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Adirondack Aerial & Ground Imagery Showcase Page, Ticonderoga, NY (2026)

09/13/2026

NON- Adirondack fire tower here on this sharing page.
This fire tower is known as Red Hill and is located near both Denning and Claryville, NY. I have seen both locations on different websites, with Denning on the NYS DEC website for the 2026 fire tower challenge and Claryville on the Catskill Vistors Center.

This tower is part of TWO fire tower challenges. The first is for the 2026 Catskill Fire Tower Challenge (CFTC) patch, and this tower is one of five Catskill fire towers required for the Adirondack Mountain Club Challenge patch.

There are two trailheads for this mountain: Red Hill Fire Tower Trail is off Denning Road in Claryville, or the Dinch Connector Trail is off C***s Road (Seasonal Road) right from Denning. I took Dinch, which was already on AllTrails at the time, but I am sure Denning Trailhead is also on there now. Maybe I use that one for the winter rocker for easier access. The parking lot I used was small, and I got there before anyone else, so I had plenty of room at my choosing.

The Dinch Connector Trail does connect into the Red Hill Fire Tower trail approximately at the 1.3-mile mark eventually, but this part of the trail is well maintained and marked out with varying terrain of forest loam soils, exposed roots, and encountered small- or medium-sized embedded rocks and even bedrock outcrops. The elevation did not really begin until 0.6 miles into the trek, and it did give a good workout.

I finally got to the "Y," where it splits now into the two previously mentioned paths. This part of the trail is also well marked and maintained with more of the same terrain of forest loam soils, exposed roots, and encountered small- or medium-sized embedded rocks and even bedrock outcrops.

Finally, at the summit are both the fire tower and the former Observers' cabin and museum, which was locked along with the fire tower upon arrival. I had contacted the Catskills Visitor Center for my visit, knowing the tower cab would be open on scheduled days and times only, and just hung around and chilled until the steward arrived, watching a few hikers both come and go.

Eventually the steward arrived and opened everything up; it was the time to climb the SIXTY-Foot fire tower to get the 360-degree views first since it was the only way to see them. There are no viewpoints on the summit, just from the tower itself, and I wanted the cab to myself before other hikers arrived.

The panoramic views from the cab include basically all the Catskills front and center, like Balsam Lake and Big Indian Mountains to the north, Denman and Blue Hill to the west, High Point Mountain and Shawangunk Reservoir to the south, and Slide and Peekamoose Mountains to the east, just as examples. There are tons of other mountains, but the pictures give that justice. I will say some views are somewhat hindered by atmospheric haze spanning to the west, south, and a bit of the east, which is typical on high-humidity days of summer, unfortunately.

I have now completed the NYS DEC 2026 Catskill Fire Tower Challenge and am currently awaiting my patch!

Location: Red Hill Fire Tower, Claryville/Denning, NY
Date: July 2, 2026

09/10/2026

I have been multi-tasking on hiking challenges these days, and I have been working on one here and there called the Chester Challenge. The Town of Chester in Warren County designed this challenge to help people explore the area's trail systems.

I had already done Cougar Hill, Palmer Pond, Kipp Mountain, Panther Mountain, Chester Creek, and the Cunningham Cross-Country Ski Trails for the spring/summer/autumn (March 21 to December 21) summer patch, which I am trying to work on and hope to complete by the December 21 deadline, but I do have next year, of course, anyway.

I chose Green Hill next to get done on June 27, 2026, via Green Hill via Catamount Vista, Green Mountain, and Ford Brook Trail. This is a tough 5.7-mile out-and-back hike located at the Natural Stone Bridge and Caves Park in Pottersville, NY. It is important to note that there is a fee for accessing the trail; HOWEVER, the fee does include access to the foot trail for the caves and other amenities. I have to come back to hike this trail in winter once the park reopens for their winter snowshoeing and cross-country skiing season, where they do an amazing job keeping the trails maintained.

Now, once I parked and paid the fee, I had to walk about 0.2 miles along the main road to access the trail system that heads up to Green Hill. The attendant at the park gives you a map of the trail system, which is also posted on trees at many trail intersections that the hiker chooses to venture on to get to the summit.

Now, there are numerous trails to choose from to get to Green Hill. I chose Catamount Vista View to Ford Brook, then Bear Claw Pass, and finally up the Green Mountain Trail. Of course again, there are many connector trails to get to the Green Hill/Mountain summit, and you can always mix them up a bit on the ascent or even descent, which is what I did to a point on the way down.

