rhihn
New member
It was a great day for a hike, so we decided to hike something not too far away, and that we had heard several others had done but haven’t done ourselves. Cat and Thomas seemed to fit the bill. We parked in the parking area just off Rt. 11, two miles from the Northway, exit 24. Looking at the register, I was amazed to see the number of people who had been there. We decided to do Thomas first. About a half-mile into the hike we came across about 20-25 green plastic tubes set in the ground, each supported by a wooden stake (see Joanne’s pictures). There was some netting covering part of the opening of each. Does anyone know what these are? Perhaps it is some sort of Nature Conservancy scientific experiment? The hike was up a road (not my favorite kind of hike). It appears they have had some drainage problems, but the road is well cared for. The viewpoint at the top (which is not the actual summit) is decent enough, with Lake George off in the distance. Front and center are beautiful woods, which frame Cat Mt. The viewing area also includes a cabin. It appears to be in decent shape and used, as there are some chairs, a table, and a loft inside (seen through the windows). Does anyone know who uses it? Unfortunately the Northway traffic can be heard from just about anywhere near here.
The section of the hike between Thomas and Cat was the most satisfying part for us. Trail is well marked (perhaps too much so), and trail markers and cairns shepherd you through all sorts of twists and turns and ups and downs along a ridge to Cat. There were some conifers at first, which provided a soft carpet to walk (and slip) on, then mostly deciduous. Lots of beautiful places to linger.
The trail we took crosses the main trail to Cat near the summit, and beelines to what I think is the most gorgeous lookout on a Lake George mountain that I’ve seen! We could see ponds and forests below us, the lake, a good view of the Tongue, and the entire panorama of mountains on the east side of the Lake. We had a glimpse of what possibly was Killington in the distance (?).
Black flies were out and swarming, and once in a while biting. I would say they weren’t horrendous, but quite annoying. Fortunately there was an off-on breeze on top, which gave us some relief. Up to this point we had seen no one else. On the summit we ran into several people, and talked at length with one of them. Very nice people. A couple of other parties later arrived. However, we saw no one on the return down the Cat Mt. Trail. That trail closed the loop for us, but was probably the least interesting part of the hike, essentially just down a long, largely rocky road. A dead forest area and a pond broke the monotony. There was one open area and a “Y” intersection which gave us pause as to which way to go at first, as we saw markers on both sides (correct way is straight/right).
Next time we do this hike I might consider both going and returning on the same woods trail between the two mountains.
Pictures forthcoming.
Dick
The section of the hike between Thomas and Cat was the most satisfying part for us. Trail is well marked (perhaps too much so), and trail markers and cairns shepherd you through all sorts of twists and turns and ups and downs along a ridge to Cat. There were some conifers at first, which provided a soft carpet to walk (and slip) on, then mostly deciduous. Lots of beautiful places to linger.
The trail we took crosses the main trail to Cat near the summit, and beelines to what I think is the most gorgeous lookout on a Lake George mountain that I’ve seen! We could see ponds and forests below us, the lake, a good view of the Tongue, and the entire panorama of mountains on the east side of the Lake. We had a glimpse of what possibly was Killington in the distance (?).
Black flies were out and swarming, and once in a while biting. I would say they weren’t horrendous, but quite annoying. Fortunately there was an off-on breeze on top, which gave us some relief. Up to this point we had seen no one else. On the summit we ran into several people, and talked at length with one of them. Very nice people. A couple of other parties later arrived. However, we saw no one on the return down the Cat Mt. Trail. That trail closed the loop for us, but was probably the least interesting part of the hike, essentially just down a long, largely rocky road. A dead forest area and a pond broke the monotony. There was one open area and a “Y” intersection which gave us pause as to which way to go at first, as we saw markers on both sides (correct way is straight/right).
Next time we do this hike I might consider both going and returning on the same woods trail between the two mountains.
Pictures forthcoming.
Dick
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