"Hiking weekends is usually taboo for us but since Dan was a bachelor for the day, we made plans to hike Allen on Saturday. The weather during the week was oppressive with only modestly cooler temperatures forecast for Newcomb. The benefit, it’s been bone dry and what better conditions could you ask for when doing Allen, other than maybe 4’ of packed snow…but I love winter. Scott and I started our customary drive from Glenville at 4 on the nose, making Warrensburg just before 5 where we swiftly indulged in the spoils of Dan’s breakfast sandwich-making prowess. We arrived to the lot at 6 to find it fairly filled up with a good number of people already on trail. Temps were in the low 50’s making for a chilly start so we packed up, signed in and hit the trail averaging a solid 3+ mph till we reached the Opalescent. The trails to this point were dry and the river crossing was easy rock hopping. We had brought water shoes in case but the Hudson gauge at Newcomb was on a down trend all month at barely a foot and less than 35 cuft/s discharge. The normal planked mud areas were all packed and easily passable. For the climb up it was still notoriously slick in spots despite the majority o..." — davelaurenty • Aug 16, 2025

"Allen Mountain, high peak #44/46! Incredible day out there hiking the most remote high peak in the Northeast! This was a sufferfest because of the endless mud. The first 8.5 miles of the hike to the base of Allen are fairly easy. After passing Lake Jimmy and Sally, you will come to a nice area adjacent to a swampy marsh, this will present to you a nice view of Redfield and Allen to remind you of the long trek ahead. 4.1 miles in you will come to the Opalescent River, the major crossing for this mountain. The river was nice and low making for an easy rock hop. After you cross Skylight Brook and come to the waterfall for Allen Brook, this is the base and marking point for the ascent. From here it is a steep consistent 1.2 mile, 1,600ft climb to the top, becoming more steep towards the second half. The slides are very slick because of the red slime that the Mountain is commonly known for. Once you reach the Allen Slide, keep to the left, there are plenty of natural holds to help assist with the slick climb up. Once you reach the top there is some beautiful views to be had along the small herdpath behind the summit sign! " — Derek-Goodreau • Jun 21, 2025

"We camped the night before, at the junction of East River trail and Allen trail, near Opalescent river. Sept 16, we summitted Allen. The climbing really start just after the Allen brook waterfall and then there are several slabs of wet rock with some algae on it. We had to put on our microspikes. The summit is wooded but there is a nice view of Santanoni range & Sewards range & Marshall just before the final push to the summit. Lots of water sources on the way and the opalescent river crossing was ok (since the bridge is gone)" — hiking-Brigitte • Sep 15, 2024

"Long, muddy day, but views made it worth it. Starting from the Mt. Adams fire tower trailhead at 7am, the three of us made our way through the flat, mud-patched 7.5-mile beginning of the hike on this cold but sunny day. About 4 miles in, one member of our group took a tumble into the water when trying to hop over the spaced and slippery rocks. We powered on and eventually made it to the towering snowy and icy ascent, where we decided to drop two of our packs before heading up. This was a slow, but steady climb, and have to say preferable over the mud. Some peeking views if you turn back on the way up and at the summit, with a frame of Marcy and others on the east lookout. Descent wasn't too bad, as long as you had traction (microspikes), but the flat/ stretch back through the mud was painful. We managed to stay dry at the handful of water crossings this time, but we ran out of sunlight with about an hour left of the hike, so headlamps were needed to finish. The total out-and-back hike was 19 miles in 11 hours. 3750 total elevation gain. Glad we got this one over with." — gregoryskiba • Nov 11, 2023

"Getting near the end of our 46er journey and decided to tackle this, the longest hike of the 46. We were accompanied by our good friends Pete W. and Jessica Z-W. Stayed at the Inn at Santanoni to get an early start and were on the trail at 5:47 am. Nothing we can say that hasn't been said about this hike....very long...muddy...and very steep for the last 2 miles with plenty of "red slime" waiting to take you out. The log bridge at Lake Jimmy had been destroyed by weather, so we took the established path around the lake. We then hit the Opalescent River where the former steel bridge had been washed away. We knew this and had brought water shoes to change into before crossing this thigh deep water. At about the 5 mile point, we hit the junction of the yellow disc marked trail with the herd path to Allen. More mud bogs to navigate around and at about the 8 mile mark crossed Skylight Brook by rock hopping. When we reached the rock slabs with the red slime (actually more brown than red), we put on our micro-spikes which we had read would be useful on the slime. This worked great. Two hikers we met on the trail followed us and they did not have micro-spikes. One of them took quite a bad ..." — TJandMS • Jun 20, 2022

"This was my 3rd Adirondack High Peak. Why not jump from the two easiest peaks to one of the hardest/longest? We left home at 2 am (after maybe 3 hours of sleep) and drove the 3.5 hours to the trailhead. Started at 6 am and it had just stopped raining so everything was very wet. Pants were soaked from walking through the narrow trails and my goretex shoes could only do so much against the water and mud. The first 8 miles are not hard, but there are a couple of water crossings that were a bit scary going across slippery rocks. Then about 2 miles from the summit things got real. Wet and slimy rock face, pulling yourself up by hanging onto any nearby tree, and constant climbing. We thought it was 9 miles to the summit but it was really a little over 10 so it just kept going. I was fatigued and starving when we finally made it. The view, once we found a clearing, was amazing and worth it. On the way down we saw other great views we hadn't been able to see because of cloud cover on the way up but things were cleared up and dried up on the long trip back down. I was kind of scared about negotiating those slippery rocks on the way down, but things were much improved and it was not so bad. ..." — kvander • Jun 24, 2020

"What a day! It was long very scenic and wet muddy kinda day with my newest hiking partner Laurie Sargent. Beautiful suspension bridges and amazing water crossing made for an all out great hike which took us about 11hrs from the Upper Works Trailhead back to the car and only one other on the trail that day which we met at the summit,, A 22 yr old male in a shirt and tie! Imagine that! With over 3300 Ft. of accent for the last mile with wet rocks and some steep sketchy areas made for a very interesting decent, Be careful on this one! The wet rocks as well as a wet red slime film made for many slippery areas on the decent,, my butt is still feeling it this morning lol Love what you do!" — ramjet1963 • Jun 2, 2019

"Tom and I left Lower Works trailhead @ 6:10 @ 57 degrees and clear skies. Long gentle trail to base of mtn. The final climb was not too bad but very slippery with moss and red slime. Summited at 10:40 am. Left summit at 11:15 with 3 guys we met at summit. They knew of a different old logging road that we bushwacked to that saved 1 mile on the way out. Returned to trailhead at 3:40 pm. Beautiful, clear and cool day." — garyogden • Sep 8, 2018

"Cloudy damp and muddy day. The climb up the Allen brook was fogged in and created an awesome scene. While I did not have a view from a summit, it did not take away from my enjoyment of the hike. Only one hike left to finish the 46." — Right-On • Oct 14, 2017

"Finally got a great day to take on Allen. We attempted this after a heavy rain storm in June but due to the flooding had to turn back. This had to be my favorite High Peak so far. A bit of everything is on this hike. A long 5.2 mile walk through the woods to the herd path following for a bit the Opalescent River, across many water crossings, heavy woods and open fields. The trek to the summit was steep, steady, very wet and slippery especially following the Allen Brook and the slide. Views to the North at Marcy, Skylight were great. This hike is well worth the trip." — hbotc • Jul 29, 2017