The Immortals adventure group of Boy Scout Troop 175 thought that it was cold when they met at the parking lot of St. Mary’s church on Friday, January 13th. At about 30 degrees Fahrenheit, however, the group would experience temperatures more than 50 degrees colder before the weekend was out.
That Friday night, the Immortals slept in an Adirondack shelter at the Adirondack Loj, a campground at the base of the notch they would be ascending. When they woke up the next morning it was about 10 degrees Fahrenheit. They commenced their trek, hiking about 3.3 miles into the Avalanche lean-to campsite. The snow that covered everything made the scenic trail beautiful, and the highlight of the hike was when the group reached Marcy Dam, a snow-covered lake set against a backdrop of white-capped Adirondack Mountains.
Once they got to Avalanche campsite, the Immortals began to set up camp. They built a shelter out of dead wood, and covered it with snow for insulation. After this, a group of the boys hiked an extra 1.2 miles to Avalanche Lake, where they experienced a stunning view. The lake was set in between to massive walls of rock, and the entire area was covered in two feet of snow. The wind blew so fast and frigidly that any part of the face that was left uncovered turned bright red.
After basking in the beauty of the scene, the side hike group started hiking back. Some of the group decided to run back, while others made their way back at a slower pace. Once the group was reunited, they cooked steaks over a smoldering fire. The wood around the campsite was so cold that it was nearly impossible to heat the wood up to the temperature it needed to burn. Boiling water was exceptionally difficult because the gas stoves ran sluggishly. At this point, it was so chilly (-10!) that toes and fingers were starting to go numb, despite proper equipment. Because of this, once everyone’s stomachs were full, the Immortals retired to the shelter that scouts Adam McIlveen, Andrew Gutierrez, Nick Carabillo, and Zack Zikovitch had selflessly completed while the other group had gone to Avalanche Lake.
The low of -20 degrees Fahrenheit set in sometime during the night, and the effects of this extreme temperature were very interesting. In the morning, there was a wreath of ice around the face hole of every sleeping bag, because the vapor from the scouts’ breath had frozen around their faces as they slept. Zippers on sleeping bags had to be thawed with hand warmers before they would open. When the boys tried to slip their feet into their hiking boots, some found that they were frozen in a position that would not allow feet to enter.
Despite these challenges, the group eventually got their campsite cleaned up, scattering the wood from their shelter until there was no trace of their presence save some footprints. They had fun going back down the mountain toward the cars because they could sled portions of the trail, and on the way they said hello to friendly hikers and forest rangers, all amazed that a group of boys could have survived camping in the Adirondacks the previous night.
The Immortals reached the parking lot, and after a few shaky car startups (all the moving parts were frozen in place) they were on their way home, marveling at the convenience of electric heat.
Submitted by Eric Barch, Immortal Chief
