Antlerpeak
09-28-2005, 02:07 PM
We found Thomas Mt and it is pretty nice offering good views for little effort. The best look you get of this Mt is from the northway driving south. It is the mountain you see on the left south of the exit as you approach exit 24. The mountain is not identified on any map I have seen.
The trailhead as noted in other post here is two miles west of the northway exit 24. Follow the road cty rte 11 two miles to a right turn, Valley Wood Road. Almost at once there is an unmarked dirt drive on the right into a parking lot with a kiosk at the trail head.
According to the National Geographic Trails Illustrated map this location is just below the 1250 foot contour line and Thomas Mt is at 2000 feet. The trail is not shown on the map. These are my determinations made by orienteering the map when on the ledge using the view of Cat Mt and a ridge with two "bumps" directly west next in line with Thomas Mt. These bumps on the opposing ridge were west of my ledge and a bit to the south, both were lower than the perch I was on. Cat Mt had a lower ridge extending to the north with a slight rise and disappeared behind the closer ridge. The map shows this lay of the land fairly well and made it easier to determine which summit the route builders determined was Thomas Mt.
After gaining three hundred feet in something less than a mile you reach a jct. This is an unsigned junction, the route straight ahead with yellow markers goes two and a half miles to Cat Mt. The Thomas Mt trail with orange markers turns right and continues to gain elevation. The trail is an old logging road all the way to the summit. The road ends a few yards before the cabin at the lookout ledge and you follow a marked path the last flat 100 feet or so.
Though not the true summit this ledge is the termination point and offers the best view. A smaller dirt road continues to circle toward the west and then around the summit. I followed it a way until it began to descend, after backtracking to the high point I bushwhacked up to what appeared to be the summit on a viewless bump in a mixed forest. This point being less than a hundred feet above the ledge and cabin. It appeared to be the highest spot on the mountain. From there you could actually hear traffic on the northway a good thousand feet or more below.
I can equate this hike as being similar to Severence Mt in Schroon Lake as the distance is pretty much the same as is the ascent of 800 feet. Best guess for distance is not quite two miles one way. Very good views for a modest effort.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?collid=10962073309&UV=872816842962_52582073309
The trailhead as noted in other post here is two miles west of the northway exit 24. Follow the road cty rte 11 two miles to a right turn, Valley Wood Road. Almost at once there is an unmarked dirt drive on the right into a parking lot with a kiosk at the trail head.
According to the National Geographic Trails Illustrated map this location is just below the 1250 foot contour line and Thomas Mt is at 2000 feet. The trail is not shown on the map. These are my determinations made by orienteering the map when on the ledge using the view of Cat Mt and a ridge with two "bumps" directly west next in line with Thomas Mt. These bumps on the opposing ridge were west of my ledge and a bit to the south, both were lower than the perch I was on. Cat Mt had a lower ridge extending to the north with a slight rise and disappeared behind the closer ridge. The map shows this lay of the land fairly well and made it easier to determine which summit the route builders determined was Thomas Mt.
After gaining three hundred feet in something less than a mile you reach a jct. This is an unsigned junction, the route straight ahead with yellow markers goes two and a half miles to Cat Mt. The Thomas Mt trail with orange markers turns right and continues to gain elevation. The trail is an old logging road all the way to the summit. The road ends a few yards before the cabin at the lookout ledge and you follow a marked path the last flat 100 feet or so.
Though not the true summit this ledge is the termination point and offers the best view. A smaller dirt road continues to circle toward the west and then around the summit. I followed it a way until it began to descend, after backtracking to the high point I bushwhacked up to what appeared to be the summit on a viewless bump in a mixed forest. This point being less than a hundred feet above the ledge and cabin. It appeared to be the highest spot on the mountain. From there you could actually hear traffic on the northway a good thousand feet or more below.
I can equate this hike as being similar to Severence Mt in Schroon Lake as the distance is pretty much the same as is the ascent of 800 feet. Best guess for distance is not quite two miles one way. Very good views for a modest effort.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?collid=10962073309&UV=872816842962_52582073309