Hiking - The new Moxham Mountain trail

After a pretty dreary and wet week, yesterday promised better weather, so Holly and I got out for a hike to enjoy the fall colors.  They were expected to be near peak in the Adirondacks this weekend, so we headed north to a recently created trail up Moxham Mountain, near Minerva.  I had hiked this mountain last year with a Schenectady ADK group before there was a trail, and found it a spectacular summit with great views.

The new trailhead is on 14th Road, off of NY-28N south of Minerva, with room for 4-5 cars.  Including ours, there were 4 cars as we left the parking area, and we met all of those people during the day.  The trail immediately climbs to the top of a ridge, turning SE to some open rocks with views along the SW side of that ridge.  Descending about 200 feet to the edge of a beaver pond, it then climbs steadily to the south to the main Moxham ridgeline.  Turning SE, the trail follows that ridge to Moxham's summit, with many open rock views along the way. 

Mud Pond

Marshy area below the ridge

The fall colors were mostly browns, yellows, and oranges, with most of the brighter red leaves on the ground beneath our feet.

Soon we came to another rock ledge with a great view of our destination.

The summit ahead

The summit faces south, into the sun, and it was also a very hazy day, so photos taken in that direction were somewhat difficult and results disappointing.  Gore Mountain is the most prominent feature, with the village of North Creek at its feet.  To the west, Snowy and Blue Mountains were visible through the haze, but not captured by camera.  The best views were in that direction, away from the sun.

The ridge we had just climbed, with several ponds far below

After about an hour on the summit, we descended back the way we'd come.  This time, a slight detour off trail to the beaver pond yielded an interesting view.  Close-up views were better today because of the haze in the distance.

Most of the other cars were gone when we reached the parking area and headed for home.  The total round trip distance for this hike is about 5 miles, with about 1500 feet of total climbing, not a bad hike for the views we got.  As usual, an ice cream stop in Warrensburg capped off another great day outside.