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Delightful Fall Hikes

Andy | September 26, 2011

Pillsbury Mountain (Central Adirondacks).

Located in the Jessup River Wild Forest, North of Spectulator, offers great views of West Canada Wilderness, Cedar River Flow, Moose River Plains, Spectulator Tree Farm, Siamese Pond Wilderness. Should be close to peak foliage now. Consider camping at the roadside/tent campsites along Mason Lake to the North on Jessup River Road / NY 30. Take NY 30 to Jessup River Road to Military Road to Parking Area to get there. You may want to park at the start of Military Road if you have a low-clearance vehicle.

Click on map to download and print.

Hadley Mountain (Southern Adirondacks).

Located near Stony Creek, NY, it offers some great views of the Wilcox Lake Wild Forest and the Great Scanadaga Lake. I’ve never been there in the fall, but I suspect it offers many great views this time of year, with peak foliage being not far away.

Click on map to download and print.

Buck Mountain (West Shore Lake George, Adirondacks)

This is one of my most recent hikes, but definately offers really good views of Lake George and elsewheres, especially now that the fall colors are starting to set on in. One of the more difficult hikes on the list, it’s not really that difficult, but if you go from Pilot Knob, expect a 3.1 mile hike, and gaining around 2,100 feet in elevation. Regardless, a very nice hike.

Click on map to download and print.

Kaaterskill Clove (Haines Falls, Catskills).

Located near the North South Lake Campground, offers great views of the Clove, Hunter Mountain, Palenville, Hudson River, and farms and other lands near Catskill. Park on Scutt Road for free, which is last right before campground. Take Escarpment Trail all the way around to the Catskill Mountain House Ruins, then walk past North-South Lake.

* Area may be temporarily be closed due to Irene.

Click on map to download and print.

Giant Ledge (High Peaks, Catskills).

Located on the ledge between Slide Mountain and Panther Mountain, a relatively easy hike, with a relatively brief but not scary scramble onto the ledge that runs for 3/4 mile. Colorful views of vast Woodland Valley with Mount Tremper and other mountains in the distance, along with good views of Slide Mountain, Cornell Mountain, and other hike peaks.

* Slide Mountain Road was severely damaged by Irene. Area may be temporarily be closed due to Irene.

Click on map to download and print.

November

Andy | November 1, 2009

They say that November is the greyest month of the year. It is the month that has the fewest sunny days of year, where clouds are the norm. November isn’t particularly rainy, but it sure feels cold at times. We might get some snow, but usually not much. What snow we do get usually disappears quickly.

It’s a month of many holidays and special events. It’s when election day comes, sometimes a big deal nationally, and sometimes just a time more for local campaigns. The politicians and their volunteers try to round up their supporters, and get them out to vote. Then everybody takes a big breath when all the politicking is over.

$Bonaparte\'s Cave State Forest$

It’s the month that sees deer season, a big thing in our rural communities. Deer hunters look forward to the first day, when 47% of the take happens each year. It’s a time for communion in the woods and spending time out there hoping for the big bag.

Later in the month comes Thanksgiving, a time for family and food. Around that time the sometimes obnoxious Christmas seasons gets underway. Yet it’s an important time of tradition and reflecting on what has happened in past year and what we hope happens in the new one.

The leaves may be off the trees. It might be getting cold out there. Yet, there still is much to look forward to in the upcoming months.

Columbus Day

Andy | October 12, 2009

Columbus Day occurs in the North-East around the peak of fall, when colors are at it’s finest. It’s a celebration of Christopher’s Discovery of North America, which would eventually lead to it’s mass colonisation by many Europeans seeking a new life and the seemingless inexhaustible new resources under-tapped and under-utilised by the native peoples.

Many different areas have different celebrations for Columbus Day. In New York State, it is a state holiday where most local and state agencies are closed, and there are big parades in major ciites, but in most other areas the holiday gets little special attention. Most private sector employers, and SUNY does not close for the holiday.

