Thursday, July 25, 2013

Oliver!

Too nice of a day for office work ... went for a hike with Howie instead. Did a bushwack hike in the Adirondacks. Parked on Hoffman road in a small pullout before Oliver pond. Headed into the woods and in a southerly direction toward Oliver Hill. Passed a nice beaver pond along the way. The woods were mostly open, but most of the trees were young and there was a lot of underbrush in spots. Reached the summit of Oliver Hill and then continued a bit south to a small ledge with a view. There were other ledges, but the views were partially blocked by trees. Headed west and reached the ledges along the western side. There was one especially nice spot that had great views ... there were even some blueberries here. Picked my way down through the band of cliffs and ledges as I headed toward Snyder Hill. Grabbed a few raspberries along the way. It was a bit scratchy for the traverse ... glad I wore long pants. There were some views just west of Snyder Hill summit. Headed back down toward the road and it was an easy walk back to the car.

Summit Elevation: Oliver Hill 2470
Round-trip Distance: 6.5 mi
Elevation Change: 1500 ft
Oliver Hill

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Eleventh mountain

Did a hike in the central Adirondacks with Howie today. Visited some cliffs/ledges on the southern side of Eleventh mountain. Followed the Siamese pond trail for about 0.4 miles. Then it was a short,steep climb up to the first ledge. Continued along the escarpment and checked out several different ledges - each had similar  view. After about 3/4 of a mile, I dropped back down to the trail which I followed all the way to the lean-to. Got to soak my tired feet in the East branch. Nice summer day.

Round-trip Distance: 8.5 mi
Elevation Change: 1100 ft
Eleventh

Friday, July 12, 2013

Little Buck

Did a short hike with Howie this morning near Lake George. We climbed Little Buck mountain - Buck mountain's northern brother. There is no trail to the top so this was mostly a bushwack. Started from campsite 11 on Shelving Rock road. Followed along the right side of the creek up to the col and then turned right toward the summit. Continued a short distance west to a nice view point. Tried to keep following along the ridge in a northwest direction. There was one last view point at around 1100 feet elevation. After a snack break, headed north down to Shelving rock falls. Followed the short trail to the road and the road back to the car. Passed another falls along the way where I stopped to soak my feet. A real nice day out for our short adventure.

Summit Elevation: Little Buck 1605
Round-trip Distance: 4.5 mi
Elevation Change: 1200 ft
Little Buck

Sunday, July 07, 2013

No Bull

I visited my sister in Virginia over the July 4th holiday. We did a short hike up Bull Run mountain on Thursday. From the main trailhead, went up Chestnut Ridge trail to the High Point overlook. Nice views to the west from the cliffs. Came back down the Ridge Loop trail, Dawsons trail, and Mountain road. Other activities included museum visits, canoeing, biking and some short walks.

Round-trip Distance: 5.0 mi
Elevation Change: 850 ft

Virginia