And now for something completely different.
Having admired the cliffs, slabs and dikes above and to the south of Chapel Pond, I thought many years ago that this would be a unique way to the summit of Round Mountain. The traditional route is kind of round-about. The forecast was exceptional so I decided to try it solo on Wednesday. First I scouted the North end of the Pond and saw near vertical crags. I think this is called the "Dead Rabbit Approach." Having no rock climbing training, I skipped this one. It looked too technical. Moving southward there is a dike that ascends beginning at about the S end of the pond. Above it is, I think what is called the "Crystal Ice Tower." Still looking for an easier route, I opted for the easiest of the three routes that begins several hundred yards S of the S end of Chapel Pond. It's prominent on the USGA maps. Although I started out halfway down the hill to the Chapel Pond parking area, a better entry point would be at the top of the hill between the Noonmark and Chapel Pond parking areas.
The ascent begins almost immediately with a lot of witch hazel to grab on to. It was rather difficult to find the best way up. There is no major stream descending from up top, just some seeps in dry weather like on Wednesday. I tended to stay under the first cliff you can see from Rt 73 as you approach the Chapel Pond area. It's much higher up that the ones you see the rock climbers ascending. I stayed to the right as much as the cliff would let me, but there was a lot of possibilities to my left.
I encountered several very steep pitches with nothing to grab on to. You can sometimes break out to the left where there is thick vegetation to hold on to. about this time, views of Giant begin opening up.
This route is probably a lot wider that Iwhat I experienced, so you could always drift to your left (South) if you run into trouble. I had to do this a couple of times, but ran into walls that I had to circle around.
This is no piece of cake! It's like the Trap Dike with bushwhack instead of open slab.
Once things begin to level out some I started moving to the right as the lay of the land allowed it. This is very thick going, but you will find a number of rock out-cropings with phenomenal views of Giant and Rocky Peak. Several of these "bumps" lead me to believe I was at the summit because they had cairns on them and it was hard to tell if I was on the highest point. But with no trail coming up from the opposite side, I continued on.
I kept on peeking though the trees for trees that were higher than the ones around me and moved toward them. I found that I continued to go higher and higher, but at a gentle pitch. There is little blow down in this area, but the trees are 25-30' high so you can't get much of a perspective. GPSs would come in handy here!
After 3 and half hours I was beginning to worry that I would not be able to find the summit. I'd end up just circling from bump to bump and the thought of a night out was not appealing to me.
Finally after 4 hours the summit rock appeared and circling around and up on it I saw that the peak is very very open with spectacular views of the Great Range and Giant. 360 degrees, The weather was perfect. Just a few bugs which a cool gentle breeze kept at bay. A few clouds, visibility near perfect.
I hated to leave that summit. I've done all 46 in summer and winter and would rate this little pipsqueak of a peak to be an 8 or 9 out of 10 (10 being my favorite - Haystack) An older couple (like me) summitted just as I was packing to leave.
The maples were just beginning to turn colors.
The trail back was long and wet and boring, and took about 2 and a half hours to the car. An ascent that way would take 3 hours minimum, so my un-traditional route might be a preferred one if you enjoy bushwhacking.
Make sure you take plenty of water if you go this route. I took 32 oz and it was not enough. There is no water until you begin descending the normal route.
Having admired the cliffs, slabs and dikes above and to the south of Chapel Pond, I thought many years ago that this would be a unique way to the summit of Round Mountain. The traditional route is kind of round-about. The forecast was exceptional so I decided to try it solo on Wednesday. First I scouted the North end of the Pond and saw near vertical crags. I think this is called the "Dead Rabbit Approach." Having no rock climbing training, I skipped this one. It looked too technical. Moving southward there is a dike that ascends beginning at about the S end of the pond. Above it is, I think what is called the "Crystal Ice Tower." Still looking for an easier route, I opted for the easiest of the three routes that begins several hundred yards S of the S end of Chapel Pond. It's prominent on the USGA maps. Although I started out halfway down the hill to the Chapel Pond parking area, a better entry point would be at the top of the hill between the Noonmark and Chapel Pond parking areas.
The ascent begins almost immediately with a lot of witch hazel to grab on to. It was rather difficult to find the best way up. There is no major stream descending from up top, just some seeps in dry weather like on Wednesday. I tended to stay under the first cliff you can see from Rt 73 as you approach the Chapel Pond area. It's much higher up that the ones you see the rock climbers ascending. I stayed to the right as much as the cliff would let me, but there was a lot of possibilities to my left.
I encountered several very steep pitches with nothing to grab on to. You can sometimes break out to the left where there is thick vegetation to hold on to. about this time, views of Giant begin opening up.
This route is probably a lot wider that Iwhat I experienced, so you could always drift to your left (South) if you run into trouble. I had to do this a couple of times, but ran into walls that I had to circle around.
This is no piece of cake! It's like the Trap Dike with bushwhack instead of open slab.
Once things begin to level out some I started moving to the right as the lay of the land allowed it. This is very thick going, but you will find a number of rock out-cropings with phenomenal views of Giant and Rocky Peak. Several of these "bumps" lead me to believe I was at the summit because they had cairns on them and it was hard to tell if I was on the highest point. But with no trail coming up from the opposite side, I continued on.
I kept on peeking though the trees for trees that were higher than the ones around me and moved toward them. I found that I continued to go higher and higher, but at a gentle pitch. There is little blow down in this area, but the trees are 25-30' high so you can't get much of a perspective. GPSs would come in handy here!
After 3 and half hours I was beginning to worry that I would not be able to find the summit. I'd end up just circling from bump to bump and the thought of a night out was not appealing to me.
Finally after 4 hours the summit rock appeared and circling around and up on it I saw that the peak is very very open with spectacular views of the Great Range and Giant. 360 degrees, The weather was perfect. Just a few bugs which a cool gentle breeze kept at bay. A few clouds, visibility near perfect.
I hated to leave that summit. I've done all 46 in summer and winter and would rate this little pipsqueak of a peak to be an 8 or 9 out of 10 (10 being my favorite - Haystack) An older couple (like me) summitted just as I was packing to leave.
The maples were just beginning to turn colors.
The trail back was long and wet and boring, and took about 2 and a half hours to the car. An ascent that way would take 3 hours minimum, so my un-traditional route might be a preferred one if you enjoy bushwhacking.
Make sure you take plenty of water if you go this route. I took 32 oz and it was not enough. There is no water until you begin descending the normal route.
