Lyon Mtn. 11-12

Neil · Nov 13, 2005

Anyone looking for something both easy and completely different should give Lyon Mountain (elevation = 3830, 59th highest peak in NYS) a try. Prino, Sylvie, Annick and I left Montreal’s West Island at 8:45 and headed south to the Trailhead which is nice and close to home for us Canucks. While the trail itself isn’t the nicest we lucked out with all the beautiful snow. Thanks to a wide trail the snow stayed politely on the trees where it belongs. Most of the roughly 2000 feet of vertical gain is achieved during the second half of the hike. We were in the mountain’s shadow most of the way up and then broke into the brilliant sunshine right at the end. There was a fair bit of ice on the trail so Prino wore his insteps and I put on my 10 pointers which were nice but not necessary. Sylvie and Annick (and about 8 other hikers) made it up with boots alone.

The views from the summit are sweeping although the haze hid the High Peaks and Montreal from view. Prino and I explored the herd trail leading towards Averill and were surprised that it was cut fairly wide open. After 200 yards it opened up to a very wide road that led up to a big clearing where everything had been removed and the ground scoured clean of brush, stumps roots etc. as if a building or a tower was to be erected on the site. After the clearing there was no more trail leading towards Averill and the scrubby forest looked very thick indeed.

In spite of the ice the trip down was uneventful.

What was nice about this hike is it was easy to take lots of pictures ! Lots of time, dry hands, dry camera.

Artex · Nov 13, 2005

Great trip report and pics, Neil! Say, in your picture "Looking Down From the Tower", what is that thing in the lower right hand corner that looks like half of a scissor?

prino · Nov 13, 2005

Great Day!

I'll try and get my pictures up tomorrow.....been to busy today.
That bushwhack to Averill looks like a plan for the future..... It will be a tough one thats for sure.
Jamie....my guess is that ring sticking out of the tower is some kind of guide for a mast or wires that is no longer used. Although the tower looked pretty well maintained and not too scary to climb, there are quite a few "extras" that are no longer required.

-Phil

Skyclimber · Nov 14, 2005

prino said:
That bushwhack to Averill looks like a plan for the future..... It will be a tough one thats for sure.

-Phil

Try to find a different route to Averill than directly from Lyon. It is really a thick, slow bushwhack! It's horrible.

bubba · Nov 14, 2005

Neil, Phil... great trip report of what looks like a great day out. Loved the pix of Lake Chazy... and then the look back to Lyon in the evening... perfect.

In the pic after the tower looking across the top of Lyon, is the TV tower visible over on Averill? It looks like a white beam that may be it. (interested in the perspective of distance to Averill).

Too bad you couldn't pick out your neighborhood from the top, it's suppose to be one of the delights of this beauty. I'll do that on the "perfect" day waiting for me to hike it...

prino · Nov 14, 2005

My Pictures are up at Lyon Mountain Nov 12 05

Bubba I have a picture there where you can see the Antenna on Averill but the distance is not easy to judge..... I would guess over a mile though.
Yes that bushwhack may be easier with 12 feet of snow to cover the tall cripplebush!