Blue Hill, Bear Mountain, and Potter Mountain(Eastern Adirondacks)

Met up with my buddy Jim again today for a three peak traverse in the Pharaoh Lakes Wilderness.  We spotted a car at the Short Swing trailhead and then drove back to the Long Swing trailhead(Blue Hill) to get started.  A thick fog made for very eerie conditions.  Elevation at the parking area was about 960 feet.

We began on the Long Swing Trail heading southeast past a couple of marshy areas, still shrouded in fog.

The forecast was for the fog to break and within a few minutes we could already see some brightening.

A short distance in, we left the trail and headed for the steep rocky cliffs on the west side of Blue Hill.  The ground was covered in deadfall and fallen rocks as well as duff, making it a very slow go.

We arrived at the base of a long series of 70 foot rock cliffs, which we flanked to the northeast looking for a way up.

We finally did find a chute to get up through and were above the cliffs.   Once atop the cliffs, we wandered around in search of views.  Peek a boo views provided a glimpse northwest over Cotters Pond with the fog still breaking up.  The foliage looked quite nice on the hillside as well.

Fog breaking up with the Dix Range off in the distance.

We skirted the southwest edge of the peak, just below the summit area, arriving at a wide open area with very good views.  The wetlands of Alder Brook can be seen winding below and the north end of Schroon Lake beyond.

Pharaoh Mountain rising directly to the south.

The open ledges on the southwest side of the peak were much broader than we had imagined  and offered up plenty of good views.

After hitting the wooded summit of 1654 foot Blue Hill, we dropped steeply down off the south side of the peak, being careful to avoid private land.  We picked up the Long Swing Trail again, before bushwhacking east towards the base of Bear Mountain.  From there it was a fun rock scramble up the slopes of the peak.

The open slopes provided views back over Crane Pond and towards Pharaoh Mountain.

As we ascended the views got better and better, with a great view northwest over Pyramid Lake and Blue Hill(which we had just come off of).

A view towards Crane Pond from higher up on the mountain.

The gorgeous, open slopes on Bear Mountain.

We avoided the summit area, which is not on public land, but the east side of the mountain provided some very good views over Tubhill Marsh and Pine Hill.

While bushwhacking off the mountain we picked up an on again/ off again herd path off Bear Mountain down towards the Short Swing Trail.  We stayed on the trail for a short distance up to a height of land, where we left the trail and headed up the slopes of Potter Mountain.  As we got up above 1500 feet, we began to get some good views to the west.

Continuing the ascent, we soon found a large, open area on the southwest side of the peak, which offered up the first of many spectacular views.  The view here is down over Tubhill Marsh in the foreground and Crane Pond beyond.

Another perspective of Bear Mountain(front) and Blue Hill(back), the peaks we had just come off.

The entire eastern escarpment of the mountain is beautiful and mostly open.

Ascending Potter Mountain's eastern escarpment.  This entire stretch was like hiking on a paved sidewalk.

Gaining elevation only improved the already great views.  Here's another southwest look towards Pharaoh Mountain(L) and Crane Pond(R).

Nearing the summit area, which was covered in open rock, white pines, pitch pines and low brushy areas.

Dropping off the northeast end of the escarpment provided the very best views of all, directly over Gooseneck Pond and all the way towards the Green Mountains of Vermont on the horizon. Bear Pond Mountain is the peak rising above the pond.

The summit area on Potter Mountain is only 1854 feet, but you feel as though you are on top of the world up here.  The vista is absolutely breathtaking. 

As we began to drop down the long northeast ridge atop Potter, I paused for one last view with a corner of Eagle Lake far below.

We decided to drop off the northwest side of the mountain, heading down the steep slopes towards Paragon Brook and the Short Trail.  We easily got back to the trail, which lead us out to the spotted car on Route 74.

A perfect fall day in the woods, with about 8 miles round trip and roughly 2000 feet elevation gain.