29th December 2020
With Christmas having just passed and some free time available to spend together, my husband suggested we go on a hike. Winter hiking is new to us and we had some new gear Santa brought us that we wanted to try out. I chose a mountain that I was familiar with, knew we could handle and still had great views at the top. It also happened to be a fire tower, which would count towards the fire tower challenge that Anne and I were working on, so bonus!
The weather was sunny and feeling crisp at 28 degrees. My newly acquired underlayer of clothing was doing it’s job of keeping me warm. Even my new gloves, which felt thin and were made so that you can wear them while using your phone, kept my hands warm. We got to test out our micro spikes, which was all that was needed as there was just a covering of snow on the trail but more than enough of ice along the way. We did come across some folks who were just in boots but that was a risky endeavor as there were some spots where you had no choice but to climb rocks covered in thick ice.
The first mile or so was relatively flat. There were areas where you had to cross little streams of water/ice but there were plenty of rocks to step on to get across. Wearing the micro spikes really made a difference for me as I wasn’t as hesitant to step from rock to rock out of fear of slipping.
As we were ascending we kept hearing this noise that sounded like a train off in the distance. The closer we got the louder it got so we knew it wasn’t a train or even a helicopter. Just as we reached the summit it was revealed … a small windmill! I had forgotten about that being there. The fire tower itself is fenced off so you can’t go up it, but the views are still worthy of the hike. As expected, it was windy and all the warmth from the hike up quickly left my body. Needless to say we didn’t linger long.
The hike down was initially slower because of the ice and slope of the decent. Poles were really helpful here. My hands got cold so I switched out my gloves and inserted heating packs. This did the trick. Once we hit the flatter part of the trail it went quickly. Along the way my husband decided to make a game of it saying every red marker we came across we had to kiss … I said only if he caught me so we made good time on the return! By the way, this trail has a LOT of markers!
Black Mountain was a great hike to do as an introduction to some winter hiking as the trails had only a few inches of snow that day, but we still got to get the feel of using micro spikes and enjoy the outdoors. There was plenty of parking when we got there at about 10:30am (it was a Tuesday after all) but the lot was pretty full by late afternoon when we left. Its a fairly quick hike (for 6 miles in and out) even with the icy trails, mostly because its such a gradual climb, with the only steep portion in the last half mile or so before the summit.
~Christy
Hike Details:
| Location: | 1281 Pine Brook Road, Clemens, NY 12819 |
| Directions: | From I-87 North, exit 20, take a left off of the exit onto Route 9 Lake George. Take a right at light onto NY-149, Fort Anne, Whitehall. Follow until it intersects Route 4 in Fort Ann. Take a left onto Route 4 (which will also become Route 22) and follow it past Whitehall, NY. Just before reaching Clemons, NY. take a left onto County Rd. 6. Finally, take a left onto Pike Brook Road and the trail head is well marked on the right. |
| Challenges: | ADK Fire Tower, Lake George 12ster |
| Difficulty: | Intermediate. Starts relatively flat. Modest ascent, with a few steeper sections. No scrambles. Only difficulty is iced over rocks. |
| Distance: | 5.9 miles out and back |
| Elevation Gain: | 1,423 ft. |
| Moving time: | 3 hours 14 minutes |
Looks like a fun trek! Thank you for sharing, but for us it will be a vicarious hike.
Best regards & stay safe.