Mount Marcy
Mount Marcy is at 5,344 ft the highest mountain in the
Adirondack Mountain Range and the highest point in
New York State.
The mountain is named after former governor
William L. Marcy, who authorized the environmental survey that explored the area. Mt. Marcy is sometimes called
Tahawus — an Indian name that means "the cloud splitter," however, the local Indians, who were few in number, had no name for the mountain. "Cloud Splitter" was an Indian name that caucasians invented for the mountain. The name "Tahawus" has also been used for other Adirondack features.
The first recorded ascent of Mount Marcy was in
1837 by a large party led by Ebenezer Emmons. Today the ascent is easier due to existing trails that require no
technical skills, allowing ascent and descent to be made in a day. The popularity of climbing this mountain virtually assures that there will be no solitary contemplation of nature at the peak during the summer season.
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Mount Marcy Summit Panorama |
At the
col between Mt. Marcy and Skylight is the highest source of the
Hudson River,
Lake Tear of the Clouds.
Theodore Roosevelt was camped there on
September 14,
1901 after summiting Marcy when he got word that
William McKinley who had been shot two weeks before but expected to recover had taken a serious turn for the worse.
Roosevelt and his party hiked 10 miles down the southwest face of the mountain to
Long Lake, New York where he got a stage coach and took a legendary midnight stagecoach ride through curvey 40 miles of Adirondack roads to the closest train station at
North Creek, New York. When he arrived he found out McKinley had died and that he was President. He took the train to
Buffalo, New York where McKinley had been shot and he was sworn in there. The route from Long Lake to North Creek has been designated the
Roosevelt-Marcy Trail.
Mount Marcy is one of the
High Peaks of the Adirondack Mountains. The majority of the mountain is forested, although the final few hundred feet is above tree line. The peak is dominated by rocky outcrops, lichens, and alpine shrubs. There are two plaques at the top commemorating the centennial of the climb as well as the mountain summit itself.
The shortest and most frequently used route up the mountain is from the northwest, the
Van Hoevenberg Trail, which starts at the popular
Adirondak Loj near
Heart Lake. From there it is 7.4 miles (11.2 km) to the summit, a lengthy roundtrip which can nevertheless be done in a day. A large section of the trail is suitable for alpine sking and snowboard on the way down, although there are a few locations where snowboarders will have to take off their snowboard and walk up a little.
Hikers starting up the
Johns Brook Trail from the popular
Garden parking north of the mountain in Keene Valley have a 9-mile (14.4 km) journey to the summit, and sometimes spend a night at
Johns Brook Lodge in the process.
A lengthier southern approach can be made from either of the two major trailheads for the southern High Peaks,
Upper Works or
Elk Lake.
Mount Marcy is in the
Town of Keene in
Essex County.
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Adirondack State Park
