Woke up bright and early on a crisp, cool Saturday morning. We were lucky to have to Lillian Brook Lean To to ourselves last night and quickly got breakfast going. Hot coffee definitely took a bit of the chill off this 50 degree morning and after cleaning up the site, we were ready to hit the trail.
We headed off on the Dix Trail, which quickly comes to Lillian Brook's crystal clear mountain waters.
This made the perfect spot to stop and load up on some cold water for the day using our steripen purifiers.
The trail had a few ups and downs as it headed north.
Just before arriving at the trail junction, Dix Pond can be spotted to the west off the trail about 20 yards. A couple of small footpaths lead to the shore for a better look.
Once arriving at the trail junction, we chose to go right on the steeper but slightly shorter trek up to Dix Mountain via the Beckhorn. A left takes you to Hunter's Pass and along the west and north side of the mountain. The trail climbs steadily up about 2600 feet.
An open view point back towards Clear Pond to the south.
A steeper section.
The incredible slides on Hough and South Dix's west facing slopes.
A ledge on the way to the Beckhorn, with the rest of the Dix Range to the left. Hough in the foreground with Grace peaking over its shoulder, South Dix and Macomb are found just to the right with Elk Lake in the center of the frame.
A rocky ledge provides outstanding views and made a perfect spot to rest and snack.
This sign is posted a few yards past the ledge.
Emerging from the woods and hitting rocky cliffs.
That's me way up there.
A huge rock makes for an interesting climb and amazing views.
From the 4779 foot Beckhorn is an incredible view of the actual peak of Dix.
Mark approaching the summit of 4857 foot Dix.
A great view back at the Beckhorn on the final climb up Dix.
Me on the summit of 4857 foot Dix Mountain, the sixth highest in the Adirondacks.
A summit view to the west over Elk Lake.
The vistas are endless from the rocky summit area. We shared the top with several other parties, including a young lady celebrating becoming a 46er.
It was a fun descent off the mountain with great views nearly the entire time.
Got back to the car, pretty exhausted but all very happy. About 9.6 miles for the day and 22.6 miles RT for the two days. A great adventure.
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