Hurricane Mountain - Hurricane Moutain Primitive Area - 12/25/15

On Christmas Day, Leesa and I were looking to take an afternoon hike with great views and perhaps a sunset.  We settled on Hurricane Mountain which is one of my favorite peaks.  We hadn't been up there since the tower had been reopened so that was a big incentive.

We didn't get started until 2:30 PM, but that was OK with us.  The Hurricane trail from Route 9N has been re-routed in the last couple years, and it's no problem to descend by headlamp.  The re-routed trail is slightly longer.  The sign still says 2.6 miles, but it is now about 3.1 miles.   

There is a nice boardwalk here.  (Under our feet at the moment).

After a moderate grade for a half mile, the trail is almost flat for 3/4 mile before the real climbing begins.  Since the weather forecast called for mostly sunny, we were hoping for a sunset, but it became apparent that the sun was not likely to make much of an appearance.  Still, you never know what the skies will be like on a summit, so we continued upward.

At 4:10, we reached the summit, and I quickly went up into the firetower to check out the restoration work.  It was nice to be able to get back in the tower after having it closed for so many years. Special thanks to the Friends of Hurricane Mountain who worked tirelessly to make this restoration happen! They've done a great job.  The stair treads have all been replaced, as has the floor of the cab.  The restoration of the cab will be done in the Spring of 2016.

It would be interesting to know how many high peaks can be seen from Hurricane. 

While we didn't have much of a sunset, visibility was good and the wind wasn't too strong.  This peak often gets ferocious wind.  We stayed long enough to take a few pictures an then decided to head down to make some progress before we had to snap on the headlamps.  We did have just a sliver of pink sky at sunset.

The leftover wood will be flown out in the spring.

The last light of the day...

Hike Stats:

Hike Distance:  6.2 miles

Hike Time:  3.5 hours

Total Vertical Gain:  ~ 2000'

The trail from Route 9N

Nun-Da-Ga-O Loop - Hurricane Mountain Primitive Area - 7/4/15

For a 4th of July hike this year, Leesa and I chose the Nun-Da-Ga-O loop (also known as the Soda Range) in the Hurricane Mountain Primitive Area in Keene, NY.  This is a great 6 mile loop that offers a pond, 2 leantos, some nice open rock views from a horseshoe shaped ridge.  The loop is part marked trail and part unmarked herd path.  The unmarked portion is pretty easy to follow in the non-winter months.  You can get twisted around there in the winter if the trail hasn't been broken out.

Last year I did this loop in a clockwise direction and also incorporated an out-and-back trip to Hurricane Mountain.  This year we went in a counter-clockwise direction.  Our first stop was the almost new Gulf Brook leanto; just a 30 minute walk from the O'Toole Road trailhead.  It was recently relocated and rebuilt and now has been stained.  It's been moved away from Gulf Brook, but still have a drainage nearby for water.    

Gulf Brook leanto 

Our next stop was Lost Pond.  It always looks very peaceful.  

Lost Pond

Just north of Lost Pond is the newly rebuilt Biesemeyer leanto which also has a fresh coat of stain.

Biesemeyer leanto

After Biesemeyer leanto is the steepest climb of the day.  It's a short but steep ascent up to Weston Mountain.  Don't miss the view from the open rock ledge; it's just off the trail at the height of land.  I

think the view from Weston is the best of the hike, but it's tough to judge.  An awful lot of high peaks can be seen from Weston.

  

Looking down at Lost Pond from Weston Mountain.  Storm clouds over the High Peaks were threatening.

After Weston Mountain we were back in the woods on the unmarked trail until the mid-point of the hike when a nice stretch of rock ridge appears. 

A sample of the rock ridge midway along the Nun-Da-Ga-O range.

A look north to the Jay Mountain range

Rev is waiting for Leesa and I to get moving.

We love this stretch of rock.

Rain clouds were getting closer.

Near the end of the loop, we reached the junction with the trail to Big Crow Mountain and decided to climb the steep 0.2 miles to the summit of Big Crow, even though it was now starting to rain.  Big Crow is a great destination for a short hike with kids.  It's only 0.7 miles from the trailhead to the summit and it offers big views.  It's steep, but many kids like steep anyway.

We could hear rolling thunder and it was fun to watch the rain clouds moving in on us.  We stayed long enough to watch for a few minutes, then headed down before the steep rock sloping trail got slick from rain.   

This hike is a nice alternative to the more crowded high peaks.  The loop has a lot to offer and we had another fine day here.

Hike Stats:
Hike Distance:  6.4 miles
Hike Time:  4.5 hours, including stops
Total Vertical Gain:  ~1500'

The route (click image to enlarge)

The route on the Nat Geo topo map

Hurricane Mountain from Route 9N - 3/17/15

Wild, Windy & Wonderful described Hurricane Mountain in the Hurricane Mountain Primitive Area today.  I got out of work at 4 PM and told some folks I was going to do a quick climb of Hurricane. They looked at me like I had two heads. 

For certain it was windy (30-40 mph), but the temperature was in the high 20's and the sun was coming out.  I had the feeling I might see some interesting skies (and I was right)!

I changed clothes and was at the Route 9N trailhead and on the trail at 4:30 PM.  I had until about 7 PM before it would start getting dark.  I had multiple headlamps in my pack just in case.  I had microspikes on my feet and carried my snowshoes in case the trail was soft.  I never put the snowshoes on.  The trail was hard pack with about a half an inch of snow on top; just perfect conditions.

Look at the blue skies I saw on the way up!

I was moving on the way up.  I wanted to catch the good skies before anything changed.  Along the way, I reminded myself how much I like this trail.  It makes my top ten list for short trail of the 3 mile variety.

Additionally, for those that don't know, the firetower on the summit will soon be restored!  See the Friends of Hurricane Mountain website.  I hope to help with that effort when it gets underway this spring.

First views to the SE

... and first clear look at the summit

When I approached tree-line, I was getting hit with some strong gusts of wind so I put my facemask on (a rare event), and took my pack off so the wind wouldn't be hitting me and the pack.  It had taken me an hour and 15 minutes to reach the summit.  The sign at the kiosk says the trail is 2.6 miles long, but it is now 3.1 miles long after some trail re-routing that was done last year.

The scene that was before my eyes was amazing.  I took 150 pictures and forgot about the wind chill.
I love the combination of blue skies and dark clouds; and then to add to it, the sun was starting set, making it that much more interesting.

I pared my pictures down a bit for this blog post (as I always do), but I really got a bunch of great ones.  I'll let them tell some of the story.  I included more than I usually do here, but when I get a lot of good shots, I post a few extra.

The summit of Hurricane Mountain and the firetower

Whiteface Mountain

Lake Champlain

...on the way out

A zoom view of Big Slide Mountain

New boards on the boardwalk 

Big Slide on the left, Blueberry Mountain and the ridge to Porter Mountain on the right 

Big Slide again

Blueberry and Porter

After all the nice pictures, a selfie of me in disguise...

If you've never hiked Hurricane Mountain, do it!  It will be crowded on summer weekends, but there are 3 different trails leading to the summit, and with good reason!

I've got more pictures on a Picasa Web Album if you want to see more.

Hike Stats:

Hike Distance:  6.2 miles

Hike Time:  2 hours, 20 minutes (at a quick pace)

Total Vertical Gain:  ~ 2000'

The trail from Route 9N to Hurricane Mountain

The trail on the National Geographic map