As promised (http://www.summitpost.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=54468), I am reporting back on the Trap Dike. There have been some questions about how hard it is, so I thought I'd give some details to help others decide if it's for them.

There's a pretty good scramble right off the bat, but nothing that would worry anyone who's done White Mountain or ADK trails before. Then, the second (dry) waterfall is pretty steep and tall. The climbing is very easy, but the step is probably 20' tall and nearly vertical, so the exposure is a bit heady. If you don't like exposure, you won't like it. If you don't mind a little exposure, the scrambling is quite easy and you will feel very secure.

The 1990 slide involves a bit of a bushwhack unless I'm a moron and missed the herd path. It is steeper than the slide above the trap dike, and I used my hands downclimbing face-out for a decent bit near the top, and even spun around and went facing the rock for some steep overlaps.

Can anyone comment on the 1990 slide vs. the Eagle slide on Giant?

Looking forward to the full TR. How would you compare it to Huntington?

I have not done Huntington. But, from the many TRs and photos I've seen, I think if you enjoyed the Ravine Trail you will love Trap Dike. The 1990 slide is probably a slight notch up, partly from exposure and steepness, partly from the bushwhack and route finding.

Looks like a nice hike, hope you had a blast.

Looks great, congrats. I am going to have to plan this one for next year.

Auto, how did you know when to exit the dike? Is the old cairn still there? From what I read it's around 3800', but everything says something different.

I didn't wait for the cairn at 3800'. We left at about 3650', where there were a few signs of scrambling up a steep slab to the right. It was steep, but short and broken with some brush, so I thought it pretty safe. It looked like anywhere from 3600-3800 would work ok, just go up as soon as it looks good to you.

Autoxfil wrote:I didn't wait for the cairn at 3800'. We left at about 3650', where there were a few signs of scrambling up a steep slab to the right. It was steep, but short and broken with some brush, so I thought it pretty safe. It looked like anywhere from 3600-3800 would work ok, just go up as soon as it looks good to you.

Sweet, thanks. I'll be sure to get a nice look at the whole thing when I go up Algonquin in a few weeks. We're already planning the Dike for next year.