Baldface Mountain(Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest-Adirondacks)

After hitting Venison Mountain, I headed a short distance further along Northwoods Club Road and parked at another small pull off, just before the bridge over the Boreas River.  This would be my starting point for 2057 foot Baldface Mountain, yet another trail-less peak in the Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest.  Elevation to start was roughly 1240 feet and the view of the Boreas River from the bridge was worth the price of admission alone.

From the bridge, I headed north past a campsite, following the east bank of the river for a ways, enjoying the river sounds and views along the way.

After a short distance, the terrain basically forces you up, so that's what I did, heading steeply up and away from the river.  I saw several herd and game paths that seemed to meander all over the steep slopes, but I stayed the course, heading NW, crossing over a couple of small drainages.

To get to Baldface, you must first head up and over an eastern shoulder of the peak, which offers some decent views from a set of very steep cliffs.  The summit ridge can be seen here, to the right.

 South facing views across the deep Boreas River cut below.

Once atop the eastern shoulder, I cheated NW to stay away from an enormous set of cliff bands that cannot be climbed.  Basically the eastern side of the summit is a vertical wall of rock, so I continued north until the slopes gradually came down.  From there it was a short and easy ascent to the wooded summit(pictured below).

I had read about there being views on the SW side of the summit on other trip reports, so I pushed my way through some scratchy spruce and sure enough, I hit an impressive area of open rock slab, covered with spotty moss and a few trees.  The views up the Boreas River valley to the SE were exceptional and well worth the effort!

 Moss covered rock slab.

After enjoying the views, I began to head back, but insted of retracing my steps, I decided to check out the ledges on the east side of the summit.  I found several filtered views, but one wide open vista to the SE that was quite nice.  Although looking in the same general direction, this vantage point was about 150 feet lower than the other view spot and further east, giving it a unique perspective. 

From the eastern view, I headed back off the mountain, carefully retracing my steps around the ledges, eventually making my way back to the car.  A delightful 4.3 miles RT, with 875 feet of ascent.
My route to Baldface is below.

Red=Park   Black=Ascent   Blue=Descent 

It was still only mid afternoon, so I drove towards the end of Northwoods Club Road to check out the colors on Huntley Pond.  I was quite surprised to have the place to myself, as I had for the entire rest of the day.  One of the greatest perks to hiking on weekdays! 

 I enjoyed the solitude on the pond for a little while, before finally heading home.  A great day in the Adirondacks.