Baldface Mountain(Crotched Pond Easement Tract/ Jessup River Wild Forest-Adirondacks)

Headed up to the Adirondacks this morning to check out some fall foliage on the east side of Indian Lake.  I parked along Big Brook Road(County Route 4) where it meets Crotched Pond Road(Elevation 1675 feet) and headed west, utilizing a state easement towards 2259 foot Baldface Mountain.  Immediately after leaving the car I crossed over picturesque Round Pond Brook, stopping momentarily to take in the view to the north.

 

Heading west on Crotched Pond Road, where the colors are coming along nicely, making for a pleasant conditions.

Followed the road for a little over 1.4 miles before heading into the woods, bushwhacking north up the mountain through mostly open hardwoods.

Baldface Mountain is actually made up of three separate summit knobs, and I first headed up to the westernmost peak, circling over to a series of steep west facing ledges,

 

Was pleasantly surprised to find some stellar off trail views from this western set of ledges.  Great views across Indian Lake from a clearing.

Zoom view towards Snowy Mountain across the lake.

From the west bump, I continued my bushwhack north, dropping slightly before picking up a red blazed DEC trail, which is only accessible from the lake itself.  This trail climbs steeply but briefly up to a broad set of open ledges.

The trail ends here, at an incredible open set of rock ledges, which offer even better views than the western ledges that I had been on.

Indian Lake views stretching to the SW, with foliage ablaze.

 

West views across Indian Lake towards the hamlet of Sabael and the multiple peaks of Squaw Mountain rising above, with Porter Mountain to the right.  Just beyond them are(R-L)Burgess and Panther Mountains.

After enjoying the killer views, I bushwhacked back down to Crotched Pond Road, which I then followed back to the car.  Even the road walk was gorgeous on this splendid fall day.

Didn't see another soul all day covering 5 miles RT with over 700 feet of elevation gain.

Map below.  Red P=Parking   Blue X=Trailed Vista     Red X=Off Trail Views

Round Pond and Peaks 609 & 724(Eastern High Peaks Wilderness-Adirondacks)

Took advantage of yet another perfect late summer/ early fall day by doing a little exploring up in the Adirondack High Peaks region.  I wanted to visit Round Pond via its marked trail and then bushwhack up to the two small peaks that sit both east and west of the pond.  As I arrived in the lot off of Route 73(Elevation 1570 feet), I was surprised to see no other cars there, meaning I'd probably have the woods to myself.  

A short road walk brought me to the trail, which in turn brought me to the shores of Round Pond in less than half a mile.  As expected, the foliage was coming along quite nicely here, making for a beautiful scene.  This is a look west towards Peak 724, that I'd be heading to later in the day.

A good footpath follows Round Pond's east shore and leads to a nice campsite area.  A short distance from that I found a nice framed view north across the pond towards Giant Mountain.

 

Followed the outlet of Round Pond south to neighboring Twin Pond with this terrific view north to Giant Mountain.

 

A short bushwhack east up through a mixed forest brought me up to an impressive set of ledges with terrific views.  Here is a killer view south towards the Dix Range.

 

NW views above Twin Pond(left and directly below) and Round Pond(right) with Noonmark in the distance and Round Mountain looming above.  The ledges on Peak 724 that I'd be heading to soon are clearly visible above Round Pond as well.

Lots of open rock and views galore.  More views towards the Dix Range.

Just above the open ledges, I hit the mostly open 1997 foot summit.

Crossing north to the smaller, north bump of Peak 609, I found this large glacial erratic near the high point. 

Circling down to another set of ledges, this time on the east side of the north bump of Peak 609.  The foliage seemed to really be popping through this section.

From the NE corner of the north bump, found more great views above Bullet Pond to the NE.  The slopes of Noble Mountain can be seen rising above Route 73 to the left.

Impressive cliffs on the lower slopes of Rocky Peak Ridge to the north.

 

North views towards Rocky Peak Ridge, with Giant Mountain barely visible to the left in the distance.

 

After enjoying the views, I dropped back down to Round Pond, where the still water reflected the early fall colors almost perfectly.

Picked up the marked trail again, following it briefly to the west side of the pond, where I dove back into the woods, bushwhacking straight up towards Round Mountain's east ridge.

Once on the ridge, it was a nice and steady climb up towards the views that I was aiming for, directly above Round Pond.  Across the Pond is Peak 609 that I had just been on

There were many open areas of rock, but this slide like area presenting quite a nice view to the Dix Range.

 

SE views over Round Pond and stretching all the way to the Hammond Pond Wild Forest.

