Colvin & Blake

The Great Range from Mt Colvin. Colvin offers outstanding views.

17 Photos

Route:

Lake Road to Bypass Trail
Bypass Trail to Gill Brook Trail
Gill Brook Trail to junction with Colvin Trail
Mt Colvin Trail
Blake Peak Trail

Numbers in parentheses such as (ADK #123, McM #456) on these and all other pages of Adirondack Journey, refer to trail numbers assigned by the McMartin and ADK guidebooks.

Trip in a Nutshell:
From the DEC parking lot on Rte 73 below the Ausable Club entrance, follow the dirt road to the Gate at the edge of the Ausable Club's grounds. Enter AMR land here. Follow the Lake Road (ADK #25) from the Gate up the Ausable Valley to the RED Bypass Trail (McM #83) which connects you to the RED Gill Brook Trail (ADK #40, McM 82). Follow the Gill Brook Trail to its intersection with the Colvin and Blake Trail RED (ADK #40, McM #87). Take the Colvin and Blake Trail to the consecutive summits of Colvin and Blake. Figure about 4-5 hr. from car to summit of Colvin, then a short hour to reach Blake's summit. Worthwhile detours to Fairy Ladder Falls, Fish Hawk Cliffs, or Indian Head are possible and recommended, but allow about one additional hour for each. All AMR trails are marked with RED Adirondack Trail Improvement Society (ATIS) markers. This hike was taken in the summer of 2000, then we passed by again in 2001 to check on whether the hurricane damage had been fully cleaned up. It had.

Best Tip for Colvin & Blake
Don't ignore this tip! Use the Bypass Trail instead of Gill Brook Trail to get from the Lake Road to the junction of Gill Brook Trail and Indian Head Trail.

Difficulty:
Colvin and Blake are a good day hike for the average hiker.

The Lake Road is a very easy hike over a hard dirt road.
The next segment, the Bypass Trail, is in my opinion, the most perfect trail in the entire Adirondacks. As such it provides excellent trail surface and a moderate climb to its intersection with Gill Brook Trail. The Bypass Trail is much preferable to its alternative, the lower section of Gill Brook Trail, for those wanting to make good time over much better terrain. The upper segment of Gill Brook Trail, which commences where the Bypass Trail joins the Gill Brook Trail is an easy to moderate walk up to where you will leave it to begin the Colvin Mtn summit trail.

Distances (in miles):

Segment	Total Distance	Segment Distance
DEC Parking to the Gate and trailhead sign-in	0.77	0.77
Lake Road to Bypass Trail	3.34	2.57
Bypass Trail to intersection with Gill Brook Trail	3.87	0.53
GBT to Elk Pass fork	5.10	1.23
Colvin Summit	5.89	0.79
Blake Summit	6.92	1.03
Round Trip	13.84

Views:
Very good to outstanding views of the Great Range and Nippletop from Colvin. No apparent views from Blake, or if there was a path to a view we couldn't find it. See how Colvin stacks up against the rest of the High Peaks at our View Rankings.

Notes:
The AMR is private land open for the public's use through agreement with the State of New York. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the rules for hiking on AMR land at the AMR page.

Water:
Water ought not to be a problem on this trip if you are packing a hydration unit, an essential piece of gear in the Adirondacks. Your last water will be on the Gill Brook Trail at about the point where you cross the well-marked boundary line of the AMR on the Gill Brook Trail. This is the only stream that crosses your trail once you leave Lake Road, so you can't miss it and it runs in dry years as well as wet years. Whether or not you take the Gill Brook Trail all the way from Lake Road or you take the Bypass Trail you will cross this brook.

Trailhead Info For This Ascent:
Use DEC parking on Rt. 73, 0.5 miles south of the main entrance to the Ausable Club. From the parking lot you walk 0.9 mi. (seems like a lot less) through the Ausable Club's manicured grounds to the trailhead sign-in shack and, just beyond it, the Gate which is the entry point into the forest (AMR). Once at the Gate you have two basic choices of how to continue from there. These are covered below.

