This is looking basically due south, from a view spot after climbing the second ladder.

After the latter, there is a nice little place where you can catch your breath and collect your thoughts. This is only a hint of views to come.

After the first ladder, the trail flattens out for a half mile, for a delightful walk past several small marshlands.

Then the trail gets step enough to demand a ladder. You probably could climb up this without the ladder, but it might be rough on the knees, to say nothing if you had a pack on your back.

You can choose from here to go up the rest of the way to the summit or jump directly to Crain Mountain Pond. This route is better then the alternative route from the parking lot to Crain Mountain Road, which has steeper slopes (not that this route is flat), and longer.

The shallow soil on this mountain (probably part from glaciers and part from deforestation) lead to waterfalls running down the rock base of the mountain. It was purty for sure.