View from Lookout This is a shot taken from the most excellent lookout just below the summit of Santanoni peak. A unique an interesting view of the High peaks presents itself from here. In this picture, taken looking north-northwest, we can see Algonquin Peak as the highest mountain on the horizon, with Mount colden to the right of it and mighty Wallface cliff to the left. Bradley Pond (which the trail skirts on its way up here) can be seen in the foreground. [enlarge]

The Upper Works The strip mining operation known as "the upper works" can be clearly seen from the summit of Santanoni Peak. [enlarge]

Markus and Wallface Markus poses with the highest cliff in the east as a backdrop. [enlarge]

Marcy, Skylight and Haystack Three very interesting high peaks, including, of course, Mount Marcy itself, the highest point in NY State. [enlarge]

Indian Pass A closer look at Wallface and Indian Pass, which skirts the base of the Wallface cliff. Algonquin peak is visible at right. [enlarge]

Caroline ponders... Caroline contemplates on a large boulder just beyond Times Square. [enlarge]

Heading back down This shot is taken along a very nice section of the route between the brook coming down of off Santanoni Ridge and Bradley Pond. The herd path pleasantly skirts the base of slightly overhanging cliffs. [enlarge]

Making it back before nightfall The day goes well, we move switfly, and we make our way back along the access road to the cars just as dusk falls. [enlarge]

Interactive trackmap with photo points - The Santanoni Peaks - click map to view Interactive trackmap with photo points - The Santanoni Peaks - click to view

Elevation Profile over Distance This is a GPS-derived tracklog of the elevation over distance. We traversed the route by going up Panther first, then Couch, then Santanoni. [enlarge]

Elevation profile over time. This is a GPS-derived tracklog of the elevation change over time of the hike. [enlarge]

Annotated Topo Map This is a topographic map of the area covered by the hike, with our exact route (derived from GPS data) superimposed. You will note that due to the fact there is no maintained trail, we chose different herd path routes (inadvertently) at a couple of spots (ie. different going down than going up). [enlarge]