Good Options & Notes:
You might want to also see the Ausable Club page before reading this. The obvious and easiest way to get from the Gate to the Bypass Trail (ADK #25, McM #83) is to follow Lake Road about 2.6 miles to the start of the Bypass Trail. Lake Road is a hard-packed, very well maintained dirt road that runs from The Gate to the Boathouse on Lower Ausable Lake. This road is the fastest and most direct route to any of the trails heading to Dial, Nipple Top, or the Colvin Range. These trails branch off from Lake Road and are very well marked by the Ausable Club staff. We have hiked the Lake Road a dozen or so times and look at it sort of as an attractive walk on a country lane, but to be fair, it is also derided by at least one guidebook for not being a real trail. Let's face it, we'd rather be hiking on a trail than a two-lane dirt road. It's your choice as to how much time you want to spend getting to the real hiking, but other options such as East River Trail below, while more beautiful, add time.

Lake Road Option (ADK #25, McM n/l): From the Gate follow the Lake Road 2.1 miles. You will see the start of Gill Brook Trail on your left, but don't take it. Instead, continue on the Lake Road about a 0.4 mile. Although the majority of hikers take Gill Brook Trail, we recommend a much better maintained route called the Bypass Trail, a little further up Lake Road. Bypass Trail (ADK #25, McM #83) is shown on both the McMartin map and the ADK map, but it is only assigned a trail number on the McMartin map and the new 2003 ADK map. While it adds a bit of additional walking, it is considerably faster and easier because it makes more use of Lake Road and it is in excellent condition.
East River Trail Option (ADK #26, McM #78) : The advantage ERT has over Lake Road is that it is a trail and not a road. It affords a few nice views of the flumes of the Ausable River. Note, however, that you will add some time to the hike by taking this route. After passing through the Gate look for a right turn at most a quarter mile straight ahead. Stay on ERT past the flumes to the Crossover Trail that connects ERT to Lake Road. It cuts straight East for 2,300 ft. to the Lake Rd. Turn right onto Lake Rd. and walk about 200 ft to Gill Brook Trail, but as noted above, continue past the GBT to the Bypass Trail (ADK n/l, McM #83) and follow it to Gill Brook Trail further up the mountain.
Indian Head Option (ADK #39, McM #85): This is a detour that you might consider on the way to Mt Colvin. It is interesting and difficult. It adds more than an hour, but is worthwhile if you can work it in to your day. Follow Lake Road from the Gate almost to the Boathouse. Lake Road dead-ends at the Boathouse. Just before arriving at the Boathouse, you will plainly see the sign for the Indian Head Trail on your left. It is short, but very steep with a number of switchbacks. It affords excellent views of the lake and neighboring Sawteeth as it climbs the cliffs above the lake. You can take it to Indian Head and Fish Hawk Cliffs (ADK #38 & #30, McM #85 & #86). It eventually intersects Gill Brook Trail at about 2800 ft. elev. (If you want to see Indian Head without the steep climb, you can also access it from Gill Brook Trail. You will find the trail to Indian Head off GBT shortly after Bypass Trail flows into GBT. In fact, here's the signpost.

Campsites:
Colvin and Blake are a good day-hike that is not very demanding, but you may want to camp if it is part of a longer hike such as to the Elk Lake trailhead via the entire Colvin Range. To camp, first, you must ensure you are off AMR land upon which camping is verboten. Be assured that the Ausable Club's people do make the rounds. There are several decent campsites off AMR along the Gill Brook Trail. You will know when you leave AMR because its boundaries are very well posted by both the Ausable Club and DEC. The first campsite which is a DEC site will occur on your right about 10 to 15 minutes after leaving AMR. Water is not far away on the opposite side of the trail. In this general area, also, there is space for a few tents down at Gill Brook itself. Don't look for something idyllic. The aforementioned DEC campsite will hold 2 tents well; four tents if you don't mind discomfort on sloping ground.

Colvin & Blake USGS Trail Maps:

These Maptech topographical maps are the most recent metric maps, as recent or more recent than those you can buy in a store. Print them and use them on your hike. We suggest that if you do use these, that you seal them in a plastic food bag for protection against moisture which will cause the ink to run and the paper to very quickly become one large spitball. Be sure to set your printer to "landscape" when printing maps.

