Perfect Hike for a Sizzling Hot Day

Yes, combining a hot day with a mountain climb is not always a comfortable form of entertainment, especially for folks who are new to climbing.

On Saturday, I visited a charmer--a place known as Watch Hill--that fits the bill for adults and children who are beginning climbers, or for veterans who want some exercise and some gorgeous mountain views without dying of heatstroke on a sweltering day.

The Watch Hill Trail is almost totally unmarked, and is extremely difficult to locate from Route 30 between Indian Lake and Speculator unless you know where to find it. Yet it's a trail worth all the trouble as I discovered on Saturday. Forests that are mostly or partly composed of hemlocks are very cooling, and this trail has 'em. You may have noticed that when you leave a sunny, open area or a deciduous and pine tree area, the temperature drops considerably when you walk into a hemlock forest.

The Watch Hill Trail has loads of hemlocks, and better yet, the steep inclines are all in the hemlock shade. (If only I could order this for all my summertime climbing!) The hiker emerges from the hemlocks only at a wide, sunny ledge with a terrific view of Snowy Mountain, and at the summit where the ledges afford a knockout panorama of the southern sections of Indian Lake.

This trail is perfect for children who are new to climbing, because in a relatively easy half-day hike, they reach a peak where they can experience the euphoria of attaining a summit. The hike is also short enough that I will be offering it to clients who have children as young as six years old.