DSettahr
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- Apr 23, 2005
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On Tuesday, I climbed St. Regis to watch the sunset. Wednesday was another nice day, so I decided again to climb a mountain that afternoon. My choice of mountain on this day was Catamount, a small but rugged and challenging little mountain north of Whiteface.
Got the trailhead with roughly an hour to go before sunset- I made good time along the flat section of trail that passes through the beautiful stand of Red Pines, with carpets of moss filling the spaces between trees, arriving quickly at the base of the mountain. From here, the mountain really makes you work hard to earn the right to stand upon its summit- the trail is quite rugged, and traverses directly up the slopes of the peak.
The upward climb seems never ending- especially when you're racing the setting sun! I knew I was close to the top of the false summit when I saw the chimney- a neat little geological formation, what was an igneous intrusion that solidified into a dike, and is now eroding more quickly than the surrounding rock. It's a short, fun scramble up the chimney, and from there a easy climb to the false summit.
At the false summit, the views are spectacular enough that I always question whether I need to push on to the true summit or not- but, as usual, it loomed above, beckoning too much to resist.
After the false summit, the navigational fun begins. Catamount doesn't have a marked trail, rather it's an unmarked herd path, and following the trail on the open rock faces and ledges gets to be a bit entertaining at times, especially when the sun is going down and it's getting dark!
I didn't quite make it to the summit for sunset, but I was there to watch the sky turn color as dusk fell. To the south, Esther, Whiteface, and the Wilmington Range dominated the view. I could see the notch in the Wilmington Range in which Cooper Kiln Pond (and one of the highest elevation lean-tos in the Adirondacks) lay. Further south, I could see Moose and McKenzie Mountains, and the High Peaks beyond. To the west, Loon Lake Mountain, Debar Mountain, and St. Regis were clearly visible. Lyon Mountain dominated the view to the north, and the gathering darkness in the Lake Champlain valley filled the view to the east.
I left the summit before it got too dark to see without a headlamp, but still found myself using one soon enough anyways. Navigating the route in the dark proved to be even more challenging, and the rugged trail made for a slow descent, but I still made ok time.
As with St. Regis the day before, it'd been years since I climbed Catamount, and I was glad to return. Definitely a fun little mountain- especially in winter when the chimney fills with snow and you need crampons to ascend the rock ledges!