Map 1: from the DEC parking lot to the Gate, up the Lake Road, to the Bypass Trail
Map 2: the Bypass Trail and Gill Brook Trail
Map 3: the Summits of Colvin and Blake	Maptech� U.S. Terrain Series�, �Maptech�, Inc

Please read these
IMPORTANT NOTES, TERMS OF USE, and DISCLAIMERS

Lake Road (ADK #25) to RED Bypass Trail (ADK #25, McM #83)

You've hiked the 0.95 miles across the Ausable Club's pristine grounds from the DEC parking on Rt. 73. That brings you to the trailhead sign-in booth (photo) and the entrance to the AMR, Adirondack Mountain Reserve) and the beginning of the Lake Road which begins at the left part of this photo.

Having signed in, you walk in a few hundred yards and pass through this beautiful gate done in Adirondack style.

The Lake Road is not only fast, it is very pleasant. The occasional deer is visible through the forest and the mossy banks of the road are inviting. There is almost no traffic on the route, it being private land. The Ausable Club's private bus that hauls members from the club to the boathouse on Lower Ausable Lake seems to run about every half hour or so. The bus is definitely private so if you think that by throwing your body in the bus' path, the driver will stop and take pity on you and haul your worthless butt to wherever you're going... think again. The passengers are paying members of the Ausable Club and as AMEX says "membership has its privileges".

Seriously, an agreement was wrought between NY and the Ausable Club in which all parties benefited.

The Ausable Club ceded huge tracts of pristine forest to the State of NY reducing their tax burden.
The State took ownership of many thousands of acres of forest to be made public land and a part of the Forest Preserve.
You and I got unhampered access to all of the new state land, plus right of passage all the property that remains the Ausable Club's.

Bypass Trail RED (ADK n/l, McM #83) from Lake Road to Gill Brook Trail

Most people ascending Colvin take Gill Brook Trail starting at Lake Road. Mistake? We think so. Yes, it is a slightly shorter route than what we propose, but it's slower and harder going. GBT's trail quality is comparatively poor from its start at the Lake Road to its intersection with the short Indian Head Trail. This first third of GBT closely follows Gill Brook and, therefore, some very uneven ground. You give up a lot of trail quality due to rough terrain in order to get almost constant views of Gill Brook (not a particularly scenic brook). Bypass Trail is faster, more scenic (almost idyllic), and much less worn.

Supposing you've decided on the Bypass Trail (after reading our very convincing argument above), just continue on Lake Road another 0.36 miles from the Gill Brook Trail start and you'll spot it. Bypass ends at its eventual intersection with Gill Brook Trail. (See signpost, next photo down)

Whether you use Gill Brook Trail or Bypass Trail to start your assent of Colvin, you will pass this trail junction with this totally logical, but not intuitively obvious sign. Despite there being 5 signs here this is only one trail coming into GBT. A check of your map will explain it all. The bottom 2 signs point out that if you stay on GBT continuing uphill you will come to an intersection to either Nipple Top and Elk Pass, or to Colvin and Blake. The junction is 1.15 miles further on (using the Maptech CD you can find in Links).

Gill Brook Trail RED (ADK #40, McM #82) from the Bypass Trail junction to the Colvin Trail Junction

This section of Gill Brook Trail starts at the trail sign above, which is the junction of GBT with the Bypass Trail and Indian Head Trail. It continues all the way to Elk Pass where it ends. We will leave it at the turn-off to the Colvin Range, pictured here, 1.15 miles after the junction of the Bypass Trail with the GBT.

As you ascend this section of the GBT, Gill Brook is never within sight, but occasionally within hearing. You will come to the intersection for the Colvin Trail and turn right there for Colvin and Blake. We have saved the the photo of this trail junction at the left as a reminder of what hurricanes do to trail junctions. Yikes! At the bottom edge of the photo a trace of the trail to the left (Elk Pass) is visible as bare dirt. From that spot, you'll also see some bare trail going to the right up over some rocks and passing in front of what's left of the trail signpost. That is the trail to Colvin. Not a pretty picture, is it?

The next photo, #8, shows the same intersection after some repair had been completed a year later. The Colvin Trail (ADK #40, McM #87) * heads out of sight to the right. That's where you want to go unless you intend to go to Elk Pass and Nipple Top.

*Note: ADK trail numbering on the ADK trail map uses the same number (40) for Gill Brook Trail from its start at the Lake Road, but continues to use the same number up Colvin. McMartin, on the other hand, considers Gill Brook Trail (82) to follow Gill Brook all the way to its source, Elk Pass. It uses a different number (87) for the Colvin Trail. The commentary on this page follows the McMartin numbering convention since it makes more sense.

