Hamlin Mountain - Jay, NY - 3/26/16

If you travel Route 86 between the Towns of Wilmington and Jay, the mountain that will catch your attention is Hamlin Mountain (2129') on the north side of Route 86.  If you look at a map, the next thing you'll notice is that the summit cone of Hamlin Mountain is state land, but it is surrounded by private land.  The Ausable Acres Homeowner's Association owns most of the land to the east and north. They have a large trail network that is provided for exclusive use of the association.

We were able to contact the association and were fornunate enough to obtain permission to use their trails to access Hamlim Mountain.  We were delighted that they were willing to accommodate us.  Thank you!  If you plan to climb Hamlin, make sure you get permission from the property owner where you access the mountain from.  

We chose the trail from the east side of Hamlin since it was shorter, and would be a lessor use of the Ausable Acres property.  This was the blue trail.

These signs mark the entrances to the Ausable Acres property. 

The trail was actually a woods road and it provided quick access to to the base of the mountain where we picked up a silver disc trail.

This woods road is the Ausable Acres blue trail.

A water flow amidst some remaining ice. 

These silver discs went all the way up the east side of the mountain.

The silver trail was pretty steep and rugged. We passed some impressive rock slabs on our right as we climbed.  A false summit provided a bonus viewpoint along the way.

The view east from the false summit.

Looking west from the false summit

Zoom view to the NW of a body of water.  I'm not sure which one this is. 

From the false summit, it was just another 5 minutes to the true summit.  Ledges near the true summit provide vantage points for views to the south (including Whiteface Mountain).

This pipe marks the true summit of Hamlin Mountain.

Looking south towards Whiteface and surrounding mountains. 

Hamlin also provides a bird's eye view of Bassett Mountain which lies immediately to the south on the south side of Route 86.  

Bassett Mountain from Hamlin. 

The summit of Hamlin Mountain.

Leesa and Rev on the summit.

We took the same route down.  We were glad to have the unexpected marked trail to follow.  This mountain has some tougher terrain that would have added some challenge to a bushwhack.  This was the 2nd peak of the day after climbing The Cobble Mountain in the morning. 

Hike Stats:

Hike Distance:  3.2 miles

Hike Time:  2.5 hours

Total Vertical Gain:  ~1100'

The route.  (Click image to enlarge).