Goodman Mountain and Coney Mountain - Horseshoe Pond Wild Forest - 8/31/14

Today's weather wasn't much to brag about (warm, muggy, rainy), but I was in Long Lake bringing a kayak to my son Zack, so we took some time to do a few short hikes in the area.

 

First up was Goodman Mountain (2162') at the southern end of Tupper Lake.  This trail was just opened this month by the Department of Environmental Conservation.  The trail boasts an accessible portion (1400' long) on an old paved road, followed by a moderate grade on the old paved road, and lastly a newly constructed foot path to complete the trek to the summit.

 

Also it was raining lightly, we saw perhaps 20 people on the trail; perhaps it was the holiday weekend, or the fact that it is a new trail.  We saw a woman with crutches on the accessible portion.  We also saw a couple that had biked the accessible portion, then hiked the rest.     

 

 

Trailhead sign on Route 30

 

The accessible portion was a quick hike for us and took perhaps 10-15 minutes.   

 

The beginning portion of the trail is an accessible trail

 

 

 

 

 

The newly constructed trail portion was a moderate grade.  Then were a couple slick portions that were muddy due to the rain, but we were on the top after 30 minutes from the time we left the car.

 



Zack and Rev on the summit of Goodman Mountain 

 

The rain stopped just before we reached the summit.  We were fortunate to have some visibility.  What surprised me was that that was no view of Tupper Lake.  It is blocked by trees on the north side of the summit.   We wandered around a little, but didn't see a viewpoint looking north.

 

Views are limited to looking mostly west and south. 

 

 

 

 

 

The summit of Goodman Mountain

 

Route 30 down below.

 

The rain did not return as we descended so we got back to the car mostly dry.

 



Hike Stats:

Hike Distance:  3.2 miles roundtrip

Hike Time:  1 hour, 10 minutes

Total Vertical Gain:  ~ 530'

 

 

The trail to Goodman Mountain (click image to enlarge)

 

Hike Part 2

 

Since Coney Mountain (2267')  is located just a couple miles south on Route 30 from Goodman, we headed that way to climb a 2nd small peak.  The open rock summit of Coney is visible from several locations on Route 30 on a clear day.  I had driven past it many times, but had never stopped to check it out.

 

Route 30 trailhead sign for Coney Mountain

 

 

Zack signing in at the Coney Mountain trail register

  

 

 

 

 

 

Once again, we saw several groups on the trail.  Not quite as many as on Goodman, but we still saw 3 groups.  We didn't get any more rain and we made quick work of the 1.1 mile trail to the summit.  I believe this trail has been re-routed from it's original short .5 mile trail to a longer 1.1 mile trail that now circles clockwise around to the SE side before climbing the ridge to the summit. 

 

The summit in sight

 

 Coney has a pretty awesome summit, with open rock and 360 degree views.  It would be a great place to hang out for awhile on a nice day.  Long Lake is visible to the south.

Long Lake in the distance to the south

 

 

 

A zoom view of Long Lake 

 

The USGS summit disc

 

 We saw hooks remaining in the rock from a weather station or previous structure that no longer exists.

The summit ridge

 

 

 

 

These hikes make for great after work hikes or chances to stretch your legs while passing through.

Coney is especially nice and I'm sure I'll do them both again in the future.

 

Hike Stats:

Hike Distance:  2.2 miles roundtrip

Hike Time:  50 minutes

Total Vertical Gain:  ~ 530'

 

 



 

The Coney Mountain trail (click to enlarge)

Waterfalls and Views in the Giant Mountain Wilderness Area - 8/24/14

I guess my theme this weekend was bushwhacking to waterfalls and open rock with views.  Saturday was in the Dix Wilderness and today was in the Giant Wilderness.

 

I parked near Chapel Pond at the Zander Scott Ridge Trail for Giant, only instead of taking the trail, I began bushwhacking the right side of the drainage just east of the ridge trail.  The topo map has a falls labeled that I had not yet taken the time to explore.

 

I encountered a faint herd path on and off.  No doubt others had done this same trek.  The grade was relatively steep, but the bushwhacking was not a problem.

 

It was a .6 mile hike to the falls, with an elevation gain of about 500 feet.  The falls lies in a deep ravine so some care is needed getting down in there.  It is worth it.  The falls is spectacular and there is a great swimming hole at the base for those that like cold water!  It's amazing how remote this spot felt even though it is so close to the road.   I posted a video of the falls on You Tube.

 

My dog Rev and I spent about 30 minutes here poking around and watching the falls. 

 

 

Look at that grotto to the left of the falls!

 

Just awesome

 

This swimming hole looks about 6-7 feet deep

  

 

 

From the falls, I continued to climb and headed over to some promising open rock which is essentially the southern terminus of the slope to Rocky Peak Ridge.  I passed an old abandoned hunter shanty on the way.  The southern promontory is comparable to Giant's Nubble and offers excellent views of the Dix Range, Round Mountain and the Great Range.  I got lots of great pictures from this location.  

