Traditional Spring 'warm up' Hikes

[IndLk_Brett]

This thread has been fairly silent for far too long so...

I'm wondering if any of you have a specific hike you plan to tackle when the weather finally warms up for good and spring officially arrives. In particular somewhere you traditionally head year after year in the beginning of the warm weather hiking season. Maybe a hike on which to get the blood pumping and the legs a good burn again? Or a view you've been looking forward to seeing all winter?

For myself the hike is Sawyer Mountain between Indian and Blue Mountain Lakes. I try to go every year. I consider it to be about the perfect early season hike for me. It's not overly long at about one mile each way (out and back) and there is just enough elevation gained on the brief uphill near the end to get my legs and lungs a good workout without over extending before my body is ready. It's just enough to get a good little burn and start myself on the road to getting into good hiking shape again after having lost it a bit over the long winter.

In addition to that I've always very much enjoyed the two main vistas at the top. They far exceed in grandeur the price paid in sweat to reach them IMO and no matter how many times I go up there I feel the panorama is always a bit better than I'd remembered. In short I've always thought the views are great for such a short, little hike and I also personally find one of them extra special because it looks down on my 'local' area.

So anyway, that's my annual pilgrimage and the hike I've been waiting for. It has just about everything I'm looking for in an early hike; not too long, a nice little workout and great views all wrapped up in a lesser used trail.

Where is the spot you are looking forward to?

[Justin]

Nothing specific here, but there are definitely a couple areas that I like to try & get into after the snow melts, and before the hobblebush blooms & the black flies come out.

[Pauly D.]

My favorite is the Tongue Range in Lake George. With or without the snakes!

[Bark Eater Too]

I've always enjoyed Sawyer Mountain. Have you ever done it or Little Sawyer from the old sand pit off the Cedar River Road? It's a bushwhack but quite easy due to generally open hardwood forest. You get some decent views on the way up in the spring before all of the leaves come out. My traditional spring warm up is closer to home here in Delaware. The Brandywine End to End Hike is 36 miles in one day, typically held in mid-April each year. It's a beast. I've done it four times now.

[IndLk_Brett]

Originally Posted by Bark Eater Too

I've always enjoyed Sawyer Mountain. Have you ever done it or Little Sawyer from the old sand pit off the Cedar River Road?

Yes, but thanks. There are actually some pretty cool ledges with large overhangs up that way.

Originally Posted by Pauly D.

My favorite is the Tongue Range in Lake George. With or without the snakes!

For me snakes are bad enough, be it rational or not, but the ones that rattle in that country make me extra uneasy!