September 22, 2013

I decided to take an unusual approach to Cascade Mountain, one I am quite sure is not on someone’s tick list. I started at the parking lot in typical fashion but slightly veered off the trail for a while. Many who seek to bushwhack hike look for the most obvious route or path, but my goal was to explore more than summit, a summit would be a bonus. I had previously bushwhacked in the area a bit and found the conditions to be favorable for this adventure. I had also bushwhacked to the summit from the Cascade and found the area also in nice condition. I would combine some of both previous areas and connect them with a new unexplored section.

I left the parking area and started the hike along the trail but only for about a minute or two. I soon jumped off the trail and started a trailless course toward the summit of Cascade Mountain. I then quickly came upon some very steep cliffs that took a bit of navigating to get through and these cliffs gave me a couple decent views out over Upper Cascade Lake. Now I was heading almost due east; in order to meet up with the intermittent brook that was on the map. Once on the brook I moved along nicely without much of a stutter in my step.

Open Forest in route

I didn’t remain in this brook for too long, because I found the forest to be fairly open and much less slippery, I turned more northward toward the summit to try and locate a much larger brook in the area. As I crossed over the hogback that separated the two brooks I jump a decent sized whitetail deer that was grazing, with hunting season so closer around the corner, I can only imagine what’s going through his mind.  The second brook was a very attractive cascade of slow moving water and with the colors of the season, it was very picturesque. Remaining along this brook for about 0.1 miles or so I took a very hard heading East, toward the summit. The woods remained open for most of the remainder of the hike but they did close in with some very unpleasant scratchy spruce. This spruce ring is almost impossible to miss and was on my radar to try, but it didn’t happen. I popped out into the open ledged to look up and see someone in red also bushwhacking, this person I later found out came up from the Cascade Route located between the two Cascade Lakes.  Crazy enough too, we started at nearly the same time.

The final steps
A nice view

 

I opted to not head over to snag Porter, but descend the trail back to the car. The descent as many of you know, is not difficult by any means and in less than an hour I was relaxing with a cold Gatorade in one hand and a Snickers bar in the other.

Interested in bushwhacking Cascade via this route or another, find me at a local guide service as we can get you hooked up. Want a great place to stay to rest your feet or some of the best food in the Northeast, Lake Placid has you covered. The hardest part will be choosing your poison.  

The route
Open Forest in route
The final steps
A nice view
The route

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