11-5-11 Snake Mountain

Snake Mountain was not a hike I had heard of but the route to the Adirondaks took me past it all the time.  Original plans of heading to Mount Washington were scrapped so this was a close and new place to go.  I had run into it in a random blog that I don't even remember how I stumbled across it that gave me the need to climb there (http://sobvt.wordpress.com/2011/10/29/snake-mountain/).  While the parking lot was obvious when driving down Mountain Road the trail head was hidden to the side of this building.

This is around a 4 mile round trip and some elevation gain.  The trail was very muddy but people has created secondary trails.  Apparently this is a very popular spot, the lot was completely full.

We managed to find a secondary trail which led us to this incredible rock ledge overlooking New York.  Sal was more intrigued by the pond to the right.

 The view was breathtaking.  You are standing on a cliff overlooking the very flat Champlain Flood Plane and the Adirondacks looming in the distance.  And such a clear day.  This is looking north west.

And directly west.

 There used to be a hotel up here and the concrete foundation is still there.  There were two people with a tripod taking photos.

 The Hotel was literally perched on the edge of a cliff, straight down for at least a hundred feet.

 Another foundation in the woods.  I continued onto what were V.A.S.T. trails (Snowmobile trails) for a while but finally turned around when it started going down sharply.  I don;t think anyonw had been where I was for a while, the leaves were undisturbed.

 I returned via the secondary trail and spotted a small trail going off by that cliff overlook.  It is a Peregrine Falcon nesting area. It restricted use by climbers for certain periods.

 This it the pond that interested Sal.  There were these little pockets of water at the very top of this ridge.

This a really nice excursion, the views, given the hike, had some of the best bang for the bucks on this side of Lake Champlain.  And the side trails that got me out of the traffic of all the visitors helped.  If you go, remember this is a wildlife management area, that means hunting is allowed.  Dress and control your dogs appropriately.