I've written about Cat Mountain before (and the Cat & Thomas Preserve) so I won't give an extensive description again. Monday I was in the area and had a couple hours to give the dog some exercise, so we did a walk/trail run to Cat via the yellow trail which is an old logging road.
It was hot and dry so I didn't push Rev too hard. All the creeks and water flows were dry. The only water was at the beaver pond near the start of the steep uphill climb to Cat. It was 1 PM and the sun was directly overhead. I had a hip belt with 2 water bottles, one for her and one for me.
We jogged on the flats and downhill sections and walked up the steeps. There were a half dozen cars in the lot when we started and we saw 3 groups on the trail during our hike.
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| The blue trail climbs to the summit of Thomas and follows the ridge from Thomas to Cat |
The yellow trail to Cat follows an old logging road and is ideal for trail running, walking or XC skiing in the winter.
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| The orange trail to Thomas splits to the right; the yellow trail is straight ahead |
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| A view of Cat Mountain in the distance. The only water source for Rev on the day is in the foreground |
Once past the beaver pond, the trail climbs approximately 730' to the 1956' summit. At the top is a 270 degree view, including Lake George from the Tongue Range and the Narrows, on down to almost Lake George Village. \
The distance from the trailhead to the summit, following the yellow trail is approximately 3.5 miles. We reached the summit after an hour and 10 minutes. If you do it at a leisure walking pace, plan 2 hours each way.
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| The Narrows and the Tongue Range |
There was a nice breeze at the top and Rev found a bed of grass under a big pine tree. We had our water and I took my usual round of pictures from every direction. Lots of boats were out on the lake, even though it was a Monday.
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| a closer look |
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| Southern Lake George |
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| Dome Island |
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| The summit |
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| A nice shady spot to view the lake (Rev appreciated this) |
Going down was faster since the route was not so steep or rocky as to worry about foot placement. We did the reverse hike in about 50 minutes.
Not a bad way to spend a mid-summer afternoon. If you're ever in the vicinity of Bolton Landing, don't miss out on a trip to Cat and Thomas. The are was formerly owned by the Lake George Land Conservancy, but is now owned by New York State.
Hike Stats:
Hike Distance: 7 miles
Hike Time: 2 hours (as a trail run)
Total Vertical Gain: ~ 1000'
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| The Route (click image to enlarge) |
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