Beebe Hill State Forest-North(Canaan, Columbia County-Taconics)

Headed east after work this afternoon to do some exploring in the far northern part of the 2018 acre Beebe Hill State Forest near the NY/ Mass state line.   Most folks are well aware of the fire tower atop Beebe Hill, but what many don't realize is that there are several other small peaks that few hikers ever see in these woods.  My goal for today was to park at the closed Sunoco gas station just off the B3 exit in Canaan, and bushwhack my way up to an unnamed 1785 foot high point just north of No Bottom Pond.  As I set out(elevation 940 feet), I headed north on an unplowed old road, which parallels I-90, and provides access to state land about 3/10 of a mile away. This was certainly the worst part of the hike, with rushing traffic just 20 yards away and a heavy snow squall bearing down on me.  In summer, this part of the road could easily be driven, cutting off some time from the hike.

Once I left the paved road, I picked up a good 4 wheel drive road that leads up to a State Forest parking area.  From the parking area, I followed a herd path, then a woods road along a thin strip of state land that continues northwest, closely hugging the interstate.  A short distance in, I came to some kind of an old quarry with views northeast across the interstate towards Deane Hill.(or even possibly an area of earth and stone moved to make room when they built the interstate)

Just beyond the quarry, my true bushwhack began.  The slopes were quite steep and public land didn't go straight up so I sort of had to angle my way up., heading generally SW.

I did my best to stay on state land, with several annoying ups and downs on the rocky slopes.

The higher I climbed, I began to be rewarded with screened views to the NW, with I-90 cutting through the rolling hills.

Although there was a crusty 3 or 4 inches of snow on the ground and a fresh coating of an inch or two on top, these conditions didn't slow me down at all.  As I made my way up the steep slopes, the skies actually began to clear out as well.

At just over 1600 feet, I momentarily left the hardwoods behind, heading through a dark, coniferous ridge.  This extremely large boulder caught my attention here, seeming so out of place. 

Once over 1600 feet, the terrain leveled out nicely, with just a small rise through wide open hardwoods again. Suddenly, out of nowhere..I saw light!   After countless cloudy days, the sun broke through, brightening up the winter woods! 

I did my best to stay up on the ridge, heading SW through the open woods.  Just when I thought I had it easy, about 1/3 of a mile from the high point, I hit a large area of mountain laurel.  Even during the dead of winter these can still be a royal pain. 

Lucky for me, I easily side stepped the mountain laurel and stumbled upon a very good woods road, heading right towards the high point(and the sun). I followed a pair of coyote tracks on this road to within less than 1/10 of a mile of the high spot.

I left the woods road and whacked my way up to the nondescript 1785 foot high spot I was shooting for.  This spot, although just an unnamed bump, is actually higher than Beebe Hill itself. 

On my return, I made good time following the woods road which I had somehow missed on the way up.  I left it again, however, down around 1600 feet in search of potential views from the steep NW slopes of the ridge.

Try as I may, I simply couldn't find a clear view from up high.  The through the trees views across I-90 were quite good however! 

On the descent, I decided to go check out the pond in the far NW corner of the state forest, right beside the interstate.  Unfortunately, early sunset and thick prickers were working against me.  I did get down to the frozen, snow covered shore, but with darkness setting in, I quickly moved on, fighting my way through the scratchy woods.  Arrived back at the car just after dark and feeling a little exhausted.  Hiked nearly 5.5 miles RT, with over 1400 feet of combined ascent.  The rough terrain made this "easy" hike much tougher than I thought it might be.  

Rough route below.  Blue=Ascent   Red=Descent