Sawtooth #1 (3877') and Sawtooth #2 (3820') - High Peaks Wilderness Area - 12/12/15

Sawtooth #'s 1 and 2 are a formidable pair of peaks on the ADK Hundred Highest list.   They are a long haul from anywhere.  Perhaps that is why I saved them until now.  On 12/5 I set out with a plan to climb Sawtooth #2, but turned back at 9:45 AM when I was already soaked from bushwhacking through trees laden with wet snow.  I was about 1.5 miles from the summit, but knew that I would be pushing it to get out by dark.

This past Saturday, 12/12 was warm, and all the snow was gone.  The trees were dry, and I decided to head for Sawtooth #1.  This time I started from the Averyville trailhead at 5:10 AM with my headlamp on.  I decided I'd rather bushwhack with a headlamp at the beginning of the day when I was fresh, rather than at the end of the day when I was tired.  I felt good when I started out and I was traveling much better than the previous Saturday.

At 6:45, I was able to turn off the headlamp.  It looked like the best way to climb Saw #1 would be to climb the long ridgeline.  This would be the most consistent grade ascent and perhaps I could avoid any cliffs.  I knew that I might have to sideslip the actual ridgeline if the tree density was too great.  This proved to be the case, and moving along the sidehill just below the ridge proved to be a good plan.

A first view of Sawtooth #1 

Sawtooth #1

I was quite pleased that I was able to avoid any significant obstacles.  At 10 AM I stood on the top of Sawtooth #1.  It was quite foggy and there was no visibility.  I hadn't expected to arrive so early so I contemplated my next move.  I felt really good so I decided to push for Saw #2.  If it wasn't working out, or if I starting feeling tired, I would just give it up and drop down.

I had heard that the best way to go from one to the other was to drop down a bit into the ravine and not take the high line between the two, so that is what I did.  

Sign on Sawtooth #1

Just a little snow on the summit

On this day where everything seemed to go right, my only bad decision was to start up Saw #2 too soon.  I should have proceeded NW a little further before heading for the summit.  I ran into some thick trees that could have been avoided.

In any case, after 2 hours, I stood on Sawtooth #2.  It was noontime and the sun had come out. Sawtooth  #2 has a fantasic viewpoint.  I was so glad I climbed Saw #1 first while it was foggy and I was glad I continued on to Saw #2 on this day.  

Looking towards Lake Placid 

Looking East to Sawtooth #1

 

Looking South to Seymour and Seward 

MacNaughton in the back left?, and Seymour on the right.

Seward Mountain

Seymour and Seward

Seymour Mountain

Seward Mountain

Rev on Sawtooth #2

Zoom view towards Lake Placid.  

 I was pretty certain that I would be hiking out by headlamp but I chose a better line going down off of Sawtooth #2.  Once I got to the primary drainage between Saw #1 and 2, I followed that for a ways (avoiding beavertown on my right).  This is a large area with multiple beaver dams that I had noticed on Google Earth.  I notated it on my map so I would avoid it.

Eventually I hit an old woods road after I passed Sawtooth #20 on my right.  I followed the old woods road and it took me all the way back to the big beaver pond located just off Pine Pond Road. This saved me some time and I was able to get back to the Averyville parking lot at 4:25, just as the sun had gone down.

I was so psyched to be able to reach both of these peaks in the same day and to have had a relatively good route most of the time.  This placed me at 100/102 on the hundred highest list with just Sawtooth #5 and Avalanche Mountain left.  With the warm weather expected to continue, I already had plans to head for Sawtooth #5 on Sunday.

Hike Stats:

Hike Distance:  14.1 miles

Hike Time:  11 hours, 15 minutes

Total Vertical Gain:  ~3500'       

The route (hiked clockwise)

      

Sawtooth #4 (3460') - High Peaks Wilderness - 10/31/15

It just worked out by coincidence that the Sawtooth Mountains fell to the end of my ADK Hundred Highest peak journey.  Really.  They are the furthest from my home and I don't know why.  Anyway, on Halloween Day, I began the process of accquainting myself with the Sawtooth range.  I chose lonely Sawtooth #4 to be the first one.  With a short amount of daylight this time of year, I decided to approach #4 from the south via the Ward Brook Truck Trail.

I left home at 6:30 and arrived at the Corey's and the Seward trailhead at 8,  At 8:10 I was on the trail with my dog Rev.  There were only 4 other cars parked at the trailhead.  Lots of hunters were parked along the road from Corey's so Rev and I wore orange.

The first part of the hike was the long 4.5 mile slog from the Seward Trailhead to the Ward Brook Truck Trail.  The trail simply follows the property border with the Ampersand Club property fo several miles.  You are faced with posted signs and blue blazes continuously.  The trail is straight and generally muddy in the non-winter months.  

A new new foot bridge

After 4.3 miles, I reached the Blueberry lean-to and found it to be unoccupied.  In fact, I didn't see a person all day.

