Pilot Knob(Adirondacks)

Have wanted to hike up to the true summit of Pilot Knob for quite some time now, and finally had the opportunity to go for it today.  I thought it would be creative to hike in from a small piece of state land near Echo Bay.  There is a small, unmarked parking area across from Echo Bay Road on the east side of Pilot Knob Road, with room for a couple of cars in front of a gate.  Elevation to start was about 400 feet.

 A small, pretty stream was running swiftly down from the slopes above.

 Winter has been holding on as tight as possible this year, with ice and snow still found in some sheltered pockets.

I followed a woods road up a bit, before leaving it to head up through the steep woods.

 It didn't take long before views to Lake George were visible through the trees.  And just above that...the views became downright spectacular.

 Headed up to the ridge, which was very open and offered up lots of opportunities for exploring.  Here's a view towards the bump just north of the true summit.

 From a series of ledges, I spotted this view up at the rocky false summit.

One of many open ledges with great views of the southern basin of Lake George. 

Light mist was falling as I tried to enjoy the vista, with fog hanging over Kattskill Bay.

 There are literally so many great views of Lake George on this ridge, you can pick whatever you want to be your favorite.

 From the 1900 foot false summit is a spectacular view towards the true summit of Pilot Knob, which was shrouded in fog.

 Dropped down into the tiny col between the 1900 foot north summit bump and the true summit, before heading back up on a well trodden herd path.

Just below the summit is an amazing view back at the ridge I had just come up.  Notice just how open it is.

 The last push to the wooded 2153 foot summit was steep and marked with a rock cairn.

 Continued south just past the summit, where a small opening provided a great view over the foggy valley below.

 Every time it seemed like it was about to clear out, another light shower would move back in, keeping the surrounding areas covered in fog.

 A couple of more foggy shots over Warner Bay and the southern Lake George basin.

 Heading back up the open ridge, I enjoyed some clearing skies, as the sun tried to make an appearance.  It gave a much different appearance over Cleverdale and Long Island towards Diamond Point.

 The herd path along the open ridge.  One of the most beautiful, open ridge lines I have ever hiked.

 Finally getting some clearing northwest towards Bolton Landing.

 To the north, clearing mist provides a nice view of Buck Mountain.

Headed down the steep slopes back to the car as skies continued to clear out.  Hiked about 3.7 miles RT, with over 1800 feet elevation gain.

Bushwhacking Wittenburg from Woodland Valley(Catskills)

Met up with my hiking partner Jim to bushwhack the west side of Cornell/ Wittenburg from Woodland Valley on a picture perfect spring day.  We began at about 1400 feet elevation by the following the DEC trail up above private property before leaving the trail to head west through the mostly open woods.  There are some good sized boulders on these steep slopes.

 Jim leading the way through a field of club moss.  Any and all green is welcome this time of year.

 One of the many drainages, flowing through a damp, mossy area, providing a "slime" look.

 We followed the Woodland Valley Creek west until it branched south.

 Dropping down to the main branch for a closer look, well back in the valley.

We were both quite surprised to stumble across a well trodden foot path following along the creek.

 Further back nearing the head of the valley, we were treated to this impressive view of Slide Mountain(distant) and "Mini" Slide to the right.

 Continuing south/ southeast along one of the branches of the creek, we came to the first of what would be a series of beautiful cascades and pools.

 Where branches of the creek converge.

 We chose to follow the middle branch up, which heads nearly due east towards the Bruins Causeway between Wittenburg and Cornell.  The falls here were very impressive and we stopped to soak in these views.

We spotted a carving in the rock near the base of the falls, which appears to say "PW Misko 95 Cornell Falls".

 Above Cornell Falls, there are multiple more picturesque falls, each as beautiful as the one before.

 Falls #3.

 Jim making his way up past falls #4.

 We couldn't believe the amount of waterfalls that this branch of the creek provided.  These falls really stole the show, as we continued east higher and higher up the creek bed.

One of the last pair of falls at about 2500 feet, with a more wintry look.  Snow and ice began to creep into sheltered spots at about this elevation.

 Nearing the head wall of the creek, high up the slopes of Wittenburg.

 Jim, seen here climbing up through what was left of the creek bed, at the head wall.

 From above the head wall, the ridge of Cornell began to really crowd our view.

 Even with temps warming through the 50's and 60's winter holds a tight grip at the higher elevations.  This 20 foot wall of icicles looks to be going nowhere fast.

As we gained elevation, progress nearly came to a halt, with icy snow and thick spruce.  We did manage to find some good views towards Slide Mountain though(Cornell's ridgeline in the foreground)

 A more westerly view with Slide's north ridge.

 After some scrapping and scraping, we managed to find this northwest view a bit further up towards Panther Mountain.

 A closer look reveals Giant Ledge(L) and Panther Mountain(R) and what I believe to be Eagle a nd Balsalm beyond.

 As we continued the ascent we really began to slow down, with very wintry conditions taking over.

From just below the Bruins Causeway off trail at about 3500 feet, we spotted this view of Cornell and Slide!

 Turning slightly west/ northwest with outstanding views over Woodland Valley.

 We soon hit the trail on the Bruins Causeway, after nearly 6.5 miles of bushwhacking.  We were both happy to see the trail, but due to ice and the late hour, we skipped Cornell and headed over to the 3780 foot summit of Witt.  The views here, as always, were amazing.  Southeast views towards Ashokan High Point.

 The Ashokan Reservoir is front and center from Witt.

 North views towards the Devils Path peaks.

 One last look from the summit area of Witt, over Samuels Point towards the Ashokan.  Ticetonyk is just left of the Reservoir.

Took the long 3.7 mile trail back to Woodland Valley to end the day.  Ice and snow remains on the high elevations, making it a slow descent.  A little over 10 miles total, with over 2500 feet elevation gain.