On Monday, I climbed Upper Wolfjaw Mountain, number 29 in the list of the 46 high peaks of the Adirondacks. I struck out early in the morning with every intention of scaling Upper and Lower Wolfjaws, but one was all I had the energy to summit. I intentionally went up the higher one with the better views first, just in case I decided I couldn’t manage both.
It was a gorgeous day. My hike began at the Ausable Club near St. Huberts. I crossed the East Branch of the Ausable River, which was swollen and roaring after the previous day’s heavy rains. I followed the West River
trail, climbing steeply up the cliffs away from the Ausable, then turned right to head up the Wedge Brook trail. Wedge Brook flows down the slopes of Lower Wolfjaw in a series of cascades before emptying into the river. Hikers often stop at the point of the brook’s largest single waterfall, which is fully visible from the trail. Even after you scamper down to a pool at the base of the falls, you can see the water rushing over the rocky escarpment above before dropping about 30 feet. This sight was much more picturesque than one might expect in the middle of the summer, when many falls slow to a trickle.
Even though the nearly 3,000-foot ascent to the summit of Upper Wolfjaw (elevation 4,185 feet) was steep for much of the 5.4-mile journey to the top and quite challenging in the last mile, the 180-degree view from the peak was breathtaking, as was the lookout toward Gothics and Mt. Marcy just a few yards further down the trail. The trek took me longer than I expected. I didn’t appreciate the difficulty of the near vertical and very rocky climb approaching the summit. Still, it was satisfying to know that I maintain the physical ability to complete a hike like that. So there were lots of reasons to be grateful for the day.
The best gift of all, however, was the unexpected presence of two companions for the most difficult section of the hike. The terminus of the Wedge Brook trail is in the col between the Wolfjaws. That’s where trails coming from four directions