Lakes to Locks Passage: Part 3

Cook Mountain

It rained Saturday night and I ended up in my car for a couple hours as the Bungalow isn't so watertight anymore. I took my gear with me so I was able to go back to the tent with my stuff all dry and get some sleep. Sunday morning I packed up camp and headed to Cook Mountain. Its maintained by the Lake George Basin Land Conservancy and in the parking area I met a woman who told me that there was going to be an event hike that morning. I was there early enough that I didn't see any of the hikers until my way back down. The view isn't quite as panoramic as others I've done in the ADKs but it was still nice. The hike up is a bit of a haul as it ascends 680' feet in a half mile. As I was hiking out, I encountered the lady from the parking lot and she told me to go in her car and grab some applesauce and granola bars that were leftover after distributing to the participants. How nice!

Auger Falls

My next stop was going to be Palmer Pond but the road to it was pretty crappy so I turned around to go to my next destination-Auger Falls.

Auger Falls

I was amazed that this is an unmarked trailhead. The parking area is huge and right off an intersection of two main thoroughfares but no signage exists so you have to know what you are looking for. Similarly, the trail from the parking lot is kind of confusing to find too. But once I got oriented its only a short walk to the pretty falls. You can hike closer to the falls for a view but the trail isn't well marked and the banks are pretty slippery so I observed from a distance. My last hike was Fawn Lake. The trail is a level .5 mile walk to the edge of an undeveloped lake. It was a quiet place to reflect and the perfect place to end my 4th of July getaway.

Fawn Lake