Mount Skylight is a mountain in the
Adirondack High Peaks The Adirondack High Peaks are a set of 46 mountain peaks in the Adirondack Mountains of New York (state), New York state. They have been popular hiking destinations since the late 1920s, when the list of peaks was published in Russell Carson's book ...
in the
Adirondack Mountains
The Adirondack Mountains (; a-də-RÄN-dak) form a massif in northeastern New York with boundaries that correspond roughly to those of Adirondack Park. They cover about 5,000 square miles (13,000 km2). The mountains form a roughly circular ...
of
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
. It gets its name from its open, bare and relatively flat summit, unusual in the
Adirondack High Peaks The Adirondack High Peaks are a set of 46 mountain peaks in the Adirondack Mountains of New York (state), New York state. They have been popular hiking destinations since the late 1920s, when the list of peaks was published in Russell Carson's book ...
. Skylight is the fourth highest peak in New York.
[Goodwin, Tony, and David Thomas-Train, Editors. ''High Peaks Trails'', 14th Edition. Lake George, NY: Adirondack Mountain Club, 2012. p.254]
A remote summit by any approach, it is nonetheless a favorite of hikers. It is famously distinguished by two large
cairn
A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the gd, càrn (plural ).
Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehis ...
s that have grown on either end of the summit over the years, as
46er lore has it that carrying a rock up and placing it on them will ensure good weather.
A single trail goes up to the mountain's summit from the ''Four Corners'' junction between Skylight and
Mount Marcy
Mount Marcy (Mohawk: ''Tewawe’éstha'') is the highest point in New York, with an elevation of . It is located in the Town of Keene in Essex County. The mountain is in the heart of the Adirondack High Peaks region of the High Peaks Wildern ...
, its northern neighbor. As the name suggests, there are three ways to get there. Most commonly, hikers come from the west, via the ''Feldspar Brook Trail'' from the campsites at the ''Flowed Lands'' and climb the peak in conjunction with a visit to
Lake Tear of the Clouds
Lake Tear of the Clouds is a small tarn located in the town of Keene, in Essex County, New York, United States, on the southwest slope of Mount Marcy, the state's highest point, in the Adirondack Mountains. It is the highest pond in the state ...
(often considered the source of the
Hudson River
The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...
), and a climb up neighboring, trail-less
Gray Peak. The trailhead can also be reached by descending from Marcy to the north, or via Panther Gorge and Elk Lake to the southeast, all very lengthy trips that are usually done via an overnight
backpack
A backpack—also called knapsack, schoolbag, rucksack, rucksac, pack, sackpack, booksack, bookbag or backsack—is, in its simplest frameless form, a fabric sack carried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders ...
.
Gallery
File:View of Mt Skylight from Mt Marcy.jpg, Mt. Skylight seen from Mt. Marcy
Notes
External links
*
Summitpost.org: Mount Skylight
Mountains of Essex County, New York
Adirondack High Peaks
Mountains of New York (state)
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