There are supposed to be boulder fields, caves, and broad vistas just below the ridge line of Baker Mountain. Twice now I’ve bushwhacked up the very steep face, and twice I’ve found nothing up top but trees. This is State Game Land 143, but official maps are no help. I’ll come back next week. I think I’ve finally got it figured out.
Route to summit
Bushwhack
Obstacles
no info yet
Key gear
no info yet
theascent
CalTopo does a good job of showing areas with large boulders (very helpful in NW Pennsylvania and SW New York where there are plenty of awesome spots!) Their map shows three clusters of rocks, with the largest SE of where Baker Rocks is marked on Peakery. It's centered around 41.82937, -79.45028 which looks to be the highest elevation in the area (1,844'). Google Maps' satellite view shows the rocks at that location, and the easiest route via the forest roads starting at at 41.82697, -79.43739. Looking forward to seeing the photos from your return trip!
briansnyder
Thanks for the great advice, theascent. It's true that I counted the ridgeline as the true summit because I didn't think anyone was really paying attention with these lesser "mountains," which are all I've got around here. I hope to find the rocks on Wednesday. Also, I'm gonna start following you.
theascent
No problem! I live in Western New York and head down to Pennsylvania a few times a year for hiking and kayaking trips. I'm always looking for new places to explore and hadn't heard of Baker Rocks until seeing your post, so thank you for introducing me to it. I may check it out later this year if it looks worthwhile. Here's a place on the other side of Allegheny National Forest that I enjoyed visiting last year: Devils Den (https://peakery.com/devils-den-pennsylvania/). Highly recommended if you ever find yourself in the Ridgway, PA area. The rocks near the top are some of the tallest I've seen in the region.
theascent
Here's a pic of the tallest rock at Devil's Den that I didn't upload here (IIRC, I deleted it because it automatically rotated sideways): https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczNzUy0PlIMleTmeBnKgktvKYDjNTPu6Df4nXMaa1gpFeGoQCueUmw-yaYcjC49cGV2JfuR05GcXzGx40YVzCJY6jmIAAiHSwdkP67Y0wn-JkQEWEj_Ud9CMsq4cr9t5ghDFi3fCROMZHCnr1EXreW3tUQ=w539-h719-s-no
briansnyder
That's so cool! Thanks for the tip. I'd heard of Devil's Den but never been there. I used to live in Kane, and I love that area, so I know a lot of rock cities. They tend to be on ridges, but most of them aren't very high. Sleeping Giant is one of my favorites, near Minister Creek. It's interesting how the last glaciers stopped right at the current NY state line, leaving higher peaks as soon as you pass north from the Allegheny NF to Allegany SP.
theascent
Yeah, there is some really fascinating geology in that area. Beartown Rocks isn't too far from Devil's Den and is also on Peakery. Rimrock in ANF is another good one, but can get crowded. I did the Minister Creek loop a few years ago and wouldn't mind going back sometime. There's a bunch on the New York side as well: Panama Rocks, Olean Rock City, Little Rock City, a few in Allegany State Park (notably Thunder Rocks and Bear Caves off the Mount Seneca trail), plus some on private land near Olean. I'm probably forgetting some, but those are the main ones.