While not "difficult" in the sense of technical climb, Marcy requires more stamina than anything else.  The hike is just under 15 miles, with much of the walking over the top of loose rocks and up an occasional stream.

Hunter and I woke up about 5am to check the weather.   The night had been blustery, with wind gusts roaring through the valley at over 60 mph (estimate).  Luckily the winds stayed in the treetops and we were treated to small gusts through the campsites.  In the early morning there were several cloudbursts, which made me glad we had put a tarp over the tent.   Given the pouring rain and the winds, we knew that this would not be the day to summit (probably much worse on top), and we set our sights on the next day and went back to sleep.

We got up about 8am, and it was still cloudy but the rain had stopped.  We ate some breakfast, repacked a few things, ambled around and decided to call home.  As we were dialing, the sun broke through and a small batch of blue sky appeared.  In talking to my wife, she looked online at the nearby radar for Marcy and declared that all of the rain had moved to the east.  It sounded like a clearing day.  She also reported that the next day had a high (60%-70%) chance of thunderstorms.  We decided to try to make the top today.

By the time we assembled our gear, collected our trail munchies, and reached the trailhead it was 10:15 am.  Our goal was to make it to the summit in under 4 hours, and return in 5 hours.  The first 1.4 miles to Marcy Dam is extremely flat on a well-groomed trail so we were able to set a very quick pace to make up time.   Just before we reached the dam, we were passed by a guy running UP the trail.  We reached the dam just after 11 am and started up through the rocks we would see for the rest of the day.

Although the trail up from Marcy Dam is not very steep, it gets very rocky as you parallel a stream up the hillside.  It's obvious from the rounded rocks that the area on which the trail is located has been involved with some high water in the past.  There are numerous "rock gardens" that appear to be deposits left during a large wash downstream.  These are the type of loose, rounded rocks that vary from baseballs to basketballs in size and love to settle precariously in hopes of twisting an ankle.  I was glad to have my ankle braces and sturdy boots.  

We continued upward winding through the trees and across creeks.  Not to long after leaving Marcy Dam, we caught up with the runner, Bill Urbanski, who was taking a break and waiting on his friends.  As we struck up a conversation, we found that he was also a Highpointer and that he had been to the summit of Marcy before.  Since the rocky terrain was not conducive to trail running, we continued up with him chatting about Marcy and comparing highpoints.  His trek to the Highpointer's convention was similar to ours, and he was planning to go on to Maine's Katahdin (after doing Mt. Mansfield in Vermont).  He was unsure about their accommodations at Katahdin, given the problems with limited access.  We invited him to set up camp in our site at the base of Katahdin, and he said that sounded good.  After about 15 minutes it was evident that even his walking pace was too fast for us, so we exchanged contact info and we slowed down as he continued.  After a few minutes, we were caught by the next member of the "Urbanski Expedition" - Steve.  Throughout the remainder of the hike we saw and chatted with various members of their group.

After Indian Falls, the trail becomes even steeper and rockier.  We trudged on, and by now the sun was peeking out more and it was getting very muggy.  After about an hour of hiking, we reached a ridge that provided a clear view of Mt. Marcy (when the clouds would permit).  It was now 1pm, and we were trying to summit by 2pm so that we would not have to finish the hike in the dark (but we did bring flashlights!)

We headed up "Little Marcy" which small peak just below the main summit.  This section involved the roughest part of the hike where we found ourselves climbing up big, slick rocks that had a trickle of water cascading over them.  We knew it would be even rougher coming down, especially in a storm (don't even mention thunder!)  By 1:30 we had made the top of Little Marcy and the trees were thinning out.  Although the Adirondacks top out just over 5,000 feet, the latitude and harsh weather keep the vegetation to a minimum.  The area is considered arctic tundra, and as such it is very fragile.  All foot traffic from this point is confined to the rocks in order to preserve the habitat.

We continued up the steep rocky slope to the cairn near the top.  Just after 2pm, we reached the summit!  We snapped some pics, collected readings, and relaxed.  We saw several other people on top (some highpointers), and had them snap out pic. After a few minutes it was time to start back.  Given the clouds and the brisk wind, we decided to go below treeline for lunch.

The trip down was fairly uneventful.  It was a retracing of the trip up with special care paid to the slick rocks and steep surfaces.  The hours and miles clicked by, and we made it back to Marcy Dam by about 6:15 pm.  By now we had logged over 12 miles and the "dogs" were burning.  We picked up the pace and made it back to the trailhead by 7pm.

Although there are many things that Hunter and I disagree on, there were two things that we agreed on at this point.  It was a LONG hike, and we were both ready for a GOOD meal.  We decided to cruise into Lake Placid for dinner.  We found a little place, the Fireside Steak House, that had a wide selection and is patterned after a German festhaus.  The service and food was outstanding, and they make some of the best French onion soup I have ever tasted!

After dinner we went back to the campsite, and as were we going through the gate we saw the Urbanski team leaving the lot.  They had just gotten off of the mountain and were heading over towards Mt. Mansfield.  We wished them luck and went back to the campsite for a solid night's sleep.