Dix from Elk Lake

Route in a Nutshell:
We consider this trail the most interesting of those routes up to the Dix Range marked and maintained by New York State. Starting at the Elk Lake Trailhead, (2061 ft), the Dix Trail, marked RED, heads N passing between Elk Lake to the west, and Macomb and Hough to its east. The trail is almost level for 4 miles, but once past Dix Pond the trail begins gradual ascent into Hunters Pass (3230 ft). At the pass, the trail turns SE and steep, often very steep, ascent of Dix Mtn. The RED trail reaches its terminus at its intersection with the BLUE trail (ADK #46, McM #76) which comes in from Rte 73 and completes the ascent of Dix Mtn. Overall, from trailhead to summit the climb is an elevation gain of about 2400 feet over a distance traveled of 7.4 miles.

Best Tip for the Dix Range

1. Before leaving home use your compass and map to take the bearing from each of the Dix peaks to the next following the route you intend to take. Then, when you actually get to the first summit, compare the actual bearing of the next peak to the one you recorded from the map
2. As you progress through the actual hike, even if the herd path seems obvious to you and you see the peak you believe you are hiking to in the distance, be aware that the Dixes are full of herd paths that go either nowhere or somewhere you don't want to go. It should go without saying, these were created by people that were already lost. Don't be one of them. Check and verify bearings against your map more frequently than you think necessary.
3. If a herd path seems to be leading you astray, STOP. Figure it out before proceeding. Don't guess.
4. The Dixes invite rain for some reason. And if the weather brings fog and rain, the need to know where you are is very apt to become easier said than accomplished. Have a bail-out plan before you climb.
5. Don't hike alone and be equipped and prepared to spend the night in case you have to.
6. There's NO water in the Dixes at altitude.

Signed,

Water:
A short distance after passing Dix Pond, the yellow Beckhorn trail (ADK #120, McM #61) will intersect from the right. There will also be a sign. Soon after passing by this intersection the trail crosses a small brook. This brook is the last water you'll find until you leave the Dixes by whatever route you have in mind.

A brook also parallels the ascent into Hunters Pass, however this brook is not readily accessible.

From	To	Distance	Route
Elk Lake Trailhead	Macomb	4.1 mi.	Herd Path
Macomb	South Dix	0.7	Herd Path
South Dix	East Dix	1.1	Herd Path
South Dix	Hough	0.9	Herd Path
Hough	Dix	1.3	Herd Path
Rte 73 Trailhead	Dix	6.5	DEC trail
Elk Lake Trailhead	Hunters Pass	6.5	DEC trail
Hunters Pass	Dix	1.0	DEC trail

