Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain - Taylor Pond Wild Forest - 12/21/14

This was the first of two hikes that we did on this Sunday.  It's was a repeat for us.  The first time we had no visibility... and today was the same.  The next time, I am going to be sure we can see something when we get to the firetower.  I want to see that view of Lake Champlain!

 

In any case, we had a great hike in eerie foggy, frost conditions.  I was reminded that this would be a great trail to hike up and ski down.  I was also reminded that I want to bushwhack some of the terrain surrounding this area.  It is a fascinating area.  The cliffs are amazing! 

   

 

The roadside sign

 

We did not get on the trail until 10 AM.  There were 3 cars there ahead of us.  Rev jumped out of the car and lead the way (nothing new there).   The trail follows an old jeep road.  This trail is relatively new.  The old trail led steeply up from the campground that lies just north of the new trailhead.

 

This area looked really cool in the fog and frost 

  

A closeup of the cliff

 

 

 

 

 

 

The trail climbs up past a bowl and hooks right up on the first high ridge until it reaches the old fire observers cabin site.  All that remains is the chimney.  A lean-to is currently located adjacent to the site.

The door is snowed shut, but it looks nice!

 

I like this shot of the lean-to

 

 

No occupants today...

  

The chimney from the fire observer's cabin

  

 

 

From the chimney, it is .3 miles to the summit.  I could tell we would have no view once again, but we enjoy our hikes even when the visibility is poor.

  

 

 

 

 

The firetower!

 

I don't know if the cab is ever unlocked, but I have not seen it open.  The stairs are open and accessible, just not the cab.  The trap door in the floor has a padlock on it.

  

 

 

 

 

Our view.  The same as the last time... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just as we reached the summit, Leesa's snowshoe broke.  The bracket that holds the pin for the binding broke.  There was no good way to perform a temporary repair.  I let Leesa wear my snowshoes on the way down and I bare booted the trail carrying her broken snowshoes.  Fortunately the trail was packed pretty well so I didn't post hole the trail on the way down.

 

 

Hike Stats:

Hike Distance:  5 miles

Hike time:  3 hours

Total Vertical Gain:  1450'

 

 

 

Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain - Taylor Pond Wild Forest 12/1/12

Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain is located in the Taylor Pond Wild Forest.  Until 2008, there was only one marked trail to the summit; a steep 1.2 mile climb from Route 9.   In 2008, 200 acres were added to the Taylor Pond Wild Forest and a new trail to the summit was constructed utilizing the new land purchase.

Sign at "new" 2008 trailhead 

This new trail is now shown on the new Lake Placid/High Peaks map from National Geographic.  This route is a 2.4 mile approach starting a little farther south on Route 9.  The trail climbs 1450' from the trail head to the summit.

The cliffs of Poke-O-Moonshine

Poke-O-Moonshine is derived from Algonquin words "Pohquis" (it is broken) and "Moosie" (smooth).  Poke-O-Moonshine has a lot to offer: a fire tower, some cliffs,  the Upper Tiers lean-to.  It's an all-round nice area.

The Upper Tiers Lean-to

We didn't arrive at the trail head until 3 PM.  This hike was really an afterthought, since our earlier bushwhack hike in the Mt. Fay area was done at 2:30.  We parked and quickly headed up the trail to see how the "new" trail is.  We climbed about 600' in the 1st half, leaving 840' for the 2nd half.  The trail is an old  truck road and is easy to walk on.

The sky was somewhat overcast, and the upper portion of the mountain was in the fog, but we enjoyed the trek up.  We saw three groups of hikers on their way down as we headed up.  We passed the Upper Tiers lean-to; it is in fine shape.  Just beyond is the chimney remains of the old fire observer's cabin.  At that point, the old trail meets the new trail.  I single trail leads the remaining 0.3 miles to the summit.

The chimney remains of the fire observer's cabin

The old and new trail converge at the chimney remains

We arrived at the summit just after 4 PM.  It was quite foggy and was already beginning to feel like darkness was setting in.  I climbed the fire tower steps to the underside of the cab (the cab was locked).  Due to the fog, I had no view.  I imagine on a clear day, there would be exceptional views.  For those that don't like to climb the tower, the open rock summit should be sufficient to see most of the same views.

  

Fire tower shrouded in fog

 We didn't linger since it was getting dark and visibility was nil.  As we made our way down, I was noticing that the tote road would be a great trail to ski down with good snow conditions.  We got back to the car at 5 PM, just as we would have needed to switch on our headlamps.  

I'd like to come back to this trail on a clear day to "see what there is to see", but even without the view, the hike is a great hike. 

Our route (the new trail) shown in blue.  Click image to enlarge

Hike Stats:

Hike Distance:  4.8 miles

Hike Time:  2 hours, 10 minutes (at a brisk pace)

Total Vertical Gain:  1450'