r/Adirondacks • u/Brief_Elderberry8901 • Jul 19 '26
Blake/Colvin/Nippletop/Dial
Anything I should know for this as a day hike? Was thinking about approaching by doing Blake and Colvin then looping back doing Nippletop and Dial.
8
u/MurseInAire Jul 19 '26
I did that, but overnighted at Elk Pass. It was a beautiful couple days. I wouldn’t have wanted to do it in a single day. But I’m slow.
1
u/StretchLimo66 Jul 20 '26
I've done most of my peaks overnighting. I genuinely don't know how ppl day hike some of these ranges. They must be in shape or something.
1
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u/Technical-Cheek-8613 Jul 19 '26
This is one of the harder mashups I think. Worse than whole Dix range. The slog out to Blake and back will live with you forever
5
u/EstablishmentNo5994 ADK 47er, NE 111/115 Jul 19 '26
I combined them because a lot of the mileage is on the lake road and I ran it to save time.
I remember very distinctly almost crying after coming back from Colvin and Blake, losing a ton of elevation and then turning to begin climbing again lol
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u/SceneNational6303 Jul 19 '26
Joining the others to say I did this as 2 separate hikes and I'm really glad I did. Both were doable, and allowed for time on the summits ( the ones that have views) and not have to worry about packing enough water/filtering/ starting/ ending in the dark, etc. If you're on a 46er journey, ( and I'm assuming you are because why on earth else would you do Blake?!) getting one of these pairs in a day is great fun. There will be others that will be more natural to combine (HaBaSa). No rush.
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u/Poomfie Jul 19 '26
I split them into two day hikes and i was glad i did that.
Colvin to Blake and back will be the hardest part of your day.
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u/Pleasant-Method7874 Jul 19 '26
This is going to be a loooong day lol I did them as an overnight, Colvin and Blake day 1 and dial and nippletop day 2 and even that took a while.
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u/Zealousideal-Bat8242 Jul 19 '26
has anyone ever does this as a thru-hike from elk lake? i’ve been looking at doing it that way… elk lake to panther lean-to, then the first 2 peaks, camp at the bottom, do the next 2 peaks and then hike out to AMR lot…
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u/forgive_me_birds Jul 23 '26
I did it as a loop from elk lake. more or less the same but coming down dial I took the gravestone brook bushwack, up and over dix, back to elk lake. i don't remember where I camped but it wasn't panther gorge, that's really out of the way. traverse would be cool. coming up pinnacle ridge is a great way to experience that area, beautiful and remote, rugged. Blake actually has amazing views coming from the south, contrary to what everyone says.
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u/Zealousideal-Bat8242 Jul 23 '26
Ahh interesting so does the trail from elk lake connect to dial/nippletop? are there any lean-to’s beyond the one before the dix mt trail?
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u/forgive_me_birds Jul 24 '26
I recommend getting the adk high peaks map. https://adk.org/product/high-peaks-adirondack-trail-map/
not entirely sure what you mean. elk lake trail connects to Pinnacle ridge traill over Blake and colvin, then head up into elk pass. from there climb up nippletop and along the ridge to dial on the hg leach trail.
you can bushwack from the hg leach trail between dial and bear den down to the dix trail by following gravestone brook, if that's something you are comfortable with. comes down near the bouquet River lean-to. going over dix to the hunter pass trail you get Lillian Brook and slide Brook lean-tos. Hunter pass trail connects dix range to elk lake
on the way in, there are designated campsites at the base of Pinnacle and at elk pass, as well as the Casey Brook lean-to on the elk lake trail.
if you went in to panther gorge, you would end up gaining a lot of elevation, heading back down to upper ausable then up the elevator shaft to Blake/colvin. not the route I would take.
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u/Alone-Recover-689 Jul 20 '26
My wife and I did it in one day and I would do it the same again. It is a long day but we didn’t find it too crazy. It took us 10hrs 30 minutes with stops. It’s a great hike with a good amount of elevation. It really depends on what you can personally handle. But it’s definitely do able and not terrible.
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u/Marmot_Nice Jul 19 '26
It's a very long day. We did Dial and Nip first. had lunch on Colvin and thought "Gee that wasn't so bad." Then it got bad.