Pharaoh Mountain | cairns&carrots

Another weekend, over. They go by too fast. Anyway, Saturday Jordan had the day off so we decided to spend the day outdoors. I really wanted to go hiking but we didn’t want to go too far and I didn’t want to do too easy of a hike. I decided on Pharaoh Mountain near Schroon Lake. It was a 1.5 hour drive from Troy, not far from Exit 28 off the Northway. It was a longer hike, but the first two miles were on a dirt road so the beginning and end would be fairly easy. On our walk to the trail we found this little guy.

He slithered right under my feet. Yikes. Despite the snake run-in, the road walk was quite enjoyable!

Eventually we came to Crane Pond which signaled the end of the road. Following signs for Pharaoh Mountain, we signed in and started hiking.

The first few miles of the trail were very easy. This is a gorgeous area!

Eventually we came to an intersection.

The initial ascent up to Pharaoh Mountain was easy, but the last mile or so was rocky. Most of the rocks were covered in wet moss, which made it pretty slippery. Eventually we came to the summit, after about 2.5 hours of hiking, and enjoyed the expansive views.

We brought Jordan’s parents’ dog Jack for the hike, and he seemed to enjoy it too.

I never get tired of these views! Seriously, we are so lucky we have such awesome places to hike so close to home. The hike back down was a lot easier, but felt like it took longer. We took a short break at Crane Pond and let Jack play in the water.