Pilot Knob Preserve - 9/27/11

The days are getting shorter now, and it's getting harder to squeeze in an outdoor activity on a week night before it gets dark.  On Monday night, I was in Fort Ann, NY at my trailhead at 6 PM.  This trail was the Pilot Knob Preserve, owned and maintained by the Lake George Land Conservancy (LGLC).  In case you haven't heard of the LGLC, they own a number of magnificent properties in the Lake George area.  Be sure to visit their website for full trail descriptions and maps.

There were two cars in the parking lot when I arrived.  It was somewhat overcast, so I knew there wasn't going to be a nice sunset, but sometimes the cloud formations are just as interesting to watch at dusk.  I had grabbed my gear from the house for a short trail run.  This included a small rear pack with water, a granola bar, my GPS, a headlamp, extra batteries and my car keys.  The Pilot Knob trails feature a gazebo on a high grassy plateau overlooking Lake George and a cascading waterfall further back in the woods.

Looking Sw towards Assembly Point and Lake George Village

The official name of the preserve is the Lynn LaMontagne Schumann Preserve at Pilot Knob and it contains 223 acres.  The blue trail starts at the trailhead at an approximate elevation of 370'.  The trail rises fairly steeply on a somewhat rocky trail for just over a half mile to a clearing and gazebo at about 1000 feet.  From here, there is an outstanding view westward and south and north from Lake George village past Bolton Landing and up through the Tongue Mountain range.  Assembly Point, Cleverdale and Long Island are clearly visible below.  This would be a great short climb to see a fantastic sunset on the right night.  The gazebo has a built-in sitting bench and a "deck" extending from it.  A nice spot for a picnic as well.

Looking west with Cleverdale in the foreground, Long Island in the background and Assembly Point on the left

On this night, I began my trail run shortly after 6 PM and was at the gazebo by about 6:20.  I stopped for a view minutes to look at the view and then continued on the blue trail another mile and a half to the waterfall. 

Looking south from The gazebo

Looking NW from the gazebo

 At this point, it was starting to get a little dark.  The trail loops around the top of the falls.  I almost ran into a porcupine who had crossed my path and was beginning to climb a tree.  I continued around the loop and returned to the gazebo around 7 PM.  The sun had set and I could now see all the lights below.  This was just as pretty as the view earlier.  I switched on my headlamp and finished my run to the base, arriving about 7:15.  From the gazebo, there is also an orange trail that follows the remains of a former driveway back to to the trailhead.  I did not take that on this night.

These signs are near the gazebo.  On may way back thru it was getting dark

A few pictures at dusk

Here is my route

Keep this preserve in mind when you've got a couple hours for a picnic, or you want to get a nice view for relatively modest effort.  You won't be disappointed! 

Sleeping Beauty Mountain - 9/18/11

For me, fall and winter are the best times to be hiking. Our first cool weather of fall came this past week and it was great. I woke up on Sunday, and it was in the low 40's. Leesa and I got up and out to do a half day hike before going to the "Jazz on the Lake" Jazz Festival in Lake George in the late afternoon.

Sleeping Beauty Mountain was our target for this hike.  The mountain is located on the east side of Lake George, north of Buck Mountain and south of Black Mountain.  We parked at the Hogtown Parking Lot in Fort Ann. Sometimes you can drive 1.8 miles further on a gravel road to Dacy Clearing, but the gate was closed on this day.  Our total hike distance for the day ended up being 7.8 miles.  We hiked up to the Sleeping Beauty viewpoint, which is not quite the summit, then continued north to Bumps Pond where we looped around the pond and came back.

Note:  As we approached the viewpoint, we saw a sign that said "Summit .1 miles" with an arrow that pointed the direction of the viewpoint.  That is not the true summit.  The true summit is further north, and you have to bushwhack a short ways off the trail to reach it.  It is in the trees.

Dist. Traveled:  7.8 miles

Elev. at Summit: 2347'

Elev. at Lookout:  about 2100' (I forgot to look)

Hike Time: 3.5 hours

Total Vertical:  1200'

Our route is shown in blue

Trailhead parking at Hogstown

The remains of an old house foundation on the way to Dacy Clearing

Mike... hanging on!

Leesa at the Sleeping Beauty viewpoint

From the Sleeping Beauty lookout, you have an unobstructed view to the East, South and West.  It is a fantastic spot, perhaps better than any other location on the east side of Lake George.  The combination of the views, the grasses and the rock terrain is unbeatable.

There are nice spots here to sit and soak up the sun on a nice day

When we reached the summit we were the only ones there!  We got to sit and eat our lunch and look around before anyone else showed up.  There is plenty of room on the summit and lots of nooks and crannies for people to enjoy the summit in privacy, but it is still nice to have an entire summit to yourself.

Looking West

Nice blue sky.  The temp got up to arround 60 degrees at noon

Lots of dead trees here and also towards the summit

This was a nice spot a little lower down at the viewpoint

i want to camp right here.  It is the perfect spot.

We didn't want to leave the viewpoint

After spending about an hour at the exploring, we continued northward passing over the actual summit, then we descended to Bumps Pond. We went counterclockwise around the pond and followed the loop back to the trail split .6 miles above Dacy Clearing. 

Bumps Pond

The camera didn't capture the sky very good in the picture, but the reflection in the water looks nice

The gravel road out from Dacy Clearing, looking towards the old home foundation

Several people rode bicycles to Dacy Clearing and then began their hike. That effort saved them 3.6 miles of walking in and out on the gravel road. The old gravel road is pretty, but it adds some time on to your hike if you are on foot.

The beginning of fall colors

Sleeping Beauty Mountain is certainly one of my favorite peaks in the Lake George region. I'll have to return to camp near the lookout.