Black Mountain

This was a really neat hike. As with most hikes there is always something neat that is discovered on the adventure, to me it was the awesome views. I had traveled from Plattsburgh south, down to this hike. While its easy to get to, it is on the east side of Lake George which takes a little bit of navigating to get to. I'm sure there was a better way to get to it, but I took the north-way south to exit 28, then Route 74 to Route 22 south to the junction of Washington county Route 6. If I remember correctly there was a sign at that intersection stating to turn there for Black Mountain, then again about 5 miles further at the intersection with Pike Brook road. The trail head was a mile from Route 6 on the left.

When I arrived at the trail-head there was only one other vehicle in the lot. As I was getting ready, another car pulled in, a young couple with a dog. They signed in and quickly were off and hiking, that would be the only time I would see them.

I signed in at the register, threw on my pack, grabbed the dogs, and we too were on our way. We had the trail and mountains to ourselves today. I would not see another person until we got down off the mountain near the first junction.

The trail was made up of snow and ice, from less than 1 inch at the start, to 4-5 inches at most up top. There was no need for snowshoes, however micro-spikes proved to be beneficial as it allowed me to move freely without worrying about slipping. I find this very helpful on the decent.

The entire trail was gradual in elevation gain, nothing to steep. I can't help but think this would be an awesome mountain to snowshoe. From what I could gather the summit is just over 2600 feet, with an elevation gain of about 1200 feet, and that is spread out over 2.5 miles. This was a beautiful 5 mile round trip hike. If I had more time I would have done the loop, maybe I'll snowshoe that next time.

Belfry Mountain

This is a quick and easy hike, just what I was looking for today as I had a lot of other things to get done, but still wanted to get out and hike. This literally took all of 15-20 minutes to summit from the road. Not to mention that today, was a bluebird day that really made this hike rewarding as it was quick, and offered fantastic views of the high peaks and green mountains of Vermont.

According to topo maps this is only a little over 1750 feet, however as mentioned earlier, the views are spectacular. The trail is nothing more than a dirt/gravel road that goes up to radio towers that are on the mountain. A short, less than half mile walk along the road with an overall elevation gain of 137 feet, very gradual.

This is a nice walk for a family. Parking for this hike is on the side of the road (Dalton Hill Road)(County Route 70). The trail-head, is a small DEC sign near a metal gate on the west side of the road, just as you crest the hill. There is no sign-in register.

I even got to try out a new photo opportunity with the summit surveyor pin (stole the idea from someone) .

Hadley Mountain

This one is off the beaten path, but pretty easy to get to. The Tower Road is the only dirt road I navigated, and was in really good shape and is said to be plowed in the winter.

Hadley mountain is a 2.6 mile round trip hike that starts to climb almost immediately after signing in at the trail-head. It is a gradual climb the entire way, with a few pleasant ridge walks along the way. The summit of Hadley is 2653 feet (according to topo), of which you will actually climb 1500 feet, give or take.

The description of the hike talks about a history of forest fires in the early part of the twentieth century which has impacted the mountain. While I never seen anything that resembles damage by fires, it is certainly present as it also described that the bare rock, or open ledge is a result of the fires and how it has also thinned the soil. There was a lot of bare open rock, which actually made for easy climbing.

The trail is wide and you can tell this is a very popular hike. I suspect the parking lot overflows on weekends. I arrived this morning at 10am and found two other vehicles there, although I would never see anyone else on the mountain today. After signing in at the register I quickly begin to start the climb. Its a nice hike which takes you up to a ridge of the West mountain range which you follow over to the true summit. I love ridge walks, they usually provide some nice views, and the trail is usually gradual, which this one was right up to the summit.

Just before the final push to the tower, on the right is a trail that leads to the old fire observer's cabin that is used by summit stewards. I also noticed a real cool cave just before the cabin on the left. Not exactly sure what it was used for, but appeared to have had a door on it at one time. Maybe a root cellar for storing food?

The fire tower is usually open, but was closed today. I was able to climb up to the scuttle hole and received some great views.

I started out from the car at 10:15am and arrived at the summit for 12 noon. Enjoyed the entire hike, had it all to myself. Left the summit at 1230 and arrived back at the car for 130pm. I took my sweet time going up, took many pictures.

Didn't see a single person until I got back to the trail-head where I ran into two guys heading up.

