High Peaks solitude

A few years ago, while standing atop Mount Colvin, the temptation to add Nippletop Mountain to an already long day nagged at me. I had never hiked Nippletop, nor Dial Mountain, on the same ridge, a couple of 4,000-footers that had long been on my must-hike list. Other 4,000-footers, like Mount Colvin, always seemed to trump them.

Nippletop (4,620 feet), the 13th-highest peak in the Adirondack Park, especially intrigued me. A prominent landmark as one drives up the Northway from the south, this silent sentinel always welcomed me back to the High Peaks from trips to Albany and beyond. It’s obvious why Orson “Old Mountain” Phelps, the legendary Adirondack guide in the 1800s, popularized the mountain’s name. Its summit ridge has a distinct bare nipple of rock. The mountain’s humorous nomenclature certainly added to its hiking appeal.

Dial Mountain (4,020 feet), which lies northeast of Nippletop, was also named by Old