Knob Lock Mountain Bushwhack

[buddy]

On Saturday Oct. 24th my long time hiking buddy and I finally made time for a visit to the summit of Knob Lock mountain. Leaving from the parking area that accesses the Owl and the Northern area of the Giant Mountain wilderness, we made our way along the trail for about a mile before turning west and starting our bushwhack up the eastern shoulder that heads up to a short ridge line just to the south of the summit of Knob Lock. From there we bushwhacked down then up through a thick, somewhat nasty area of old blow down with younger growth filling in from below. We used great caution as we went past the well known house size boulder at the bottom of the low area, keeping in mind that an injury requiring extraction would require a nasty litter carry involving many people who would probably prefer doing something other than wading around in that mess. We climbed, almost scrambled to the summit ridge, just east of the summit, then continued west to the beautiful open summit of Knob Lock. We were treated to a 360 view under bright sunny skies with little or no wind. It was a splendid view and we imagined that we could see people on the summit of Hurricane Mountain. After poking around a bit and taking a short nap on the sun warmed summit rock we decided to head down. After debating which route we should take down my almost 60 year old knees convinced me to advocate for the least steep and somewhat direct route. My buddies’ knees were in complete agreement. So off we went down the NNW shoulder heading just east of Pitchoff Mountain. With a bit of zigzagging to lessen the pitch and to make sure we were not falling off the ridge we wanted to follow, we made our way down at a leisurely pace back to the road about ½ mile from the turn to the parking area. As we approached the parking area a slight breeze picked up and we felt the first few drops of rain that was forecast for the evening. We hopped in the car and drove to the Hurricane mountain trail head, parked the car, then walked back down the road to hike south into the watershed between Tripod Mountain and Knob Lock. Upon coming to the point where we should leave the road and head in, we noticed that the stream coming out of the watershed was bone dry and that, in addition to the deteriorating weather, convinced to leave the 20 minute hike to the waterfall for another time. We headed back to North Hudson where we stayed at the Blue Ridge Motel, which is an adventure of another kind in itself, showered, then went and had a nice dinner and a couple of beers At Sticks and Stones in Schroon Lake. The next day we headed over to Crane Mountain and hiked the loop before heading back to MA. Due to the relatively short distance of this hike, its close proximity to the road, its mixed terrain and easy way finding, I think of this as a perfect hike to take someone on who would like to get a taste of bushwhacking and practice their skills before heading on to the places where you would perhaps cross paths with the likes of Neil.

 

[TCD]

Nice! That's beautiful country - we were just in that area a couple days ago.

One watch out if people want to use your descent route: that descent did take you through a pretty big area of private land (basically about the last half mile of your route to the road). I'm sure no one noticed; and you're usually OK if you are on your way out of the woods. But it might draw negative attention if someone wanted to go up that route.

 

[buddy]

My bad...... and I do not doubt that we perhaps passed through some private land. However we did not see any posted or private property signs. Very good point about the difference between going in and coming out. I always try to avoid private property, especially if its posted but have on occasion not been able to skirt it on my way out. Never have had a problem and have always been very discrete. As a point of interest, I'm using an old version of National Geo states software. The maps used for that program do not show private property. Can anybody recommend a map that shows private property lines. Does the new ADK map mentioned on this site indicate private property lines.

 

[Daniel Eagan]

Thanks for the report, you've whetted my appetite.

Surprised you chose the Blue Ridge, you couldn't pay me to stay there again.

Would there be any advantage to approaching from the west instead of the east? Or are there private property issues there as well?

 

[Neil]

Nice trip! Great little mountain huh? You went up the way I did each of the 2 times I did it and you get lots of open exposed rock to stroll along. The first time I kept saying to myself, "I can bring my wife here" and sure enough she loved it. (I slowly collect a mental list of bushwhacks that I know my wife will enjoy and have taken her on 4 or 5.)

Years ago I read a TR of someone's who said he saw a cabin somewhere in there.

 

[TCD]

For maps, I'm still using this site:

http://adirondack-park.net/topo/

The private land mapping on that site is a little old, so it does not show as state land some of the recent large parcels like the MacIntyre parcels. But it's pretty close. The other source that is more reliable is the County GIS for wherever you are. Both these sources show the large rectangle of private land. The trail is on private land for the first half mile or so; then you see the state land signs on the trail. The property line is about half way from the parking to Slide Brook.

Knob Lock is great! Been up several times. The first time, we followed the small brook that flows NE from between the arms of Knob Lock. (This is the brook you cross immediately upon entering the woods from the gravel road that is the start of the trail.) We accessed this by taking the trail until we reached state land, and then bushwhacking west along the property line back to the brook. So it was pretty easy to circumvent the private land. We've also been up from the west side. There is a faint trail that you may find in the valley between Tripod and Knob Lock. Many years ago, this used to be a marked trail, and was the standard route up Knob Lock. It's hard to follow today, but sections are pretty evident. Up on the rocks there are cairns, which are from the original old trail. Sometime soon I plan to go up from Slide Brook, straight up the south side of the mountain, which looks pretty rocky.

 

[buddy]

Thanks for the map info. To further explain my adventure of another kind at the Blue Ridge Motel. I've stayed at most of the Hotels/Motels in the Schroon/North Hudson area. The Maple Leaf has the room that my wife refers to as the room with the toddler bed. When we stayed at what was the Davis years ago, it had a room where the shower head was mounted at about 4 feet off the base which we loved to make my good hiking buddy, who happens to be kind of short, use that room to satisfy our rather sophomoric sense of humor. I am from Northampton MA, which is said to exist in a bubble behind the Tofu Curtain. I grew up in Saratoga Springs but have been in Northampton for 40 years. Visiting towns like Schroon Lake and North Hudson is a bit of a culture shock for me, not better or worse, just different. The locals we meet when in the Adirondack area generally exceptionally nice and a pleasure to interact with. This is true of the people running the Blue Ridge Motel. The room was clean enough but a bit run down. This is a reflection of the state of the area economy. We paid $60 a night for a double room, which is in the general price range for that location. I think that only two other rooms were rented while we were there. After doing the math, I do not know how they even stay in business, yet alone maintain and heat the place. I appreciate these hotels as a place to stage my Adirondack adventures from and would miss them if they closed. I would absolutely be willing to pay more for rooms if it would help sustain them in business. Unfortunately it seems like they are likely to go the way of the Davis. It's still fun to complain about them and I'm sure the complaints are not anything the owners haven't heard before or do not already know themselves.