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LAKE PLACID - Safely across Phelps Brook, Katie and Matt Aiesi gathered their gear for their trek out of the woods.

The married couple from Watertown were two of the many hikers who found themselves having to deal with a variety of conditions Friday in the High Peaks. The most difficult of which was probably crossing Phelps Brook on the Van Hoevenberg Trail.

Normally at this time of the year, hikers can use a high-water bridge to cross Phelps Brook shortly after passing Marcy Dam. But that bridge isn't there any more. High water and ice flows washed the bridge downstream about a week and a half ago.

Hikers are finding themselves leaping from rock to rock over rushing water to get from one part of the trail to the other.

"It was pretty scary, but we made it," Katie Aiesi said. "I thought I was going to fall."

In the summer months, such crossings aren't really a problem. One can get their feet wet and continue up a mountain without too much of a problem. A change of socks will normally do the trick. But getting your feet wet this time of the year is a bit more of a concern, especially if it happens on the way up the mountain as conditions get more wintery toward the top.

Plus, the trails in the High Peaks are still covered with snow. There's about eight inches at the lower elevations and at least three-and-a-half feet at about 3,000 feet. Because of the snow, skis or snowshoes are still required.

One woman, after getting her feet soaked in the brook, was hopping down the trail, concerned about her wet feet. She relaxed after putting plastic bags over her socks and inside her boots.

Michael Keighley, of Carthage, and Shantel Baca, of Cincinnati, Ohio, actually turned back at Phelps Brook. They decided it wasn't worth crossing the water to hike up Phelps Mountain.

"We couldn't find a place to cross the river, so we just decided to stop and eat lunch on a rock because it's a pretty nice day out," Keighley said.

High waters are a common concern for hikers this time of the year because rains and warm temperatures cause snow to melt up high. The runoff, in turn, raises water levels in streams and brooks, sometimes making them dangerous to cross.

For those who didn't want to cross Phelps Brook just past Marcy Dam, Phelps Mountain became a lot farther away if one stuck to the trails: roughly 2.5 miles. That's because one would have to hike the Avalanche Pass Trail to the Lake Arnold Trail to the Indian Falls Crossover to the Van Hoevenberg Trail. The state Department of Environmental Conservation is actually recommending that hikers use that route when going up Marcy this weekend and as long as waters remain high. It only adds about a half-mile one-way to the Marcy trip.

Mike Heekin, manager of the High Peaks, said that Indian Pass Brook was high enough Friday that hikers couldn't cross it to access Street and Nye mountains.

"Any stream crossing without a bridge is going to be questionable," Heekin said.

Heekin said the other thing people should be concerned about this time of the year is having enough warm clothes with them. With temperatures in the 70s and 80s in the surrounding area Friday, many people were hiking in shorts and even sneakers in the High Peaks.

Heekin pointed out that temperatures drop three to five degrees per 1,000 feet. The trail to Marcy gains 3,000 feet in elevation, so it could be 15 degrees colder at the peak, not factoring in the wind. Temperatures were forecasted to be in the low 40s Friday night in Lake Placid. That would make it in the 20s on top of Marcy.

"So if you get injured or stuck up there overnight, shorts aren't going to help you," Heekin said. "Shorts are fine to hike in but you need a good backup."

For more information on trail conditions visit www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/9198.html.

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Contact Mike Lynch at 891-2600 ext. 28 or mlynch@adirondackdailyenterprise.com.