Dial & Nippletop Mountains(AMR/High Peaks Wilderness-Adirondacks)

Had an invite today from a couple of my buddies to hit 4020 foot Dial Mountain, and 4620 Nippletop Mountain, a couple of Adk High Peaks, so I took them up on their offer and headed north on a perfect summer day.  Temps actually started around 50 degrees in the morning, so it was cool, and not all that buggy.  We parked at the AMR parking lot(with plenty of open parking-I love weekday hikes), and we set out on foot via Ausable Road.  What an amazing location these folks have!!  Elevation to start the day was 1250 feet.

We quietly made our way from Ausable Road to Lake Road and continued along this section of the road  until we came to our left hand turn onto the Leach Trail.

Once on the Leach Trail, the climbing is steady and steep, typical of an Adk Hgh Peak. 

At about 3 miles into the hike, elevation 3000 feet, we emerged atop a shoulder of Noonmark Mountain, where a 1999 accidental fire has left a large swath of open rock providing outstanding views towards the entire Great Range.

To the south, the layered view of Bear Den in the foreground, with Dial poking out beyond, and Dix Mountain with its impressive slides in the distance.

After enjoying the views, we began a drop and reclimb up to the 3420 foot wooded summit of Bear Den Mountain. 

After yet another drop, a steadily steep climb brought us up the slopes of Dial Mountain.

After over 700 feet of climbing in less than a half hour, we arrived at the giant boulder marking Dial's 4020 foot summit.

From atop the boulder at the summit, we found a great view SW towards the multiple bumps making up Nippletop, our next destination.

From the tiny perch on Dial, we also marveled at the Great Range views across the valley to the west.

We quickly moved on from Dial's summit, beginning a steep descent down to the col between the peaks.

The trail to Nippletop passes over a couple of false summits and was the first point all day where we began to encounter some thicker mud areas.

Arriving at the trail junction with Elk Pass, we continued on the last 2/10 of a mile towards Nippltop's summit, which we easily spotted through the trees ahead.

Nearing the summit, views of the surrounding peaks begin to emerge above the treetops, but hold on tight because the best is yet to come.  From the 4620 foot summit of Nippletop, there are incredible views.  I first checked out the east views across Hunters Pass to nearby Dix Mountain and its neighbor Hough.  The view of the slides on Dix are as good as I've seen anywhere from this vantage point.

On the west side of the summit, the views are even broader and more magnificent.  The Colvin Range almost looks close enough to touch.

To the south, part of Elk Lake is visible, with the Pinnacle on the right.

A zoom view of Elk Lake and its wetlands on the NW end of the lake.

More of the Colvin Range.

To the west, the Great Range in all of its glory...a truly incredible sight.

A zoom view towards the Panther Gorge area(Skylight, Marcy and Basin in the distance with Haystack in front)

After enjoying the amazing summit of Nippletop, we turned back, but not before one more great view, this time towards Giant and Rocky Peak Ridge to the NE.

Heading back towards the Elk Pass trail, with Nippletop's false summit rising above.

We turned left(west) onto the Elk Pass trail, and began a very, very steep drop down off the west side of the mountain.  The views of the Great Range above us were quite distracting much of the way.

A remarkably steep drop of over 1300 feet in 1.1 miles brought us down to gorgeous Elk Pass, where a series of three beautiful beaver ponds sit at the foot of the surrounding peaks.  What an amazing spot.  Nippletop's slopes can be seen on the left(east) here.

 Colvin's slopes to the west are seen here, rising above the shallow waters.

From Elk Pass, it was a long, drawn out, rocky and steady descent north along the Gill Brook Trail.  There are numerous waterfalls and cascades along Gill Brook, as well as places to dip your feet or jump in. 

We were quite tired by this point of the hike, so enjoyed a couple of photo ops along the brook, before eventually hitting Lake Road and following it all the way back to the car. 

A very long, but fun day exploring in the high peaks.  About 14.5 miles RT and 4350 feet of ascent.

Little and Big Thirteenth Lake Mountains(Siamese Ponds Wilderness Area-Adirondacks)

Wanted to start the month of July out on a good note, so headed north to hike a pair of small, untrailed peaks in the Siamese Ponds Wilderness on a gorgeous summer day.  Parked at the trailhead for Thirteenth Lake and headed down to the shoreline of the lake to soak in some nice water views.  There were several folks camping and kayaking/ canoeing as I arrived, so I continued on my way, heading SW on the Peaked Mountain Trail.  Elevation to start the hike was 1700 feet.

The trail follows the west shore of the lake for a while, before turning sharply west along Peaked Mountain Brook.  I followed the brook and its pretty cascades for a short distance before leaving the trail and heading toward the south ridge of Little Thirteenth Lake Mountain.

Instead of hitting the ridge dead on, I wanted to check out the cliffs just west of the ridge and they were quite impressive.  I had to carefully pick my way up through some steeper spots, with fallen pine needles and wet rock making for tough footing. 

Once I gained the ridge, the woods were remarkably pretty and fairly open.

I found some wide patches of open rock, which afforded absolutely spectacular views down much of Thirteenth Lake.

I found that the open rock headed up towards the summit, so I simply followed it north, ascending gently.

From higher up on the mountain, not far off the summit, I found some nice east facing views towards Balm of Gilead and Gore Mountains.

To the N/NE I could see the open rock of what I believe was Black Mountain(L) and the long ridge of South Mountain(R).

Another view of Thirteenth Lake, this one just before arriving at the summit area.

Arriving at the summit clearing(no views) at 2516 feet.

A fairly easy and uneventful descent of only about 100 vertical feet brought me down to the saddle between the peaks, before a steadier climb up Big Thirteenth Mountain's south slopes brought me to another area of open rock slab.

From the top of the open rock slab on the SW side of the peak, I enjoyed a view south towards Little Thirteenth's west shoulder as well as many of the distant peaks in the Siamese Ponds Wilderness.

More westerly views from the same spot provide a nice look at Hour Pond Mountain.  The wetland below is one of the wetlands that the Peaked Mountain Trail passes by.

In all the excitement of finding these views, I have to remind myself to sometimes stop and smell the roses...or wildflowers in this case.

The pleasant, open woods on Big Thirteenth's upper slopes.

Instead of heading right for the summit, I left the hardwoods and hit a small area of spruce on the west slopes, below the top.  There I found some rock ledges with tremendous views of Peaked Mountain and Slide Mountain.  Slide Mountain looks like it has a TON of open rock!!  Maybe another time.

The view west from the rock ledges, with Hour Pond Mountain(L) and Peaked and Slide on the right.

After leaving the ledges, it was a nice and sweet trip to the 2778 foot summit, re-entering extensively hardwoods. 

From the summit area, I did manage to capture some long distance views above the surrounding tree tops.

From the summit, my GPS showed less than 2/3 of a mile back to the car, but nearly 1100 feet of descent.  I took my time, winding my way down the slopes, avoiding any steeper areas and even managed to find one small view spot down towards Thirteenth Lake from the lower east slopes of the peak.

Followed a drainage out the last 2/10 of a mile, arriving almost directly at my car.  A touch over 4 miles RT with 1240 feet of ascent.

 On my way home, I stopped briefly along the Hudson River near North Creek to wash some of the dirt and grime off of me.  A great day and a great way to kick off the month of July!