Black Mountain(Hudson Gorge Wilderness-Adirondacks)

Headed north on a scorcher of a summer day to check out 2290 foot Black Mountain and Black Mountain Ponds in the Hudson Gorge Wilderness.  After visiting neighboring Starbuck Mountain last year, the open cliffs atop Black have been on my radar ever since.  Even early in the morning on this day, the heat and humidity were cranking up, so I took a couple minutes to check out the Hudson River in the nearby hamlet of North River.

There are several pull offs and access points to the Hudson as it parallels Route 28 on the way to Indian Lake.

After enjoying a few minutes along the Hudson, I continued on a short distance into the town of Indian Lake and a dirt pull off area where Route 28 meets Cleveland Road.  This spot is marked with a giant red chair and the words Indian Lake written in front.  Geared up and crossed Route 28 heading north, elevation a bit over 1700 feet. There is no trail for this mountain, so this would be a bushwhack hike.

I followed the state land boundary, blazed in yellow to an easy crossing over pretty Raquette Brook. 

Beyond the brook, I picked up a rock climbers path to the base of Starbuck Mountain, before leaving it, bushwhacking east towards Black Mountain's lower slopes.  The climb up Black was pretty straightforward and fairly steep.  As I gained elevation, I swung a bit more south towards the southern cliffs of the mountain.  Once there, I picked up a rough herd path heading right towards the ledges.

There are a couple of open areas with good, but limited, views along the way so I continued east along the area of ledges.

My persistence paid off, as wide open ledges began to appear before me..with a vertical drop off below.

I really had a lot of fun exploring these open ledges.  Pine needles and crunchy undergrowth cushioned my footsteps.

The wide open south facing cliffs allow a good luck towards South, Pete Gay, Gore, Height of Land  Mountains. 

To the west/ southwest the view takes in an unnamed beaver pond at the base of the mountain as well as Ruby and Davis Mountains.  Route 28 continues its course west into the hamlet Indian Lake. 

Traffic flowing along Route 28 can be seen far below in the haze.

Each open ledge provided a slightly different vantage point.

From this vantage point, I spotted the cliffs I had already explored on this peak as well as neighboring Starbuck Mountain's numerous rock ledges and cliffs.  Casey Mountain is the peak just beyond in the distance.

Each successive ledge seemed to be just as open and jaw dropping as the one before.  Another ledge view towards the peaks surrounding Gore Mountain.  Route 28 can again be seen threading through the valley below.

Blueberries are starting to ripen and there seems to be an abundance on this mountain, so I'm sure the black bears will be paying a visit soon.

Circling around the ledge bands.

Ruby and Davis Mountain's again, this time from a different set of ledges, facing more easterly.

Continuing all the way around to a yet another spectacular, wide open ledge, with views to the east this time.  The Barton Mines Hudson River Plant is really the only man made thing seen in this shot looking east.  The valley of Route 28 cuts between Moxham and South Mountains just beyond the plant.

The multiple rocky summits of nearby Moxham Mountain really stand out.

The east facing ledges were actually the most open at all, with a large open rock slab providing 180 degree views.  South views still take in Ruby and Davis Mountains.

After enjoying the incredible views, it was finally time for me to move on, heading towards the summit.  At first I followed a hard path west, but soon enough it was back to true bushwhacking through scratchy spruce heading northerly.  Luckily, the ascent wasn't terrible through here so I just kept my head down and barrelled through.

Scrapped my way up to the 2290 foot summit, which was fully wooded in thick spruce.

With annoying bugs and scratchy spruce all around, I didn't linger long at the summit, dropping west down towards Black Mountain Ponds.  It was a bit steep down near the water so I carefully weaved my way down the last stretch coming out to a gorgeous view north of the ponds.  Found a small spot to chill and hydrate, soaking in the solitude.

Looking at the south end of the ponds, surrounded by spruce.  This spot had a truly remote feeling to it.

Once leaving the ponds, I picked up a herd path heading south back towards the road.  It got me back within 3/10 of a mile to the road, where I had to bushwhack my way back, being careful to stay on public land.  Got back to the car, drenched in sweat.  What a truly steamy summer day!  Possibly the hottest day of the year and it sure felt like it.  While I thought the mountain views would be good, I was actually a bit shocked at how good they were.  A pretty remarkable little peak!  Hiked 5.2 miles Rt with about 1200 feet of climbing.
Today's Route below.     Red=Ascent  Blue=Descent(route out)