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for at least one of the following peaks
10 Climbing log entries Found.


Nov. 26, 2022 (Sat.)
Elevation: 3556 feet; Order of Height: 85
Participants: Andrew Lavigne, Brian Connell, Caroline Doucet
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A second 'twilight hike' within the space of seven days, this time on Noonmark Mountain

A sunset/twilight hike to the summit of Noonmark Mountain. Like the previous week, the day was bright and sunny. Unlike the previous week, it was mild and felt very springlike.

Again we start off about two and a half hours before sunset. We moderate our speed better this time and arrive at the summit with a comfortable twenty minutes to spare. The conditions are quite placid at the top, and a few extra layers are all that is needed to allow for a comfortable sit-down to watch the sun sink below the horizon at a point just to the south of Allen Mountain. There are no clouds again, meaning we have no extra special effects, but it is still a very beautiful sight from this particular vantage point.

The way down is arguably the best part of today's hike. The open upper ridgeline part of the trail combined with the fantastic view over to the twilight-highlighted great range make for haunting and beautiful backdrop. We make it back to the car shortly after six-thirty. I can only imagine what this hike would be like on a sunset day where fiery clouds and/or an undercast were present. That would be really incredible.

Trip Reports, Image Galleries or Other References:
 Image Gallery: November 2022 Noonmark Mountain Sunset Hike


Feb. 2, 2020 (Sun.)
Elevation: 3556 feet; Order of Height: 85
Participants: Andrew Lavigne, Ruth Goitom, David Schyff, Tessica Truong, Alison Gu
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A straightforward and mostly-cloudy winter loop of Noonmark Mountain, and an intro for a group of newcomers to the Adirondacks.

Virtually every weekend of the 2019-2020 winter season had been cloudy or otherwise inclement, and I'd been continually postponing hike outings. Seized upon the first reasonable forecast, on the first weekend of February, for an intro hike up and over Noonmark.

Weather was calm and mild, and the trail conditions were hard-pack with little to no ice, making bare-boot foot travel possible and easy. Made slow but steady progress up the Stimson trail, taking in better-than-expected views of Keene Valley and nearby Giant Mountain.

Cloudy conditions increased as we ascended the ridge to the summit. Calm conditions enabled lunch on the summit, but unfortunately completely viewless. Descent via southeast trail was straightforward and uneventful, as was the trudge back through the Noonmark-Round pass to complete the loop and the hike.

See the image gallery link below for a more detailed writeup and the set of pictures.

Trip Reports, Image Galleries or Other References:
 Image Gallery: February 2020 Noonmark Loop Hike


Mar. 12, 2016 (Sat.)
Elevation: 3556 feet; Order of Height: 85
Participants: Andrew Lavigne, Jennifer Innes, Veetil Sanjay, Chris Hatko, Gillian Hatko
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An intro hike for work-colleague Veetil. Large amounts of ice on the mid-to-upper part of the Stimson trail made full crampons a virtual necessity (we did see a lone hiker manage to get to the top with only microspike-like devices but it was a sketchy effort). Beautiful day, well above freezing and nice sunshine. Elected to descend via southeast trail from summit to avoid having to down-crampon the steepest bits of the Stimson trail. This made the hike a bit easier on the technical side but added some distance. Veetil did quite well for his first ever hike, showing enthusiasm and pretty good cramponing technique (although he did seem quite bagged by the time we finished).

Trip Reports, Image Galleries or Other References:
 Image Gallery: March 2016 Noonmark Mountain


Oct. 11, 2012 (Thu.)
Elevation: 3556 feet; Order of Height: 85
Participants: Andrew Lavigne, Andy Brown, Chris Hatko, Carolyn Beaton, Arjun Nair, Brent Hadden, Hilton Lem, Arn Hyndman
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Another team hike visit to the summit of Noonmark Mountain, this time on a breezy sun-and-clouds late fall day.

We started off late, at 10:30 am, but marched briskly up through the forest along the Stimson Trail, soon reaching the first lookouts an hour after starting out. Higher up, a faint dusting of snow and ice made for a few slippery bits, but otherwise it was an enjoyable scramble to the top. Once on top, we took shelter from chilly winds on the south side of the peak, had a quick lunch, and descended via the trail descending down to the south-east.

Once on the Dix trail, we headed back north through the Noonmark-Round notch, reaching the AMR lands shortly before 3pm, and the parking lot quickly thereafter. A quick but enjoyable day in the mountains with my work-colleagues.

Trip Reports, Image Galleries or Other References:
 Image Gallery: October 2012 Noonmark Team Hike


Jun. 4, 2011 (Sat.)
Elevations: 3556 feet, 3084 feet; Order of Height: 85, 152
Participants: Andrew Lavigne, Jennifer Innes, Pu Chen, Denis Fournier, Roch Bellefeuille
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An intro hike (sort of, actually it's his second) for Denis to the Adirondacks. As such, a good intro peak was in order: Noonmark Mountain.

We started off relatively late (for us) after 10am - but the Noonmark trail isn't that long, so there were no worries in that respect. We kept a good, moderate pace, stopping at all of the great lookouts on the way up. The summit was a little breezy with a chilly north wind, so we snacked on the southern side, facing the Dixes.

We did the typical loop route, heading down to the Dix trail, then north towards the Noonmark-Round col. We were all doing well and in good spirits, so we decided to tack on an ascent of Round.

After some more lazing and horsing around on the quite scenic summit of Round, we headed down, using the north side trail to gain direct access to the parking lot area. A dinner at the Noonmark diner was fitting and rounded out the day.

