Catamount Mountain East Ridge(Lake George Wild Forest-Adirondacks)

Headed up to the Lake George region on a picture perfect late summer day to do some off trail exploring.  While all of the popular trailheads were packed(and then some), I was the only car parked at the state land access road on the west side of Route 9N in Sabbath Day Point(just north of the Tongue Range on the west side of Lake George).  My goal today was to head up a long ridge to the 1850 foot unnamed peak that sits just east of Catamount Mountain. Elevation to start here is quite low at only 370 feet, so I knew there would be some considerable climbing ahead of me.  I parked in the large lot where an old gravel pit was located and began heading west on a good woods road.  A very short distance in, I left the road and headed up the ridge, which was covered in sedge grass, a very unique characteristic of an Adk ridge. 

From a low set of ledges on the east side of the first bump I came to, I found good views down over Sabbath Day Point and the lake.  Hogback and Sugarloaf are the mountains across the water.

From the same ledges looking SE towards Sugarloaf, Elephant and Black Mountain across the lake, with the lower slopes of Bloomer to the right in the foreground.

The woods were hardly even woods as I ascended through mostly rock filled meadows.  There are a number of small bumps to ride on the way to Catamount's east peak, but each had something nice to offer.

Although down low I had some glimpses of Lake George and the surrounding peaks, as I climbed up to about 1100 feet on one of the bumps, I began to get my first real good views.  The small bump in the foreground is the lower end of the ridge I had climbed.  From this vantage point, Spruce and Hogback Mountain take center stage across the lake.

I almost feel guilty calling this bushwhacking...almost.

The woods couldn't have been any more open and inviting than this.  A true pleasure to wander through.

Hard to beat views of Lake George like this...especially off trail, when it's yours alone to enjoy.

Rising up to one of the false summits, which was almost like a stroll in the park. 

 

 As I made my way up above 1500 feet, I hit a vast clearing.

 

From this clearing came some of the very best views of the day, taking in a large swath of Lake George and many of the peaks on the east side of the lake.  This made a perfect break spot, with a light breeze keeping it cool.

As I guzzled down my drink, I gazed south across the notch at the double summits of Bloomer Mountain to the south.

Above the views, I continued to climb up and over another bump on the ridge, soon coming to a false summit at about 1725 feet.  From there, the east summit registered a mere 1/3 of a mile away.  Easy right?  Nope!  The col between these two was deep...and I mean deep. 

After carefully descending the near vertical slopes, it was a short but stiff climb up towards Catamount's east summit.  Just prior to hitting the summit, the woods opened up to a gorgeous area of wide open south facing ledges.  To the east/ southeast, I could see the mountains of Vermont on the distant horizon beyond the Lake George east peaks.  The ridge in front of that was the false summit I had come up(and also had to return on).

SW views.

The view from these ledges stretched nearly 180 degrees!  This view to the south takes in part of Bloomer's west ridge as well as part of the Tongue Range hovering above.

A short distance away from the view point was the wooded summit, elevation 1850 feet.

After a steep descent off the summit, I had to claw and scrap my way back up the false summit.  The photo below is actually the gentler slopes above the worst of it.

There weren't many signs of fall in these woods, which are loaded with oaks, but I did capture this one maple, ablaze in red.

The route back was fairly benign, save the steep boulder filled descents.

Although the descent through the steep, boulder fields was slow it was still fun.

Basically retraced my steps east, back over the multiple small bumps on the ridge, soaking in the beautiful day.  Got back to the car feeling pretty good, and actually ready for more.  Hiked about 5.3 miles RT with over 2400 feet of elevation gain along the way.

Today's route below.  Red=Ascent   Blue=Return(Descent)

Schor Conservation Area(Canaan, Columbia County)

Went for a short walk after work at the 233 acre Schor Conservation Area in the rolling hills of eastern Columbia County on a picture perfect late summer day.  Humidity was almost non existent as I set out, surprised to see only one other car in the lot.  First dropped down to picturesque Jon's Pond, checking out the almost completely calm waters.

Circled around the pond and then over to the red summit trail, which climbs steadily up to a "summit" area.  Along the way, this trail passes through a beautiful, dark conifer stand.

Near the summit, the trail returns to an open hardwood forest with a nice ledge view west towards Albany County.  On a clear day, the Albany skyline is visible on the far horizon.

After hitting the summit, I dropped back down to the green and yellow trails, which meander peacefully through the woods. 

There are an abundance of stone walls throughout the woods as well as old woods roads.

Was quite shocked to not run into anybody the entire time I was here, simply strolling along, enjoying the gorgeous weather.  A nice and easy 2 mile RT.
 

Saddleback Mountain(Jay Mountain Wilderness-Adirondacks)

Decided to head north today to knock off Saddleback Mountain, another Adk Hundred Highest bushwhack peak. This Saddleback, not to be confused with the high peak, rises to 3615 feet and is best known as being the neighbor to popular Jay Mountain.  I parked at a small pull off on Jay Mountain Road, almost directly in the south shadow of Frenyea Mountain.  Elevation to start was 2275 feet.  Immediately leaving the car, I began steeply climbing the slopes of Frenyea.  Although the spruce was thick in spots, it was never too bad, and I also spotted an on again off again herd path.

