Black Mountain, elevation 2649'. Washington County Highpoint, NY county highpoints 15/62. 5.86 mi, 1224' gain, 1h43m RT.A few days ago I wanted to go for a hike, but was unable to commit myself to another bushwhack, another private climb, another stressful self-made bid for an obscure summit with no view or reward. I realized that, in the month since I had been home from college, I had yet to climb a single peak with an actual trail to the top. I enjoy the challenge of the more remote peaks, but sometimes I'm tired and just want to walk without thinking. I would soon get my chance.
I was visiting my father for the weekend so I knew that I didn't have a full day on Friday to hike; a long climb in the Adirondack High Peaks would have been unrealistic and resulted in a strained celebration, not something I wanted at all. I set my eyes on Black Mountain (no not that one), the highest point in Washington County, overlooking the famous Lake George in the foothills of the Adirondacks. Black Mountain was close, only about two hours away, a relatively short hike (under six miles round trip), and home to beautiful views. I had never been to Washington County or Lake George, and taking the highpoint would combine my conquered Adirondack and downstate counties into a single glob, so I headed out late Friday morning with a new summit on my mind.
I was held back a bit by weekend traffic pretty much the whole ride there and back. I figured it was a Friday so the roads would be fairly empty. However, it was also the first weekend with the schools out, and Lake George is a notorious tourist destination, meaning the roads were packed and I hardly hit the speed limit the whole way there. Somewhat distressed I finally arrived at the trailhead just before noon and headed on my way.
The ascent was almost monotonously straightforward. The first part of the trail followed a fire road that led to an old farmhouse, following probably inactive power lines lying all within reach of the stupidly curious hand. After this, there was a gradual ascent on clean ground, travelling through beautiful woods but with no challenge. Even at higher elevations, where the trail steepened a bit and the forest turned pointy and dark, there were only a few rocky and rooty sections, no scrambles or anything too crazy. I finally got my easy trailed hike only to find to my dismay that it seemed boring to me.
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| Bright forest in the overcast morning along the open, (vaguely) driveable portion of the trail. |
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| Higher up, the trail became rockier, but this was about as bad as it ever got. |
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| The first glimpse of the fire tower (since overshadowed by a communications tower) from just below the summit. |
I passed an overlook area just below the summit, planning on hitting the highpoint first, then returning for the pretty views, which as this point are secondary in priority for most of my hikes. The summit is covered in a number of communications towers. The unmanned station at the summit explains how the towers provide for emergency communications running on solar power, and how it will be phased out in the coming years as satellite coverage becomes more consistent. There was also a USGS survey marker at the top, although strangely enough this was in a rock clearly lower than the high point. There was evidence that an older tower once rested on the highest rock, which may explain why the marker was placed lower down. |
| The radio tower at the summit, complete with the degraded sign explaining its purpose. |
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| The survey marker, embedded in granite significantly below the highest point. |
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| Black Mountain, elevation 2649'. A bumblebee basking on the rock chased me off several times while trying to take my summit photo. |
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| Solar panels atop the communication station seem to be in remarkably better condition than the rest of the facility. |
I stuck around at the summit longer than expected before descending to the overlook just below. The overlook faces largely to the north and east, providing expansive views over Lake George and Elephant and Sugarloaf Mountains. The whole upper part of the lake was visible, along with glimpses of Lake Champlain beyond (largely obscured by summer haze). The surrounding area definitely gave the impression of foothills; I could tell that I was near mountains, but what I was looking at didn't quite qualify. To the east the peaks of the Green Mountains in Vermont were barely visible in silhouette. The midges were surprisingly not too bad for mid-June, likely due to the dry conditions this spring, so I could sit and enjoy the view for a moment without excessive discomfort. |
| A wide view to the north looking out over Lake George, surprisingly empty on a lovely Friday afternoon. |
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| Looking northeast towards Elephant Mountain. Flat farmland beyond is invisible, hidden by the June haze. |
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| A closer view towards the north end of Lake George, with countless islands and inlets scattered throughout. |
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| An even closer view on the northwest shoreline. Hills continue to rise to the north below the flat Champlain Plain. |
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| Sugarloaf Mountain rises with a prominent bubble-like shape above farmland in nearby Vermont. |
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| A view of Vicar's Island beyond nearer trees and hills in the lake. |
I only stayed at the summit long enough to take pictures of everything; I was running late for the weekend and wanted to get off the mountain as quickly as possible. Descent was quick, although the trail was largely not steep enough to facilitate easy trailrunning. I made it down the 2.8ish miles (although trail signage inaccurately lists it as 2.2 mi) in only around half an hour. I was a little disappointed by how unsatisfying the hike was, and sought to determine exactly what the problem was; still, however, a new county had been conquered. Traffic was no better on the drive home than it had been going up. |
| Orange hawkweed (Pilosella aurantiaca) in bloom, surprisingly naturalized near the summit. |
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