After finishing my hike up Hewitt Pond Mountain earlier than expected, I decided to do a little more exploring in the town of Minerva. 1998 foot Forks Mountain and 2099 foot Pine Mountain are both trail-less and have been on my radar for quite a while now, with both towering directly above the Hudson River as part of the Hudson Gorge Wilderness. I decided to access them from the railroad track crossing on Northwoods Club Road, where a small pull off allows room for one or maybe two cars. Elevation to start was 1280 feet, as I headed south along the old railroad tracks, with a canopy of leaves still hanging on.
I followed the tracks for over 1/3 of a mile before heading into the woods, climbing up the steep slopes of Forks Mountain.
Couldn't ask for better conditions! The slopes on Forks are quite steep for such a small peak.
After a steep climb up, I arrived at the clearing atop the 1998 foot summit of Forks Mountain. There were unfortunately no views from here.
Just a short distance away from the summit, however, were outstanding views. Slick, fallen oak leaves made for tricky footing on the steep slopes, but my oh my the views were well worth it. From this ledge, the Hudson Gorge can be seen cutting through the peaks. Fox Hill is the peak on the right and Dutton Mountain is the peak on the left.
Exploring the steep, mostly open ledges, I found this view across the gorge towards Harris Rift Mountain.
The slopes were incredibly open and made for fun exploring.
A nice glimpse over towards neighboring Pine Mountain, my next destination.
A nice and easy descent NW brought me down Forks, and found me climbing my way back up towards Pine.
I hugged the escarpment above the gorge, where the terrain was nearly vertical!
There were many nooks and crannies along the escarpment with decent, mostly through the trees views. I did manage to find some open ledges, which offered up a glimpse all the way down to the Hudson River, where the roar of the Harris Rift Rapids can easily be heard.
Poking around the escarpment ledges.
Left the ledges to hit the nearby 2099 foot summit, which was fully wooded and had no views.
Only a scant few yards away from the wooded summit, however, were views like this!
From an open ledge just below the summit, I caught this great view into the true heart of the Hudson Gorge. What a spectacular southwest view, with the gorge snaking between the peaks.
I really enjoyed wandering along the escarpment, with many views like this to be found.
After enjoying Pine's escarpment, I headed NE back towards the car. A fairly straightforward descent brought me back to the tracks, which I followed to the car. Down along the railroad tracks, just a few feet into the woods, an old metal cross caught my attention. Not sure what it's meaning is, or why it was placed there but found it very interesting.
After getting back to the car, I decided to check out the picturesque Boreas River, which sits just below the tracks along Northwoods Club Road.
What a wonderful fall day in the Adirondacks! A little foliage hanging on, and almost perfect weather. Hiked about 4.4 miles RT with over 1400 feet of ascent.
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