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Luke Bucciarelli Finish
by Michael Ryba
Our group, which consisted of Luke and Larry Bucciarelli, Mike Ryba, Duncan Holley, Ryan Johnston, Billy Reagan, Dennis Boyce, and trip leader Marko Correll, departed from the Route 73
trailhead at 8:20 am under cloudy, dark and threatening skies. Sure enough, as soon as the group arrived at Round Pond, the skies opened up and it began to pour. We plodded along the wet and muddy trail
past the Boquet lean-to and to the bottom of the north slides of Dix. The slide was at that time a streambed with water gracefully pulsating down the gray rocks. We continued upward along the steepest
mile of trail in the Adirondacks while pushing into the clouds, the temperature dropping with every skyward step. We reached the narrow, rocky summit of Dix and then faced the full fury of the southwesterly
winds. We ate lunch in the trees between the summit and the beckhorn and then diverged from the trail, following instead a narrow and steep herd path down past more rocky ledges to the blow down-filled
col. We ascended the 400 vertical feet of steep but relatively easy elevation that was Hough. Luke paused briefly below the summit rock to allow the rest of the group to form the traditional “bridge”
under which Luke ran through on his way to the summit of his 46th peak, completing the years-long ambition of so many Poko campers. Summit celebrations were limited due to the high winds, driving rains and thick fog that clouded the peak and denied us any fraction of the usually glorious vista that unfolds beneath. We descended Hough in tempered spirits knowing that ahead of us lay the long and arduous ascent back up to Dix. We reached the summit of Dix at about 3 o’clock and began the 7-mile trek back to the trailhead. On the descent, the clouds lifted enough to allow us a view of the north slides and NoonmarkMtn. The monotony of the flat distances still ahead was relieved by the thought of Noonmark Diner pies waiting for us at the bottom. We drove back to camp with full bellies and high spirits.
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