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May 28, 2016 (Sat.)
Elevation: 4340 feet; Order of Height: 26
Participants: Andrew Lavigne, Grant Blanchard, Murray Fleming, Kevin Heiss, Phong Nguyen, Dennis, Kellen
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I joined an ACC-led group for this outing to Allen, led by Grant Blanchard. It was a hot and muggy weekend for late May, much warmer than normal for this time of year. An extended dry spell meant no insects, however, extremely unusual for the May-June timeframe. There were seven of us in total. We started off from the trailhead along Upper Works road shortly after 6 a.m. Bridge over the Hudson was in good condition, but the old causeway across the top of Lake Jimmy is now gone. In its place, the NYSDEC has put in a bypass around the northern arm of the lake, adding just under 1/2 kilometre to the total distance each way. Beyond Lake Jimmy, we soon came across the old cabin structures (of which one has been fixed up).

Walking south along old road beds and connector trails, we arrived at the banks of the Opalescent, which we followed up-stream to the site of the bridged crossing. Except that today there was no bridge (the plan is to replace it later in 2016). With the Opalescent being a fairly sizeable river, this could have been a tricky crossing, and we had brought our watershoes. However, the water level was low and there was no problem. Beyond, we hiked through the old logging cut (now well on the way to growing back into a forest), then veered off the official trail and onto the herd path towards Allen. Many of the signs explicitly pointing to Allen are now gone, but the herd path itself is obvious. There are, however, a few junctiona and roads that must be negotiated correctly.

Beyond the old gravel pit, we started gaining altitude towards Allen. After crossing Skylight brook, it was all uphill, with the really steep section starting with the arrival at Allen Brook. Overall the herd paths and trails had been relatively clear of blowdown and the footing was good. The hike / scramble up the side of Allen Brook was in decent shape, wet but still grippy. We made a slight mistake near the top and stayed too far right, incurring some unnecessary bushwhacking. Cross over and stay left at the large steep slab section to maintain your course on a well-defined herdpath. The summit was as boring as ever, but the excellent viewpoint a minute north of the summit makes up for it.

The return journey was hot but uneventful. We stopped several times to filter water and rehydrate.

Trip Reports, Image Galleries or Other References:
 Image Gallery: May 2016 Allen Mountain


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