Indian Falls Lookout Loop via Van Hoevenberg Trail(edit)

Drove up the night before and stayed overnight at a bunkhouse - was on the trail by 6:30 AM. Turned out to be a very nice, cool, sunny, fall day for hiking. Hike from the ADK Loj and was able to get a parking spot. Main trail from Loj (Mount Van Hovenburgh?) wasn’t too bad - relatively flat. Had to use headlamp for first mile or so. Trail to Tabletop was pretty cool - primarily a herd path that followed a small stream over rocks. Rather soothing. Decent views from the top as well. Hike back down went by fairly quickly. Hike up Phelps felt steep at times but wasn’t too bad. Summit had a fair amount of people. The hike back down seemed a little longish, but was manageable. The hike back to the Loj was nice and sunny and flat. Overall distance and ascent wasn’t too bad. Fair amount of mud on the trail throughout. All in all a great day of hiking!

Phelps: 4161' #9 Trailhead Elev: 2179' Avg Elev Gain/mi.- 241' Max Elev Gain/mi.- 1430' - Easy right up to the Phelps Mountain Jct. - Last mi. up Phelps was pretty tough - Trail was relatively dry. Muddy slip n slide right before Marcy Dam. Cloudy to partly sunny. 62 deg at start. Views from Phelps were moody. Towards the end we caught a glimpse of Marcy and Haystack :) Great views of Golden, Avalanche pass. Nothing but wilderness as far as the eye could see. - 2 hrs 45 min to the summit - Light drizzle up there. Marcy Brook and Phelps Brook are gorgeous! We hiked down Phelps brook for a bit through the stream :) Crystal clear water. Great pool at the base of the high water bridge along Marcy Brook before reaching Marcy Dam. Perfect to cool off in.

With gabby, booty pic at the peaks