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Monday, August 31, 2015

Dix Range(Dix Mountain)-Adirondacks Day 2

Woke up bright and early on a crisp, cool Saturday morning.  We were lucky to have to Lillian Brook Lean To to ourselves last night and quickly got breakfast going.  Hot coffee definitely took a bit of the chill off this 50 degree morning and after cleaning up the site, we were ready to hit the trail.
 We headed off on the Dix Trail, which quickly comes to Lillian Brook's crystal clear mountain waters.
 This made the perfect spot to stop and load up on some cold water for the day using our steripen purifiers.
 The trail had a few ups and downs as it headed north.
 Just before arriving at the trail junction, Dix Pond can be spotted to the west off the trail about 20 yards.  A couple of small footpaths lead to the shore for a better look.
 Once arriving at the trail junction, we chose to go right on the steeper but slightly shorter trek up to Dix Mountain via the Beckhorn.  A left takes you to Hunter's Pass and along the west and north side of the mountain.  The trail climbs steadily up about 2600 feet.
 An open view point back towards Clear Pond to the south.
 A steeper section.
The incredible slides on Hough and South Dix's west facing slopes.
A ledge on the way to the Beckhorn, with the rest of the Dix Range to the left.  Hough in the foreground with Grace peaking over its shoulder, South Dix and Macomb are found just to the right with Elk Lake in the center of the frame.
 A rocky ledge provides outstanding views and made a perfect spot to rest and snack.
 This sign is posted a few yards past the ledge.
 Emerging from the woods and hitting rocky cliffs.
 That's me way up there.
 A huge rock makes for an interesting climb and amazing views.
 From the 4779 foot Beckhorn is an incredible view of the actual peak of Dix.
 Mark approaching the summit of 4857 foot Dix.
 A great view back at the Beckhorn on the final climb up Dix.
 Me on the summit of 4857 foot Dix Mountain, the sixth highest in the Adirondacks.
A summit view to the west over Elk Lake.
The vistas are endless from the rocky summit area.  We shared the top with several other parties, including a young lady celebrating becoming a 46er.
 It was a fun descent off the mountain with great views nearly the entire time. 
Got back to the car, pretty exhausted but all very happy.  About 9.6 miles for the day and 22.6 miles RT for the two days.  A great adventure.

Dix Range(Macomb, South Dix, Grace, Hough)-Adirondacks-Day 1

Went on an overnight trip to the Adirondack High Peaks with a couple of old friends this weekend.  We wanted to hike the entire Dix Range in the southeastern High Peaks and our game plan was to nab four(Macomb, South Dix, Grace, Hough) the first day and then summit Dix on day two.  We arrived at the Elk Lake Road parking area at about 7am Friday morning and were lucky enough to get a spot by the trail head.  After getting all geared up and ready to go we were ready to hit the trail, all in great spirits.
 By 8am we were on our way on the Dix Trail.
 The Dix trail starts at the south end of Elk Lake and then runs along its east side, crossing Little Sally Brook, Big Sally Brook, and Slide Brook on our way to the Lillian Brook Lean To.
 After dropping some of our heavier gear at the Lean To we returned .3 miles back to a rock cairn, which marked the herd path to Macomb Mountain.
 The herd path closely follows Lillian Brook much of the way, even crossing it more than once.
 The path gets increasingly steeper towards the col.  Although unmarked, it is pretty easy to follow.
We soon arrived at Macomb's 4405 summit, with broad views to the south, west and north.  Elk Lake is the most prominent feature in the middle of this panorama.
The summit of Macomb.
After soaking in the vista from the summit, we descended back down to the col between Macomb and South Dix before beginning the ascent up the rocky trail.
I apologize for the sweat on the lens, but this was a very fun and gorgeous rock scramble up the side of South Dix.
Continuing up South Dix.
The completely open climb afforded a great view back at Macomb Mountain, which we had just come off of.
The actual summit of 4068 foot South Dix(soon to renamed Carson Peak) is wooded, with the only marking we could find wbeing the letters SD carved into a tree.
 Continuing past South Dix, we followed the herd path northeast to East Dix(Grace Peak).

Grace Peak's 4026 foot summit provides incredible open vistas to the north, east and south.  
Looking south from Grace.   Although only ranked 42nd out of the 46 high peaks in height, the views rank much higher on the list.
A sliver of Schroon Lake can be seen to the nearby south and east.
After enjoying our lunch at the summit area, we retraced our steps back towards South Dix's summit, where a rock cairn marks a herd path towards Hough Peak.
Almost immediately after starting this path, you are rewarded with a view of Hough(to the right and partially behind the tree) and Dix.

