Severance Mountain

Hiking Date: September 26th 2009: The Fall Season has arrived and this is an exciting time for me as Fall is my favorite time of the year. I enjoy the hiking this time of year mostly because when the leaf’s fall, its almost like something is calling me to go out in the woods and hike. Not to mention the its a lot more enjoyable to go hiking when the weather is not above 90 degrees. For our first hike during the Fall Season, we decided to go to Severance Mountain.

Elevation: 1,693 ft
Vertical Ascent: 813 ft
Trip Length: 2.4 miles (Round Trip)

The Hike: The day started off by taking a photo for a large group of friendly hikers who wanted their picture taken at the trail head. After the photo and meeting some new friends, we started the hike by walking underneath I-87 (Northway) through some tunnels. I thought this was pretty exciting as  its something different that you normally don’t do on a hike. Right away I noticed that this trail is taken care of pretty well as their were many signs of trail maintenance such as small bridges, wooden steps, water diversions and even a railing. The hike up to the top went quickly as it not to steep.

At the top their were three other groups including the hikers we took the photo of at the trail head. We kindly exchanged cameras and took group pictures of each other and enjoyed the view. The view faced roughly between South and South East and had a beautiful view of Schroon Lake and the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness. I would say the view was only about 100° but still spectacular. If you walk about 100 feet past the top you’ll come to a skinny view of the East which isn’t overally special but something worth seeing at least once. We spent roughly an hour at the top enjoying the view and being outside. Fall is probably my favorite time of year to hike not only because of the beauty of the Fall colors but the temperature makes it relaxing to just site outside, not to mention most of the bugs are dying off.

Conclusion: Severance Hill is an excellent climb if your looking to do something quick and not to strenuous. It is definitely a mountain I recommend to all people who are looking to enjoy a day outside.

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