1	Here we are a short distance from the Elk Lake trailhead. Hundreds of trees are stacked by Mother Nature like cord wood on either side of the trail. Mother Nature's nasty mood that caused this blow-down was named Hurricane Floyd by those who like names for things. These trees were here when we came through here in 1999 after the hurricane, except that then they were stacked much higher, about 10 feet high. It was obvious at the time that they had been blown down in that fashion, then trail crews had come through and cut through them with chain saws to make a passageway for hikers. It was like walking down a narrow hallway.	2	As messy as this looks, the trail has no blow-down blocking the trail anywhere along its length. Nevertheless, massive blow-down is often on both sides of the trail.
3	Very often the trail is wide and shaded. It is always easy walking and is seldom rocky.	4	This is a fairly typical photo of this trail. You have blow-down everywhere, but the trail itself has been well cleared and is in tip-top shape.
5	We arrive at Slide Brook lean-to, about 2.3 miles from the trailhead.	6	The trail heading north between Slide and Lillian Brooks.
7 9	As bad as the blow-down occasionally gets in the area between Slide and Lillian Brooks, the RED trail remains clear. However, if you have a mind to take the unmarked Lillian Brook route up to the Macomb-South Dix col, forget it! The blow-down before Lillian Brook remains almost impassible. In fact, the latest edition of McMartin's guidebook lists the trail (McM #67) as "impossible". Check out our painful experience with this trail in 2002. As they say, experience is the best teacher.	8	Approaching Lillian Brook from Elk Lake trailhead on the .trail. The area between Slide and Lillian Brooks has the worst blow-down in the Adirondacks with the exception of that in the Allen Mtn and Upper Works area, but those latter areas have now been cleaned up for a couple of years. Once you are N of Lillian, the landscape appears to improve.
10 13	Dix Pond from the red trail.	12	Dix Pond from the red trail.
. 14	The ascent to Hunters Pass starts gently.	15 16	We are closer to the pass now in this group of photos. The cliffs are to our right and left continuously.
17	This flat, marshy area is the heart of Hunters Pass. It is the only flat ground for at least a half mile in any direction.	18	From the pass, the trail turns sharply SE and immediately becomes steep to very steep. It is here that ascent of Dix begins in earnest. On a foggy day such as this one was, you will find the trip from Hunter's Pass upwards to be eerie as this photo suggests.
19	This photo and the photo to the right typify the rich colors of the landscape on the trail above Hunters Pass.	20
21 22	On the RED trail looking down on Hunters Pass. The junction with the BLUE trail is 20 minutes ahead. The heavy clouds and dreary weather hung around all day and night	23	Looking up the Dix Trail above Hunters Pass is both steep and fun. These short climbs provide an opportunity to use the upper body and the brain.
24	End of the RED trail at its intersection with the BLUE trail that comes up from Round Pond and Rte 73 to the NE. We'll be on BLUE for the rest of the distance to the summit of Dix. About 500 vertical feet remain to be climbed.	25	On the RED trail approaching the summit of Dix from Hunters Pass; it's about 15 minutes away. This is an over the shoulder look at Elk Lake now well below us.
26	The hike up from Hunters Pass toward Dix's summit is not always straightforward! This shot gives you a pretty good idea about how this section is.	27	Hunters Pass appears below through the low clouds as we continue up the trail toward Dix's summit.
28	Once beyond Hunters Pass, the trail to Dix's summit becomes steep.	29	Very typical of the trail towards the summit. Obviously, we're not at the tree line yet.
30	Up ahead is the end of the RED trail. It terminates at its junction with the BLUE trail. The BLUE trail starts at Rte 73 just south of Chapel Pond and continues on to the summit of Dix where it terminates and the Dix Range herd path begins.	31	The intersection as described in the previous photo. We know we're close to the summit now. I went through this same intersection January 1974 and August 1998.
32	This sign is also at the intersection, telling those coming down from Dix how to get to Hunters Pass, the way we had just come.	33	Our first look at Dix's summit as we break through the trees.
34	Elaine lying down on the job		Hough from Dix. We can't see any of the other Dixes, although some of them are straight ahead
36	Dix summit, the benchmark, and the anorthosite (rock) that makes up most of the Adirondack peaks. At the summit the BLUE trail ends. The yellow Dix-Beckhorn Trail (McM 61, ADK 120) starts at the Dix summit, leads over the Beckhorn staying to the right, marked with yellow paint daubs on the rocks, and drops down Dix's SW slope eventually intersecting at Dix Pond with the RED trail, the same one we hiked from the Elk Lake Trailhead to its intersection with the BLUE trail.	37	This view of the Beckhorn is taken from the summit.
38	Nippletop (we think) from the Beckhorn.	Photo courtesy of Elaine Serafini 39	There's one thing to watch out for when navigating the Beckhorn. If you stay to the right and follow the yellow paint marks on the rocks, you'll miss the path to Hough's summit and start down one of the Dix slides. But if you stay to the left as you approach the Beckhorn's summit, you will find yourself on the Dix Range herd path headed out to Hough.
40	The summit of Dix has few trees. Views are 360 degrees.	Photo courtesy of Elaine Serafini 41	Hough and South Dix from Dix.
Photo courtesy of Elaine Serafini 42	Letting the water run out of one's boots. Once again the sky and mountains are completely obscured, but so far we're content, which just goes to show you how mentally debilitated hikers can get.	Photo courtesy of Elaine Serafini 43	The summit.
44	Happy to be on the summit, but 4 more peaks to go today.