What Mt. Marcy is known for

The Mt. Marcy Region is full of mountains, lakes, rivers, and forests, along with national parks and reserves. People often go to the territory to hike Mt. Marcy, which is the tallest mountain in New York. The elevation of the mountain is 5,344 feet, and the elevation gain of hiking the mountain is 3,166 feet. The most popular and the shortest hike to the top of Mt. Marcy is 7.4 miles one way. As a round trip, the hike is 14.8 miles.[2] 

Mt. Marcy is home to many plants, animals, waterfalls, and trees. During the winter, Mt. Marcy gets snow, opening up the opportunity for things such as cross country skiing and snowshoeing. Mt. Marcy gets over 20,000 visitors a year. Most of those visitors are there to hike the trails and sometimes hike the first half of the trail one day, sleep overnight, and finish the hike the next day.[10] Mt. Marcy was first explored by Ebenezer Emmons and his team. Since they hiked the mountain, many people have followed in their steps. Trails were created, and thousands of people hike them every year.[1] 

Within the Mt. Marcy Region, there are multiple forests and reserves such as the High Peaks Wilderness, Hoffman Notch, the Silver Lake Wilderness, Sargent Pond Wild Forest, the West Canada Lake Wilderness, and the Pharoh Lake Wilderness Area. Within these forests and areas, activities involving hiking, bicycling, and hunting are available. Because of the region's many lakes and rivers, people can go fishing, paddling, boating, and swimming. In the High Peaks Wilderness, people can go hiking, camping, rock climbing, skiing, snowshoeing, fishing, hunting, and trapping.[4] At Hoffman Notch, things such as fishing, hunting, and rock climbing are also available, along with multiple hikes and campsites.[5] The Silver Lake Wilderness features things like paddling, bicycling, and snowmobiling. Electric bikes are not allowed on the bike trails.[6] 

Also in the district are many cities, including Piseco and Saranac Lake. Within these cities, things like shopping, museums, zoos, convenience stores, and other activities are available. Additional cities in the region are Middlebury, Crown Point, Warrensburg, Pawlet, Newcomb, North Creek, and Bolton. On average, the region gets the most visitors in August and September. There are also many visitors in May and July.[9] Overall, the area gets a lot of visitors that come to hike Mt. Marcy or to go to the cities within the region. People also come to go boating, hunting, fishing, trapping, swimming, paddling, and hiking. There are fewer visitors that come in the winter, but those that do often participate in winter activities such as cross country skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling.

Geography

The Mt. Marcy Region is located in parts of New York and Vermont. The overall shape of the region is circular, and it wraps around the cities of Tupper Lake, Saranac Lake, Keene, Ferrisburgh, Vergennes, Middlebury, Salisbury, Brandon, Castleton, Pawlet, Northville, and Piseco. Within the region are lakes, mountains, rivers, forests, and an abundance of cities. Some of the forests include the West Canada Lake Wilderness, the Silver Lake Wilderness, the High Peaks Wilderness, Hoffman Notch, Sargent Pond Wilf Forest, and the Pharoh Lake Wilderness Area. 

The weather in the region fluctuates throughout the year. The warmest months are July and August, while the colder months are January, February, and December. The average high temperature in the region is around 64 degrees Fahrenheit while the average low is about 13 degrees. The area gets the most rain in June. Rain is also likely to fall in July and October. The region doesn't get much snow that stays on the ground within the cities and forests.[9] However, Mt. Marcy gets 5-10 meters of snow each year.[10] Because of the weather, the best time to visit the region is from the middle of May to the beginning of September.[9] 

Mt. Marcy is home to many plants and animals. Some of these animals include Adirondack moose, Adirondack owls, loons, bears, bald eagles, wolves, coyotes, beavers, peregrine falcons, raccoons, bats, eastern cougars, fishers, turtles, and other wildlife.[7] Plants in the area are things involving boott's rattlesnake root, dwarf willows, Fernald's bluegrass, alpine azalea, and Lapland rosebay.

History

Mt. Marcy, a mountain within the Mt. Marcy Region, was first explored by Ebenezer Emmons and his team in 1837. Emmon's guide, John Cheney, was the one to make all of the observations, one of them being, "It makes a man feel what it is to have all creation placed beneath his feet." Emmons made a note of the snow that was on the mountain in the middle of August during their exploration. The snow came up to half an inch. The explorers could not make sense of the boulders and erratics that were left behind by glaciers. At the time, Emmons thought the boulders and erratics were a result of a biblical-type flood. Before exploring Mt. Marcy, Emmons had been hired by the State of New York to inventory the natural resources of the area. Emmons and his team hoped to find minerals such as coal, but instead, they found a park[1]. 

The Adirondack Park was not always park-like. Before the 1830s, the New York Wilderness was considered a desolate wasteland. When Emmons found it, however, he realized that the are was not a wasteland and that the mountains in the area were taller than Catskill peak, which was thought to be the highest peak in New York. Emmons estimated that the highest peak was over 5,000 feet. After contacting Farrand Benedict, who was a mathematics professor, Benedict calculated the height of the peak to be 5,344 feet. The number was later confirmed. Emmons and his men decided to name the highest peak after Governor William Learned Marcy. From then on, the mountain was called Mt. Marcy. Governor William Learned Marcy never set foot on the mountain, but naming it after him made sense to Emmons and his team. Marcy was Secretary of State in the Pierce administration, Secretary of War in the Polk Cabinet, and he served as Supreme Court Justice. After deciding the name of the mountain Mt. Marcy, there was some controversy as to what the name should be. Some people thought the Indian name of Tahawus made more sense, seeing as the word Tahawus means cloud-splitter. They ultimately decided on the name of Mt. Marcy.[1] 

In 1837 a man named Charles Fenno Hoffman came to hike Mt. Marcy. Despite losing a leg at the age of eleven, Hoffman was determined to climb the mountain. However, Hoffman was physically unable to hike to the top of the mountain. Much later, in 1922, a woman named Grace Hudowalski climbed to the top of Mt. Marcy. She hiked it again in 1937 with 200 people to celebrate the historic first ascent of Mt. Marcy. In 2020, 357 hikers hiked to the top of Mt. Marcy in one day. Over 300 hikers were reported to hike to the top of Mt. Marcy seven times--three times in July and August and four times this fall.[1] President Theodore Roosevelt also hiked Mt. Marcy with his party.[3]