Kane mountain is one of the Adirondack mountains that has a fire tower on it. It is also part of the ADK fire tower challenge. It is an out-of-the-way mountain and was quite a drive to get to, it would take me just under 3 hours from the house. We had left the house a little after 6 am, knowing we had quite a drive to get to it. For the most part, it was a straight shot down the interstate to exit 26, from there it was several secondary roads. We did pass through some very nice parts of New York state, places I had never been through before.
We arrived at the road that leads to the trailhead, Green Lake Road. It is located off of County Route 10 in Canada Lake. I did not see any signage out on County Route 10 that mentions the mountain...
Snowy mountain is part of the Adirondack fire tower challenge. We had previously attempted this hike just over three years ago but turned back just shy of the summit (or so I thought) due to time constraints. For a lesser peak, this is certainly a rugged hike. The first two miles are a very pleasant hike, that ends quickly as I gained over 1500' in elevation in the last mile and a half.
Snowy mountain trailhead is off Route 30 just southwest of the hamlet of Indian Lake. The state has done well with the trailhead parking and has made for a nice wide area that can hold a fair amount of cars. That said, I suspect this is a busy trail in the summer months.
I had left the house at 4:30 am to make the 2-hour drive south. I had given...
Decided to return to an old favorite that is conveniently nearby, about 30 minutes drive. It was forecasted to be a Bluebird day, and the weather did not disappoint. I was out the door a bit after 6 am, made a stop for gas, and was soon on my way. I had decided today that I would not take my pups as I had a feeling the trail was going to be crowded.
I eventually arrived at the parking area a little after 7 am. I rather quickly grabbed my pack and was soon signed in and headed up. The trail-up is pretty easy to follow, just need to pay attention to where you are going, as there are several switchbacks, and some of them you could walk straight off into the woods if you're not paying attention. One of the key things to hiking is carrying...
I decided to take an early morning hike up Poke-O-Moonshine mountain. I'm not one to typically hike in the summer as I generally spend my summer months camping, and going on shorter walkabouts. However, the mornings have been really unseasonably cooler these last few days so I opted to get a hike in. I hadn't hiked Poke-O in a while and wanted something nearby.
I was on the trail at 06:28 with a nice cool temperature of 58 degrees, zero bugs. Perfect hiking weather under a blue sky. The trip from the new trailhead is just over 4 miles round trip (4.1). We took our time and enjoyed the cool, shady, and quiet trail. My GPS logged 2275 max elevation. My total trip time which included my break on the summit and a few in between was 3:24...
I arrived at the trailhead around 8:50 am. There was a local hunter that had just arrived and he was packing up to spend 14 days in camp (lucky guy). We struck up a conversation that led to the three dogs I had in tow. He had asked if they were Australian Cattle Dogs, and I affirmed and advised him they were rescues. He too has some dogs he rescued as well, a couple of border collies.
I was soon on my way up the trail climbing right after the small footbridge. The trail is easy enough to follow and is a mix of open hardwoods almost the entire way to the summit, minus a few areas of pine/cedar/tamaracks. The trail is an easy grade well past the intersection with the trail that continues to Lake Eaton, which is about a mile in. From here...