After our morning hike up Owl’s Head, we headed over to Adirondak Loj for a nice, mellow hike out to Marcy Dam via the Van Hovenberg Trail. We’ve done this section of trail several times before and being that it was shoulder season, we thought it was best to stay below 2,500’ to avoid soft melting snow and the ice still holding on at higher elevations. The hike to Marcy Dam is pleasant with much of it being easy, rolling trail. It was a perfectly beautiful day and upon arriving at the dam, we chatted with some hikers who’d just come down from Colden. They confirmed it was mostly still ice up there, which was not a surprise. We took our time and hung out at the dam soaking in more sunshine before heading back. We stopped at the Big Slide restaurant for lunch in Lake Placid before heading back to the hotel and checking out to drive back. We’d initially planned to stay another night, but a spring snow storm was predicted to roll in overnight and by this time, the weather service was pretty certain it would bring with it about 12 inches of snow. We checked out early and drove back home to be on the safe side and avoid unpredictable driving conditions the next morning. It was another wonderful trip to the ADK which has become my happy place since we are currently here on the east coast.

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