High Nopit(Town of Bolton-Adirondacks)

Decided to do a short New Years Eve part trail/ part bushwhack hike in the town of Bolton this morning to an open summit area atop 1660 foot High Nopit.  I started from the Lake George Land Conservancy's Amy's Park on Trout Falls Road, where a yellow marked trail crosses the road.  I fit my car onto the west shoulder of the road and headed into the woods, climbing steeply on the yellow blazed trail.  Elevation to start was about 1040 feet.

The Lake George Land Conservancy has done a phenomenal job making the trails here, literally building steps into some of the steeper areas.

At a trail junction, a red blazed trail turns south heading over to a nice ledge view.

Just past the ledge, the marked trail ends.  This is where the bushwhack began.  I passed through a couple of logged areas and found some woods roads in the 3/4 of a mile bushwhack to High Nopit.

As I approached the summit cone, the woods opened up very nicely to a wide open, meadow with south facing ledges.

From a wide open ledge, I enjoyed views west towards Crane Mountain.

Padanarum Road can be seen winding its way towards Lake George from the wide open ledges.

The open summit woods, under a canopy of oaks.

Sun and mist taking turns on Lake George.

East views provide a nice glimpse of the morning mist on the lake beyond the summit bump of Pole Hill.

Another south facing ledge, enjoying the view of the rolling peaks just west of Bolton Landing.

The true summit of High Nopit.

Lake George views, with the Tongue Range poking out just past Pole Hill.

From a slightly lower ledge, the views SW stretch far and wide.

The ski slopes on Gore Mountain can easily be identified to the west.

After soaking in the incredible views, I dropped off the summit ridge, circling the NW slopes, passing by a large wetland area.

I headed back the way I came, arriving back at Trout Falls Road, where a short road walk brought me over to a viewpoint of wintry North Pond. 

A quiet road walk brought me back to the car, for a nice and easy 3.5 mile RT hike, with 750 feet of ascent.
Once back in the car, I took a short ride over to Padanarum Road, where I caught a nice glimpse of High Nopit rising above the surrounding wetlands.