mercredi 22 mai 2019

Kane Mt, SMWF, 22 May, 2019

When the weatherman gives the forecast an A+, you alter your plans to work in some outdoor activity. Neal doesn't give out too many A+ days, so this was a no-brainer. I pushed my re-supply run up to the cabin by a couple days and worked in a short, but enjoyable, hike to Kane Mt. in the Shaker Mt. Wild Forest.

I arrived at the turn-off for Green Lake Rd. at a decent hour this morning.


I was the only vehicle in the firm, but heavily rutted, parking lot.


I decided to go up the North Trail today and followed the Yellow Disks into the woods and up a small shoulder of Kane Mt.


The singing warblers, sights and smells of the spring woods were intoxicating. I was pleased to see a few trillium hanging on.


After a while, the trail turned SW and began to climb in earnest. The pitch was steep, but it was only for a few hundred feet. I came out onto the summit ridge and marveled at some of the boulders along the way.


Some were quite large.


Nearing the top, the fire tower came into view.


Knowing I wasn't going to make it to the top today due to my totally rational fear of heights, I was happy to enjoy the scenery from below. I was also happy to see that a DEC crew (or volunteers?) had freshly painted over some nasty graffiti that had been recently applied.


With the smell of fresh paint still in the air, I poked around the old cabin and was happy to catch a view of Canada Lake through the trees.


All that was left to do was to head back down the Red Disked, East Trail. While the North Trail was recently cut, the East Trail has been around forever. It really showed some wear and tear as exposed bedrock poked out from time to time.


Back at the parking lot, there were two vehicles next to mine, but I didn't see a soul all morning. The trail conditions were great with only a few blowdown and one or two wet spots. Most importantly, I only found two small pieces of trash! :clap: The painting crew must have cleaned up. Thanks again to those folks.

As I was leaving, two young women in a Prius were driving into the parking lot a little fast and were scraping their bottom (so to speak). Low clearance vehicles should have no problem here...if they slow down. ;)


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