, the most athletic thing I've done since then involved lugging my BarBri books back to my car. It was especially frustrating when I realized in late March I would have skipped up this trail.

After hitting 3500 feet in elevation, the exploding sensation in my skull subsided a bit as the trail took a more gradual pace. Then I saw a pair of women's black lace panties hanging from a branch on the trail. Of course I had to stop and take several photos of them. As I continued to hike, I hope to find the woman who they belonged too as well. No such luck.

Finally, I passed over the base of the old fire tower that marks the summit. I made note of some nice campsites just off the trail that would be great during the winter.

The weather was sunny, but unfortunately the summit was socked in with clouds when I got to the open ledge that looks towards the Ashokan reservoir. I rested on the summit ledge for about 10 minutes, snapped a pick of the Burroughs Plaque and then headed back to the car.
After a few stops, I was back in my apartment by 3. No rain to test the tent, and the new boots worked well. They were bit slippery on wet rocks, but I'm not sure if that was due to the boot, or my wobbly legs. That's it for now...Nipplehonker signing off.