Tips on a good mountain for breaking in my girlfriend
 

My lady decided she wants to hike a mountain this spring. Looking for something bigger and harder than bald mountain in old forge, she's done that and it would be nice for something more challenging but not too intense that it turns her off of hiking. Thanks for any help.

Try Snowy Mtn. Shorter distance, nice climb, and great views from the ground or the fire tower.

Snowy is ok. But it's only a few hundred feet short of being a high peak, and it's 8 miles round trip (longer than some of the High Peaks hikes), so its significantly longer and harder than Bald Mountain. It's definitely one of the tougher fire tower peaks. I'd make sure you get an early start and plan for it to be a full day.

If you want a more gradual increase in difficulty from Bald Mountain, any of the following might work:

St. Regis Mountain- 6 miles round trip, spectacular views of the High Peaks and the St. Regis Canoe area.

Hurricane Mountain- 6 miles round trip, spectacular views of the High Peaks and Keene Valley

Blue Mountain- 4 miles round trip (but steep!), spectacular views of the High Peaks and the central Adirondacks.

Goodnow Mountain- 4 miles round trip, spectacular views of the High Peaks.

Owls Head Mountain- 6 miles round trip, spectacular views of the Central Adirondacks.

Hadley Mountain- 4 miles round trip, spectacular views of the Southern Adirondacks.

Black Mountain- 6 miles round trip (with an option for an 8 mile loop that visits a couple of scenic ponds), spectacular views of Lake George, the Eastern Adirondacks, and Vermont.

If you haven't already, purchasing the ADK Firetower Mountain Guidebook would be a good idea. For the most part, the fire tower peaks offer great views on hikes that are less difficult than the High Peaks.

Hope that helps. :)

Sawyer Mt is an easy climb, as is Coney Mt...but these two are far apart. Are you looking for climbs in a specific area? I always recommend Chimney Mt., it's an easy climb and the top of the mountain is covered with caves to play in.

Hadley Mountain, she won't end up thinking you are trying to kill her with hiking. Snowy is very steep and slippery with gravel in some places, most people new to hiking, will fall a couple of times scraping their knees on the way up or elbows on the way down.

I would recommend Hadley as well. Depending on her fitness level though it may not feel harder than Bald Mt. just longer.

Black Bear Mt. is much more of a challenge than Bald and in the same area.

You may already be well aware of this, but depending on when you head out in spring there's a chance there could be ice up high on a lot of these mountains.

Thanks a lot guys. I'm going to pick through these and let her decide. Thanks again, I'm pretty excited she's decided to try it out.

+1 for the reccomendation of Black Mtn in the LGWF.

Remove the word "in" from the title of this thread and the meaning changes 180 degrees.

A few minor changes in the body of the post would also yield some humor.:rolling:

:rolling:
Looking for something bigger and harder to break in your girlfriend?
Hmmm...let's see...what comes to mind...??
I'll suggest maybe Vanderwhacker Mtn, or the new trail up Moxham Mtn. ;)

Justin,

Some kind of Freudian slip??!!:rolling::rolling::rolling:

+1 on the Blue Mountain. BUT Cascade is what gave us the climbing bug!!!

I'd recommend Ampersand Mountain. Excellent views for the effort expended and when you're done, you can hike a short trail on the opposite side of the road and swim in Lower (I think) Saranac Lake.

My wife and I discussed what I did wrong 39, 38,and 37 years ago. What was a easy for me was very difficult for her - ice on trail. Another time she did not like the bugs - she could hear them in the car with the engine on while I fished, got one on almost every cast, we were within 500 feet of a very big swamp. I also did not make walking in mud fun - she was wearing newer shoes and pants.....

Wakely Mt. Great views from the firetower. Doesn't get a ton of traffic

I also would recommend Blue Mountain 4 mile round trip and a little over 1500' ascent, I think that Cascade would be a nice step up from there. Great views and the easiest intro to the high peaks.
Hope she catches the bug!!!!!

You don't break-in girlfriends.... they broke you.

Some easier peaks in Keene Valley with excellent views that haven't been mentioned are:

The Crows - Little and Big.

Baxter Mtn.

I don't know that they are much harder than Bald Mtn. Maybe at points they are.

In the Old Forge Area you have:

Rocky Pt. - Steeper and shorter hike than Bald with nice views.

Black Bear Mtn. - Longer hike with loop/multiple approach options. Very flat, bald peak that is excellent for a picnic.

Woodhull Mtn. - A good combination bike/climb in Black River Wild Forest. I've not climbed this one myself - the approach is quite far along an old dirt road that can be driven but is probably too rough for most vehicles. Should be an easy bike though.

Vista trail - Trailhead is right across the road from Bald. It is a trip along a ridge with an option to head up another un-named on most maps (although I recall I had a map that named it - It might be Mtn Pond Mtn) for a partial view. There are views along the way of the vista ridge as well. The un-named Mtn. is a steeper climb than Bald and Mtn Pond is a nice view itself. The vista ridge itself is moderate but the extra distance adds some challenge.

I wouldn't recommend Wakely. It is a pretty steep climb and tougher than Blue Mtn IMO. The views are nice but I hate climbing fire towers (they freak me out) so I am a bit biased. There are zero views from ground level.

Bang for the effort St. Regis is my favorite. Plus you get a different view up there looking over the canoe area. Lots of ponds with High Peaks in the back drop.

not now
 

I won't go anyplace now, unless you like black flies...wait

I'm in the same boat at the OP. I was thinking about doing Wright Peak from the ADK Loj trailhead. Hopefully it's short, but challenging, with a nice view at the end. Taking her and maybe 3-4 others who've never climbed the high peaks. We'll see how it goes....

Crane Mountain (North Creek/Warrensburg)! This is ourfavorite early spring mountain. Great "lollipop" hike. Great trail, rewarding summit, etc.