Cathedral Rock

This fire tower sits on the summit of Cathedral Rock, located on the campus of New York State Ranger School at Wanakena, about 8 miles west of Cranberry Lake, NY.

This tower was originally erected on Tooley Pond mountain in Clare NY, which is north-northwest of Cranberry Lake.

For those looking for a easy hike, this would be the one. Even for a young family and their Nana.

From the parking area near the ball fields you pass through a gate on a dirt road. There was no sign-in booth, or anything that discerns the starting point of the trail. Once you pass through the gate it is a short walk to the start of the Latham trail, which is marked with a sign on your right. From there you will follow the disks with a number 10 over an easy grade, passing over a few foot bridges and other gravel roads. It is an easy walk up to the point you reach the base of Cathedral Rock. From here you will climb the 200 feet of elevation that switch backs up to the ridge, a very easy incline all the way to the tower.

There are a few plaques along the way to the summit that memorialize the trail and workers, one at the small pavilion just below the summit reminded us of how fragile life can be. It memorializes a 10 year old boy who had lost his life on the mountain.

Nathan Louis Peck, a fifth-grader at Bryant Elementary school, died while on a hiking trip with his family. He was hiking when he slipped off a rock ledge and fell 60 feet to the ground. He had died at the scene.

Christine Peck described her son as an "avid learner" with a vivid imagination and passion for life. Dinosaurs, soccer and "Star Wars" were among her son's favorite subjects.

"He was enthusiastic about all his activities. ... He was excited about sharing those passions with you at any and all times," she said.

It reminded me of a co-worker that had told me of a David Eagleman's quote;

"There are three deaths. The first is when the body ceases to function. The second is when the body is consigned to the grave. The third is that moment, sometime in the future, when your name is spoken for the last time."

We talked about you today, Nathan.😊

Blue Mountain

This is a post election day hike. My son and I planned this day off well, unlike the results of the presidential election. We knew that we had to get out into the woods and just get away from the buzz of the election results. Blue Mountain, in Blue Mountain Lake, NY was a great choice.

The forecast was for misty rain in the morning and then clear up in the afternoon to be a mostly cloudy day. The weatherman was partially right, it was a misty day. The radar showed the rain from overnight was on its way out, so in theory we would have an overcast day.

We signed in to the trail register at 9:13am with a slight drizzle of rain. We weren't worried as we were dressed for the wet weather. On this trip we had a few new pieces of gear to try out. One was a Go Pro camera that I had won by raffle last year, and finally got around to trying it out. The other new piece of equipment was a new pair of hiking boots. It was a good day to try out both.

I was surprised at this trail, a lot of rocks and roots, with several boardwalks then finally slabs towards the top. It was a 4 mile round trip hike, with a fair amount of vertical elevation gain, at 1523 feet. It was fairly steep towards the top as well, which would be interesting in the winter with the snow and ice. There was no snow or ice for us today as the temps were in the high 30's to low 40's. Quite a bit of running water right down the middle of the trail. I suspect a fair amount of flow ice in the winter.

Towards the top after the slab climb it evens out a bit and becomes basically a ridge walk to the summit, probably about 2/10th of a mile until you reach the tower. We arrived at the summit at 11:22am.

With today's weather there would be no views, other than the clouds zipping by. The entire summit was in the clouds. We would not see open sky until we were on our way home.

It was still nice to be out in the woods, we had the mountain to ourselves with no other hikers.

We were back at the car by 1:02pm.

Azure Mountain

This was a lazy day today. After sleeping in until 7:30 this morning I had to change my plans. I knew I wanted to get out and hike something, so this little gem popped up on my radar.

I have been nonchalantly hiking the Adirondack fire towers, something that isn't really intended to achieve, but appears to be moving in that direction. My intent is to get my endurance back up and, with my son finish the 46 high peaks this winter. We have 9 left to do, so getting in shape is top priority.

Azure mountain in is Franklin county, NY. It is off the beaten path, and I took the scenic route to its trail-head. I was coming from Plattsburgh so I took a short cut via County Route 30 past Buck Pond campground, then Keese Mills road out of Paul Smiths heading northwest, and then met up with Blue Mountain road heading north towards St Regis Falls, the trail-head was on the left. This route took me through some very beautiful country.

The hike itself is a short 1 mile hike to the summit, however it is a steady uphill hike gaining just under 1000' in the short mile to its summit. There were many views along the way. I met several young families coming down as I was going up.