Unnamed Spectacle Pond Ledges and Wolf Pond Ledges(Lake George Wild Forest-Adirondacks)

Headed up to the Southern Adirondacks to do a little off trail exploring in a quiet little corner of the Lake George Wild Forest just east of Brant Lake.  My destination would be a couple of small peaks and ledges as well as Spectacle Pond and Wolf Pond, a pair of relatively unknown small ponds that reside south of Route 8.

My early morning drive brought me past a very foggy Brant Lake, which I just had to stop and check out.

After checking out the lake views, I continued east on Route 8 to a scenic pull off along the south side of the road where I parked the car and headed out(Elevation 1250 feet).  From the pull off, I dropped steeply down the hillside through wet weeds before picking up a bit of a herd path which quickly lead me to Swede Pond Brook and some pretty cascades.

Followed a fisherman's path along the brook briefly before it faded out, with the sun doing its best to shine through the thick forest canopy.
 

More cascades on Swede Pond Brook.

After the fisherman's path disappeared, I began my true bushwhack heading SE towards Spectacle Ponds, which sat about a mile away.  Near the pond and not knowing what to expect-the last thing I thought I would find was a herd path that was in great condition- allowing for ease of access between the ponds.

I followed the path NE around Spectacle Pond's wetlands and then headed straight up towards the ledges I was aiming for.  The slopes were quite steep and I had to carefully pick a safe route up.

Once up near the tops of the ledges, I headed towards the edge, where I could see an opening.  Suddenly the slopes below me dropped off and a great view to the west unfolded. 

I circled around the steep ledges, contouring over to an even broader, open set of ledges.  These ledges sit practically right above Spectacle Pond and offer up some really nice views.  This shot takes in Spectacle Ponds below and a hint of Lake George in the distance.

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Spectacle Pond, directly below the ledges.

NW views towards the Three Brothers.

As I began heading south off the ledges, I stumbled upon yet another area of open ledges, with a more southerly view point, taking in Lake George as well as part of Spectacle Ponds.

A quick and uneventful descent brought down towards Spectacle Ponds, where I basically stayed on high ground between bodies of water heading west.  There was a bit more color down in the wetlands here, with some red maples jumping out at me.

Skirting around the southern part of Spectacle Ponds, which is basically a large wetland.

From a beaver dam crossing at its south end, soaking in serene views north across Spectacle Pond.

Once on the west side of Spectacle Pond, I was able to garner a nice view back towards the ledges that I had just been up on.

Leaving the pond's shore and back on the herd path, I headed SW, breezing right along, covering a little over a mile in less than 20 minutes. I soon arrived at the northeast end of Wolf Pond, which was much more like a sprawling marsh than a pond.

The herd path seemed to end at Wolf Pond, so I headed east towards another unnamed hill, which also appeared to have some steep slopes and possible ledge views.

A short but steep scramble brought me up to the summit of the small peak(Elevation 1765 feet).  Once up high, I headed towards an open south facing clearing..

..from a nice perch just below the ledges, I was able to find this incredible shot looking south towards Lake George and the Tongue Range.  This shot is similar to the one on Spectacle Pond Hill, but much closer.

From another opening near the summit, there is a nice west facing ledge with nice views.  Some early fall colors are definitely creeping into the nearby hillsides.

Followed the ledges northeast for a bit in search of a route down and was lucky to spot this view(zoomed) of the nearby ledges over Spectacle Pond that I had been on earlier.

After a steep but manageable descent off the ledges, it was a short bushwhack back to the herd path, which I utilized to cover ground back towards Spectacle Ponds.  Prior to arriving back at the ponds however, I left the path and bushwhacked NW over an unnamed bump heading more directly towards the car.  

Back near the road, I took a moment along Swede Pond Brook to wash some sweat and grime off before finally calling it a day.

One last steep push uphill brought me back to my for a grand total of 7.5 miles and 1600 feet of ascent.

Map below.    Blue X=Parking     Black circles=Ledges        Red=Hunter's path