I had the opportunity to revisit this ol friend. It had been about 4 years since I last hiked it. This is about my 7th or 8th time on it. As the highest mountain that overlooks the Lake George area, it offers wonderful views and solitude. Hiking on a Sunday did not offer the solitude but the views were great.
It was humid on 8/8/10 but not oppressive. I got off to a later start than I wanted and hit the trailhead at 10:30am. The shade of the trail offered comfort from the heat. I noticed that they had upgraded the signage at the trailhead and saw that some new gravel had been laid in parts in the early part of the trail. What I also noticed was how dry the trail was. Anyone who has hiked Black Mountain over the years knows too well how wet and puddle strewn the opening stretch of this walk can be. It was dry as a bone.
The trail is wide open, and very comfortable to make decent time in as well as just enjoying a nice stroll. Saw a number of folks coming down and passed a small group going up. When I came to the creek that marks the end of the relatively flat walk before the big ascension, it was all dried up. I had never seen that. The initial bend in the trail before heading up is a touch goofy and one would think they would mark it a little more obvious - not that you can't make it out - it's more a lay of the land thing. But a couple extra markers in that area couldn't hurt.
The trail up is "the walk" and about a mile and half. There is relatively no flat stretches until close to the end and that is brief at best. The trail being dry here gave one many more options on choosing how to navigate the climb. I took only one brief break - some water, an apple to just get back a little energy. By the time I reached the summit, an hour and a half had gone by. That's about the average pace to do this mountain.
Just before the actual summit is an opening to a nice view to the north that you essentially get from the top. Someone had made a fire there and had not put it out properly and the embers were still smoldering. There was little to do. I took some water of mine and poured it but there was no dirt to kick onto it. So the best that could be done was seperate a few pieces and keep it contained to the area.
The top had about a dozen folks. I sat on the summit with a foursome and when they left a very nice family of about six climbed up and took their spot. Both groups were nice.
After an hour, I got up and left. The trail down was more loose than I would have liked but I stayed to the dirt portions as often as I could. It took me an hour and ten to get back to the car and off I went having enjoyed another encounter with a favorite ol natural friend.
It was humid on 8/8/10 but not oppressive. I got off to a later start than I wanted and hit the trailhead at 10:30am. The shade of the trail offered comfort from the heat. I noticed that they had upgraded the signage at the trailhead and saw that some new gravel had been laid in parts in the early part of the trail. What I also noticed was how dry the trail was. Anyone who has hiked Black Mountain over the years knows too well how wet and puddle strewn the opening stretch of this walk can be. It was dry as a bone.
The trail is wide open, and very comfortable to make decent time in as well as just enjoying a nice stroll. Saw a number of folks coming down and passed a small group going up. When I came to the creek that marks the end of the relatively flat walk before the big ascension, it was all dried up. I had never seen that. The initial bend in the trail before heading up is a touch goofy and one would think they would mark it a little more obvious - not that you can't make it out - it's more a lay of the land thing. But a couple extra markers in that area couldn't hurt.
The trail up is "the walk" and about a mile and half. There is relatively no flat stretches until close to the end and that is brief at best. The trail being dry here gave one many more options on choosing how to navigate the climb. I took only one brief break - some water, an apple to just get back a little energy. By the time I reached the summit, an hour and a half had gone by. That's about the average pace to do this mountain.
Just before the actual summit is an opening to a nice view to the north that you essentially get from the top. Someone had made a fire there and had not put it out properly and the embers were still smoldering. There was little to do. I took some water of mine and poured it but there was no dirt to kick onto it. So the best that could be done was seperate a few pieces and keep it contained to the area.
The top had about a dozen folks. I sat on the summit with a foursome and when they left a very nice family of about six climbed up and took their spot. Both groups were nice.
After an hour, I got up and left. The trail down was more loose than I would have liked but I stayed to the dirt portions as often as I could. It took me an hour and ten to get back to the car and off I went having enjoyed another encounter with a favorite ol natural friend.
