In addition to being higher than Nye, Street also boasts a fairly nice lookout. Located a few yards north of the actual summit, this lookout provides a superb and unique angle on the MacIntyre range, containing New York's second-highest peak - Algonquin - among others. The cold, clear conditions provided an unsurpassed view of these peaks today.
MacIntyres from Street Lookout
The cold, clear conditions were also making their effects felt on us; even standing around in the brilliant sun of the lookout area, we were only just on the edge of losing temperature equilibrium. I discovered that my Brunton portable weather data collector bottomed out at -25C (-13F), and was now only reporting 'Lo'. Rather disappointing; I would have expected a device meant to be used in extreme weather to register down to -40C (-40F), at the very least. All I can say for sure, then, is that the ambient temperature was less than -25C. Might we have reached -30C?
After a quick energy snack session (I believe that some of the cold effects we were feeling were due to lack of food intake), we made ready to quickly head back down to lower and warmer elevations.
With a good track, minimal blowdown, and motivation, we quickly descended back to the Street/Nye junction, then began the steep descent down towards Indian Pass Brook. The conditions became noticeably less harsh as we descended, and by the time we emerged into the deciduous forest below the 3000-foot level, the wind had died to nothing and the temperature had risen substantially. It was now a balmy -17C or so (0F)!
Gloomy Street/Nye Plateau
The gentle terrain made for easy walking all the way back to Heart Lake, and soon were we retraced our route back across its frozen expanse. We arrived back at the warmth of the High Peaks visitor center just before 3pm, meaning that we'd completed the entire outing in under six hours. A decent time.
I'm glad that our outing had been straightforward and relatively quick. Chris needed to believe that a non-epic winter mountain hike was possible!
Back to lower open forest
Interactive trackmap with photo points - Street and Nye - click map to view
Start Time:
9:06a.m.
End Time:
3:00p.m.
Duration:
5h53m
Distance:
13.4 km
(8.33 mi)
Average Speed:
2.3 km/hr
(1.4 mph)
Start Elevation:
2202ft
(671m)
*
Max Elevation:
4247ft
(1295m)
*
Min Elevation:
1894ft
(577m)
*
End Elevation:
2188ft
(667m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Total Elevation Gain:
2844ft
(867m)
*
Total Elevation Loss:
2857ft
(871m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Elevation Graph
As a nice reward for the day's successful climb, we stopped by at the Big Mountain Deli in downtown Lake Placid for one of their excellent "46R" sandwiches. I opted for the Iroquois, which was very enjoyable. In retrospect, I should have chosen either the Street or the Nye, in honour of our day's achievements. I'll be more disciplined next time!