While the Christopher Columbus’s legacy is controversial due to his brutal tactics and those who followed him, he did forever change our world by his popularisation of the North America as a land of endless resources. Population growth and advanced technologies exploited many of these resources to capacity and beyond, and in doing so created a prosperous nation which forever would go on to change the world.

Giant Ledge, October 2009

Andy | October 12, 2009

Giant Ledge is a relatively flat hill located on the ridge between Slide Mountain and Panther Mountain. It can be accessed from the Giant Ledge Parking Area, off of hairpin turn on Slide Mountain Road.

I went hiking on Columbus Day, a little past peak foliage system after spending two nights camping out in Schoharie County. It is a short hike.

Here is cute little bridge that goes over an unamed creek, running down the northern face of Slide Mountain.

After a moderately steep 3/4 mile hike, you reach the “pass” that goes between Slide Mountain and Panther Mountain. This portion is relatively flat, until you reach the last 150 feet of elevation gain, to reach the top of Giant Ledge.

Here is Slide Mountain, peaking through the trees as your going up to the last bit to Giant Ledge.

Looking off Giant Ledge, towards Woodlawn Valley (in the colorful foreground), with Plateau Mountain, Twin Mountain, Indian Head Mountain, and in the middle, Tremper Mountain.

Here is the Wittenberg and Cornell Mountains.

This is the Woodlawn Valley’s beautiful colors.

Part of the trail runs right along the edge.

Off the main blue trail on Giant Ledge, there are two campsites at are primative, but nice. This also leads to a trail with views of the Big Indian Valley

Here is the second of two designated campsites on Giant Ledge. There are no campsites on Panther Mountain, which is too high to allow camping. There also is camping on the lower portion Slide Mountain, minus the wonderful views.

After you hike across the trail to the campsites, there is another short little trail that runs over to a viewpoint with views of Big Indian Mountain, and the Big Indian Valley (where Slide Mountain Road runs).

From here, I hiked up Panther Mountain. Here is a map of the hike.

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Panther Mountain

Andy | October 12, 2009

The same day I visited Giant Ledge, I also hiked up Panther Mountain. Panther Mountain is about 750 feet higher then Giant Ledge, and is one of the high peaks, at an elevation over 3,500.

Portions of the trail are made up of rock stairs up the mountain. Other parts you climbed up rocks, but nothing too steep.

Along the trail in full color.

Interesting swamp with the ferns a bright yellow color.

A top the mountain, one of the first views is on top of a boulder.

The Panther Summit is at 3,720 feet.

One of the best views off the mountain was how clear Indian Head Mountain looks from off of Panther Mountain.

Off the trail, there is this cute little cave.

Looking into the Woodlawn Valley.

Mountains through the valley, looking off of Panther Mountain.

Here is map of hike.

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Autumn at Vromans Nose

Andy | October 11, 2009

After visiting Mount Usayantha earlier in the afternoon, I drove down to Vromans Nose to climb it, and take in the views on a wonderfully warm fall afternoon.

The colors along the hills gracing Vromans Nose where somewhat faded and past peak, but they still where quite amazing.

As I looked down along NY 30 and the Octagon House.

Then proceeded down the cliff.

A map of Vromans Nose. I drew these trails up from memory, they should be rough estimates of location of trails and not exactly GPS tracks.

Joesph Davis State Park

Andy | September 23, 2009

Joesph Davis State Park was one of the series of parks built in Niagara County during the 1950s when the county under went major changes, as the Fort Niagara Military base was turned over to state hands and then turned into the Robert Moses Parkway, and a series of parks. On weekends in the summer, there is a fee to park a car in the picnic area, and hunting is allowed in season.

Sadly, most of this area was not well maintained or even well developed. The land is flat, but it is still interesting with a series of small ponds and trails that wind through it.

There was all kinds of wildlife through out the area, including this nice looking buck.

This pond was pretty.

As the evening approached, the sky darkened over the east, but sunrays lit up the foreground.

Here is a map of the hike.

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