So, for my trek began on the Catamount Vista View trail, which is well-marked and maintained. The terrain was typical forest loam soil with sporadically encountered exposed roots and small- or medium-sized embedded rocks.

Eventually, I approached a four-way intersection at the 0.6-mile mark, so to speak, where you can choose different routes. I chose Ford Brook, which leads further up to another connector trail called Bar Claw Pass. The other trails, such as Catmount and another called Mounain Pond, either lead to Catmount Hill or even to Green Hill, depending on what other connector trails the hiker takes, of course.

Once I was on Ford Brook at the 0.6, which is also well-marked and maintained. The terrain was typical forest loam soil with sporadically encountered exposed roots and small- or medium-sized embedded rocks. At the 1.1-mile mark I moved on to Bear Claw Pass, which, of course, is well-marked and maintained with more of the same terrain primarily.

Now, at the 1.4-mile mark, there is a wooden bridge that goes over a small creek, and I then moved on to the Green Mountain Trail to the summit. This trail is well maintained to a point where there was continued maintenance evidence right along this trail to the summit.

There were tools, buckets, and wheelbarrows stationed off the shoulder of the trail. The trail has some dropped-in one-inch stones along some parts, along with constructed stone steps and other trail upgrades. I COMMEND the person(s) doing this work, as it's hard and not easy moving wheelbarrows and buckets of one inch of stone around for placement along the trail.

As I walked on the trail, there were a few open overlooks to the southwest, south, and southeast. I included some of these views in the photo share.

Eventually, I reached the summit of Green Hill/Mountain at the 2.9-mile mark, where there is a sign much like those seen on other mountains for the Chester Challenge. There are two overlooks on the top from both the south and north, respectively. The south views expand from west, southwest, south, and southeast, much like what I saw from the mentioned overlooks. I noticed Moxham, Ruby (Barton Mines), Peaked Mountain, Garnet Hill, Gore Mountain, Loon Lake, Pottersville, Bibby, Ethan and Henderson Mountains, and even the Adirondack Northway I 87, from Albany to Quebec Via Saratoga & Lake George just to name a few, and that was just ONE SIDE!

Now, on the opposite side is the northern overlook, where you get views from the north, northwest, and west. I noticed the Schroon Lake Area, Severance Mountain, the Adirondack High Peaks, and Vanderwacker Mountain, just to name a few. Again, that was just ONE SIDE as well!

Once I got my photos, I made my descent exact. I took a detour and took another trail called the Nagatowasinay connector trail back to the Ford Brook Trail. Once I reached the junction, I crossed over a wooden footbridge where there was a small constructed dam on the brook with chairs and a table to chill. I hung out there a bit before heading back down towards the parking lot at the Natural Stone Bridge and Caves Park.

I definitely recommend this trail, as you get a good bang for the buck with so many views, as I mentioned, all on one summit, not to mention credit towards the Chester Challenge, very much worth the price of admission.

Don't forget if you have energy to take a tour of the caves with the admission fee, grab a water and snack from them, and get a tour around, including the cool rock shop where I worked one summer when I was still a geology student back in the late 90s!!

Location: Green Hill, Natural Stone Bridge and Caves Park, Pottersville, NY
Date: June 27, 2026

09/06/2026

So far, I have visited two fire towers, both Bald (Rondaxe) and Azure Mountain, for the annual lighting ceremony to honor the tireless efforts of the Adirondack Fire Tower Observers. This year is no different EXCEPT for the location.

Last night (September 5, 2026) I drove to Chesterfield, NY, to the Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain & Fire Tower for its annual lighting, and it was worth every mile. I chose to hike the Ranger Trail, which is steeper but much shorter than the Observers Trail.

The parking area is where the former Poke-O-Mooshine State Campground used to be located, and I was not the first to arrive, as a hiking party was already preparing to head up along with the steward from Friends of Poke-O-Mooshine Mountain.

I decided to get ahead of them so that I could find a spot on the summit to set up and chill until the lighting. I took my time heading up there; as I said, it's pretty steep, not to mention I had just completed the Chester Challenge vis hiking Catamount Mountain near Natural Stone Bridges and Caves and was still quite tired. However, it didn't stop me and actually conditioned me more.

Now, this was my third visit to this mountain, and I wanted to get reacquainted with the Ranger Trail once again, as I would need to revisit this mountain one final time in the winter for the Adirondack Fire Tower Winter Challenge.

