Fulton County Highpoint Trip Report

Pigeon Mtn (2,780+ ft)

Date: August 17, 2006
Authors: Sue Ann Miller and Frank Price

This is a 3B hike: bushwhack, blow-down and bands of rock. David Galvin's report continues to be good, except that we encountered rock bands on the southeast aspect of Pigeon Mountain and there is blow-down along the route that we suspect has occurred since the previous reports were submitted. The damage suggests wind after a wet snow or heavy rains - obnoxious but not as intense as ADK High Peaks scrub forest or hurricane blow-down.

On the approach, there are more Y-branches of the road than mentioned in posted reports but, so long as one chooses left, there is no problem. The old road degrades into a path that becomes progressively fainter. Wear encouraged us to continue to the right past the old corduroy underwater on the left that David followed, and we took another Y just beyond. This is not a signed trail to anything so we wondered who (besides rare CoHPers) is tramping out the trail until it ended at a substantially cleared campsite on the bank of the upper trickle of Pinnacle Creek. From there, we crossed the watercourse and began the bushwhack UP. Bright sunshine and low humidity helped but August foliage did not permit good views of Panther Mountain to the east.

At the summit we bashed around to verify that we had found the high ground but did not select any particular boulder in the tangle to be the summit marker. Blow-down had opened a view to the southeast from a slab of bedrock that likely lies within the contour, so we stretched out there as we planned a descent to avoid rock-band roulette. The blow-down complicates the rock bands, so we suggest that future highpointers skirt south below the rock bands to the 'col' south of the summit, then go north to the high ground. We did the reverse on our return and had a much easier time than on the ascent.

This is not a difficult climb but it could be dangerous for those without time, equipment or experience to navigate a trail-less and forested peak that has insufficient traffic to make herd paths.