On the September 29th, I had a few hours to wander and chose to do a little exploration in the vicinity of Gull Pond, on the east side of Schroon Lake. The area lies in the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness Area. The marked trail goes a short half mile to the pond where it ends at a rock promontory, which would make a great picnic spot.
On the far side of the pond(east side) lies a cliff face at the waters edge rising several hundred feet above the water. To make my way over there, I followed the shore clockwise. A foot path leads a short distance to a fine designated campsite beside the pond. It was one of the cleanest campsites I've seen.
I continued to make my way around the north side. The woods were pretty pines interspersed with large boulders.
I continued to make my way around the north side. The woods were pretty pines interspersed with large boulders.
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| Campsite at the NE corner of Gull Pond |
As I approached the eastern ledge a herd path was soon visible. Not surprising that the cliffs attract adventurers to their summit. The walk is not difficult, and the view is well worth the short bushwhack.
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| View of Gull Pond from the east ledge |
In the distance, Schroon Lake was shrouded beneath a layer of fog.
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| Schroon Lake lies beneath the distant fog |
Northeast of Gull Pond lies Carey Hill which rises almost 500 feet above the surrounding ground to an approximate elevation of 1675'. I headed that direction to see what views the hill might offer. The peak has a double summit. I reached the western summit first, but just prior to that, I had a view of Schroon Lake behind me.
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| Schroon Lake from Carey Hill |
I could also see Pharaoh Mountain and its cliff face on the west face.
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| Pharaoh Mountain from Carey Hill |
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| Some nice fall color |
The summit and surrounding areas all provided generally easy bushwhacking.
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| There were several of these rock slabs near the summit |
After visiting the eastern summit, I headed back to Gull Pond making a figure 8 path from the direction I came in.
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| The rock ledge on the east side of Gull POnd |
The fog was finally lifting from Schroon Lake as I got back to Gull Pond. The loop took about 3 hours to hike at a leisurely exploratory pace.
Hiking Stats:
Hike Distance: 4.2 miles
Hike Time: 3 hours, including stops
Total Vertical Gain: ~ 1000'
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| My route for the day |
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