Crane mountain is the sh*t

I slept in this morning, so that limited my hiking options today. I chose to revisit Crane mountain in the Southern Adirondacks. Even with the late start, it was still cool (56 degrees) when Howie and I reached the trailhead at around 1 pm. The trail to the peak from the south was short, but strenuous. There were a couple of ladders to negotiate. Howie made it up the first one, but opted to climb along the side of the second and longer ladder. There was an expansive view to the south from the summit. I had a sandwich break. Howie got to eat about half of it after I accidentally dropped it on the ground. After the lunch mishap, I headed along the summit ridge where there were several viewpoints - the last one overlooking Crane pond. Continued on the trail down to the pond. Circled around the pond and passed a group of hikers. One dude noticed my Camelback and said that is was the sh*t ... which I guess means that it is good. At the pond outlet, we followed a faint path up to the rocky sub-summit (elevation 2876). There some views to the north from the top of the knob. Returned to the pond and continued down the steep trail. Crossed an unusual natural bridge over a creek (my guidebook mentions a cave). Then reached the old farm road which we followed back to the trailhead.

Summit Elevation: Crane 3248 ft
Round-trip Distance: 5.5 mi
Elevation Change: 1450 ft