Wolf Pond Mountain

Went for a snowshoe hike in the southern Adirondacks today. I climbed Wolf Pond mountain in the Wilcox Lake Wild Forest. Parked at the beginning of Mud Pond road off Garnet Lake Road. Donned my snowshoes and headed up the unplowed road. There was a crust on top of the deep snow, but you would still sink a bit with each step. Took a short side trip to Mud Pond and then continued until the summer parking area. I made a wrong turn and followed a woods road heading north. It lead to a spring house. I corrected myself and found the correct trail that lead west toward Round Pond. Upon reaching the pond, I made my way around the east side of it, crossed a swampy area (luckily still frozen), and then headed up the peak. The woods were pretty open. There was some blowdown, but a lot of it was buried under all the snow. At first, the snow was very supportive and I wouldn't break through the upper crust too much. About 1/3 the way up though, I was sinking up almost to my knees. It was slow going for quite a while as I climbed the steep hillside. Had to zig zag back and forth across the slope to make it somewhat easier. I eventually reached a level area with a huge boulder. There were also nice views (mostly to the west) from some open ledgy areas here. I continued on to the summit. It was a bit easier at this point as the snow was more supportive again. Backtracked the way I came. The snow was softening up a bit in the late afternoon, and I was sinking deeper than I had in the morning. Finally reached the car. A tiring but satisfying day in the woods.

Summit Elevation: Wolf Pond Mountain 2576 ft
Round-trip Distance: 6.0 mi
Elevation Change: 980 ft

Wolf Pond Mtn