DSettahr
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- Joined
- Apr 23, 2005
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Decided to go three for three by watching my third sunset in as many days on Jenkins Mountain, another peak which, as with St. Regis and Catamount, I'd climbed frequently as a college student but hadn't visited in years.
Rather than take the standard approach from the Paul Smiths VIC, I went in via the back trailhead, at Black Pond. Black Pond was buzzing with people fishing- both from the shore and from canoes out on the pond. It was also buzzing with something else- black flies! They were out in force, and didn't seem to be biting yet, but that didn't lessen the annoyance of realizing that the beautiful early bug-free spring we've had is coming to an end. I had to keep moving in order to stay clear of the clouds of flies!
The shadows were lengthening as I made my way along Black Pond and then Long Pond. I was a bit worried that I wouldn't make it to the summit in time to watch the sunset- beyond Long Pond, the trail meanders quite a bit, going pretty far out of its way first north, then south, before finally climbing to the summit of the peak. I decided instead to bushwhack up the gully between the true summit of Jenkins and the false summit to the north, cutting off at least a mile of trail.
The climb was steep in parts, but not too bad. Along the way I spotted both trillium and trout lilly getting ready to bloom. Both are for sure signs that bug season is nearly upon us, so it's definitely time to start bringing out the bug nets!
Jenkins Mountain is a long ridge, and even after I crested that ridge, I still had a fair distance to hike along it before reaching the summit. I'd made good time, though, and got to the lookout with minutes to spare as the sun crept lower towards the horizon. St. Regis, which I'd climbed 2 days prior, filled the view to the south, and I could see the High Peaks way off to the southeast. West, I could see the McKenzie Mountain wilderness, as well as Whiteface, Esther, the Wilmington Range, and Catamount, which I'd climbed the day before.
And, as the two previous days worth of sunsets had been, this one was quite spectacular and worth the climb! I hung out on the summit for a little while, watching it set, before I set off back to the trailhead.
I took the trail down off the summit at first, but there was no way I was going to follow it all the way back past Long and Black Ponds. Instead, I soon turned off and followed the logging roads down past the FERDA plots, emerging on Keese's Mill Road just west of the trailhead. From there, it was an easy five minute walk back to my car.
Again, a nice afternoon hike, and a great way to watch the sunset- my third summit sunset in a row!
