Five Mile Mountain – Fail
Hiking Date: May 9th 2009: I was debating whether or not to write this post as this hike did not go so well for me. My day started off on with a friend of mine canceling going hiking with me because she wasn’t feeling well. We were originally going to go to Stone Pond up in Minerva but since she was wasn’t feeling well I decided not to go there as it was her idea to go into Stone Pond. Not wanting to waste the day I needed a pick a new hike.
I quickly decided to go up Five Mile Mountain. I’ve seen the trail signs before when I climbed Fifth and thought it would be a good hike to climb. So I headed up to Clay Meadows Parking Area and started up the trail that leads to Fifth and Five Mile Mountain.
After I came up to the junction that leads to Fifth, Tongue Mt. Lean To and Five Mile, I took the Five Mile trail. On this trail I came to a really nice pond that a beaver made with a dam. The pond is really quite interesting, I’m curious how long its been there. My guess is not longer than 5 or 6 years based on the grass still in the water.
Following the trail I kept heading downhill and then more downhill. After about 10 minutes of going downhill and not seeing any mountains in front of me, I had to call it quits and turn around. I wasn’t lost because I new exactly where I was but I wasn’t on the correct trail. So I ate lunch at the pond and headed back.
Arriving at the junction, I took another look a closer look at the sign. The sign said Five Mile Mountain Point, which is on Lake George. So obviously I took the wrong trail. I made two mistakes that EVERYONE should not make. 1) I didn’t prepare for the hike by reading a topographic before I went on the hike. 2) I didn’t read the DEC signs correctly. I went based on my memory of the area which I only hiked a couple of times.
I claim about 75% of the mistake on myself but I also give 25% on DEC. The trail up Five Mile Mountain is not marked. The trail is actually is marked as Tongue Mountain Lean To which is on Five Mile Mountain. Had I prepared, I would have known that.
Conclusion: I messed up pretty good but since I was hiking solo I didn’t take to many chances that would have gotten me in trouble and I made sure to know where I was at all times. It was still a pretty good climb and the beaver pond I came up to was pretty cool. I didn’t get to where I was going but I did enjoy myself out in the woods.
Pictures:
Hey, look on the bright-side – at least you have an easy “re-do” hike!
Many of my adk hiking mistakes revolve around not taking heed to weather forcasts before leaving. On my honeymoon, we hiked 3 miles in to a lean-to on Lake Colden or Flowed Lands (I forget which) and it rained the whole day!