This was a lazy day today. After sleeping in until 7:30 this morning I had to change my plans. I knew I wanted to get out and hike something, so this little gem popped up on my radar.
I have been nonchalantly hiking the Adirondack fire towers, something that isn't really intended to achieve but appears to be moving in that direction. My intent is to get my endurance back up and, with my son finish the 46 high peaks this winter. We have 9 left to do, so getting in shape is a top priority.
Azure Mountain is in Franklin County, NY. It is off the beaten path, and I took the scenic route to its trailhead. I was coming from Plattsburgh so I took a shortcut via County Route 30 past Buck Pond campground, then Keese Mills road out of Paul...
I found this to be a very nice hike. It was nothing that I had expected, I compared that to what I had read anyways. It's like reading a book, forming your own vision in your mind, then watching the movie in a theater, based on someone else's imagination.
The trail is a soft gradual hike, from trailhead to the summit it is a 2.5-mile trip, 5 miles round trip. The climb is so gradual that you do not realize the climb is just under 1700" of elevation gain. The mountain itself is at 3386' of elevation. There isn't a lot of climbing until you reach the cabin, from there to the summit, just under 1.5 miles is where you gain your elevation.
The trail crisscrosses a few waterways, which are either covered with a footbridge or rock hop-able...
I had left the house early this morning for this hike, 6 am. I knew there was rain in the forecast for the morning at some point, so my hope was to at least make it to the summit before it began to rain. It was a great idea, and in fact, as I was traveling to the trailhead I began to wish I had left an hour earlier as it was spectacular with this early morning sun hitting all those multicolored leaves. The leaves are at peak in the Adirondacks, and this morning's sun, from sunrise until it got above the clouds had lit up the entire woods. But alas, I was not going to make the summit before the sun was obscured in the clouds. However, I still had some wonderful views, and It never rained on me.
This mountain is just outside Newcomb, NY...
A nice mountain with a fire tower that is starting to be restored. At an elevation of 3,694-foot near Keene north of the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks. The trail from route 9N was drastically rerouted since I last hiked this.
This is an open peak that now has some pretty awesome views with the new re-route of the trail, whereas before the re-route you were in the trees until you scuttled up the rocks just before the summit. During the summer and fall of 2014, the trail was almost completely relocated to avoid all of the steepest and most eroded sections. The hike to the summit is now 3.4 miles, 0.8 miles longer than before, a much more enjoyable hike.
The trail leaves the north side of Route 9N 3.5 miles east of the junction...
Dingo and I decided to head out to Hike Mt. Adams which is located in Upper Works of Tahawus. This area has always seemed eerie to me, an old abandoned mining town. Just like the many across the country, this place was once a prosperous mining community, like many before it, has shuttered its doors.
There are many mountains in this area, several are considered some of the 46 high peaks of New York. Mt Adams is not one of them, but offers some of the best views of the High Peaks, especially from its restored fire tower. The ADKHighpeaks Foundation took on the restoration, and much can be read upon it at their website.
Dingo and I had a late start. We left the house around 9:30 and made our way to Upper Works, it's about an hour and a...