Moxham Mountain - Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest - 8/14/16

I've been quite busy with house projects lately and haven't ventured outside the Lake George Wild Forest since the 4th of July!  Today I took a few hours to revisit Moxham Mountain.  I hadn't been there since August 2012 when the trail was first opened to the public.

When I was there last, there was no signage and the pink flagging was still on the trees marking the route.  This time a sign was present along with a parking and trail sign.  Note:  The  sign says it is 2.0 miles to the summit.  It is actually 2.6 miles.  That could make a difference in your plans if you are hiking with young children.

Roadside sign

Trail and parking signs

I drove through a rain shower just minutes before I started hiking and I expected more rain to fall while I was hiking.  Yesterday I got caught in quite a heavy downpour on Pilot Knob Mountain in Lake George.

One nice thing about this trail is that is doesn't have any steep sections; it is moderately steep at best and it has a couple short downhill sections.  Another nice feature is that it offers a few views along the way, including one nice view of the summit.   

I got to within 10 minutes of the summit before the rain resumed; fortunately it stayed on the light side and while I was under tree cover I stayed relatively dry.

Rain clouds coming in.

A nice view of the summit.

Rev on the summit.

On the summit are several USGS marker along with bolts from an old survey station.

The rain stopped soon after I left the summit and the sun actually made an appearance for a little while on the way down.  

Hike Stats:

Hike Distance:  5.2 miles

HIke Time:  2 hours,  10 minutes

Total Vertical Gain:  ~ 1000'   

The trail

A Newly Marked ADK Trail - Moxham Mountain - 8/31/12

Last week I had heard from The Gear Source in North Creek that a new DEC trail trail had opened up on Moxham Mountain in the Adirondack town of Minerva.







 

The trail head


A new trail! How exciting. That meant we had to move it to the front of trails to hike. With that being said, we started my Labor Day weekend last Friday with a trip up Moxham. The Unit Management Plan for Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest, Appendix J, summarized the thinking behind the trail. Page 2 of the Appendix showed a proposed route. Perfect.

Flagging is still in place

We arrived at the trail head at about 10:30. No one was parked there. We started up the trail which has been marked with yellow disks, but all the pink flagging tape still remains from the route planning.




The summit from along the trail

The trail head is at 1540'.  The trail rises gradually to 1900' before dropping back down to 1725'.   After the drop, the trail follows a consistent moderate grade the rest of the way to the summit.  There are a couple early views before the trail ducks from the ledge back into the trees.  After a little while, the trail returns to the ledges and there are many nice views along the way.

From the summit there is a 180 degree view south and from east to west.  In the summit rock are 3 USGS markers and some hardware from an earlier structure.  The trail ends at the summit high point.  The ridge continues to the east, but the high points along the ridge are in and out of public land.

Looking SW

We enjoyed the summit for awhile before returning to the trail head.  We saw one couple climbing as we neared our car.  This trail would be an easy snowshoe hike and I believe some views to the north would be obtained once the leaves are off the trees.

Gore Mountain to the South

The footing on the trail is soft.  As the forest floor has not yet had any wear.  There are some little sapling stubs sticking up an inch or two on the trail so be careful you don't trip on those.  Otherwise, it's a nice enjoyable hike.  The grade never gets that steep, so you don't have to work to hard to reach the summit.  There is no water along the trail, so be sure to bring some with you.

 

 

 

 

3 USGS markers on the summit... and they all say "Maxam"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our approximate route shown in blue (click to enlarge)



 Hike Stats

 

Hike Distance:  5 miles

Our Time (including stops):  3 hours

Total Vertical Gain:  ~1150'

Trail Head Elevation:  1590'

Summit Elevation:  2361'

 

The route can be viewed at Every Trail.