Blueberry Lean-to

Just beyond the Blueberry leanto, the trail connects to the Ward Brook Truck Trail.  I turned left at the junction and crossed a sturdy vehicular bridge over Ward brook.  I walked another hundred yards to the top of a knoll then turned right into the woods to begin the bushwhack.

  

Sign on the Ward Brook Truck Trail.

Bridge over Ward Brook

The terrain was flat for the first 0.5 miles after which I crossed a small drainage and immediately began to climb.  I was an hour and 50 minutes into the hike at this point (and 5.1 miles).  The next 1.3 miles took me 2 hours.  I chose to climb the SW face of the mountain.  While I didn't encounter any cliff faces, or any blowdown, the tree density was quite thick for the last 0.3 miles.  I did have some views of the Sewards over my shoulder as I climbed.  The Santanoni's were visible as well.

  

 

Seymour (L), Ouluska Pass (M), Seward Range (R)

The Santanoni Range

Fishing Brook Mountain (near Newcomb) in the distance!

Santanoni's

A dusting of snow coated the summit ridge.  Just west of the true summit I scaled a small rock slab and found the best viewpoint of the day.

The best views were on top of this slab of rock.

The true summit wasn't hard to find, especially with the snow on the ground.  I spotted a tiny clearing, and sure enough, that was the summit.  The old canister wire was still on the tree and a couple orange ribbons as well.  There was no view here, but perhaps with a couple feet of snow on the ground you would be able to see over the short trees.  

   

The summit

A last look at the Sewards from the highest viewpoint.

Since the ascent route had been thick, I decided to head down in a SE direction and then swing back around.  This proved to be an easier route and I got down 30 minutes faster than it took to go up.  Even after 4 short miles of bushwhacking, it felt nice to be back on the trail, even though it wasn't my favorite trail.  1.5 hours and I was back to the car.

Blueberry lean-to on the return trip.

Hike Stats:

Hike Distance:  13.2 miles

Hike Time:  7.5 hours

Total Vertical Gain:  ~ 2300'

The route.  Look at that long straight line west of Ampersand Lake.

A closer look at the bushwhack portion of the route.

The route on the NG topo

Little Moose Mountain - Little Moose Wilderness - 10/3/15

This weekend I spent both days doing hikes off of Cedar River Road, west of Indian Lake.  Saturdays hike was Little Moose Mountain (3620').  I parked the car at campsite #9  and began my bushwhack.  I was looking for a trail labeled "Butter Brook Trail" (as shown on the National Geographic map), but is most be long gone for for the most part.  I saw remnants here and there, but not much is left.

Lots of soft moss.

I crossed the small Butter Brook in one leap and rock hopped over the Moose River.  After the river, I picked up the drainage that leads to a small pond high on the west shoulder of Little Moose Mountain.  I usually try and check out ponds or other features along the way.  This pond turned out to be worth the stop.  

A nice small pond high on the shoulder of Brown Mountain.

I continued on past the pond and I found the woods to be open for the most part.  After 2.5 hours of hiking, I was on top of Little Moose Mountain.  The first bump that I thought was the summit bore on indications of such so I pushed on down the ridge.  Soon I found a tiny ledge that offered the view below.  Rev and I had started our hike at 9:30 and now it was noon so we stopped for lunch.  I was enjoying the sunshine on the day which had a forecast of cloudy.

  

I believe that is Lost Pond in the distance.

When it was time to head down, I took a little bit of a different route.  I came to some large cliffs with some split rock that could be walked through if you could get in.  Once down at the bottom, I found a way in.  It looked just like an open doorway.

Isn't this cool?

Another look at the opening.

Soon I hit some even bigger cliffs so I had to work my way back over to my ascent route to be able to get down.

The colors looked more vibrant that this picture indicates.

 Once we got down low, Rev began to see a lot of chipmunks and that piqued her interest.  She was never quite fast enough.

Rev gave chipmunk chasing a valiant effort. 

A small pond near Butter Brook.

We got back to the car at 3 PM.  I spent an hour getting out the campsites and settled on #20.  I looked like a new site.  It had a new fire pit, outhouse and picnic table.  Even better yet, the previous camper had left a nice supply of wood.  It saved me from spending time foraging.

South Branch Moose River

Cedar River Road

At home at campsite #20.

I fed the Rev and set up the tent.  I got the campfire going about 5:30.  At 6 PM, I heard someone fire off about 6 shots.  It was enough to scare Rev (who had already climbed into the tent).  She went into the car to hide.  I sat out and enjoyed a nice fire until 9 PM then I grabbed Rev and we turned in to the tent.  Sunday would be a big day with a trio of peaks planned.

A relaxing and warming fire.

Hike Stats:

Hike Distance:  8.2 miles

Hike Time:  6 hours

Total Vertical Gain:  ~2000' 

The hike route and the location of campsite #20.

The route on National Geographic