Our delays climbing the slide had put us behind my mental schedule, but there was plenty of daylight left and the forecasted inclement weather did not yet seem imminent, so we were in no particular rush. Even so, we managed a suprisingly good pace on the trail down to Lake Arnold, and back to Avalanche Junction thereafter.
The much-less bouldery and flatter terrain beyond Avalanche Junction allowed a further uptick in our hiking speed, and we dispatched the remaining 5km or so back to the parking lot in a very short period of time.
On a side note, we decided to take the new official route across Marcy Brook (near Marcy Dam) via the new bridge on the way back. The routing of this new section is quite unoptimal, as you must walk down the South Meadows Truck road for a bit, cross the new bridge, and are then routed back up to Marcy Dam before regaining the Marcy Dam Trail. I could see why hikers had created the informal crossing we had used in the morning - it is far more direct than the awkwardly-routed official path.
In all, today's climb of the dike had been quite enjoyable: the weather had been much nicer and more comfortable than we had expected, and the climbing in the newly-scoured dike was more fun than ever. A fine outing.
Interactive trackmap with photo points - Trap Dike and New Slide - click map to view
Trap Dike and New Slide - Hike Data
Start Time:
7:50a.m.
End Time:
5:28p.m.
Duration:
9h38m
Distance:
19.01 km
(11.81 mi)
Average Speed:
2.0 km/hr
(1.2 mph)
Start Elevation:
2230ft
(680m)
*
Max Elevation:
4728ft
(1441m)
*
Min Elevation:
2140ft
(652m)
*
End Elevation:
2279ft
(695m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Total Elevation Gain:
2876ft
(877m)
*
Total Elevation Loss:
2850ft
(869m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Elevation Graph
