Goodman Mountain

Ever since hiking Mount Arab last year, I've been meaning to get back up to this area to hike the other two peaks in the Tupper Lake Triad: Goodman and Coney Mountains.  For various (mostly boring) reasons, this fall has not included nearly enough solo hikes to keep me happy, so I enlisted Frankie to accompany me on a weekend adventure.  I had suggested a loop hike of the Finger Lakes Trail and Gorge Trail in Robert Treman State Park, but Frankie had a different idea: he wanted to go the Adirondacks.  Sure thing, buddy!  I offered him the idea of Coney and Goodman and the boy was into it, so we had ourselves a plan. 

Frankie is a notoriously slow consumer of breakfast, especially on weekends, but he put in a major effort for me, and we were able to hit the road at a somewhat reasonable hour.  Of course I had to stop and get gas on the drive up, so it was 11:40 am when we finally signed in at the trail register. 

The first half mile or so of the trail appears to follow an old road, as it it straight and PAVED.  Such a strange sensation, hiking a paved trail in the Adirondacks.  Hiking on pavement is not something that would normally excite me, but it honestly didn't bother me today.  The trail is relatively narrow, and I am sure the fallen leaves covering much of it didn't hurt either.  Still odd, but harmless enough, I guess. 

dissected grape fern (Botrychium dissectum)

Soon enough, the hiking trail splits off from the old roadbed, climbing a short set of rock stairs and assuming a typical narrow single track, winding through boulders and ferns.  Very charming.  Eventually obscured views of Tupper Lake were visible through the trees.

Once the ridge is gained, the trail passes between some large boulders, irresistible for my young scrambler.  From here, there is just a short section of climbing left to gain the summit. 

And here it is... the summit of Goodman Mountain.  Glorious!

view toward Coney Mountain

We mostly shared the summit with various other parties, but never more than two people at a time, and did get it to ourselves for a few minutes, as well.  We hung out for about 45 minutes before heading back down.  It was a quick easy hike back to the car. 

This hike is an out-an-back and is posted at 1.6 miles each way; elevation gain is about 500 feet.  At a puttering and distracted pace, it took us an hour to get up and just 40 minutes to get back down.  Folks less interested in ferns and climbing random things would shave significant time from this tally.  This is a fantastic little hike, with a big reward for little effort.  Highly recommended!