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After waiting and waiting and waiting some more for the recent rains to end, I finally decided on Friday that I was going to climb McCauley Mt. - rain or shine! Turns out, I ended up with both! McCauley is a wonderful ski mountain in Old Forge. But at this time of year it has another destiny to fullfill - providing some spectacular views of autumn foliage. McCauley Mt. provides a wonderful alternative to leaf peeping from nearby Bald Mt. - another extremely popular mountain this time of year (I also climbed Bald this day).
McCauley has some things to offer that Bald Mt. cannot provide. For those unwilling or unable to hike up a mountain, one can ride the ski chair lift up to the top - enjoying spectacular views during the journey up and down the mountain as well as from the top. For the more hardy or adventurous, McCauley offers a wonderful hike up one of the long ski slopes to the top - a much easier hike than over the boulders, ridges and mud of Bald Mt. Additionally, there are some comfortable chairs, benches and picnic tables scattered around the top of the mountain for those who want a chance to relax in comfort atop the mountain.
This was my first trip up McCauley - I am finding that I have missed most of the local mountains in my mountain climbing adventures and am slowly becoming acquainted with them. I would highly recomend this mountain for a spectacular autumn hike!
Lu Blanchard is semi-retired and spends free time with family, reading, dancing, singing and enjoying outdoor activities.
Dianna Morris lives in Marcy and fell in love with the woods as a young girl. She finished climbing the Adk 46 high peaks in August 2012, and is now working on finishing the Northeast 111 - climbing the mountains over 4000 ft in NY, NH, VT, and ME.
Harold Pier taught chemistry at Utica College for 40 years and was an avid biker, hiker and skiier after retiring in 2000. He contributed to this blog from its inception in March 2012 until his death in October 2012.
