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The view south to the High Peaks from Nilmah Summit
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The Rock is part dog and part mountain goat. So whenever we are up in the Adirondacks, I like to take him out to bag a few peaks. The short, yet steep hike to the summit of Mount Nilmah provides a good workout and a nice vista point as payoff for a strenuous climb. It's tough for a two-legged human, but no match for a four-legged, high-energy mountain cur.
Nilmah is surrounded by private holdings and therefore inaccessible to the public. To climb it, we always have the proper permissions from the landowners. But in order to prevent others from trespassing without permission, this post uses as pseudonym for the mountain.
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| The summit, view from the field |
From the auto road, the trail follows a wooded path to a open field, then turns right. After a short time on the level, the trail reaches a point where another trail connects from the right. Here, the trail to Nilmah proceeds straight ahead and immediately begins to climb, winding upwards past two small shed-like buildings, until a point where open ledges start to appear through the trees on the right. To get a nice, lower elevation view, go off the trail to the right and scramble up for some vista points.
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| Rocco on the ledges |
At the first sight of the ledges on the right, however, the trail to the summit turns left, drops down, and then turns right and goes up a ravine. It is easy to lose the trail here. To follow it, always stay close to the ravine wall on the right - the trail follows the ravine edge the whole way up the mountain, sometimes following the ravine wall and sometimes going right up it.
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| Sunrise from the lower ledges, view of Jay Range |
The top of Nilmah is flat and wooded with lots of blow-downs, so it is easy to lose one's bearings when getting to the true summit knob. When coming out of the ravine and leveling out, the trail turns to the left and traverses the summit. To reach the high point, look for a trail coming from the left, which goes straight for a short distance and then circles back and to up to the rocky summit knob. If you miss the left turn, the trail will continue and descend the other side of the mountain.
Peak: Nilmah Mountain
Elevation: 2,219 feet (Gain: 1,100 feet)
Distance: 3 miles round trip
Route: Up and Back, blue trail
Conditions: Hot and humid, 90 degrees F