The weather was overcast and quite dark; in fact, the woods were getting darker by the time I got halfway up. The terrain is pretty much all rock, but it is well marked and maintained with constructed stone steps for most of the way up and down.

I reached the Lean-To area, where I took a small break, but it was brief, as I wanted to get to the tower to set up before I lost even more light. I was hoping to get a sunset, but the sky had other plans on that one due to the cloud cover that was not leaving, unfortunately. In fact, when I did get to the top finally, it was very foggy down in the Champlain Valley. I could hardly make out any landscapes towards the east in the Champlain Valley except towards Plattsburgh.

Eventually, the other hiking party got to the top, and after a short break, the steward unlocked the tower and began to prep for the tower lighting, which began promptly at the scheduled time and went off without a hitch.

Once the lighting concluded, I, the steward and the the remaining group, all hiked safely together back down the steep trail to the parking lot. I want to say great job to the Friends of Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain & Fire Tower; it was well worth the trip!

Location: Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain Fire Tower, Chesterfield, NY
Date: September 5, 2026

09/03/2026

NON- Adirondack fire tower here on this sharing page.
This fire tower is known as Hunter Mountain and is located in Hunter, NY.

This tower is part of TWO fire tower challenges. The first is for the 2026 Catskill Fire Tower Challenge (CFTC) patch, and this tower is one of five Catskill fire towers required for the Adirondack Mountain Club Challenge patch.

There are many ways to get to this fire tower; however, on this hike, I took the short but VERY steep Becker Hollow Trail. The parking lot is off NYS Route 214, not far from the NYS DEC State Campground Devil's Tombstone. I came there overnight, as I did Red Hill Fire Tower the next day.

The trail is well marked and maintained for the most part, starting signing in at the kiosk and going by two stone pillars that were once connected into an archway at one time. The trail started flat for a bit with not much but forest loam soils but started to gain moderate elevation gain until about 0.8 miles. The terrain then transitioned to primarily small to large rocks and gravel. There is a wooden bridge that goes over Becker Hollow Brook before this incline starts.

After the 0.8-mile mark and continuing on for another 1.7 miles is a highly eroded, VERY steep path of just a hodgepodge of varying terrain here, primarily small to large rocks and gravel, but there were also tons of exposed tree roots. At the 2.1-mile mark there are two trails where you can either turn right on a yellow disk trail/Fire Tower Spur Trail or continue straight on Becker Hollow (blue disk), another mile, and connect into the Spruceeton Trail also on the right. It should be noted that these two trails parallel each other and lead to the fire tower.

However, there are two things to note that are on these tails that neither have together. The first trail, Fire Tower Spur, has a natural spring with a metal pipe installed into the side of the mountain for water not ever 0.1 miles in. Unfortunately, the water flow was not great and was trickling mostly. I guess it is hit or miss depending on seasonal fluctuations in the bedrock aquifer.

The Becker Hollow trail has an "overlook" just 0.1 miles over where the trail connects into Spruceton (also blue disk). I checked out this overlook on my way back down, and the views were not really good due to evergreens blocking. I did not even take photos, as it just wasn't worth it.

So, the other trail (yellow disk), which has the spring basically right beside the trail, practically walks right by it. There is some moderate elevation, but it was a vacation compared to what I went through getting up the mountain. The trail was well marked, of course, and maintained with terrain of forest loam soils, exposed tree roots, exposed bedrock, and small- to medium-sized embedded rocks.

Finally, at the summit are both the fire tower and the former Observers' Cabin. I took a bit of time to relax and drink some water at one of the few picnic tables located near the cabin, which was located on arrival. Eventually, it was time to climb the sixty-foot fire tower to get the 360-degree views since it was the only way to see them. There are no viewpoints on the summit, just from the tower itself.

UNFORTUNATELY, the tower cab was locked at the time of this visit and could not be opened even by the Catskills Visitor Center steward when he arrived, to my surprise. Apparently, the lock for the tower cab was a key lock and not a combination one, which the other four (Balsam Lake, Overlook & Red Hill) have. So, I took photos of the tower and vowed to return this month (September) to get actual photos from the cab. I even decided that I would hike up Spruceeton this time and not Becker Hollow as a separate hiking trip.

Upon resting a bit more and getting a quick photo of the Observers Cabin, I took the Spruceton back to Becker Hollow and down to the vehicle. This part of the Spruceton trail was very wet and muddy in spots but was mostly flat, with terrain consisting of forest loam soils and supposedly encountering embedded small- to medium-sized rocks. The total mileage for this hike was approximately 5.4 miles

Can't wait to bag this one again and get proper photos of the Catskill landscapes from the cab on the next trip in the coming weeks.

