We were going to do another hike with someone else but there was a mix up on the meeting palace and we missed each other. We decide to try, again, to find the McFarland Hill trail shown in "Pathmakers" but this time from the top. Again, we had no trouble following the trail from the air quality monitoring station to the top of McFarland. We spent some time looking for a trail down the side and did find several small sections of slightly worn path and an occasional cairn but could put none of them together and always lost it.
A couple of views from McFarland
We began a bushwhack down the hill and ended up on the other side of Youngs which we climbed. The top is not as open as McFarland nor as used though on the ridge there is enough wear and a few cairns so that you can make your way.
This view is from a ledge off the trail
Again we searched for a trail down and could not find one. We began another bushwhack in the direction of the Breakneck Ponds so Kelley could have a swim and we could have lunch. This went pretty well and, surprisingly, we came to the trail beginning we had attempted the other day ( which had also seemed to peter out as it rose) from near the ponds.
After Kelley had a swim and we had lunch we walked the Breakneck back to Rte 233 and then to our car. An interesting hike 2-3/4 hours
Sometimes the most well worn side trails end up not going anywhere. They get worn by all the people who follow them for a ways, then turn back.
ReplyDeleteAt least you got to add Youngs to your list of peaks. On the aerial photos it appears to have a lot of open areas, although depending on the lay of the land those don't always afford the views you might hope for.
There were some open areas but most were surrounded by trees blocking good views. The view might be improved in winter.
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