A summit and 4 ponds
Treadway Mountain is only 2,240 feet tall, but its rocky summit offers magnificent views of the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness, the Green Mountains of Vermont, the High Peaks, and other mountains too numerous to mention.
Unless you’re a landlubber, the best way to approach Treadway is by paddling less than a mile across Putnam Pond from a state campground to a trail on the west shore. From there, it’s a 2.3-mile hike to the top, with nine hundred feet of elevation gain.
Joanne Kennedy took the paddle/hike thing to a higher level last year. After climbing Treadway, she and three friends—Carol Yarnell, Sue Sand, and Lori Clark—paddled across Clear Pond, Rock Pond, and Little Rock Pond and then returned to their starting point via North Pond, a bay of Putnam Pond. All of the waterways are linked by hiking trails.
Kennedy documented the adventure with her camera. You can trace their route on the accompanying map. If you plan to follow in their footsteps, bring a lightweight canoe: altogether, the women portaged about 1.5 miles. That’s in addition to 4.6 miles of hiking sans canoe.
Kennedy and her friends had a ball. We’re betting, though, that most people will be satisfied with the usual round trip across Putnam Pond. Either way, it’s a fantastic outing.
DIRECTIONS:
From NY 74 west of Ticonderoga, turn south onto Putts Pond Road and go 3.6 miles to the Putnam Pond State Campground. Follow signs to the day users’ parking area. There is a $6 day-use fee per car when the campground is open (May 20-Sept. 4). The launch site remains open when the campground is closed (though the road is not plowed in winter).
