The Place No One Visits; The Place Everyone Visits; Helms Pond and Castle Rock

The "plan" was to hike to Upper Sargent Pond starting at the Minnewaska Conference Center near Blue Mountain Lake (Castle Rock Trail). But, I didn't get far before realizing that I wasn't going to make it to Upper Sargent (4.5 miles ). A mix of rain, freezing rain, and snow had fallen throughout the morning and a blustery wind was blowing. I delayed my departure until noon, hoping that the weather might improve, but it was still raining as I walked away from the car. On top of that, trail conditions alternated between soft, deep, snow and hard ice making for slow going.

An unnamed peak on the Castle Rock Ridge. 

After a slow three miles it was an easy call to turn back. I didn't have enough time to make it all the way to Upper Sargent and out before dark, and going back would make a couple of short side trips possible. The first would be a quarter mile bushwhack into the narrow valley between Little Blue Mountain and the Castle Rock Ridge to visit Helms Pond. The second would be a side jaunt up and over Castle Rock. The Castle Rock loop trail coincides with the Sargent Pond trail for the first mile and by going over Castle Rock I could return to the car by a different route.

The Castle Rock and Upper Sargent Pond Trails

No One Goes Here

Depending on the activity of the local Beaver population, Helms pond is a series of swampy ponds or one larger body of water. The Sargent Pond trail passes within a quarter mile of Helms Pond but it's not exactly trivial to get to the waters edge. There's a steep descent down to the shoreline and the pond protected by a band of thick underbrush. In short, Helms Pond is uninspiring, out of the way, and not easy to get to. Stepping out of the thick growth, my first thought was, "no one goes here."

Little Blue Mountain (2800 ft) looms above Helms Pond.

Looking north across Helms Pond towards little Blue Mountain.

Looking east, down the length of Helms Pond. 

The Place That Everyone Visits

Castle Rock, on the other hand, is one of the most popular hikes in the region. The 3.5 mile loop route features iconic views of Blue Mountain Lake and the scramble up the last 200 feet to the top adds a bit of excitement. It's steep and exposed and, on the day of this outing, it was coated with a sheet of hard ice.

The views from Castle Rock are exceptional and it's relatively easy to reach the top. So a lot of people make the climb. The trail is heavily eroded and the summit area has been seriously degraded. Castle Rock is more of a tourist destination then a wild environment.

From Castle Rock looking east over Blue Mountain Lake.

An apparently unnamed peak west of Castle Rock. Pine Pond sits just on the other side of this mountain so let's call it Pine Pond Mountain.

A broader view including Pine Pond Mountain with Eagle Lake and Utowana Lake on the left.

No. 8 Hill, Pharaoh Lake Wilderness

Late January, sun shining, moderate temperatures; a perfect day for a hike in the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness. My plan was to follow the Sucker Brook Trail for four miles and then go off-trail for half a mile to the top of No. 8 Mountain. And I did reach to the top of a mountain. It's just that it was not "No. 8 Mountain". Its' name is actually No. 8 Hill; a distinction of no interest, except, there actually is a separate mountain, named No. 8 Mountain, located just two miles away. That's a bit confusing.

Pharaoh Mountain, seen from No. 8 Hill. This view of the imposing western face of Pharaoh Mountain is as good as it gets.

If you've seen the movie The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill but Came Down a Mountain you might imagine that the distinction between No. 8 Mountain and No. 8 Hill is based on some physical  characteristic that separates the mountains from the hills. In the movie, the inhabitants of an isolated Welsh town are told that their "mountain" is only a hill. They got the downgrade because their mountain was just shy of the 1000 foot minimum used by the UK Ordinance Survey as the defining characteristic of a mountain. Apparently, British geographers of that period had a lot of time on their hands. In the U.S. the Board of Geographic Names steered clear of such arbitrary distinctions. In any case, with an elevation of 1945 feet No. 8 Mountain doesn't meet a standard that might separate it from its' slightly lower neighbor. The summit elevation of No. 8 hill is just 100 feet lower at 1850 feet.

The USGS 1953 Paradox Lake Quadrangle map (1:62500) shows both peaks. This is the first edition where the name No 8 Hill appears. The Sucker Brook trail passes just north of No. 8 Hill but is not shown on this map.

Barbara McMartin mentions No. 8 Mountain in her book Discover the Eastern Adirondacks. She describes an approach from the south as an easy off-trail climb, with ledges offering good views to the south. From where I left the trail the climb of No. 8 Hill is steepish, you gain 650 feet of elevation in less than half a mile. Nearing the top I was a bit surprised to find it to be a rocky knob protected by a band of cliffs and jumbled piles of large boulders. Contouring around the summit knob looking for a way up I made one false start; steep icy slabs blocked the way so I retreated to seek a less exciting route.

Looking northwest from the summit of No. 8 Hill. The Dix Range of High Peaks region is visible in the distance. 3700 foot Hoffman Mountain is seen on the left side of the photo.

Eventually I found a manageable way up. But, while taking the last few steps to the top it struck me that it had been a bit more challenging than I had expected. And the view that unfolded in front of me was also a surprise. McMartin described No. 8 Mountain as having good views to the south, towards Brant Lake. But the mountain I was on offered spectacular vistas with an unobstructed 180 degree view to the north, east and west. 

Looking towards the southwest. Crane Mountain is visible in the distance.

It still had not sunk in that my recollection, and reality, were out of sync. So when it was time to descend I walked around the surprisingly large summit looking for an easy way down. Descending the south facing slope was promising at first, but the way was soon blocked by small cliffs. Going back up, I then headed down the western flank of the mountain. This route was also relatively gentle at first but, after a few minutes of descending, I found myself on an extremely steep and icy slope. Steep enough that I considered going back up to the top one more time so I could descend the route I followed on the way up (better the devil you know). But, by this point the afternoon was showing signs of wear, so I forged on, moving very deliberately. Within a few minutes I was back on easier terrain. The final difficulty coming in the crossing of a steep-sided little ravine filled with snow that had sloughed off the rock slabs above. 

Looking towards the southeast. Glimpses of Lake Champlain are seen in the foreground with the Green Mountains in the distance. 

This is a great little mountain (hill), and, on a warm summer day, the scramble over the steep upper slopes will seem far less daunting. Hiking solo, off-trail, in the winter, on the wrong mountain, you have to be cautious. The starting point for the Sucker Brook trail is five minute drive from the Hamlet of Adirondack on the eastern shore of Schroon lake.There is a large parking area.

The GPS track for the route described in this blog post.