The path descends steadily down to a col, where a camping spot with fire ring can be found.  From there the path is steep and rugged up Hough's east side.
Just before Hough's summit, there is a rocky ledge which provides fantastic views.  Here's a view of Grace Peak and its slides.
A panorama from Hough's south ledges. 
About .2 of a mile past the ledges is the actual summit of 4409 foot Hough Peak.
A great view of nearby Dix Mountain from Hough.
A panoramic view from South Dix all the way over to Dix.
 We retraced our steps back down to the col between Hough and South Dix, where another herd path heads steeply back down to the Lillian Brook path.  This path is a little harder to locate but it is basically a rock cairn several yards behind the fire pit at the camping spot. From there it is a pretty steep descent(36% grade).  We arrived back at the Lillian Brook Lean To at dinner time and had the place to ourselves.  There was another couple of groups camped near the brook and further back in the woods.  We ate some dinner, set up camp and were all ready for a good night's sleep.

Completed about 13 miles RT for the day.  We all slept like a rock.

Monday, August 24, 2015

Kipp Mountain/ Meade Mountain/ Stewart Mountain/ Palmer Pond(Adirondacks)

The town of Chester has worked very hard to develop a trail system for many of the prominent peaks and waterways throughout the town recently, affording multiple hiking opportunities.  Many of the trails surround Loon Lake and are within easy driving distance from Exit 25 on the northway.
My first stop today was Kipp Mountain, which can be accessed from a small pull off on the north side of Ben Culver Road(County Route 75), one mile west from Landon Hill Road.  A kiosk and trail map are found near the parking area, which is surrounded by private land.
 The trail leaves the road and winds through an open hardwood forest with new trail markers and flagging showing the way.
 After about .8 of a mile, with a couple of steeper sections, the trail nears south facing cliffs, with incredible views over Loon Lake.
 Continuing on the trail along the cliffs.
 Looking directly down over Loon Lake towards many southern Adirondack peaks.
A nice look at the steep drop off of the cliffs.
The trail ends where posted property takes over, just a short distance away from the true summit.  The views from the cliffs are more than enough, however.
Retraced my steps back down off the mountain, for a nice, easy 1.8 mile RT. 
My next stop was the nearby Meade Mountain & Beckman Mountain Trail.  There is a parking lot with room for about 4-5 cars on the south side of Igerna Road on the northwest side of Loon Lake.
The trail system here is criss crossed by many woods roads winding up the mountain, so you must be careful to watch for trail markings.
 Although not a long hike, the ascent is pretty steep for a short distance, making me break a sweat.
 The top of Meade Mountain affords a nice view west towards Gore Mountain.
 Gore Mountain's ski slopes are clearly visible in the distance.
 Continuing past the summit, the trail drops into a small col on its way to Beckman Mountain.  Beckman Mountain is basically right next to Meade Mountain and doesn't appear on any topographic maps, but does provide a great view east over Loon Lake and Kipp Mountain.
A few yards from the previous picture is another view from a private, wooden platform over Loon Lake and towards Blythewood Island.
 The trail bends north from here and heads to a couple of other clearings to the north and east.  Here is a view over the southern basin of Schroon Lake.
 A very short distance away from the last lookout is another small clearing to the north of several nearby mountain peaks.
Finished up a nice easy 2.1 mile RT hike and headed back to the east shore of Loon Lake to bag Stewart Mountain.  Stewart Mountain is a very short hike found on the east side of White Schoolhouse Road, where a small parking area provides room for 4 cars.  The trail climbs just over .4 of a mile directly up to a small cliff.
A small rocky cliff area provides outstanding views to the south.
A fantastic vista to the south over Loon Lake.
 Retraced my steps back to the car again, completing another short .84 mile RT.
My last stop for the day was to be Palmer Pond, which is found by driving west on Route 8 past Loon Lake until you arrive at Palmer Pond Road to the south.  Take the gravel road all the way to the end(it is a bit rutted and rocky) where a large parking lot is found.  The trail is actually a continuation of the road, past a large red gate.
 After a short distance on the road, the trail forks, where you have an option to hike to the east or west side of the pond.  I stayed to the right first.
The right trail leads to a large clearing, where the north end of the pond is found near its outlet.  This part of the pond is more of a marshy area than actual pond.
 The outlet winds through swampy wetlands where wildflowers blow in the wind.
 There are very few views of the pond on the west side unless you bushwhack through the woods.  Instead I went back to the fork and hiked up the east shore of the pond, which winds around a swampy section of the pond before arriving at several nice campsites on the south side of the pond.
 A view to the west from the southern shoreline.
 Completed 4 different trails in the town of Chester today, all with nice views, none particularly difficult.  Round trip mileage for the day was about 6 and a half miles on a beautiful August day.