tongue mountain range

Five Mile Mountain

I got up at 5 AM on Saturday and headed off to the Tongue Mountain Range. I arrived there around 8 AM, because I made several stops on the way up, and didn’t really get in my truck until 6:30 after getting ready and having breakfast.

I wanted to hike up Fifth Peak and French Mountain, famous for their views of Lake George, but I ended up hiking up Five Mile Mountain, as I parked at the wrong area based on my faulty memory of where the trail head was, based on a brief drive by some three years ago back in college.

Trailhead

The markers on the trail where old, but it was well marked with these 1967-era trail markers and carins.

1967 Trail Marker

Carin

Lake George can be seen off one view from Brown Mountain. It was raining as I hiked up there.

Evening on Meads Road

I was fortunate enough to make it up to the Five Mile Leanto before the sky just opened up and started to pour.

Five Mile Mountain Leanto

Sitting in the lean to watching as the rain rapidly approached me. This lean-to was not well thought out as it faces due west. But it must have good views of the sunset. Maybe some night I should stay up here.

Rain Soaked Trail

Fortunately the rain passed relatively quickly.

Waiting Out the Rain

But it left the trail fairly swampy in parts.

Rain Soaked Trail

The trail from Five Mile Mountain has some limited views to the east over Lake George. It was still cloudy when reached this point around 10 AM but was starting to clear out.

Raining Over Lake

You descend down Five Mile Mountain come to the intersection of the trail to Fifth Peak and French Mountain.

Trail Choices

After you get on the trail to descend down to Five Mile Point, you go past a long and skinny portion of creek dammed up by beavers.

Beaver Swamp

Descended down to Five Mile Point and had lunch along Lake George. It’s a relatively steep and long descend down to Five Mile Point, and it continues to be steep until you get down to the shore. Not a perfect place for a picnic, but still pretty.

Percent Change in Total Employed, April 2022 vs April 2012

Here’s a boater passing by an island on the other side of Lake George.

Boating

The trail back up from Five Mile Point was an old-wagon road, probably abandoned for 100 years now. It’s a steep climb back up it.

Trail Back Up Mountain

The views back atop of Five Mile Mountain where amazing, once it cleared out with just a few clouds remaining.

Bernie Sanders Plan A

It cleared out by the time I was back up on Five Mile Mountain. There is Lake George, Bear Mountain on the other side, and the Green Mountains and Vermont in the distance.

Bear and Beyond

Hiking along the trail…

Hiking

The view from the lean-to when the weather is a bit nicer.

West from Lean To

Near where the trail splits off to go over to Deer Point (which I did not visit), there was a serious forest fire in 1985. It was one hell of a fire, as witnessed from the damage from almost 25 years ago.

One Hell of a Fire

I arrived back at my truck around 5:30 PM, a bit tired and sore. But the views where great!


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