Dutton Mountain(Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest-Adirondacks)

Headed north today to check out 2314 foot Dutton Mountain, which sits almost directly at the edge of the Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest, where it meets the Hudson Gorge Wilderness.  There are no trails on Dutton, so the entire hike would be a bushwhack.  Parked in a small pull off on 14th Road, where it crosses Deer Creek and started out following a fisherman path along the creek, heading NE at elevation of 1380 feet.

Followed the path for a short distance, quickly arriving at a pretty waterfall crashing down into a nice pool on the creek.

A little further upstream from the falls, I found a nice and easy place to rock hop across.

A couple small ups and downs brought me over to Dutton's steep south facing slopes.  The woods are literally greening up more and more every day.  Spring has sprung(even in the Adks!)

Heading up to the first imposing set of ledges at just about 1900 feet.

A carefully made my way up to the top of the cliffs, where there was a clearing but no real open views. 

About 1/4 of a mile further up the mountain, and a couple hundred feet higher, I found a real nice area of open ledges, facing south-southeast.

The best views were almost due south, where Gore Mountain stands impressively in the middle.  A hint of snow remains on the highest ski slopes.

SE views across the Deer Creek valley, towards Moxham Mountain.

After enjoying the ledge views, I continued up to the 2314 foot summit, which was fully wooded in spruce.

From the summit area, I decided to head towards the NW part of the mountain, where there is an extremely steep escarpment that drops down towards the Hudson River.

After dropping down to just below 1700 feet, I found a first open view down towards the Hudson.  What a steep drop off it is from here!

Looking into the heart of the Hudson Gorge Wilderness, where the river can be seen snaking its way through the mountains. 

I really took my time exploring the escarpment heading north.  The sheer drop off and views are quite impressive.

After arriving at the base of the NW knob of Dutton, I weaved my way up and around the steep ledges, soon arriving at my last destination.  A small firepit let me know I was in the right spot, a ledge known as Clear View Rock to locals, or Gun-Sight Rock.

The view lines up almost perfectly with the Hudson running west, hemmed in by the steep slopes of Fox Hill and Harris Rift Mountain on the left and Pine and Forks Mountain on the right.

A bit of a closer look at the old D and H Railroad bridge crossing the Hudson.

The open rock on Forks Mountain is quite a sight, and looks like it would make an excellent destination in itself.  Although tough to see, a careful eye may be able to pick out the Boreas River flowing into the Hudson at the foot of Forks Mountain.

Before dropping off the viewpoint, I caught one last look south towards the Hudson, meandering its way down into Warren County.

On my return, heading back SE, I found this old sign that  looks like it had been used for target practice.

 

Crossing back over Deer Creek just before getting back to the car.  Cleaned up briefly in the refreshingly cool water, enjoying the solitude of the woods.

Hiked about 5.5 miles RT(all bushwhack) with over 1600 feet of total ascent.  Didn't see another soul all day.
Today's route seen below.