My friend and I hiked Whiteface and Esther from Connery Pond this time, and enjoyed the new route and views. We parked in the Connery lot on 86 about 3 miles east of Lake Placid, up the dirt road and near the registation station (there are a few spots past the gate that were empty at 6am on a Monday).
The hike to the quiet Whiteface Brook lean-to was fairly level, followed by a steady elevation to Whiteface, the steepest of which was a fun boulder scramble in view of the meteorological station. The hike to and from Esther had some typical incline/decine, but wasn't too taxing compared to the there-and-back treks up Whiteface (whew, at times).
The trails were surprisingly dry with some soggy patches around Esther that are probably waterlogged after rains. Bugs were typical for mid-June.
Mileage was approx 6 to Whiteface (3.5 hrs) and another 2 to Esther (1.75 hrs). Our gps logged 19.1 total miles with 10 hrs moving time.
It was an excellent hike with some tough but interesting elevation, and we were glad we started at Connery Pond this time.