Eagle & Haynes

Eagle and Haynes via Seager

12.3 miles

2,297 feet elevation gain

We got a very late start. The mosquitoes were vicious despite the bug spray. They kept getting stuck in our eyes. The trail was initially damp but firm. However, it can be confusing to follow—especially on the way back in the dark. There is a lot of blowdown which makes staying on the trail or even finding a way through the blowdown difficult at times. You have to cross Dry Brook multiple times. On the way there the water crossings were pretty easy, but once the rain came it was a bit more challenging.

This trail is mellow in terms of gradient. You feel like you can walk forever—so much so that we decided we were going to do Eagle, Haynes, Balsam, and hit Big Indian on the way back. I remember looking at my phone and being incredulous at how many hours had passed. It reminded me of those stories of people being abducted by aliens and waking up in their cars wondering where the time had gone.

Deb signed her first canister on Eagle. I brought a sparkler to light in celebration once we were back below 3500 feet. We also found the remnants of the plane crash on Eagle, though it is one of the more underwhelming ones.

On our way to Haynes we heard a crack of thunder that was so loud and jarring I literally jumped. We continued on our way to Haynes as the sunshine lured us into a false sense of safety. However, we heard a second boom and decided we would abort our original plan of 4 peaks and settle for two.

On the way down the rain came down with a vengeance. We were too busy worrying about the lightning to care about getting wet, though.

The trails got very muddy so the Dry Brook and Shandaken Brook started running more heavily. We couldn’t believe we still had miles to go because everything seemed so easy on the way up.

The Seager Trail can be really hard to follow at night. The down trees made it especially difficult to determine where the path continues. When the red gate appeared illuminated by my headlamp, I felt tremendous relief. We arrived at the parking lot a little after 10.