"Staying in Jay area for a week on a solo trip with Stella. Haven't been hiking in over a year. After a couple of warm up hikes to Roaring Brook Falls and Owl's Head, I got a little too confident and tackled a real hike today. Pitchoff mountain, which is not a high peak but sure felt like one. It had a bit of everything- rock scrambles, a few blessedly flat/gentle sections, a few sprinkles, and a great view. The balancing rocks were the highlight and getting to the actual summit was a grind after that. The summit was underwhelming but a ways past it (which I did not want to do but am glad I persevered) was another amazing view. Per usual All Trails promised significantly shorter than the just over 6 miles I clocked round trip. And those people rating it easy, god love you. The overall rating was hard and I’d agree with that. This was peak 8 of the Lake Placid 9ers for me. Someday I’ll finish those! A hot tub and shower helped with recovery. Brings back old times this feeling of happy exhaustion." — kvander • Sep 15, 2026

"Warm up hike during my week long stay in the ADK. This was an amazing view for a short hike - well worth it! Gave me the confidence to do Pitchoff later, which was definitely a big jump up!" — kvander • Sep 14, 2026

"After the bushwhack up Little Buck, I decided to drive a little further down Shelving Rock Rd to do the carriage road up to the picturesque summit. 22 years since my last visit." — billsussdorff • Jul 5, 2026

"Audrey was up for a hike so we went to Big Crow Mountain again. This is a lovely little hike with an explosive view from the moderately sized rocky summit. The weather was a little wet but it was still great to get out! " — dennis-van-amburgh • Jun 19, 2026

"After a nice breakfast at the Sagamore resort I joined by the husband of one of my wife’s colleagues. We intended to get both peaks initially but we managed to miss a critical trail junction in our haste to head Thomas after topping out on Cat. Ended up as a small loop hike of just Cat, though it worked in our favor as we got back to the resort in time for lunch in the conference room. After a rather large meal he decided to pass on an afternoon hike. I headed back out to get Thomas from Valley Woods road TH. Another short loop ascending via a glorified herd path that had blue markers and descending via the gravel/stony access road to the former cabin site. A quick whack to reach the True summit. Hard to believe many folks do this peak for whatever challenge as I saw very little usage/impact. Many blowdowns on the summit and between the summit and the cabin site, like an obstacle course. Cat mountain very nice with views while Thomas not so much, only view is from cabin site." — Nimblefoot • Jun 15, 2026