 

The Great Range

  

a closer look

  

Dix Range

  

Round Mountain

  

Dix Range and Round Pond

  

 

 

My viewpoint and the Ridge to Giant in the background

 

The Great Range

 

The southern slope of Rocky Peak Ridge



 

 

 

 

 

 

My kind of view

  

The Great Range

 

Round Mountain

 

a mountain goat, or my dog Rev?

 

 

 

 

 Rather than bushwhack back the way I came, I decided to go past the Dipper and connect with the Ridge Trail to Descend.  I ran into some horrid blowdown south and west of the Dipper, but it didn't last for long.  Once on the trail it was an easy cruise back down.  Rev and I passed a dozen or so people on the way out. 

 



The Dipper



 

 

 

 

 

Hike Stats:

Hike Distance:  4 miles

Hike Time:  4 hours (including stops)

Total Vertical Gain:  ~ 1200'  

The route (click image to enlarge)

Dix Wilderness Waterwall Ramble - 8/23/14

This hike ended up being somewhat of a re-run of a hike I did last October.  I'm not complaining, since that hike was fantastic.  This is the Dix Mountain Wilderness area, and the hike is a hike from the West Mill Brook trailhead to a waterfall SE of Macomb Mountain, plus a visit to an un-named hill 1068 (3550').   

 

This time I wanted to re-visit the waterfall (a fantastic place), and then continue on to Sunrise Mountain.  I made several mistakes however.  The 1st - I didn't start until 9:45;  the 2nd - I stayed at the waterfall too long; the 3rd - I just didn't have the steam to day to push all the way to Sunrise.

 

I made it up to the Hill 1066 and it was 2 PM.  I knew it was only another mile to Sunrise, but it was a tough mile and I would have been heading further from the car.  I decided to save Sunrise for another day.

 

So back to the beginning...

 

I parked on Route 9 at the sign for West Mill Brook.  You can drive in the first mile if you have a high clearance vehicle.  You then come to a gate with two barrels affixed to it.  From there it's foot traffic only.  An old jeep continues on, following West Mill Brook for a total distance from the car of 3.25 miles.  The trail peters out at that point.  This is a great spot to begin a bushwhack to Camel's Hump, but that wasn't my trip for today.  

 



 

A fall giant alongside the West Mill Brook path 

 

I crossed to the west side of the brook as soon as the path ended.  I skirted west then south path a beaver pond and continued southward until I needed to begin the climb to the waterfall.  The climb is fairly open until you get near the falls.  I find it easiest to get close to the falls from the south side, but it is tough walking there due to blowdown and slippery moss covered rock.

 

The falls has 2 large tiers, followed by a 3rd cascade a little lower down.  When I was here last fall, the water volume coming over the falls was a bit less than it was today.  The added water made the falls even more impressive, but it also made it harder to walk out on the ledge between the upper and middle falls. 

 

The 3rd cascade

 

I made it to the falls in 2 hours, 15 minutes from the car on my 4.4 mile bushwhack route.

Upper and Middle falls 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After spending an enjoyable about of time at the falls, I continued my climb towards Hill 1068.  The view there is nothing, but if you grope around and head south-southeast a short distance you come to a fantastic ledge and viewpoint that offers views east and south.

 

I reached this point at 2 PM and it was decision time.  I sat at this great viewpoint and looked over as Sunrise Mountain, a mere mile away.  It was a rugged mile and would probably take at least an hour and put me further from the car.  I didn't had it in me to push hard to get out there, so with that decision made, I was able to sit and enjoy the view from right where I was.

 

 

Rev out on the great open rock below Hill 1068 

 

Wyman Mountain

 

Wyman and the "Igloo" 

 

Hoffman and Blue Ridge Mountains from the ledge south of Hill 1066

 

 

 

Lots of dry dead wood everywhere 

After eating my late lunch, I decided to loop around to the north to check out some more open rock that would be new to me.  The last time, I had gone south, then southeast following an open rock ridge down.

 

The push northward was thicker than what I had experienced climbing up.  I was on a relatively level plateau north of Hill 1068, but the tree density was thicker.  At last I reached the open rock I was searching for and got to enjoy views to the north and east.  I was also starting to finally get some blue skies and sunshine as well.  That was ok with me.

 



 

 

Camel's Hump, Niagara, Nippletop (Dix Wldns) and Marsh Pond Mtns 

 

 

Camel's Hump

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grace and Wyman

 

 

the "igloo" east of Wyman

 

 

Grace

 

Wyman

 

 

 

 

 

From here it was just a straight shot east down the slope back to the West Mill Brook path.  Descending wasn't much faster than climbing due to a terrain that demanded a little caution.   

 

Eventually I made it down to the brook.  It's always a relief to be back on a foot path after spending most of the day bushwhacking.

 

 

 

a hard life

 

some leave are staring to turn!

 

 

A last look back...

I ended up getting a lot of good pictures from this trip.  If you want to see more, you can find them on my Picasa Web Album.   I also took a couple videos of the waterfall, which you can find here on YouTube.

 

I didn't make it to Sunrise Mountain on this day, but I had a full and rewarding day.  No complaints! 

 

Hike Stats:

Hike Distance:  12.6 miles

Hike Time:  9.5 hours

Total Vertical Gain:  ~ 2950'

 

The route (click image to enlarge)