Pilot Knob Mountain - Lake George Wild Forest - 12/19/15

I typically climb Pilot Knob Mountain 4-6 times per year.  It's a quick place that I can get to and climb and be done in 3 hours.  It may be quick, but it doesn't lack for views or great terrain.

Usually I start from the Buck Mountain trailhead on Pilot Knob Road.  This time I started from the gate on the East side of Pilot Knob Road that is directly across from Echo Bay Road.  It is hard to see in the summertime, but know with the leaves off the trees, it is easy to spot.  There is parking for a couple cars in front of the gate.

Beyond the gate is an old woods road, which is actually in pretty good shape.  As you follow it for a little ways, it begins to branch out with several forks along the way.  I only stayed on the woods road for 10 minutes and then left it to climb straight up towards the shoulder of Pilot Knob Mountain.

It's a steep climb in spots, with lots of rock, and lots of rock covered in newly fallen leaves.  It doesn't take long to have great views behind you of Lake George.  As you can see in the pictures below,  the trees are sparse and tree density is not an issue.  Just be careful with your footing on the rocks, especially on the way down.  I avoided all wet rock and moss.        

You have this view in 15-20 minutes

  

After 15-20 minutes, you start breaking out into sloping meadows of rock and grass.  There are lots of ticks here in the summer unfortunately.  I had none on my clothes today.  Thankfully the cold weather helps.

Lots of terrain like this.

Chose a rock

There are a few cliff faces along the way, but it's easy to find a work around.

I like this terrain and it doesn't get old climbing this mountain.  Since the climb is a bushwhack, and there is no trail, each time I climb, it's a little different.

After I got to the shoulder of Pilot Knob, I continued on up the ridge towards the site of the 1969 plane crash.   The crash site is in a rugged area on the side of the mountain.  There is a memorial there for one of the victims and there are a couple piles of small pieces of the plane.  That is all that remains.  

If you see a small collapsed cabin in the area, you are about a 100 yards away from the memorial and crash site.  Just walk towards the cliff face from the collapsed cabin.

  

The memorial for one of the crash victims

... and plane parts

The old cabin near the crash site.

After visiting the crash site, I went up to the true summit before heading back down.  On the return trip, I dropped off the ridge in the col between the true summit and the shoulder of the mountain. Then I contoured around the side of the shoulder until I got back to the ascent route, thereby my dog Rev brought us back down, following our scent from a few hours earlier.   

Rev on Pilot Knob Mountain

After this nice hike, I was back at the car and home by noon.  If you're not afraid of a little bushwhack, and like bouldering and scrambling on lots of rock.  This is a good hike for you.  The views can't be beat.

I think the next best thing to hiking around the fjords of Norway is to hike around Lake George.  It's not quite as dramatic, but it's pretty darn nice.

Hike Stats:

Hike Distance:  3.5 miles

Hike Time :  3 hours

Total Vertical Gain:  ~ 1800'

Anthony's Nose, Record Hill and Flat Rock Shoreline - Lake George, NY - 4/4/15

Lake George, in the southern Adirondacks of upstate New York is surrounded by many beautiful mountains, hills and overlooks.  One of the impressive areas, is on the NE side of the lake and is known as Anthony's Nose.  Record Hill is the high point of land and the terrain cascades down on the west side to Anthony's Nose and then again to Profile Rocks.  The area has a similar feel to the popular Shelving Rock area farther south in the Narrows.  While Shelving Rock is accessible by car, Record Hill was not, until now.

The Lake George Land Conservancy (LGLC) has owned the 187 acres of land encompassing Anthony's Nose, Record Hill and Profile Rocks since 2000, but the area was only accessible by boat.  Similarly, the State of New York owns the 244 acre Flat Rock Shoreline immediately to the north as part of the Adirondack Forest Preserve, but there is no land access.  

The LGLC just announced on March 31, 2015 that they have secured public access for Record Hill through purchase of additional lands and easements.   A parking lot will be developed on Schwerdtfeger Road and the LGLC will mark the official trail this spring.  This is great news!

Leesa and I were headed south today from Schroon Lake to Lake George so we decided to take a look at this area before the official trail is marked.  We parked off the shoulder of Schwerdtfeger Road at the location where the trail will start, and headed into the woods.

It was a fascinating weather day.  Yesterday it was 60 degrees, but this morning it was 30 degrees and snowing.  Wet snow clung to the trees as we headed into the woods, following an unmarked trail that has been used by locals for years.     

The start of the unmarked trail to Record Hill from Schwerdtfeger Road

In most areas the snow accumulated on the ground, but in some areas it did not.  Later in the day, the partial sunshine caused the new snow to vanish in a hurry.  Our snowy entrance was a leafy exit in the afternoon.

Let the climb begin...

Looking west to Lake Champlain

It was quite beautiful as we climbed.  We did not bring snowshoes with us, although there were a few small areas on the north face were there was still a foot or more of snow on the ground.  All south facing slopes were bare except for the morning dusting of snow.

Looking south on Lake George across Blairs Bay 

a zoom view looking south on Lake George

Low cloud cover as the snow was clearing out

Record Hill offers great views south and west.  Skies were beginning to clear and small patches of blue sky were appearing.  To the west we could see Anthony's Nose below us.  That would be our next stop, but cliffs prevented a direct approach.  We went north and hooked around to the SW to get to the ridge heading west to Anthony's Nose.

   

Looking down on Anthony's Nose from Record Hill

We were now hiking in snow, but the old snow was now soft and melting and was easy to walk in.

  

Leesa descending the NW face of Record Hill

looking back up towards Record Hill 

Once we got on the ridgeline heading towards Anthony's Nose, we found red trail markers from the LGLC.  We followed them to the Nose.  We later found out that Anthony's Nose boasts a falcon nesting area, so these discs will be removed so people are not directed to that area.

An LGLC trail on the ridge to Anthony's Nose 

Open and easy walking heading towards Anthony's Nose

Looking south from Anthony's Nose

Mike on Anthony's Nose

This picture from my cell phone actually came out better

Leesa and Rev at Anthony's Nose

The 2nd picture from my cell phone

From Anthony's Nose, we did a similar maneuver by going north then hooking SW to get to Profile Rocks.  The view here wasn't as good as above, but still nice.  Next we followed an old road NW to the edge of the lake at Flat Rock.  There is a large old collapsing camp there that is apparently owned by Fort Ticonderoga. 

Leesa coming down the old road from Profile Rocks to Flat Rock

Looking NW from Flat Rock to Roger's Rock

Rev at Flat Rock 

An old camp at Flat Rock owned by Fort Ticonderoga

From Flat Rock it was time to head back to the car.  I chose to head directly SE  and climb towards Record Hill where we could take the unmarked trail back down to the car.  Once we reached Record Hill and began the descent, we found that the snow from the morning was all gone.  It looked like a different area. 

Heading south from Record Hill on the return

Our turning point to head east back to Schwerdtefeger Road.  A cairn marked the spot.

We loved this hike.  Lots of nice terrain, great views and the hike can be done in a few hours.  Thanks LGLC for acquiring this property!  It's a great addition to your holdings and would be a great addition to the State Forest Preserve if that happens in the future.

Hike Stats:

Hike Distance:   5.2 miles

Hike Time:  4 hours (leisurely pace)

Total Vertical Gain:  ~1850'

 

The location of Anthony's Nose is SE across the lake from Roger's Rock

The route for the day

A view from Google Earth