2020-05-16: Mount Zoar

At over 2760 feet, Mount Zoar is the fourth-highest of the mountains in Durham NY. Its two-lobed summit ridge forms part of the border between Durham and the neighboring town of Windham, and is the easternmost peak of the minor Hayden Range. The mountain is prominent from many locations in the Durham Valley, forming an integral part of the scenery for much of the area to the north. Mount Zoar has no trails and no overlooks, but much of the mountain lies within the Jennie Notch Unit, a parcel of state-owned recreational use land. Although most maps denote Mount Zoar at its eastern summit, satellite mapping indicates that its western summit is notably higher, so I climbed the western peak.

A detailed trip report is available here. As far as I can tell, this was the first recorded climb of Mount Zoar's western summit.

An acorn, probably fallen last autumn, along the Long Path, which I followed up to Zoar's west col.

From the highest point of the trail, in the Jennie Notch. A view southwest towards East Rusk Mountain.

Orange markers drilled into trees along the edge of state lands.

A small moss-covered rock face blocked my path following the ridgeline and forced me to find an alternate route.

Orange markers denote the boundaries of the DEC-owned Jennie Notch Unit, which I followed most of the way to the summit.

Grass coated the forest floor as early buds emerged on the trees above.

Some crumbly rocks lay against the trunks of two maple trees.

Many of these tiny blooming flowers covered the ground for most of the hike. It was hard to avoid stepping on them.

A wide view of Zoar's west summit. There is a sizable clearing here, as the highest point is mostly barren rock.

Dry lichen covers much of the rock at Zoar's summit, where there isn't enough dirt for much else to grow.

This north-facing view of the Durham Valley is the closest to an overlook I found on Mount Zoar.

Through a dense beech forest, Ginseng Mountain, Zoar's nearest neighbor, looms rather prominently.

A view of cliffs in the Jennie Notch. The notch forms the col between Zoar and Ginseng, topping out at just over 2400 feet.

Mossy bedrock juts out from the ground around the notch.

Panorama of the most impressive cliffs in the Jennie Notch.

A tiny waterfall on the unnamed creek that flows through the notch.

Sunlight filters down through dense hemlock forest on the margins of a pond near the Long Path.

A small chipmunk in the hemlock forest froze long enough for me to get a picture.

This beaver dam, near the center of an unnamed pond, was surprisingly tall, likely over six feet (although it was hard to tell from a distance).

Whole stands of trees had been completely removed by the resident beavers.

Clay-rich sediment coming off the mountain gives the waters here a reddish hue.

After several weeks of trying, I finally managed to get a well-focused, well-contrasted image of a dandelion, this one near the trailhead on Jennie Notch Road.