Location: Hunter Mountain Fire Tower, Hunter, NY
Date: July 1, 2026

08/30/2026

Adirondack Photo Report for hiking the Pitchoff Traverse (East to West) in Keene, NY, back on June 15, 2026, for the Lake Placid Nine (LP9er). This was an interesting trek, as it was not just hard on the legs and ankles but intense at times due to terrain and weather.

As I have said in previous shares here, I have been multitasking on challenges, and the LP9er is also one of them. There are two distinct routes to reach Pitchoff's ridge and the balancing boulders, the West Trail and the East Trail. You do NOT have to do the entire traverse after reaching both the summit and the boulders, but that is on the hiker to decide.

So, I decided to start at the Pitchoff's east trail and traverse to its west trail. The parking for both is off NYS Route 73, BUT the east trail is better because it does NOT share parking with other trailheads. I say this because the west trail is shared with Cascade/Porter Mountain for now, and that parking lot can get CRAZY!!.

Once I crossed over NYS Route 73 and signed in, the steep ascent started practically right away. The terrain, like most hikes is a hodgepodge of forest loam soils, exposed tree roots and small- to medium-sized embedded rocks, not to mention being surrounded by large glacially erratic boulders. There was a small stream or brook that had many picturesque waterfalls running parallel to the trail until it was no longer observed while ascending.

Eventually, the terrain became more rocky than anything with still some exposed tree roots, but now more bare, exposed bedrock was encountered at the 0.9-mile mark. Eventually I reached the top of the east summit of Pitchoff at 1.3 miles. The weather was cold and windy at the time, and low clouds hindered views in every direction practically. I was not dismayed, as the real goal was balancing boulders, so I figured the clouds would blow out eventually.

I encountered both open and wooded bedrock rock bumps and lookouts as I continued along the two miles of ridge now called Middle Pitchoff. I was still not able to get good views at various lookouts, mostly due to low cloud cover. However, when I did see an opportunity for landscapes, I took pictures and even got a good zoomed-in shot of the Olympic Ski Jumps towards the northeast at the 2.8 mile mark. A bit further down was not great but a enough of an opening to photo landscapes of Bear Cubby, Laramount and Cascade towards the southeast at the 3.0 mile mark.

The terrain for this section was mostly thin forest loam soil, tree roots and bare bedrock, which was EXTREMELY slippery at times. There were also a few spots that required climbing both exposed tree roots and rock slabs; it was not a good time at these spots, but I did get through it, but it was not easy!!

Eventually I reached the actual summit of Pitchoff at roughly 3,500 to 3,600 feet at the 3.6-mile mark; this acts as the highest point of the mountain and sits on the western end of the ridge. I saw no sign or even a USGS survey bolt to show this as the summit, but according to my GPS, this was it. All I could observe in this area was basically a giant glacial erratic boulder next to a lump of exposed bedrock by the looks of it, lol.

I continued along the ridge to the real goal, and that was the balancing boulders at the 4.9-mile mark. However, there was one lookout area with sporadically placed boulders; they were not as big as the main showcase ones but medium in size. This area had views towards the south, southeast, and east mostly.

After getting my photos from this spot, I ventured up to the big attraction of Pitchoff, which is the humongous glacially derived balancing boulder whose orientation is northeast to southwest. I climbed up the boulders and got excellent views from the northwest, west, southwest, south, southeast and east. I was able to see Round Lake, Mt. Vanhoevenberg Olympic Sports Complex, High Peaks and tons of other mountains. The wind was STRONG and chilly and was like sticking my head out of a car at high speed in winter at times. In fact, one strong gust of wind started throwing spit and snot in every direction. Strangely, as I got down, it was warmer and had a chance for my mouth to unfreeze; it was just weird in my opinion.

Eventually, after getting the photos, I finally started my descent down the Pitchoff West trail at the 5.1-mile mark. The trail down was treacherous at times for practically 0.4 miles, HIGHLY eroded by increased hiker traffic. The terrain was mostly a loose hodgepodge of rocks and gravel along with exposed tree roots. I had to make sure each step counted towards not twisting or breaking an ankle.

