I have been focusing on knocking off some of the trail-less peaks in the Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest recently and up next was 2477 foot Oliver Hill, located just NE of the hamlet of Irishtown. I parked off the shoulder of Hoffman Road near Oliver Pond and crossed the road, heading south. Elevation to start the hike was 1520 feet as I headed up through a mixed forest.
Although the foliage is mostly past peak in this area of the Adks, the colors are still quite vibrant in spots.
As I made my way up, initially slowly gaining elevation, I soon came to a pretty beaver pond.
The beaver dam that has created this large beaver pond is quite large and impressive.
A mostly easy but steadily steeper ascent through open woods brought me up to the summit ridge, which was a bit of a mess. After a bit of a gnarly ascent, I soon hit the wooded 2477 foot summit.
From the summit, I continued west through more scratchy conifers, before dropping down steeply back into hardwoods. After finding some okay views, I kept fighting my way along the steep, west facing ledges, finally emerged at a wide open area.
To the west, the Minerva Stream valley and the hamlet of Irishtown.
The NW view takes in the mass of Green Mountain high above the valley of Minerva Stream.
Colorful blueberry bushes and a spectacular view made this quite an incredible spot!
Snyder Hill takes front and center to the SW, with Moxham Mountain and Moxham Pond easily visible in the distant left. In the far distance is Gore Mountain and the many peaks of the Siamese Ponds Wilderness Area.
It was tough to leave the open ledges, but I finally headed back into the woods, descending steadily back down the open woods, being sure to avoid the thicker summit spruce.
Once back at the car, I decided to continue on down to the shore of Oliver Pond, which sits just below Hoffman Road. A couple of noisy beavers let me know they didn't like my presence.
Hiked about 4.4 miles RT(all bushwhack) with 1150 feet of ascent. Today's route below. Red=Ascent Blue=Descent
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