Trip Reports, Image Galleries or Other References:
 Image Gallery: June 2011 Noonmark-Round Hike


Oct. 17, 2007 (Wed.)
Elevation: 3556 feet; Order of Height: 85
Participants: Andrew Lavigne, Greg Gnaedinger, Beili Zhou, Gerry Monforton, Shaoli Gao, Tim Wang, Steve Anderson, James Ellwood, Satheejan Gugananthan
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This hike was a little different, as I took my group from work down to the Adirondacks for a team-building mountain hike. My choice for a best-bang-for-buck intro peak was Noonmark - not too long, good lookouts along the way, great summit, and great views.

Being a mid-week day, we had the mountain to ourselves. With so many new hikers in the group, we took it slow and easy, taking lots of breaks and enjoying the many great views from the lookouts along the Stimson trail.

The weather, which was forecast to be unsettled, turned out to be clearer, warmer, and much more pleasant than I had anticipated.

Our summit experience was great - warm, good views, no wind. We lounged up there for a good 45-minutes, enjoying the satisfaction of a job well-done.

The hike down was via the Adler trail, then back through the Noonmark-Round pass on the Dix trail to the golf course. The only major thing of note was the stonyness of the trail through the pass, made even more annoying by the thick covering of leaves. All in all, a great day, and a great intro for a bunch of new-to-the-Adirondacks hikers.

See the image gallery link below for a more detailed writeup and the set of pictures.

Trip Reports, Image Galleries or Other References:
 Image Gallery: October 2007 Noonmark Loop : A team-building Intro Hike.


Apr. 30, 2006 (Sun.)
Elevations: 3556 feet, 3084 feet; Order of Height: 85, 152
Participants: Andrew Lavigne, Jennifer Innes, Sara Ednie, Brian Connell, Bodo, Yi Wang
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Ambitiously billed as the first of our "2006 summer mountaineering training" outings. In addition to getting out and into the mountains, the general idea was to start getting the folks who are going to be heading out in July on the mountaineering course together, so that we could get to know each other.

We chose something pretty reasonable and easy : Noonmark, combined with an ascent of Round. I'd never done Round Mountain before, and although it didn't look like much on paper, I'd heard that it was quite a nice peak.

Our weather was a fine sunny spring day. In fact, it was so nice, so warm, that it really felt like a mid-June hike. The only clue was the lack of leaves on the trees. We ascended via the Stimson trail up Noonmark, and it was not until almost the very top that we encountered any snow remnants at all. What a huge difference from just three weeks before on Marshall!! I'd packed my crampons but they ended up being training weight only!

Wonderful views everywhere as we ascended the upper open ledges on Noonmark. Took a slight variation to the top, directly scrambling up a few of the steeper ledges instead of taking the trail in spots. Again, good foreshadowing of our summer course!!

After a most pleasant summit stop (no wind, very warm, and suprisingly few other hikers), we headed off to the east, down to the junction with the Dix trail. Once there, we headed back north to the height of land between Noonmark and Round. Here we split up, with Yi and Brian continuing on straight, bypassing Round Mountain (Brian had twisted his ankle and didn't want to stress it, and Yi had hurt her finger). The rest of us headed up to Round Mountain.

I'd never been on Round mountain before, so it was nice to hike a bit of new trail. The way up went very quickly, and there are several very nice open spots on the way up. The summit of Round is even better, with lots of smooth, open rock. Very nice for a less-than-3200 foot peak! Here we had a proper lunch and lazed around.

The north route down was in good shape and again there were a few good lookout spots on the way down. Near the very bottom the trail winds through some nice open forest (has a slightly west-coast feel), and skirts the edge of some fairly steep dropoffs. In fact, in one spot you can look down right onto the St. Huberts trailhead carpark. Shortly thereafter the trailhead is reached and, in a few more steps, the parking lot. Felt longer than 10.5km, but overall pretty easy. This loop hike is highly recommended, and offers a maximum of good views and trails.

Trip Reports, Image Galleries or Other References:
 Image Gallery: April 2006 Noonmark-Round Loop Hike


Jul. 13, 2002 (Sat.)
Elevation: 3556 feet; Order of Height: 85
Participants: Andrew Lavigne, Pu Chen, Adelia Chetreanu, Adelia ?, Sarah ?, Cameron ?, Irtiza Zaidi
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An outing with the folks at work. Bunch of new / infrequent hikers, so we wanted something really scenic but not too hard (I remember the lessons of my early hiking days). This was Pu's first intro to the Adirondacks and he simply loved it! We climbed up from the Golf Course, up the North Ridge, down to Round pond, then from there down to Rt 73, where we had a car stationed. A good day, even if a few people got good and sore!

Trip Reports, Image Galleries or Other References:
 Image Gallery: July 2002 Noonmark Mountain Hike


Nov. 17, 2001 (Sat.)
Elevation: 3556 feet; Order of Height: 85
Participants: Andrew Lavigne, Markus Wandel, Lorraine Hughes
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The meteor shower hike. Andrew, Markus and I went up at dusk and spent the night gazing at one of the best meteor shows in 30 years. 5 and 6 meteors per second at one point near 5am! fabulous. Actually had a a couple of people show up in the middle of the night to join us! Wonderful sunrise. After heading back down, we wrapped this one up with a tasty breakfast at (where else) the Noonmark diner!

Trip Reports, Image Galleries or Other References:
 Image Gallery: Leonid Meteor Shower atop Noonmark Mountain


Jun. 3, 1999 (Thu.)
Elevation: 3556 feet; Order of Height: 85
Participants: Andrew Lavigne, Leslie Price, Bob Gibson, Annette Labossiere

An intro hike up one of the nicest peaks in the sub-4000-foot category. Started from the Golf Course and up the north ridge with its excellent lookouts. Examined the big western cliff on the summit (looks like good rock climbing potential). Returned down the south-eastern side and then cut north to complete the loop.

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