Eventually at the 5.7 mile mark, and was able to grab some photos of Upper and Lower Cascade Lakes and the Day Use Area as the descent and trail erosion started to calm down. I finally made it back down to the west trail kiosk and out to NYS State Route 73 by the Cascade/Porter Parking lot at the 6.5 mile mark.

Now, I did NOT have a vehicle staged or a ride arranged by anyone, and therefore I had to walk back to my vehicle approximately 2.8 miles. It really did not take me as long as I thought; I made it back to the vehicle in roughly 45 minutes as I really moved it due to the traffic. I did not have much danger while on the road, surprisingly. I kept as close to the guardrail as possible and always kept my head on a swivel for oncoming traffic towards my back, as that was my most concerning part.

I did stop to photograph a cool waterfall that's part of Cascade Brook, which wasn't far from my vehicle at the 9.1-mile mark, and with another 0.2 miles left, I was back at my vehicle and homeward bound.

Location: Pitchoff Mountain Traverse (East to West), Keene, NY
Date: June 15, 2026

08/27/2026

I HAD been taking on the NINETEEN Adirondack waterfalls of Hamilton County, NY, since last year (2023). This challenge spans a combination of roadside, hiking, and even some paddling adventures to reach these waterfalls for the big completion patch.

I HAD many waterfalls already completed, like Christine, Whiskey and Dug Mountain Brook Waterfalls in Speculator; Austin, Auger, Cold Brook, West Stoney Creek, East Jimmy Creek and Griffin Falls in Wells; Tenant & Groff Creek in Hope; Buttermilk Falls in Long Lake; Squaw Brook and OK Slip Falls in Indian Lake, NY; Death Brook Falls in Raquette Lake; Buckhorn Lake Outlet Falls in Arietta; and Cascade Falls and Old Dam Nature Trail (Limekiln Falls) in Inlet, NY.

This last set of photos is known as Bray House Falls, located in Arietta, NY, and is the NINETEENTH and FINAL waterfall visited back on June 1, 2026.

So, to get to the waterfalls, head west out of Speculator on NYS Route 8 for approximately 12.2 miles. Then turn left on NYS Route 10 and drive another 1.2 miles. Look to the right for Powley Rd., which is a seasonal dirt road. Drive now for another 10.4 mi. and look for Brayhouse Brook; there is a bridge that goes over it. Park on either side of the road and follow a very short dirt path to where the brook enters East Canada Creek. The falls are then just a 0.1-mile walk along a hardened path along the creek.

This waterfall is also known as "The Potholers" in this section of the East Canada Creek. The waterfalls contain a series of chutes and potholes dropping over fifteen feet. It is definitely on my list for travel in the fall!

I have now completed the challenge and got my patch. Hamilton County has many other challenges, like for birding and wildlife. However, I am going to go for the fire towers patch next as I only have ONE left to do on that one.

Location: Bray House Falls (The Potholers), Arietta, NY
Date: June 1, 2026

08/23/2026

NON- Adirondack fire tower here on this sharing page.
This fire tower is known as Balsam Lake Mountain and is located near both Margaretville and Livingston Manor, NY. However, distance wise Margaretville is closer by 8 miles compared to 18 miles from Livingston Manor.

This tower is part of TWO fire tower challenges. The first is for the 2026 Catskill Fire Tower Challenge (CFTC) patch, and this tower is one of five Catskill fire towers required for the Adirondack Mountain Club Challenge patch.

There are two parking lots for this mountain (north & south); the one I took is on a seasonal road known as Beaverkill Road right at the entrance to the Balsam Lake Club south of the mountain. The second parking lot I did not use is located off Mill Brook Road north of the mountain.

The parking lot I used is quite ample, which was nice. I got there before anyone else, so I had plenty of room at my choosing. The main trail I took is called the Dry Brook Ridge Trail. However, the trail does split off to another trail called Balsam Mountain, which is roughly 2 miles one way. HOWEVER, the Dry Brook Ridge Trail does go to the fire tower as well, and like other mountains and ponds I have done over the years, it can be done as a loop with a combined mileage of 5.9, which is what I chose to do.

So, for the first 1.1 miles on the Dry Brook Ridge trail, the terrain is typical encountered forest loam soils, exposed roots and sporadically encountered small- or medium-sized embedded rocks. The trail begins elevation gains at the 1.0 mile mark, as I got to the "Y," where it splits now into two paths at the 1.1 mile mark, where I could choose the Balsam Mountain Trail which is short but steep, or continue on the Dry Brook Trail which is long but has more moderate elevation gain.