One more view from a south ledge towards the Dix Range, with early fall color on a shoulder of Round Mountain's in the foreground.

After enjoying the multitude of killer views, I made my way up to the open, moss covered 2375 foot summit area.

From the summit, I bushwhacked NE down through fairly steep but open woods towards the beginning of the trail down near Route 73 once again.  An easy road walk(which I hate) brought me back to my car, where I was shockingly still the only car there. Covered about 4.6 miles RT, with around 1200 feet of total ascent.

Map below. Blue P=Parking   Red X's=Summit and Views

Platte Clove South Rim Ledges(Indian Head Wilderness-Catskills)

Decided to venture down into the Catskills to check out some untrailed ledges on the rugged, south rim of Platte Clove on a warm, late summer afternoon. Parked in the first pull off on the shoulder of Platte Clove Road(Elevation 980 feet) and immediately dropped very steeply down towards the Plattekill, which I easily rock hopped across.

Once across the creek, the slopes were nearly vertical, as I carefully bushwhacked my way up the rough woods.

 

After a very steep but short ascent, I found an old quarry road, which I utilized to ascend the rugged terrain.

At one point, I briefly followed a side road that lead me to the site of an old quarry and its tailing piles.

With the aid of the old quarry roads, I made my way up to about 1600 feet on the east side of the mountain, before bushwhacking up to about 1750 feet and then down to an impressive set of ledges on the north slopes of the peak, high above Platte Clove.  The drop from these ledges was incredibly steep!!

The slopes of Hucklberry Point to the left, with the Hudson Valley stretching out far and wide to the east.

Views directly across Platte Clove towards Huckleberry Point, with Platte Clove Road visible down low.

After enjoying the views, I retraced my steps back down the old quarry roads, before a very steep bushwhack brought me to another crossing of the  Plattekill.

One last steep ascent brought me up to my waiting car.  Worked up a good sweat!!  Hiked a total of 3.6 miles RT, with 1250 feet of ascent.  

Map below.  Blue X=Parking  Red X=Ledges

 

"'Northeast" Crane Mountain(OSI/ Wilcox Lake Wild Forest-Adirondacks)

Took advantage of a rare free day to do some exploring in the southern Adirondacks on a warm, late August day.  Today my explorations would be to a rarely visited NE ridge on popular Crane Mountain. The Open Space Institute has protected the land north of Crane Mountain, which allows access to state land on not only Crane, but Huckleberry Mountain as well(which I had visited a couple years ago). I parked at the gated access road off of South Johnsburg Road(Elevation 1205 feet) and headed south, making good time on the old logging road.

After about 1.2 miles, I came to a crossing over Crystal Brook, which was an easy rock hop across.

 

Continued on the logging road beyond Crystal Brook for a little under half a mile, when I began my bushwhack up through open woods.

 

At first I headed south, before turning more SE over towards a series of steep, rocky cliffs.

From these rocky cliffs, I was able to find several very good view points to the north and east.  This is the view east towards the large wetland at the foot of Number Twenty Six Mountain, with Partridge Mountain just beyond.

 

To the north, the rocky, lower slopes on Hucklberry Mountain's east ridge can be seen.  In the distance are (L-R) Mill, Stockton, Pine and Gage Mountains.

Climbing along the NE slopes of the ridge was a fun experience as I passed over many large areas of open rock slab.

Circling around the east face of the ridge, I found more open view points stretching far and wide to the SE.

After enjoying the multiple view points, I dropped south down into a small col, before ascending up to an even higher ridgeline, which was thick with spruce but fairly easy to penetrate through.

After a steep climb through the thick spruce, I arrived at a large area of open rock just below the "summit".

Wandering around the open rock at just over 2600 feet, I managed to find a good view SW towards the north facing slopes below Crane Mountain's true summit.

From the open rock atop this ridge, at nearly 2650 feet, I found even more stellar views.  Here is the view east. 

To the north, a look at the lower ridge I had just been on.

A broader view north, again with Crane's far NE ridge in the foreground.

 

From the high ridge, I bushwhacked back down to the lower ridge once again(which sits below 2500 feet).  Near the top there are several large patches of open, moss covered slopes.

From the top of the lower ridge, I headed northwest on an obscure foot path for a short distance before bushwhacking north/ northeast back down to the logging road near Crystal Brook.  Once on the old road, it was easy walk out to the car.  Covered a touch over 6 miles RT, with 1600 feet of ascent total.

Map below.  Red P=Parking off South Johnsburg Road   Red X's=high point on each small ridge I hit  Blue=Route taken