Little and Big Thirteenth Lake Mountains(Siamese Ponds Wilderness Area-Adirondacks)

Wanted to start the month of July out on a good note, so headed north to hike a pair of small, untrailed peaks in the Siamese Ponds Wilderness on a gorgeous summer day.  Parked at the trailhead for Thirteenth Lake and headed down to the shoreline of the lake to soak in some nice water views.  There were several folks camping and kayaking/ canoeing as I arrived, so I continued on my way, heading SW on the Peaked Mountain Trail.  Elevation to start the hike was 1700 feet.

The trail follows the west shore of the lake for a while, before turning sharply west along Peaked Mountain Brook.  I followed the brook and its pretty cascades for a short distance before leaving the trail and heading toward the south ridge of Little Thirteenth Lake Mountain.

Instead of hitting the ridge dead on, I wanted to check out the cliffs just west of the ridge and they were quite impressive.  I had to carefully pick my way up through some steeper spots, with fallen pine needles and wet rock making for tough footing. 

Once I gained the ridge, the woods were remarkably pretty and fairly open.

I found some wide patches of open rock, which afforded absolutely spectacular views down much of Thirteenth Lake.

I found that the open rock headed up towards the summit, so I simply followed it north, ascending gently.

From higher up on the mountain, not far off the summit, I found some nice east facing views towards Balm of Gilead and Gore Mountains.

To the N/NE I could see the open rock of what I believe was Black Mountain(L) and the long ridge of South Mountain(R).

Another view of Thirteenth Lake, this one just before arriving at the summit area.

Arriving at the summit clearing(no views) at 2516 feet.

A fairly easy and uneventful descent of only about 100 vertical feet brought me down to the saddle between the peaks, before a steadier climb up Big Thirteenth Mountain's south slopes brought me to another area of open rock slab.

From the top of the open rock slab on the SW side of the peak, I enjoyed a view south towards Little Thirteenth's west shoulder as well as many of the distant peaks in the Siamese Ponds Wilderness.

More westerly views from the same spot provide a nice look at Hour Pond Mountain.  The wetland below is one of the wetlands that the Peaked Mountain Trail passes by.

In all the excitement of finding these views, I have to remind myself to sometimes stop and smell the roses...or wildflowers in this case.

The pleasant, open woods on Big Thirteenth's upper slopes.

Instead of heading right for the summit, I left the hardwoods and hit a small area of spruce on the west slopes, below the top.  There I found some rock ledges with tremendous views of Peaked Mountain and Slide Mountain.  Slide Mountain looks like it has a TON of open rock!!  Maybe another time.

The view west from the rock ledges, with Hour Pond Mountain(L) and Peaked and Slide on the right.

After leaving the ledges, it was a nice and sweet trip to the 2778 foot summit, re-entering extensively hardwoods. 

From the summit area, I did manage to capture some long distance views above the surrounding tree tops.

From the summit, my GPS showed less than 2/3 of a mile back to the car, but nearly 1100 feet of descent.  I took my time, winding my way down the slopes, avoiding any steeper areas and even managed to find one small view spot down towards Thirteenth Lake from the lower east slopes of the peak.

Followed a drainage out the last 2/10 of a mile, arriving almost directly at my car.  A touch over 4 miles RT with 1240 feet of ascent.

 On my way home, I stopped briefly along the Hudson River near North Creek to wash some of the dirt and grime off of me.  A great day and a great way to kick off the month of July!