Buck Mountain, in the Lake George Wild Forest, is essentially my home mountain. If I've got 3 hours to spare, I zip over to Buck and do an up and down in 2 hours. It's a great way to get a couple thousand vertical and some great views.
On Sunday, this was the case. Just after lunch, I had a view hours free, so I grabbed my dog Rev and off we went. I knew the place would be crowded. There were about a dozen cars in the lot when I pulled in the lot.
The trail looked rock solid, but I tied my snowshoes on my pack in case the sun turned the snow to mush. Foot traction was definitely helpful though, so I put on my Microspikes.
Rev and I came across 5 different groups of people on their way down, and we passed 4 groups on their way up.
 |
| Approaching the open summit cone. Look at the blue sky! |
Amazingly we got to the top and had the summit to ourselves. It was a perfect day... sunny and 40 degrees. It felt amazingly warm after the cold spell we've had.
 |
| Lake George visible below |
The blue sky stood in sharp contrast to the white snow. I was missing my sunglasses.
 |
| Crossett Pond |
 |
| It was warm here in the sunshine |
 |
| The summit is just over on the left |
I never tire of the view from the summit. I think it's even nicer in the off-season since you don't see and hear all the summer boat traffic down below. However in the early summer there are lots of blueberries to be had.
 |
| The summit! |
 |
| Tongue Mountain Range |
After 10 minutes on the summit, another man with a dog reached the summit and it was time for us to surrender the top for him to enjoy. I didn't have to tell Rev twice. She was on her way down. I kept her on the leash since there were so many people about. It was tough to slow her down.
 |
| Pilot Knob Mountain |
 |
| Long Island down below |
In any case, it toot us an hour to go up and about 50 minutes to come down. The snow stayed firm enough that the snowshoes stayed on my back. Another great romp on Buck Mountain.
 |
| Rev hears a dog down below... let's go! |
Hike Stats:
Hike Distance: 6.3 miles
Hike Time: 1 hour, 50 minutes
Total Vertical Gain: ~ 1800 feet
 |
| The route (Click image to enlarge) |
How would the approach be on skis? Looks like there would be some nice ski terrain.
ReplyDeleteThere is, but I'd say you have too be an expert skier (at least if you plan to go to the summit on skis) and you'd want good snow conditions and climbing skins.
Delete