Spent a Day on Cat and Thomas Mt in Bolton

With Pilot Knob Ridge in fairly good shape I was looking for something different so I decided to visit the Lake George Land Conservancy's Cat and Thomas Preserve this past Sunday. I am so glad I did on many levels. First, the views from the top of Cat Mountain are nothing short of stunning. Start early in the morning and get up there before 8:00 on a clear morning and you will be rewarded with a new and spectacular view of Lake George. This Sunday there was not one boat or wake of a boat to be seen and the water was like a blue placid crystal the way the sun had shone on it. The hike up is easy and only takes about an hour. Most of the distance is flat with a little up hill at the end.

I said that I was glad that I went up on many levels, well one of the other levels is that I ran into a large amount of blow down concentrated on the ridge trail (blue) that leads from Cat to Thomas. It was passable, but a little difficult to follow at times. I have contacted the LGLC and they are right now putting out a call for help and will shortly be organizing a work gang. I will attempt to clear some of the blow down within the next couple of weeks as my schedule allows. I was a little concerned that this may have happened as I have been hiking a lot in the Lake George Basin and there as been a lot of ice damage above 1500 feet. Some of the stories I have been reading are saying the same for the High Peaks. Even with the blow down, the blue trail is fun to hike. It is a true woods trail that are a bit of a rarity with all the hiking that is going on. It is marked with blue disks and cairns in spots and offers some interesting views from time to time.

I didn't bring my camera as I was afraid of a rain shower, but I want to bring it to show some of these interesting aspects of the blue ridge trail

Hike Cat and Thomas, just use care, keep an eye on your back trail and hike with a buddy.