I chose the Balsam (steep) trail first for ascent and Dry Brook for the descent to help my knees out. The trail is well marked and maintained. The terrain here is primarily forest loam soils with tree roots and occasional, sporadically encountered small- to medium-sized embedded rocks in spots.

There is a Lean-To called the Balsam Lake Mountain at the 1.5-mile mark off the trail, but I did not visit it during the time of this hike up the mountain, and therefore, there are no photos of it.

Interestingly, just a little ways up at the 1.6-mile mark is a natural spring with a metal pipe installed into the side of the mountain for water. Unfortunately, the water flow was not great and was mostly low flow. I guess it is hit or miss depending on seasonal fluctuations in the bedrock aquifer.

As I continued on the trail, it leveled off at the 1.7-mile mark closer to the summit. Forest loam soils with some exposed tree roots and sporadically embedded small- to medium-sized rocks.

Finally, at the summit are both the fire tower and the former Observers' cabin, which was locked along with the fire tower upon arrival. I had contacted the CatsCatskills Visitor Centeror to my visit, knowing the tower cab would be open on scheduled days and times only, and just hung around and chilled until the steward arrived, watching a few hikers both come and go.

Eventually the steward arrived and opened up the tower cab, and it was time to climb the FORTY-SEVEN-foot fire tower to get the 360-degree views since it was the only way to see them. There are no viewpoints on the summit, just from the tower itself.

The panoramic views from the cab include basically all the Catskills front and center, like Slide and Tremper, for example. There are tons of other mountains, but the pictures give those examples as well. I will say some views are somewhat hindered in my opinion from just the north, northwest and a bit of the west from a close-by mountain, but I can still see to some degree.

I headed back down the Dry Brook Trail, which was longer but much easier on the knees as it is not as steep. This trail is a jeep/tote road, which I believe helped service the tower back in the day. The trail terrain was mostly open rock slabs, then forest loam soils with some exposed tree roots and sporadically embedded small- to medium-sized rocks. At the 3.1 mile mark is a metal swing gate, and at the 3.2 mile mark is a wooded footbridge where I took a sharp right to reconnect back to the parking lot, as the trail does have a second parking area located off Mill Brook Road.

Location: Balsam Lake Mountain Fire Tower, Margaretville/Livingston Manor, NY
Date: June 29, 2026

08/20/2026

I have been multi-tasking on hiking challenges these days, and I have been working on one here and there called the Chester Challenge. The Town of Chester in Warren County designed this challenge to help people explore the area's trail systems.

I had already done Palmer Pond, Kipp Mountain a few years ago; Panther Mountain; Chester Creek; and the Cunningham Cross-Country Ski Trails for the Spring/Summer/Autumn (March 21 to December 21) summer patch, which I am trying to work on and hope to complete by the December 21 deadline, but I do have next year of course, anyway.

I chose Cougar Hill next to get done on June 27, 2026. This is an easy 1.3-mile loop hike located at the North Warren Central School in Chestertown, NY, right off NYS Route Eight. It is important to note that this trail is only open when school is NOT in session. I have to come back to hike this trail in winter and will have to do it either on a weekend or holiday, which is just common sense once school will be back in session in a few short weeks.

There is plenty of parking, and the one on the trail was effortless to follow, as it was both well-marked and maintained. The terrain was typical forest loam soil with exposed roots and small- or medium-sized embedded rocks. The main trail has moderate elevation gains as you get to the "Y," where it splits into two paths at the 0.3-mile mark, which can be done as a loop, which I did, of course.

I wish to add that there are a few little side trails used also for hiking and cross-country skiing that are encountered while on Cougar, but they are NOT part of the challenge.

I took the east (left) trail first, as it was short (0.1 miles one way), but it is also a bit steep for this last part, but the elevation gain is minimal to get to the top of the hill.

The views are unfortunately limited to only the west and somewhat hindered by a few trees. However, you can see Gore Mountain, Eleventh Mountain and Edwards and Ward Hills as examples but there are other mountains as well to observe. Once I got my photos and located the yellow marker for the other trail (west trail) mentioned, which is longer (0.9 miles) but a more moderate descent, I then began heading back.

The trail terrain stayed relatively the same and was still effortless to follow both well-marked and maintained. I did encounter a few little inclines along the way, but it was a nice walk in the woods for the most part. I will do this side of the Cougar when I come back on a weekend in winter, as it will be easier on snowshoes.

Location: Cougar Hill, Chestertown, NY
Date: June 27, 2026

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