Decided to head north to check out 2116 foot Buck and 2273 foot Bear Mountains, a pair of trail-less mountains in the heart of the Dix Mountain Wilderness that have been on my radar for a while now. The mountains can be accessed from a couple of different ways, but I chose to start from the trail to Shingletree Pond on the east side of the Northway. I parked at the small pull off for Courtney Pond along Route 9 in North Hudson, elevation 975 feet under fantastic conditions.
A red DEC trail skirts the pond and heads south then west for just over 1 mile before coming to a long culvert crossing under the Northway.
On the west side of the Northway the trail ends at Shingeletree Pond. While feeling remote, the constant sounds of rushing traffic nearby certainly takes away any sense of solitude.
From the pond, it was a true bushwhack west over rolling terrain before I luckily picked up an unmarked herd path. The path was in decent condition and headed in the general direction I wanted to go, so I followed it all the way over to Buck's lower slopes.
After leaving the herd path, it was a moderately steep bushwhack up through an open hardwood forest. As I neared the summit area, I began to hit large areas of open rock slabs.
The open rock was quite massive and the views were very impressive. Decent views began to open up above 1700 feet, but only got better as I got higher. SW views towards Sunrise Mountain.
An impressive line up NW with Bear, Wyman and Grace Peak lined up.
Wide open SE views from the open rock slab all the way into the Hammond Pond Wild Forest and Pharoah Wilderness.
Early foliage preview?
Following a small bout in the woods, I popped back out into a wide open area. A fun climb up brought me up near the top of the mountain.
A large erratic sits in a clearing atop 2116 foot Buck Mountain's summit.
From an open area near the summit, I found these incredible views at neighboring Bear Mountain and the expansive Dix Range.
Found this nice view north towards Giant and Rocky Peak Ridge.
Impressive west views towards Sunrise and Macomb.
Just prior to dropping off Buck, I caught this wide open look at Bear Mountain, my next destination.
I descended Buck via this open rock slab.
Dropped down into the col, at about 1850 feet and then began a very steep climb up Bear. Almost immediately I began to enjoy views back towards Buck.
The summit is literally ringed with cliff bands with very, very steep slopes.
After exploring a bit, I found a way up through the steep slopes and from there it was a steady climb up the rest of the way.
Wide open views towards Camel and Camels Hump.
Looking back at neighboring Buck(where I had just been) and to the lesser Dix Wilderness peaks across the West Mill Brook Valley.
The Dix Range was visible from many different vantage points, hulking above nearby.
Looking south towards Old Far, Niagara, Camel and Camel's Hump.
Bear Mountain's 2273 foot summit sits in an open rock clearing, but unfortunately with no views.
I circled around the summit area in search of additional views and found this NE view down towards the Northway.
From the open rock on Bear, enjoying the view towards Saunders Mountain(left) and Buck Mountain(right).
I very carefully descended off of Bear's steep slopes turning left once in the col and heading down towards the deep draw between Buck and Saunders, instead of re-climbing Buck. The woods were nice and open and easy to navigate until actually in the draw. The slopes on each side became increasingly steep and the drainage was filled with massive amounts of blowdown. I regretted my decision but it was too late to turn back at that point so I slowly made my through, eventually picking up the herd path down low again. From there it was a nice and easy hike out. Roughly 7.5 miles RT and over 2000 feet of ascent. A tough little hike on a hot summer day, and another reminder that highest peaks don't always offer the best views.
Today's Route below. Red=Ascent(In) Blue=Descent(Out)
0fricitPatha Megan Edwardz Link
ReplyDeleteneuturwehrru