Starbuck Mountain(Hudson Gorge Wilderness-Adirondacks)

Every time I have driven Route 28 to or from Indian Lake, I have always gazed up at a set of rocky cliffs and wondered what kind of views could be had from them.  After looking it over on a map, I saw that the mountain is 2556 foot Starbuck Mountain, and indeed there are a long set of rock ledges that look tantalizingly close to the road.  State land comes down at an angle, meeting Route 28 almost directly across from Cleveland Road, where a very large red chair sits.  A large, dirt pull off in front of the chair made a convenient place to leave my car and start the hike.  Elevation to start the hike was a little bit over 1700 feet.

I crossed to the north side of Route 28 and headed into the woods, closely following a well trodden path that follows the state land boundary.

I soon came to a crossing of Raquette Brook, but where the path crossed the water, I wouldn't be able to keep my feet dry.  Instead, I went downstream a few yards and rock hopped below a small but pretty cascade.

Once across the brook, I headed back over to the well defined foot path, which was easy to follow and headed in the direction I wanted to go.  Turns out that this path is a rock climbing path to the base of Starbuck's cliffs.

I left the path near the base of the cliffs and headed north towards the draw between Starbuck and Black Mountains.  Once beyond the steepest cliffs, I turned west and headed straight up towards Starbuck,

Within a few moments of steep climbing I emerged at a set of ledges with outstanding views south and east.  Directly across the notch that I had started in, I had an up close view of neighboring Black Mountain. 

To the SE, Route 28 can be seen threading through the green with a large beaver pond directly below.  The impressive peaks surrounding Gore Mountain make up the horizon, with Gore being the high point.

There are basically a couple sets of ledges, one lower and one higher, but all mostly open and easy to explore.

I was actually stunned to see just how expansive this set of open ledges was, stretching far to the west.

The Route 28 corridor soon comes into view as you continue west on the ledges, with views stretching all the way past Indian Lake towards Snowy Mountain and the "Little High Peaks".

The east facing views from the cliffs are actually some of the best I've seen in this entire region, stretching all the way into the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness.

Although similar to prior views, the further west I went, the more of the Siamese Ponds Wilderness peaks to the south came into view.

Directly to the south, Davis Mountain rises impressively above Route 28 with Ruby Mountain poking out just behind it.

After a large stand of spruce pushed me back away from the cliffs, I found one more opening, which provided another west view up Route 28 towards the Little High Peaks.  The large peak to the right is Casey Mountain, another fun climb with spectacular views.

After soaking in the views, I continued on a short distance over to the true summit, which was fully wooded and surrounded by scratchy spruce.  A small cairn marks the high point at 2556 feet.

After hitting the summit, I dropped back down towards the cliffs, enjoying more of the amazing views, before finally descending steeply back down into the notch.  Instead of heading back towards the climbing path, I headed more SE, aiming at a corner of state land, where a large beaver pond resides.  It was actually a pretty nice spot, complete with a view of Black Mountain...

...and Starbuck Mountain, right at the state land boundary.

A nice and easy hike back through open hardwoods got me back to the car feeling good.  A VERY scenic little mountain with a lot to offer.  3.3 miles RT, with just under 1000 feet of ascent.
Black=Ascent
Blue=Descent
Red=Summit