Sunrise Mountain - A weekend at Elk Lake, part 2 of 3
If you missed part 1 read it here.
Our Story Continues, Part 2:
Rise and shine; the breakfast bell just went off, offering us up some gluten free French toast, bacon, fresh fruit, and most importantly – coffee. Luckily Elk Lake Lodge had a bag lunch waiting for us because day two was to be a full day as we planned to climb Sunrise, Grandpa Pete, and Clear Pond Mountains. After breakfast we took a few minutes to pack up our belongings, giving ourselves a bit of time to let our larger than expected breakfast reach our hollow leg.
Sunrise Mountain here we come!
Then we were off and hitting the trail to Sunrise Mountain, another of the Adirondack 100-highest peaks located on the property. We started by following the East Shore Trail from near the lodge. This trail was yet another delight under our feet. It wasn’t too long before we crossed the Dix Trail and started up the Sunrise Trail. We passed by a couple other small intersections along the way; one in particular was Cadillac Drive and the Clear Pond Trail. From this major intersection we were truly on the Sunrise Trail, with no other option than to go up. The trail follows an old abandoned woods road, which is a pleasure to walk on, so soft and colorful, we enjoyed every minute of it. Once the trail tightened a bit into more of a foot trail, the tread also became narrow, as it was lined with green moss on either side. The terrain began a gentle climb as it inched ever closer to the summit. We soon reached Little Sally Brook on our left; the waters flowed with a soothing sound only we could hear.
The trail steepened a bit more, as some famous Adirondack mud began to appear in front of us and beneath us. We rock hopped what we could, wallowing in the rest. It’s kind of like jumping in the lake, you know it’s going to be cold but once you’re in it isn’t too bad. With mud, you know it’s going to be messy, but once you’re in, who cares?
Viewing areas complete with wildlife
Soon we found ourselves at the first viewing area. This steeply banked rock surface afforded us outstanding views of the Elk Lake Region. A bit slippery from the night’s rain, we carefully made our way to the trail in the trees. The terrain steepened more and at one point got very steep, as we continued to climb toward the top of the false summit. Just prior to the false summit we stood atop the second viewing area - almost twin to the first but just slightly higher. Just as we were to crest the false summit Corenne noticed something dead in the trail. We looked down and it wasn’t dead at all, it was a baby bunny, warming up in the morning sun. Not moving, we managed to snap a few pictures of the killer fur ball before it did decide to hop off under a tree root.
A short descent would bring us to a high col, just below the summit of Sunrise. The climb was steady, steep in a few spots, but overall very moderate. The top had a nice rocky lip awaiting us with some outstanding views. Below us we had Elk Lake. To our left we had Clear Pond, Boreas Mountain, and the Hoffman Mountain Wilderness. To our right we could look up the long spine of the Dix Range, with Macomb right in front. Behind us we had trees, lovely trees mind you.
Arrival at the Summit
A 15-minute summit stop was all we could do; we were chilled to the bone. The wind was blasting us, our shirts were wet, and the combination of the two was very uncomfortable. Putting on our packs seemed like a block of ice against our wet shirts. It was a bit slippery on the steep slopes, and we managed to survive passing by the bunny for a second time. We passed over the 1st view and quickly found ourselves back onto moderate ground, except now there were fresh moose tracks. They weren’t there on the way in, and they were heading in the same direction as us. The odds that it passed us while we were taking pictures of the rabbit were slim, but we must have walked pretty close by it on the way up.
We never did see the moose, we did follow the tracks until they must have passed into the forest; they were just no longer there. We opted for a bit of change in scenery so we followed Cadillac Drive back to the Elk Lake Road where we would proceed back to the car, which wasn’t all that far away.
Our trip continues...
Our plan was to now head over and climb Clear Pond Mountain and Grandpa Pete Mountain while looping around Clear Pond. But you will have to come back next week to read about that part of our trip. In the meantime take a gander at what else Schroon Lake has to offer for hiking.
Read part 3 of our Elk Lake adventure.