October 1, 2026 — After a 12 hour adventure at Pyramid and Gothics yesterday, the fall fun was far from over. Originally I had planned to hike up the fire tower at Mt Adams, but I was feeling a bit fatigued and the drive out would have been too far of a drive. Instead, I received a great tip about hiking Jay Mountain being a nearby and moderately challenging hike with several great overlooks and an opportunity to turn around well before the Class 3 approach to the proper Jay Mountain summit. I opted to turn around at Jay Mountain West (44.31252484436204, -73.68588572155805), which avoided any real scrambling and covered a round trip distance of under 6 miles. The hike begins at the DEC trailhead on Jay Mountain Road and follows a mellow and well graded wooded trail all the way up to the granite ridgeline of Jay Mountain. I highly recommend making the quick detour to the "Scenic Overlook" as it provides a sweeping view of the entire Jay Mountain ridgeline, providing perspective of the entire route ahead. The ridgeline from this point onwards to Jay Mountain West provides several rocky ledges to look out from, and the trail will alternate briefly between wooded and enclosed to rocky and open. I spent quite a while at the West summit, though a storm was working its way in; it was windy enough that I needed to put my jacket on.
