Adirondack Sports October 2023

HIKING continued from 11
OCTOBER 2023 13
▲ LOST POND.
The progression of views is better when hiking in a
clockwise direction, beginning at Big Crow Mountain.
Also, a few steep ledges are far better suited for scrambling
up in this direction than scooting down. That said, hiking
in a counter-clockwise direction is neither difficult nor
unpleasant. Allow at least a full two hours to hike the path,
but with all of the stopping to enjoy the views you will likely
spend a minimum of three hours traversing the Soda
Range – plus the additional time to complete the loop.
This is an outstanding fall hike, with ample views
across the Gulf Brook basin to the High Peaks. An extensive
forest of poplar makes the nearby foliage predominantly
yellow, with streaks of red imparted by maples on
the distant slopes.
Getting There – You can find the trailhead by following
NY Route 9N/73 to downtown Keene, where
Hurricane Road (also designated County Route 13)
heads east, beginning next to the town offices. Follow
Hurricane Road uphill for 2.2 miles, where O’Toole Lane
turns left at Glenmore. This is a winding gravel road
that continues to climb into the mountains to the Crow
Clearing trailhead, a total of 3.3 miles from Keene. Along
the way you have good views of the eponymous Crows
standing high above the road.
Note, however, that the final 0.3-mile of the road is
narrow and unplowed in the winter. The parking area
has an irregular configuration, forming a loop around an
old cellar hole. The limited parking spaces do fill early on
peak weekends.
The Trail – There are two trails beginning at Crow
Clearing, and the trail to Big Crow (and the west end of the
Nun-da-ga-o path) begins at the north end of the parking
area. It passes through a handsome balsam fir forest with
▲ WESTON MOUNTAIN.
PHOTOS BY BILL INGERSOLL
two intermittent streams to cross. After the second, the
trail promptly begins to climb. The balsams do not climb
very high up the mountain with you; instead, red pines
take over and offer a few early glimpses of the surrounding
landscape. Giant Mountain can be seen over the side
of Hurricane.
At 0.4-mile and about 400 feet above the trailhead, you
reach an intersection; to the right is the start of the Nunda-ga-o
Ridge path. One small sign and perhaps a few trail
markers are enough to get you started, but the majority
of this route is unmarked. It begins by contouring around
to a col on the north side of Big Crow and then following
the ridgeline north. You do not have to wait long before
encountering your first view – in about 10 minutes the
path bisects a bald spot with a southerly vista, and then
passes a ledge with a lateral view across a beaver quagmire
toward Weston Mountain.
Each successive knob is a little higher than the previous,
and the views come at irregular intervals. At 1.2
miles the path reaches the largest and steepest of the
ledges; it comes in two parts, with a side path to another
view in between. Continuing along the loop, the main
path winds through the woods from ledge to ledge, and
often it is merely a narrow corridor lined by balsam fir.
Depending on the angle of the ledge, the views range from
Weston at one extreme to Whiteface at the other. Note the
gradual changes in the High Peaks as you circle the ridge:
Giant slowly moves behind Hurricane, Big Slide becomes
a prominent bump on the horizon vying with Marcy for
prominence, and Pitchoff remains far more eye-catching
than neighboring Cascade.
Between 2.2 miles and 2.4 miles, the path spends a
considerable amount of time on open rock, with promi-
nent ledges at both ends. Here, the views are lined up well
with the valley at Johns Brook – a distant gash in the High
Peaks, located at the foot of Mount Marcy. These ledges
also reveal the rocky summit of Coal Dirt Hill, which
would no doubt offer many good views of its own.
Strangely, though, the path bypasses Coal Dirt Hill and
contours along its southern slopes instead. Upon reaching
a col southeast of the summit, it promptly begins a long,
gentle ascent of the northern ridge of Weston Mountain,
which in turn leads to the summit itself at 3.2 miles (3.6
miles from Crow Clearing). At 3,183 feet, this is the highest
point on the loop. This view is notably different from
all the previous ones you have encountered, for now Lost
Pond is clearly visible in the high country between here
and Hurricane. This watery element is absent from most
of the rest of Nun-da-ga-o Ridge.
The remaining 2.5 miles of the loop is a completely different
experience, all of it following well-worn trail where
encountering other hikers is far more likely. Although
there are no markers between Weston and Lost Pond (as of
2022), the route is obvious as it leads down the southwestern
slopes, steeply at times, until 0.4-mile later it delivers
you into the lush bottomland north of Lost Pond. The first
landmark is the Biesemeyer Lean-To, a secluded shelter
above 2,800 feet in elevation with limited water access.
At this point you begin to see official trail markers for
the first time since Big Crow. The trail skirts around the
west side of Lost Pond, but if you wish to see its iconic view
of Hurricane Mountain you will need to actively seek out
shoreline openings.
From the pond’s outlet, a long and gentle descent into
the Gulf Brook valley follows. At a point about 1.5 miles
from Weston’s summit, several things happen. First, you
pass the relocated Gulf Brook Lean-To uphill on the right,
and then the northern trail to Hurricane Mountain on the
left. All that remains of your loop hike is the one-mile-long
trunk trail back to Crow Clearing – a section so gentle that
it passes quickly.
Bill Ingersoll is a co-founder and the vice-chair
of Adirondack Wilderness Advocates. For more
information on this area, visit: adirondackwilderness.
org/hurricane-mountain-wilderness.