Hiking THE PINNACLE & BRADLEY'S LOOKOUT

 


Aug 1, 2023 - A cooler, less humid day. First stopped at the Bolton Conservation Park & its lily pad-filled pond with a view of The Pinnacle. Took the red trail up to The Pinnacle lookout. There were a few people there. I explored off-trail around to the R then took a path to the L - nice view of The Narrows. Was about ready to leave when I discovered everyone had left & I had the lookout to myself so I stayed a few more minutes. Went down on the yellow trail which is much less used & not so defined so had to pay attention to the markers plus there was some blowdown. Saw 3 deer & lots of shrooms. The upper reaches of the yellow dry were dry but when it bottomed out there were wet/muddy spots & more mosquitoes. The trail then climbs the final 0.3 miles past some rock walls to Edgecomb Pond Rd. It was then a 0.3-mile road walk to Edgecomb Pond (passing the trailhead for Cat & Thomas Mtns) where there is a good view of Cat Mtn.





Aug 12, 2022 - Finally, a cooler day with low dewpoint, so I decided to do a fairly easy hike on well-manicured trails with a big payoff.  6 cars in the parking area at 9:30 am.  1.4 miles & gain of 500' to The Pinnacle.  Spent close to an hour admiring the scenery incl. whacking around the S side of the summit area for a glimpse of Cat, Crane, & Hadley Mtns.  There were 3-12 other folks at the lookout while I was there, more coming up as I hiked back down.  Took the new blue trail to Bradley's & had the lookout to myself - easier climb.  Continued on an unmarked path to Bolton Conservation Park & walked around the S side of the pond - views of Cat Mtn & Pinnacle.  0.3-mile road walk to the parking area.  3.5 miles, 3 hours.  More info.


Tue Nov 9, 2021 - THE PINNACLE & BRADLEY'S LOOKOUT. Temp rising thru the 50s, a bit hazy. From the new parking area, on the red trail it is about 1.1 miles to The Pinnacle lookout (LGLC says 1.45 or 1.55 miles), gain of 470' - 2 to 8 other people there. I took a path around the S side then whacked a short distance for views of Cat & Crane Mtns. Headed down then took a L on 0.5-mile blue trail to Bradley's Lookout, gain of ~150', had it to myself - it has a bit better look into the Narrows than The Pinnacle but does not look as far S along the lake. Some construction noise on the red trail & road noise from below at both lookouts, quiet on the blue trail. 3.4 miles, 2.4 hours. Info & Map.




Aug 10, 2021 - BRADLEY'S LOOKOUT, a hazy, humid morning hike to beat the pm heat.  Started at the Bolton Conservation Park's pond (800' el.) & walked a short distance N to the new parking lot for The Pinnacle trail.  Red trail for a short distance then R on blue, the new trail to BL that is not officially open yet (it looks finished but wait until it opens - do as I say, not as I do - officially opened Oct 5).  The trail winds its way gently uphill, drops down a little then climbs again & comes out at the lookout (1,000' el.) just 0.8 miles from the parking area.  The view is similar to The Pinnacle but not quite as sweeping - there is a good view to the Narrows of Lake George & across Clay & Dome Islands to Buck Mtn.  You do get a bit of road noise & boat hum..  I continued S on an obvious but unmarked path, dropping down to the SE corner of the pond at Conservation Park with view of Cat & Thomas Mtns.  Proceeded on the Park's trail back to start to complete the loop.  1.7 miles.  Refreshing swim at Rogers Park.





Sun Oct 4, 2020 - THE PINNACLE from Edgecomb Pond Rd.  Gain of 480' in 1.2 miles, 1.4 hours.  Shared the lookout with ~20 others, more going up as I came down.  Views of the Narrows, Black & Buck Mtns - better than Schumann.  More small ledges on S side with views of pond at Conservation Park, Cat Mtn & Crane Mtn in the distance.  20-50% color change. 






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