Unnamed Ridge between Seneca and West Mountain(Saratoga County Parcel/ Wilcox Lake Wild Forest-Adirondacks)

I headed north this morning to explore an unnamed ridge that sits just SW of Hadley Mountain and is located between Seneca and West Mountains.  A small parcel of Saratoga County land connects to the Wilcox Lake Wild Forest, so that would be my access route today.  I parked in an unmarked parking lot off of Hadley Hill Road(Elevation 1285 feet) and was surprised to meet a Forest Ranger.  She was very nice and we chatted for several minutes before I headed north into the woods, exploring through the County Parcel.

Once on state land, I headed NW towards the ridge, crossing over a branch of Paul Creek.

A short distance past the creek, I hit a good jeep trail, which I wouldn't be utilizing until later.

Beyond the jeep trail, the slopes of the ridge got much steeper, as I climbed steadily up through open hardwoods.

 

Once atop the ridge, the going got easy again.  I wandered over to an outstanding set of SW facing ledges with incredible views towards Ohmer Mountain!! What a spot!

The foliage was truly spectacular, looking SW.

To the northwest, the view takes in the ridge of Seneca Mountain towards Spruce Mountain with the valley of Paul Creek down low.

Amazing views of the foliage!

I wandered the west facing ledges in hopes of more views, and found some decent looks towards Seneca.

A second, north area of ledges, provides similar views, albeit much more treed in.

After checking out the west ledges, it was a steep bushwhack up to the 1810 foot wooded summit.

 

From the summit, I dropped steeply down the east slopes to the jeep trail.  Once on the jeep trail, I covered a lot of ground quickly heading south, before a final bushwhack the last 6/10 of a mile brought me back to my car.  Covered 4.6 miles RT, with 700 feet of ascent and only saw one other person-a nice forest ranger!