Late summer is a great time to hike the Adirondack herd trails.
By Tim Rowland
Late August/early September is a good time of year to hike the myriad of unmarked herd trails in the Adirondacks, as it is after a summer of use, making these trails more visible, but before the fall leaves, which largely make them disappear.
A great example is Knob Lock Mountain, whose trailhead (actually) is more or less across Route 9N from the very popular Hurricane. At this time of year, the trail, although not marked, it is obvious from bottom to topand, better still, it's in far better condition than anything you'll find in the trampled-to-death High Peaks, its tread a soft dark ribbon in the mud.
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But …
If you've driven 9N into this neck of the woods and looked at KL, and done some rudimentary engineering calculations, you've probably observed that the height axis greatly exceeds the length axis, meaning there's a considerable climb in a short distance.
I would say it's not as bad as it looks, but it is still very steep in places and there is a bare rock climb to the top.
To find the route, if you're heading toward Elizabethtown, look for two waist-high green posts on the left side of the road, about a quarter mile past the Hurricane Trailhead. The Knob Lock Trail is just across the road and, although not marked, is obvious as it dips into the woods.
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Jump over two streams in quick succession, then follow the herd trail along the pretty little stream on your right. Soon the trail leaves the stream and climbs steeply over a hogsback to a point where you'll be at the edge of a wooded canyon with the water sloshing perhaps 100 feet or more below.
The forest here is a beautiful open stand of red spruce, white cedar, and blue birch. Actually, it's not blue birch. It doesn't exist. But the word “yellow” doesn't have the same poetic resonance.
Forests are interesting things, though. At one point on the forest floor, there is a thick strip of young maple saplings, perhaps 10 metres long and 5 metres wide, with no mature maples in sight. And hardly any other young maples in sight either. What rogue air current could have picked up a few hundred rogue seeds and deposited them in this section of a birch-conifer forest? And what effect might this isolated gust of wind have on the composition of this forest a century from now?
Okay, that's enough. All the hiker needs to worry about is that the climb becomes a bit more moderate at this point until it skirts a small cliff with foamy water drops spilling over the top. Soon you come to a real waterfall, Knob Lock Mountain Falls, which is an impressive cascade of about 15 to 20 feet, depending on whether you're better at measuring or lying.
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There is a small herd trail leading to the falls, but the real trail leads away from the waterfall and continues uphill to a small creek crossing at 0.5 miles. At 0.8 miles it crosses a (mostly) dry creek, then becomes steeper again before entering a field of windthrow that is a few years old and has now been mostly dug out.
After a mile, you've climbed 1,000 feet, which is no small feat. (By my own subjective standards, 750 feet of elevation gain per mile is what I consider a moderate climb.) The woods are now mostly spruce and conifer, and the climb eases off a bit as you approach the saddle between Knob Lock and Tripod, which you reach at 1.25 miles.
The terrain is flat, but if you like a good, solid climb, a glance at the old topo map will assure you that this is your lucky day. Better still, the trail loses some hard-earned elevation as it skirts the summit to the east, meaning you can, if you like, get a good running start.
This final pitch to the summit is very much like a climb to a High Peak, although it is significantly shorter. After climbing a few tenths of a mile, you will come to the first real lookout in the form of a rock ledge that you will follow to the end, then pick up the trail again before arriving at the base of a broken cliff that offers a pleasant scramble to the summit. Or almost to the summit.
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From here you have interesting views of the Great Range to the south, including Marcy, Haystack and Little Haystack, Algonquin and a few others.
But to be official, continue following the trail through the balsam to a larger expanse of rocks and a cairn marking the summit. You'll have great views of Hurricane, Route 9N winding over Spruce Hill, and to the east, Owl's Head and Lake Champlain.
Warning: Retracing your steps across open rocks, through brush and down cliffs to get back on the herd trail is a bit tricky, so use a GPS tracking app or pay close attention to small landmarks that will help you find your way back.
The summit of 978 meters is reached in 2.5 km with an ascent of 478 meters. It is easily done in half a day.
Best of all, and I say this as the mean little man that I am, you have a bird's eye view of the Hurricane Trailhead, way down below, and the 500,000 cars parked there. But for better or worse, it's unlikely that there'll be anyone up there with you to share the laughter.
