Carey Hill and Goose Pond Hill(Pharaoh Lake Wilderness-Adirondacks)

While Pharaoh Mountain and Pharaoh Lake garner most of the attention in the Pharaoh Wilderness (and deservedly so) as well as the abundant ponds scattered throughout, there are also a bunch of small little peaks tucked away that are hidden gems.  Today my game plan was to climb Carey Hill and Goose Pond Hill, a couple more small peaks that sit just off trail near Goose Pond in the northern section of the Pharaoh Wilderness, on what was forecast as a nice spring day.  I parked at the first parking area along Crane Pond Road(Elevation 980 feet) and set out, choosing to hike in on the road instead of driving it.  If you have a high clearance vehicle and really take your time, the drive in to Alder Pond is doable, but still rough.  The road walk is pleasant enough as it passes by a couple of small cascades on Alder Creek, slightly downhill off the road.

Just under a mile south from the parking area, the official trail to Goose Pond begins, with scenic Alder Pond only a few yards away.  This makes a very nice little spot to check out the beautiful views.

The trail between Alder Pond and Goose Pond passes through an enchanting hemlock forest for 6/10 of a mile before arriving at Goose Pond's north shore.  There are many nice spots to soak in the view towards Pharaoh Mountain, which rises impressively across the water to the SE.

I followed a well defined herd path west along the north shore of Goose Pond until I saw some unofficial red paint blazes which headed up into the col between Carey Hill and Goose Pond Hill.  Not sure exactly where these blazes are supposed to lead, but I followed them for a bit because they were going right where I wanted to go.  At one point I lost them so decided to bushwhack straight up Carey Hill's steep slopes.  The woods were very open and nearly 100 percent hardwoods down low, before finally hitting some more conifers up high.

Carey Hill has two summit bumps, but the first one I hit(the east summit) was the one with the open rock slab near the summit. 

Contouring around the south slopes just below the summit, there are some really nice views.  To the south Pharaoh Mountain can be seen(left) with Smith and Leeland Hill in the foreground(right).

The best view of all is from a ledge facing west towards Schroon Lake.

A zoom view of Schoon Lake.

Skies were highly changeable today, with bright sun shining one moment, and dark storm clouds right behind.  Luckily there was a nice breeze that helped keep the bugs down a bit, although they were still quite pesky.

Heading up to top of Carey Hill, with soft pine needles underfoot and conifers above.

The eastern summit is the higher peak and sits at 1680 feet, but is unfortunately wooded with no views.

I hit both of Carey's summits(west peak has no views) before heading back SE towards Goose Pond Hill.  In between peaks a light shower quickly moved through before being replaced once again with clearing skies.  Near Goose Pond Hill's summit, I dropped down to some  south facing ledges that offered up partial views.

I had a hard time finding much in the way of views atop Goose Pond Hill, although the 1582 foot summit was quite pleasant.  Just a few yards from the top there is a large rocky opening, but with no views.

A nice and easy descent northeast off the peak quickly brought me back down to Goose Pond, which I skirted around on towards its east shore.  One neat spot was a beaver dam crossing near the SE edge of the pond.

The east side of the pond is quite steep and rocky in spots but I made it back to another herd path easily, which I followed north all the way back to the yellow marked Goose Pond Trail.  From there it was an easy hike back to the car.  For such a popular area, I was shocked to only see two other people all day, which I saw on the trail early in the morning.  Hiked about 7 mile total, with nearly 1300 feet of total ascent.

Red=Summits  Blue=Open ledges