Hoffman Mountain - Hoffman Notch Wilderness - 3/8/14

Hoffman Mountain is the namesake of the Hoffman Notch Wilderness Area.  It lies in the center of the wilderness area and is a 3701' trail-less peak.  It is on the list of the Adirondack hundred highest peaks.

Probably the most common way to climb the mountain is to start at the Big Pond Trailhead on Hoffman Road (County Route 24), and follow the Big Pond trail for approximately 1.5 miles before turning right to veer north up the ridge to the summit.

I learned that The ADK Glens Falls/Saratoga Chapter had done this hike a week ago on March 1st.  Since there had been no storm during the week, I knew the route would still be broken out and that would greatly ease the effort to climb the ridge.

My wife, Leesa, and dog, Rev, joined me yesterday to do this climb.  I had tried this route once previously, but didn't allow enough time and I had to turn back.

On this day we got started at 7:30.  I knew the ADK group took 12 hours to do the 11 mile hike on 3.1, but they had to bushwhack 8 of the 11 miles breaking trail.  I figured we could do the same hike in 9-10 hours or less since we would be on a packed route.

The first 1.5 miles was an easy 30 minute walk on a generally level marked trail.  Starting up the ridge, the whack route follows the ridge through mostly hardwoods until the 3 mile mark.       

Open hardwoods low on the ridge

Just prior to the 3 mile mark is the only steep section of the hike.  There is a short scramble up through some rocks and briars that climbs about 300' to an elevation of 2400'. 

The beginning of the scramble

Panorama looking south

Rev at the viewpoint at the top of the scramble

At the top of the scramble is the best viewpoint of the entire hike.  Looking south, one can see Big Pond and North Pond in the foreground, plus an unnamed pond.  In the distance, Schroon Lake is clearly visible.

View south from the top of the scramble

Leesa, climbing the lower section of the ridge

Once past the viewpoint, as we continued the climb, we entered a spruce forest which occupies most of the ridge from that point.  We stayed to the east side of the ridge, following the tracks.  The east side has been described as being the easiest way to negotiate the ridge, and that is the way the tracks went.  At one point, you go through an open hardwood section, but then you are back in the spruce.  

A first look at Hoffman Mountain from the last section of hardwood forest

A zoom look at Hoffman Mountain

We really had the perfect day to do this hike.  The wasn't a lot of sun, but the temperature was perfect.  It was about 25 degrees at the start and warmed to the mid-thirties.  There was almost no wind and it felt so nice to hike in temps above freezing for the first time in a long while.

As we gained the higher portions of the ridge, the tracks we followed were blown in in many spots, but we could easily tell when we stepped off the packed trail since we would sink in unconsolidated snow.

The final approach to the true summit was a small section of blowdown followed by a climb of 100' or so to the the summit.

     

the last false summit

A last viewpoint

After 5.5 miles we reached the summit.  Hoffman definitely feels like it is a long ways from civilization.  It lies 4 miles from the nearest trail and that 4 miles can be rough if conditions aren't good, or if you don't chose your route carefully.  Fortunately for us, everything went well on this day.

Since there was no wind, we stayed on the summit to have our lunch.  We had reached the summit at exactly 12:00.  

Leesa and Rev on the summit of Hoffman Mountain!

Looking NE from the summit

View west from the summit

The summit

Going back was a breeze, with the exception of the short scramble area. The majority of the ridge slopes gently.  We got back to the car at 4 PM and I felt good as new.  I had expected to feel a little drained from this hike, but we had such good conditions, it didn't feel like the hike was 11 miles.    

Leesa heading down

A last view to the south

Hike Stats:

Hike Distance:  11 miles

Hike Time:  8 hours

Total Vertical Gain: ~2700' 

The route (Click image to enlarge)

Mount Colvin and Blake Peak - 3/1/14

I used to access the Adirondack High Peaks fairly regularly from the Ausable Club (AMR) off of Route 73 in Saint Huberts.  Since Leesa and I rescued a dog, Rev, from a shelter however, this option has been off the table.  Dogs are not permitted anywhere on AMR grounds.

On this particular weekend, we left Rev with her trainer/day care facility so that we could make progress on Leesa's 46 high peaks and also participate in the ADK High Peaks Foundation Winter Gathering.

 

Leesa needed all the peaks best reached from the AMR (Dial, Nippletop, Colvin, Blake and Sawteeth).  We chose Colvin and Blake and signed up with the Foundation to climb them both for their fundraiser.

 

The weather was cold but clear.  We got on the trail around 7 AM and signed in at the register.  We soon caught up with 2 women who were also headed for Colvin and Blake.  We continued to see them several times throughout the day.       

AMR Gate

 

We chose to take the Gill Brook trail rather than staying on the lake road until the Gill Brook cutoff.  As we left the AMR property and entered state land we passed the 3 designated campsites.  No one was camped at any of the sites, but there were remains of snow walls at the 1st site on the right.  I suspect these were built to keep the wind away from the tent and add a little warmth. 

 

It took us about 2 hours to get to the split for Colvin and Nippletop.  The snow was perfect for snowshoes.  It was packed down but not icy.  I remembered that the final steps before the summit of Colvin (the Colvin Step) could be tricky so I had a rope with me in case I needed to pull Leesa up and over the step.  We did use it, both on the Colvin Step and on the snow covered ladders on the south side of Colvin.   

Leesa and I on Mount Colvin

After the Colvin Step, we were on the summit and we stopped to take a picture of us both.  The skies were gray, but visibility was good.  We could see the whole Great Range, Giant and Rocky Peak, Dial and Nippletop. 

 

The Great Range

Lower Ausable Lake

Nippletop

We continued on towards Blake Peak and used the rope again on the 2 snowed in ladders as we approached the Colvin/Blake col.  The climb of Blake was much nicer than my previous ascents.  There was no mud, no ice, just nice climbing snow.

 



Leesa climbing Blake

 

 

While climbing Blake we saw two different lone guys who were on there way out.  There was some breeze at the top of Blake, but we were mostly sheltered by the trees so it wasn't too bad.

  

Our Blake Peak summit photo

 

The sign on Blake Peak 

 

Haystack

On our return, we intended to head over to Fish Hawk Cliff and Indian Head, but the short post-hole track we followed soon ended and there was deep unbroken powder after that.  Normally I wouldn't mind breaking a little powder, but on this day, we wanted to make quick tracks out to get over to the Winter Gathering.  We turned around and got back on the main trail.

 



Leesa enjoying a butt slide

 

Lower ladder

Upper ladder

Even Leesa couldn't duck under this one...

 

 

At the Gill Brook Cutoff, we took the cutoff to hike a different piece of trail before returning to the lake road.  As usual, the lake road felt much longer on the way out.   Leesa now has climbed 37 of the 46 ADK High Peaks.  She hopes to finish the remainder this year. 

 



Ice decorations

 

Looking back at the summit of Colvin

 

While on the lake road, the blue skies began to come out and we saw some sunshine as witnessed in the picture below, taken at the Ausable Club on the way out.

  

 

Hike Stats:

 

Hike Distance:  14.4 miles

Hike Time:  9.5 hours

Total Vertical Gain:  ~ 4000'