Pitchoff Mountain in Adirondack Park, NY

Hike Pitchoff Mountain Adirondack Park, NY

Class 2 3.8 miles 1500 gain 2-4 hrs Out + Back Jul 11, 2024
Effort
Beauty
Personality
Solitude

Pitchoff Mountain GPX Track

I need to offset my substantial website costs somehow! You can download a hike/drive GPX to assist you here. Before sharing my GPX tracks with others, please remember my site is otherwise a free resource.

Pitchoff Mountain is a minor summit in the Adirondacks, but served well as a shorter outing to kill some daylight amidst a storm. The summit can be reached from either the eastern Pitchoff Mountain Trail or the shorter western side, which is the one that I took. The more popular destination leads to a feature called Balanced Boulders, and apparently there are some nice views from this spot. Since I was socked in anyway I didn't make the effort to visit the feature and just made it the goal to reach the summit.

The Pitchoff Mountain Trailhead is shared with hikers heading to Cascade Mountain, a more popular and pretty hike, so there is a lot less visitation on this hike than the parking lot may suggest. I started by crossing the busy State Route 73 and took the stairs next to an old trailhead sign. Once in the forest the hike began pretty tamely as it traversed the mostly flat southwestern ridge of Pitchoff Mountain. If I had just a little bit more visibility I would have at least seen Upper Cascade Lake along the way, but instead the result of this trip report is mostly just forested photos. I encountered some Class 2 scrambles along the way, lots of pretty mosses strewn across slabs, and eventually made it to the forested high point.

PEAKS ON HIKE
Elevation (ft) / Prominence (ft)
Peaks on hike
Elevation
Prominence
1
Pitchoff Mountain
3505 ft
1149 rise

Hire me or show me some love!

Hire/refer me as a web developer or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I'm not sponsored, so all fees are out-of-pocket and my time preparing trip reports is unpaid. I really appreciate it!

View across the highway toward the trailhead, seen ahead.
View across the highway toward the trailhead, seen ahead.
Relatively tame start to the hike.
Relatively tame start to the hike.
And a nice flat ridge walk for a time.
And a nice flat ridge walk for a time.
The trail becomes rockier.
The trail becomes rockier.
Some light Class 2.
Some light Class 2.
A would-be overlook down toward Upper Cascade Lake.
A would-be overlook down toward Upper Cascade Lake.
Ascending more steeply now on the bouldery trail.
Ascending more steeply now on the bouldery trail.
Heading up the steepest portion of the hike next to an exposed slabby rock face.
Heading up the steepest portion of the hike next to an exposed slabby rock face.
Image 8 from gallery
Some pretty mosses along the trail.
Some pretty mosses along the trail.
Image 10 from gallery
View back down the steep stuff.
View back down the steep stuff.
The trail lightens up a bit as it continues ascending north along the ridgeline.
The trail lightens up a bit as it continues ascending north along the ridgeline.
Another would-be overlook.
Another would-be overlook.
Image 14 from gallery
Image 15 from gallery
Image 16 from gallery
Summit of Pitchoff Mountain, no view.
Summit of Pitchoff Mountain, no view.

Hire me or show me some love!

Hire/refer me as a web developer or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I’m not sponsored, so all fees are out-of-pocket and my time preparing trip reports is unpaid. I really appreciate it!