Snowy Mountain 7/26/14

 Today my wife Leesa and I got the chance to hike with my oldest son Zack.  He was in the Old Forge area and we decided to meet in the middle at Indian Lake and hike Snowy Mountain.  My last trip to Snowy Mountain was on a snowy February day when Leesa and I hiked it with my youngest son Nick.  On that day we had zero visibility from the top.  Today was our chance to see what the view from the summit looks like.  Once again I had to take pictures with my cell phone as my battery on my camera was dead.

We got started on the trail just before 9:30.  Immediately after we started there was a tree down across the trail that we had to climb over.  It was the only obstruction during the day.  The trail was in fine shape.

This hike provides a nice gradual 2.5 mile climb followed by a steep 1 mile finish.   The gradual portion of the trail crosses over Beaver Brook multiple times while passing through hardwoods.  Our dog Rev led the way as we enjoyed the great bug free day.  We saw a dozen or so groups on the day.  Lots of friendly people.
  

Indian Lake from Snowy Mountain

Reaching the steep portion, I found it steep, but it didn't seem as steep as it did in the winter.  On this day the trail was dry and there was no sliding backwards.  Zack and I got a little ahead of Leesa on the steep portion and we waited for her at the clearing just shy of the summit.  I believe that this location was most likely the former site of the fire observers cabin.  

Zack and Rev at the clearing near the summit

Once Leesa was with us again, we hiked the final couple hundred feet to the summit.  It was great to have a view this time.  The breeze in the firetower quickly cooled us down.  Of course this was the spot to take all of our pictures.  I could see many of the humdred highest peaks that I have yet to climb in this area.  Indian Lake provided a great backdrop to the east.    

Zack in the cab

Leesa went halfway up

Mike, Zack and Rev at the pre-summit clearing 

The clearing

We noticed that there were lots of herd paths on the summit plateau leading to many different viewpoints.  When I had been there several winters ago, none of this was obvious and with the snow coming down we didn't explore beyond the firetower.

The hike down was an uneventful backtrack.  The time passed quickly as I got a chance to catch up with Zack about the last couple months since I had seen him.  It's always great to hike with any of my kids and it doesn't happen as often as I'd like.  We all enjoyed the day and went out for a great dinner afterwards in Long Lake.

Hike Stats:

Hike Distance:  7.5 miles

Hike Time:  4.5 hours

Total Vertical Gain:  ~ 2100'