The hiking guide our campground provided indicated that Snowy Mountain trailhead is only 6.5 miles away. The trail is 3.9 miles, very difficult - extremely steep at the end. Great views. Firetower on top. Tallest mountain in the Southern Adirondacks. Say no more - let's get our packs ready and hit the trail! In the photo below, Kathy has most of her stuff laid out - packable down jacket and pants, 3 liter camelback, first aid kit, GPS, monocular, sunglasses, rain jacket, rain pants, bug spray, extra t-shirt and socks, suntan lotion, emergency gear, trail bar, gorp and peanut butter and jelly sandwich!
We arrived at the trailhead to find that we were the first folks to sign in. Here is Dave filling in the trail register. We learned that during the high season, Snowy Mountain can have almost 1,000 hikers a month. For now, it was just us.
However, we soon learned we weren't the only ones on the trail. We had to look carefully to make sure we didn't step on Kermit or any of his friends.
The New York Department of Environmental Conservation maintains the trail. We followed red blazes all the way to the top. We did have to scamper across a few fallen trees. Here, Dave does his best Teddy Roosevelt.
The first part of the hike is a walk in the woods. There is very little elevation gain. The wet parts have boardwalks. Here is a particularly colorful stretch.
The trail follows several drainages up to the summit. Here Kathy contemplates Beaver Brook and wonders if there are still any beavers in the neighborhood.
As we continue our trek up the mountain, we are reminded to Boldly Go. Seriously, don't these fungi looks just like the Enterprise? Next Gen, that is.
At mile 3, we took a break to catch our breath and gorp up for the push to the summit. While we were resting, another hiker and her dog caught up to us. The hiker had already bagged nine firetowers, so we figured she would hike faster than we do. We let her pass and waited until she was out of view before starting up the steepest part of the trail. The trail was not clearly marked, so folks just made their own way up the steep parts. In some places, we had a choice of three or four ways to go. It really slowed our progress, since we had to keep checking to make sure we didn't get lost.
With less than half a mile to climb, we hit a very steep rockface, where our choices were not easy. David chose to try to boot it up the rock, but he found his only footholds were on wet, slick rock, and he had to crawl on hands, knees and feet VERY carefully in order to keep from sliding down the face. Kathy found a side trail that worked around the rock face, so she fared a little easier. We used Kathy's route when we returned back down later.
Before too long, we reached the scenic overlook, just 50 feet or so below, and maybe a tenth of a mile from, the summit. We took this opportunity to rest and catch our breath before climbing the firetower. The hiker and dog that passed us came down from the tower and gave us a full report. It was now our turn to climb. But, first, Kathy had to complete an inspection of and preventive work on her hot spots:
At 3,899 feet (our GPS read 3,946 feet), Snowy Mountain is the highest peak in the Adirondacks south of the High Peaks region and the eighth most prominent peak in New York, with 2,225 ft of prominence. From the firetower, on a clear day, one can see the Adirondack high peaks to the north, Indian Lake which lays adjacent to the east, Lake Pleasant, Sacandaga Lake, Piseco Lake, the Siamese Ponds Wilderness, and the West Canada Lake Wilderness. Luckily for us, we had a fairly clear day. Here is the view East to Indian Lake.
Next we look North to the High Peaks. Unfortunately, we don't have a telephoto lens strong enough to bring them in clearly, but they are out there.
Here we are looking West where you can see a small pond below us.
The view south shows the end of Indian Lake. There is still some fall color out there hidden in the trees, but for the most part, things are starting to look more brown than gold.
After finally making it to the top, we hated to leave. Here Dave turns around to check to make sure Kathy is following him down. Leave no hiker behind.
Here Kathy is still dragging her feet very slowly down the firetower, taking in all the views one last time.
Back down at the scenic overlook, we tucked into our PB&Js. By this time, another hiker had make it to the top. He, too, went off to take his turn climbing the tower. For us, it was time to start the arduous trek back down the steepest part of the trail. Climbing up may be more aerobic, but down is definitely harder - and significantly riskier because one misstep can result in a very bad fall. We passed another couple making their way up. We gave them the best advice we could, but the trail really is a mess up at the top. They looked fit, however, so we had confidence they would do fine.
Before long, we were back in the woods enjoying the afternoon sun. One more solo hiker passed us on his way up. Otherwise, we had the trail to ourselves. Our legs were tired, but our spirits were high. It felt like just an easy walk in the woods over the lower half of the trail.
Back at camp, we enjoyed our Happy Hour. There is nothing like a cold beer (or wine) when you have earned it. A big thank you to Matt and Weina for giving us a Thai Curry gift pack for Christmas. Tonight we feasted on a yellow curry with summer squash, onions and silky tofu. Just what the doctor ordered after nine miles of hiking!
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