Colvin Trail RED (ADK #40, McM #87) from Gill Brook to the summit of Colvin and to the Colvin-Blake Col

Panorama 1
10

The series of 5 panorama shots which follow start here with a view to the SE from very near Colvin's summit. Successive photos below move counterclockwise. The last of the 5 photos points to the WSW. Each photo's right edge continues approximately at the left edge of the photo below it. The total continuous arc in these photos is 300 degrees.

Overall, I rate the view from Colvin very high; it's one of the top 4 or 5 peaks for viewing the 46. Many rate Sawteeth #1 because its views of the Range are closer and more dramatic. True, but Colvin, which is .7 miles further removed from the Range captures the whole Ausable Valley in the foreground and thus gives more depth and perspective. Then there's Algonquin Peak with its splendid views of Mt. Colden and the Range, Lake Colden, and Indian Pass. You decide!

The approach to Colvin's summit from the trail junction in the photo above is easy to moderate in difficulty. The moderate portions involve the occasional tricky maneuver over rocks and boulders that is an interesting diversion. As you near the summit views to the East and Southeast open up here and there. There is no better view of the superb slide on Nipple Top's west face than from this point quite near the summit of Colvin. McMartin reports that this slide is "for experts" and states: "With a vertical rise of over 1500 feet over a horizontal distance of 0.85 miles, the slide has an average slope of 33 percent." A path off the right side of the top of the slide takes one to the summit.

Panorama 2
11

Panorama 2 from Colvin's summit looks straight down Lower Ausable Lake and the East Branch of the Ausable River. Gill Brook Trail climbs to the right out of the valley. In the far distance also at the right is Giant Mtn. Just in front of Giant is Noonmark (1999 fire devastation is visible as a bare rock slash). To the left the Great Range climbs out of the valley. The Wolf Jaws (Lower, then Upper) are followed as we move to the left by Armstrong and then Gothics (behind the top of the spruce tree).

Panorama 3
12

Panorama 3 looks NNW from Colvin's summit. From right to left along the skyline: diminutive Armstrong, the twin peaks of Gothics, then Saddleback. The knobs of its saddle are almost aligned so it looks a bit like a pair of lips pointing at the sky. At the extreme left a part of Basin is visible. Harder to see, but actually covering almost 60% of the photo's area is Sawteeth in the foreground. Its teeth are visible as a series of "bumps" in a line one behind the other. Even harder to see is Pyramid, reaching up to almost touch the middle of the Gothics ridgeline. It is very pointy and is exactly behind Sawteeth's summit.

Panorama 4
13

This photo from Colvin's summit shows the Upper Range and, in front of it down below, the Ausable Valley between Upper and Lower Ausable Lakes. The mountain with the considerable slides is Basin. To the left of Basin, Marcy appears, the highest peak in the photo, but mostly obscured by Haystack in front of it, its summit just to the left of Marcy. Little Haystack is visible as a bare rock knob very slightly below and to the right of Marcy's summit. Midway between Marcy and Basin on the skyline is a very small (distant) and inconsequential-looking peak (it looks almost flat). That is Tabletop, aptly named. Looking to the left and behind Haystack is Skylight, then just behind Skylight a little to the left is Redfield. Allen Mtn is the sizable mountain at the left edge of the photo.

Panorama 5
14

In this photo we reach the end of our counterclockwise tour of the view from Colvin. Blake rises in the lower left corner. Dead center is Allen Mtn. The North River Mtns are to the left and behind Allen. From the right edge: Marcy, Haystack, and then Skylight. The lake is Upper Ausable Lake.

Blake Peak, shown here, barely makes the 46. It has few, if any, views. It is a short climb and is difficult in a few spots, but moderate overall. The photo also shows the relatively flat summit of Colvin. There are several good spots on Colvin to take photos from.

Colvin-Blake Col to the summit of Blake RED (ADK #56, McM #88)

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This col does have some bare ground and square footage for a tent or two. Forget any thoughts of finding water here, though. The walk down to the col from the summit of Colvin is quite easy. The climb up Blake is mostly moderate with some difficult spots.

After 10 or 15 minutes of searching through the dense foliage, this was the best I could come up with. In any case, the two peaks are so close together that the views would be essentially the same from both.