In no time at all(about 4/10 of a mile), after a little bit of scratchy spruce, I hit Frenyea's summit ledges, which I easily found a way up.  The 2753 foot summit is fully wooded. 

I poked around Frenyea's summit a bit, and did find one decent ledge view to the SW.

After a short descent off Frenyea, I continued north through mostly fairly open woods gaining elevation steadily.  There are several areas of thicker spruce, but I always found a way through or around them.  From a 2930 foot false summit, I managed to catch a peek towards the true summit, in the clouds, poking out above the next ridge up.

As mentioned, there are spruce covered areas, but there are just as many of these nice, open bushwhacking areas as well.

Emerging at a large clearing at roughly 3200 feet, there is an amazing view directly up at the true summit, which was, unfortunately, almost completely fogged in.

As I made my way up the mostly open slopes, the fog only got thicker the higher I got. 

Ascending through a thick fog.  This was incredibly frustrating, because the slopes all around me were dropping off, meaning there must have been incredible views...that I was not getting!

Arriving at the wooded 3615 foot summit, marked with a small pile of rocks that I don't even know you can call a cairn.

After hitting the summit, I decided to explore just a bit, hoping that some of the fog would lift.  From a wide open set of ledges, I got my wish!  The fog cleared just long enough to provide the only good views I had all day.  To the SW, the Nun-Do-Ga-O Range and the distant high peaks.

To the west, looking towards Whiteface and the Lake Placid area.

Unfortunately, this view was obscured by the clouds and fog within just a few minutes.

From across one of the "saddles" on Saddleback, looking at the true summit, just over 1/10 of a mile away.

The descent was pretty straightforward, with some slight clearing the lower I got.  Here's a neat look down the ridge that was my route out.

From just over 3200 feet, there was just enough clearing to capture this look east towards Lake Champlain.

A last look back up towards the summit area, still engulfed in a thick fog.

After a fairly uneventful return hike, I captured the ledge view from Frenyea yet again, this time with clouds dropping down to the summits.

The final steep descent down to the road.

I came out a mere 2/10 of a mile away from the car, due to some steep ledges I wanted to avoid, so it was a short road walk back from there.  Didn't see another soul the entire day.

Hiked about 5.5 miles RT, with 1900 feet of ascent.

Today's Route below.  Red=Ascent    Blue=Descent

Grafton Lakes State Park(Grafton, Rensselaer County, NY)

When I got out of work today I decided it was way too nice out to not get out for a small hike.  A slight breeze, low humidity and temps in the mid 70's spelled out perfection, so I headed up to Grafton Lakes State Park on the Rensselaer Plateau to do some exploring.  Knowing that it's a holiday weekend, I chose to hike from Shaver Pond Road, which not only avoids the crowds but the park entrance fee as well. From the parking area, I dropped down the short distance to Shaver Pond through the quiet woods.  Along the pond's western shoreline, there are many good photo ops of this beautiful body of water.

 

I headed north along the pond's west shore, hugging the water on marked and unmarked trails. 

Even off the marked trails, the informal paths were pretty easy to follow.

What a terrible place to have lunch! 

Beyond the north end of Shaver Pond, I picked up the "Little Johnny Trail" which passes through a sea of ferns on its way to the far north boundary of the State Park.

Late summer wildflowers in bloom along the trail.

Although subtle, September is quietly a battleground month, with summer slowly giving way to autumn.

The Little Johnny Trail skirts the north edge of the park before finally dropping back down towards Long Pond after 2.2 miles.  Between Little Johnny and Long Pond is a rough park access road, which also doubles as a snowmobile route.  

After just a couple of minutes on the road, I arrived at the far north end of Long Pond, where a boat launch is located .  No motorized boats are allowed on the pond, but there were several folks out in kayaks and row boats.  I proceeded to follow the Long Pond loop trail west, along the north end of the pond, where there are several good views across the water south.  It was here that I really began to notice the ominous storm clouds moving in overhead.

A nice little informal campsite near the NW edge of the pond.

Continuing south along the west side of Long Pond, where the darkness began to really creep into woods.

From a small vantage point near the south end of the pond, I enjoyed this view back north.

The solitude of the woods was abruptly broken up along the pond's southern shore, where the public beach is located.  The impending rain, however, seemed to keep things a bit quieter than it would have been otherwise.

Passed by this pretty wetland after leaving Long Pond and heading west back over park access roads towards Shaver Pond.  With the dark clouds quickly moving in, I picked up my pace just a bit.

Unfortunately I didn't quite make it back to the car before the rain started to fall.  Luckily though, I got pretty close so I stayed mostly dry.  Hard to believe that in just a couple hours, Shaver Pond went from sun splashed blue water to so dark and gloomy.  Here's a look at the south end of the pond, just prior to arriving back at my car, with a soft rain falling.

Hiked about 5.5 miles total, with less than 600 feet of ascent.