Estimated mileage: 13.9 miles
Estimated total ascent: 3000 feet
Total trip time: 11h15
Total ADK-46 peaks thus far: 26

For this excursion, I went out with my friend Dan who was in town specifically for this Adirondack hike. We left a little late (and the trip also was perhaps slightly overstretching my friend's hiking limits), so the slow return from Marcy Dam was in twilight, and then eventually with flashlights. It's this is the worst of the trip, then it really was a great trip out. (Note: I suspect that seasoned hikers could do this hike in about 9 hours.)

The trails up to Lake Arnold were good, although I admit being nervous near the junction with the L. Morgan Potter trail thinking that we had missed it somewhere in the thick blowdown that precedes it. Once there, I was surprised to find a couple of good campsites just across from Lake Arnold. The Potter trail is very muddy for very short bursts, but otherwise it is in good condition. We reached the north summit and were amazed with the views (especially considering that a low cloud was lurking overhead most of the time that we were ascending towards it).

From there, it was an easy jaunt over to the actual peak of Colden. For those coming this way, take note that there is what looks like a possible 10' light herd path in evergreens at what looks like the height of land, but this is NOT it. Continue slightly further (100yds.) until you can simultaneously see both yellow AND red trail markers, the stones that people are asked to carry up from the ADK Loj (we brought 3 with us), and a very obvious 30' path up to a rock in which the word PEAK is etched next to the pin hole from a previous benchmark. That this is the real peak was confirmed by the nice steward that we met up top. (Here's a shout out to Frank.)

The peak itself doesn't have many good views, but continuing south on the red trail very quickly leads to a great vantage point (200 yds). Between the north summit and this south near-summit, the combined views are a full 360-degrees, making this a great mountain for anyone looking to day-trip for the views, especially if you have the peak as we did: light clouds only with lots of sun all around.

Had we turned around there instead of looping, the distance would be about 12.8 miles with nearly the same 3000' total up (accounting for reascending through the dips.) Instead, we decided to continue south off of Mt. Colden to exit through Avalanche Pass. This adds about a 1 mile to the trip (measured from the vantage south of Colden's peak), but do not be fooled by this statement. Coming down the steep slanted slopes here takes real work. For one, the trail will overwork your right leg because of that slant. Almost every step needs to be carefully planned, especially where water seeps across the trail. The trail continues slowly in this matter until elevation drops to near 3300' (and the transititon to regular wooded trail there is stark!). There are some good views along the whole way though, especially the Flowed Lands, and also of Lake Colden (from several distances including, eventually, right at one of its sandy edges). From here, the rest of the hike was generally pleasant with trails in excellent condition.

Avalanche Pass, as always, looks wonderful. As we passed through, the shadows of Avalanche Mountain rose up the walls of Colden as the sun began towards setting. In a way, it was kind of eerie to have shadows move in so quickly (because of the angles), but being there was also very serene.

Overall, an enjoyable hike.