Wolf Pond Mountain (3460') - North Hudson, NY - 6/7/15

This post isn't full of beautiful pictures or ideas for a great hike, but I'll report on it anyway for those that are interested.  The adventure was a hike up Wolf Pond Mountain, which lies on property owned by Elk Lake Lodge.  I had done them a favor last winter, so they had no problem allowing me to climb one of their peaks.

I parked on Blue Ridge Road (Boreas Road) at the intersection with Gulf Brook Road.  Gulf Brook Road is about 7.5 miles west of I-87 exit 29.  Gulf Brook Road may be opened to the public when access to Boreas Ponds is determined, but for now the gate is still locked.

I walked on Gulf Brook Road, a gravel road for 2.1 miles before turning right at a large clearing to follow a logging road north and then east.  Eventually the logging road became a myriad of woven circles and it was time to hike north to reach Wolf Pond Mountain.  I was one hour into the hike at this point, and had traveled 2.9 miles.

This is where I turned right to take the logging road

The logging road starts right of center

The logging road

Now the fun began.  The bottom half of the hike was through mostly small spruce and hemlock, fairly dense.  When I got near the top, I had to swim through taller thicker spruce and the going got tough.  I couldn't see the ground below me, and I had to continuously wedge myself through trees that were tight.  

The lower half of the mountain looked like this.

... and this

Finally I broke through the worst of it as I hit the summit plateau.  I wandered around looking for views, or for evidence of previous human visits, but found none.  I was visited by some black flies though. 

The summit.  Not so thick, but no views either.

On the way down, not wishing to revisit the thick area I had just come through, I went slightly more easterly and it proved to be a little less painful.  I also had a glimpse of Elk Lake and some nearby hills.

There is a small glimpse of Elk Lake, just left of center.  You can't even really see it in this photo. 

This was the best view I had all day, sad but true.

A few small rocks to negotiate, but nothing bad in that regard. 

One last picture while descending in the woods 

I was quite happy to return to the logging road and then hike out of Gulf Brook Road.  This was not an exciting or memorable day, but it is another hundred highest peak done.

  

A look at Gulf Brook Road while hiking out.

Hike Stats:
Hike Distance:  7 miles
Hike Time:  4 hours
Total Vertical Gain: ~1700'

The route (click image to enlarge)